Learning about the state we serve
Kevin Masarik is a groundwater education specialist with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He has assisted tens of thousands of well owners through locally organized well water testing programs. The benefits of these programs are twofold: individual well owners have a better understanding of how to manage …
Forty years ago, in 1985, the Wisconsin Idea Seminar emerged out of the commitment to introduce new faculty and staff to the people and places of Wisconsin. Since then, more than 1,300 University of Wisconsin–Madison employees have made the five-day journey through the state.
EPIC-N recognized Andrea Hicks with the 2025 Faculty of the Year award! Since 2017, Andrea has collaborated with seven Wisconsin communities through UniverCity Alliance. Andrea Hicks participated in the 2017 Wisconsin Idea Seminar.
If, on a hungry afternoon, you’ve been eager to discover a forgotten protein bar tucked in your backpack, only to find it’s become hard and unappetizing after weeks of neglect, food scientist Audrey Girard’s research is for you. Girard recently led a study into chemical changes that occur in protein bars over time, making them …
For decades, Andy Diercks, a fourth-generation potato farmer from Coloma, Wisconsin, has worked closely with vegetable researchers at UW–Madison to improve crops, resulting in healthier yields — and robust friendships. “The research team — they’re just really good people,” says Diercks. Related: Watch Diercks discuss innovations that have benefited his farm with UW–Madison Extension specialist …
After learning how to create a warp with cattails, the Wisconsin Idea Seminar participants began to weave, methodically crossing cattail fibers to create a small mat, talking and meditating on the meaning of their project.
The Wisconsin Idea Seminar team is seeking a communications intern! Our communications intern will hone their writing and image-making skills and meet folks across the state who are making a difference in their communities. The Wisconsin Idea Seminar Communications Internship offers the opportunity to: Dates of Internship Beginning in January, 2024. Hours offered during academic breaks (winter, …
The Wisconsin Idea Seminar’s Forest + River experience started under a canopy of centuries-old bur oaks alongside mounds in Willow Creek Woods near the shore of Lake Mendota. A group of 39 faculty and staff became students of Wisconsin life and learned from folks who are deeply committed to the place where they live and …
WIS’22 alum Alvin Thomas, assistant professor in Human Development and Family Studies in the School of Human Ecology co-authors a piece in Salon. “As researchers who study the role of fathers in the lives and development of their children, we couldn’t help but notice a pattern. Headline after headline decried the crisis facing parents, yet …
Lake Michigan and the people who live along its shores shaped the contours of the 2022 Wisconsin Idea Seminar’s “Bay Tour.” For five days along 600 miles, the cohort of 29 faculty and academic staff became students of Wisconsin life, whether at a farm that grows Oneida traditional foods, a program that helps incarcerated people …