Livable City Year Contact Info
Teri Thomson Randall
Program Manager
terir@uw.edu
206.221.9240

University Faculty Contact
Amy Hagopian
Health Services
Professor
hagopian@uw.edu
206-616-4989

Local Government / Community Contact

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Wisconsin local governments can partner with UW–Madison through the UniverCity Partnership.

The concept is simple. The community partner identifies projects that would benefit from UW–Madison expertise. Faculty from across the university incorporate these projects into their courses, and UniverCity Alliance staff provide administrative support to ensure the collaboration’s success. 

In phase one, the community partner identifies projects that would benefit from UW–Madison expertise, and UniverCity Alliance staff match projects with faculty across the university. In phase two, faculty incorporate these projects into their courses, and some individual students conduct independent research. During phase three, UniverCity Alliance staff provide project implementation support. Throughout the partnership, UniverCity Alliance staff provide administrative support to facilitate an efficient and effective workflow.  

The results are powerful. Partners receive big ideas and feasible recommendations that spark momentum towards a more sustainable, livable, and resilient future.

Through partnership, we can create better places together.

Fun Facts about UniverCity Alliance

Public or Private Institution | Public
Number of students at institution | 51,822
Year Program Established | 2015
Country | US
Federal Region of Program | 5

Highlight Articles/Videos

 

Video Links: 

Past City Partners

2015-2018 | City of Monona, WI • Population: 8,000
2016-2019 | Dane County, WI • Population: 516,000
2017-2020 | Green County, WI • Population: 37,200
2018-2021 | Pepin County, WI • Population: 7,287
2019-2022 | Adams County, WI • Population: 20,220
2019-2022 | Brown County, WI • Population: 264,542
2019-2022 | Egg Harbor, WI • Population: 202
2019-2022 | Marshall, WI • Population: 4,050
2019-2022 | La Crosse County, WI • Population: 118,016
2019-2022 | Milwaukee County, WI • Population: 945,726
2019-2022 | Wisconsin Rapids, WI • Population: 18,877
2020-2023 | Marathon County, WI • Population: 135,692
2020-2024 | Racine County, WI • Population: 196,311
2020-2023 | Waunakee, WI • Population: 18,877
2021-2024 | Columbia County, WI • Population: 57,532
2021-2024 | City of Stoughton, WI • Population: 13,114
2021-2024 | Polk County, WI • Population: 43,783
2021-2024 | Outagamie County, WI • Population: 187,885
2021-2024 | Koshkonong Creek Collaborative
2022-2025 | Cottage Grove, WI • Population: 8,880
2022-2025 | Eau Claire County, WI • Population: 108,830
2022-2025 | Marinette, WI • Population: 11,045
2022-2025 | Milton, WI • Population: 5,658
2022-2025 | River Falls, WI • Population: 16,935
2022-2025 | Shorewood, WI • Population: 13,603
2022-2025 | St. Croix County, WI • Population: 97,954
2022-2025 | Wausau, WI • Population: 39,968
2022-2025 | Wood County, WI • Population: 73,943
2024 | Whitewater Unified School District, WI
2023-2025 | Chippewa County, WI • Population: 67,323
2023-2025 | Jackson County, WI • Population: 21,027
2023-2025 | Mount Pleasant, WI • Population: 27,727
2025 | Appleton, WI • Population: 74,719
2023-2026 | DeForest, WI • Population: 11,107
2023-2026 | Iowa County, WI • Population: 23,963
2023-2026 | Waupaca, WI • Population: 6,333
2024-2025 | Monroe County, WI • Population: 46,370
Current | Sheboygan County, WI • Population: 118,331
Current | Trempealeau County, WI • Population: 30,801
Current | Walworth County, WI • Population: 106,478
Current | Beaver Dam, WI • Population: 16,708
Current | Vernon County, WI • Population: 30,714
Ongoing | Dane County • Population: 588,347
Ongoing | City of Madison • Population: 280,305

Contact Info

Megan McBride
Managing Director, UniverCity Alliance
608-890-1211
UniverCityAlliance@wisc.edu

Abigail Becker
Communications & Outreach Specialist, UniverCity Alliance
(608) 262-1839
albecker4@wisc.edu

M Partner

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M Partner aligns university resources with community priorities to improve quality of life. The McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement has adapted the national �鶹��Ƶ model to best suit the dynamics of campus and community partners. �鶹��Ƶ, which stands for Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities, creates time-bound partnerships between universities and the elected officials of a selected municipality. While many �鶹��Ƶ programs work with large cities where member universities are located, M Partner works with municipalities with populations ranging from 1,200 to 8,000. As a result, M Partner blends curricular and co-curricular approaches to maximize community engagement opportunities. This innovative strategy earned M Partner recognition as a finalist for the �鶹��Ƶ Network’s 2020 Outstanding Program Award.

The pilot phase of M Partner took place from 2018-2020. The inaugural M Partner communities were Charleston (Tallahatchie County), Lexington (Holmes County), and New Albany (Union County). During the pilot phase, 25 faculty and staff members engaged more than 400 students in 35 courses and projects, 18 programs and special events, and 15 national service placements in M Partner communities. These efforts reached an estimated 8,000 individuals across the three pilot communities.

The current phase of M Partner is working in Ecru and Pontotoc, two communities located in Pontotoc County. These partnerships permit the McLean Institute to build momentum along the Tanglefoot Trail corridor, and to promote economic development, expand educational enrichment, elevate local history, and encourage visitors to the Tanglefoot Trail. During the 2020-2021 academic year, 22 faculty and staff members engaged more than 165 students and VISTA members in 18 courses and projects, 4 special events, and 3 national service placements.

Fun Facts about M Partner

The University of Mississippi launched their pilot year in response to a challenge from their chancellor. 

“Imagine what we can do if we channel the talents of our university — our entire university — to partner with towns and cities — one at a time — to enhance every aspect of community life.  Imagine!”

– Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter, inaugural address, Nov. 4, 2016. 

The M Partner program is another example of an institution adopting the �鶹��Ƶ Model and the support from �鶹��Ƶ as a school-wide initiative.

M Partner will be a joint effort between the UM Oxford campus and the UM Medical Center in Jackson. This approach has the potential to impact partner communities across the state with a broad range of courses and programs.

Highlight Articles/Videos

City Partners

2018 | Charleston • Population: 1,800
2018 | Lexington • Population: 2,200
2018 | New Albany • Population: 8,800

Contact Details

Laura Martin
M Partner Director
Associate Director
(662) 915-2078
lemartin@olemiss.edu

Website |

Indiana University’s Sustaining Hoosier Communities (SHC), an initiative of the  forges partnerships between local communities and leaders and Indiana University’s faculty, staff, and students to enrich the health, prosperity, and vitality of our region.

Through undergraduate and graduate courses—in disciplines including public health, information systems, public policy, arts administration, folklore, public relations, biology, art and design, social work, and law—IU students and faculty work closely with community partners to generate real, innovative outcomes to the community’s projects.

During the 2017-18 year, 16 faculty members taught over 600 students in 20 courses at Indiana University through which they collaborated with local leaders in Lawrence County to understand and address social, economic, and environmental sustainability challenges and opportunities the community identified. During the 2018-19 year, SHC will collaborate with Orange County, Indiana.

Fun Facts about SHC

Indiana University junior, Sarah Murphy, was particularly excited about her outdoor recreation class last fall, as the class included developing a plan to turn the decommissioned Avoca Fish Hatchery into a sustainable recreation site. The outdoor recreation class was one of 20 courses at Indiana University Bloomington participating in the SHC initiative last year. For Sarah Murphy, the project hit close to home. As a native of Lawrence County, Sarah was excited to use her Indiana University coursework to help her home community. “It’s awesome to be able to work with this project because I’m from here,” she said. “You can see the potential of the site.” Murphy and her fellow students developed a plan that will draw community members to the site for programs that can be sustained economically over time.

Year Program Established | 2016
Country | US
Federal Region of Program | 5

Public or Private Institution | Public
Number of students at institution | 48,500

Highlight Articles/Videos

 by Alex Eady
 by Carol Johnson

Past City Partners

2020-2021 | Washington County • Population: 28,036 (2019)
2019-2020 | Greene County • Population: 32,006 (2018)
2018-2019 | Orange County • Population: 19,489 (2018)
2017-2018 | Lawrence County • Population: 45,495

Contact Info

Colleen Rose
Director of Student Engagement, IU Center for Rural Engagement
812-856-3379
rosec@indiana.edu