Village of Waunakee – �鶹��Ƶ

Reviewing human resources processes through the lens of diversity, equity and inclusion

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:44 +0000

A student group in Industrial Systems & Engineering was tasked with performing a Human Resources Audit of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Village of Waunakee. After the murder of George Floyd, the Village of Waunakee wanted to do their part to end systemic racism. The Village of Waunakee in Wisconsin is located about 20 minutes north from the UW-Madison campus. The population of Waunakee is roughly 94% white and has the stereotype of “White-akee”. However, with the recent approval of the Village’s first affordable housing project, the community is shifting, and Waunakee wants to be more representative of its residents. Currently, Waunakee has 100 full-time employees ranging from accounts, to clerks, to public work employees. They also employee about 250 seasonal employees of whom are mostly high school students working in the summer.

UniverCity Year Contact Info: UniverCityAlliance@wisc.edu

Improving diversity, equity and inclusion practices of Human Resources management in the Waunakee Administrator’s Office

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:44 +0000

A Management & Human Resources class analyzed the village of Waunakee’s Human Resources Department and offered recommentions to hire more diverse employees to widen diversity within the community, eliminate unconsious biases, and ensure equitable working conditions through the development of a step-by-step action plan. UniverCity Year Contact Info: UniverCityAlliance@wisc.edu [...]

Improving diversity, equity and inclusion communication practices in Waunakee

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:44 +0000

A Management & Human Resources class analyzed the village of Waunakee’s current communications practice through a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens to evaluate what improvements to make to reach diverse groups of residents. UniverCity Year Contact Info: UniverCityAlliance@wisc.edu [...]

Reviewing policing practices and policies in Waunakee

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:44 +0000

In the summer of 2021, UW-Madison’s UniverCity Alliance and the Village of Waunakeecollaborated on several projects surrounding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. One focus area wasthe Waunakee Police Department, as more equitable and progessive policing has increasinglybecome a topic relevant both on the national stage and in Waunakee. This report is the product ofthe research produced; a survey of recommendations and literature surrounding progressivepolicing in an attempt to inform decisions made about policing in upcoming years, followingpolice accreditation, an initial step in creating a progressive police department. Therecommendations to follow address some additional measures the Waunakee Police Departmentcould take to continue their commitment to serving all people with “respect, fairness, andcompassion,” per their mission statement.

UniverCity Year Contact Info: UniverCityAlliance@wisc.edu

Commemorating the Legacy and Resilience of the Ho-Chunk Nation

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:44 +0000

This report presents ways for the Ho-Chunk Nation and Village of Waunakee to work together to develop accurate and meaningful acknowledgements of
the Ho-Chunk people within the Village. Two potential routes to pursue were researched and divided into sections:
-How to update current/existing official signage that is inaccurate and culturally insensitive.
-How to create a new, unconventional historical marker (forms can vary)
Recommendations are provided for both of these routes. Step-by-step processes for potential collaborations between the Ho-Chunk Nation and the Village of Waunakee are laid out in full detail, making a path to future implementation as clear as possible. Both sections focus on delineating methods for fostering
ccurate educational resources in a physical way (not only through storytelling) for both Ho-Chunk Nation members and Village of Waunakee residents.

UniverCity Year Contact Info: UniverCityAlliance@wisc.edu

Conducting an audit of Waunakee’s municipal code for diversity, equity, and inclusion elements

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:44 +0000

In the summer and fall of 2021, UW-Madison’s UniverCity Alliance and the Village ofWaunakee collaborated on several projects surrounding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).This report presents the findings of an audit of the Village of Waunakee’s municipal code forelements of DEI. Representatives from Waunakee described the Village’s DEI initiative as beinggenerally aimed at creating a Waunakee that is “welcoming for all.” Further, they emphasizedracial and economic justice as core goals of the Village’s DEI initiative. Accordingly, thoseprinciples underlie the suggestions contained in this report. The report specifically focuses onpublic and private land use within the municipal code. However, due to the intersectional natureof the issues relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion, it also addresses issues beyond explicitland use.

Designing community- based installations of Ho-Chunk culture in Ripp Park Waunakee

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:42 +0000

The aim of this project is to educate visitors at Ripp Park about Ho-Chunk history, language, culture, and ecology. This project has been developed through collaboration among representatives from Ho-Chunk Nation, the Village of Waunakee, and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at UW Madison. As a part of the UniverCity Year project in Waunakee, this project promotes Waunakee’s goals of developing social justice, racial equity, and inclusion
and community civility. Specifically, this project uses physical installations such as signs and kiosks to provide insights into and recognition of the past, present, and future of Ho-Chunk history and culture. Please contact Jessie Conaway for more details and with questions, jessie.conaway@wisc.edu.

UniverCity Year Contact Info: UniverCityAlliance@wisc.edu

Mapping Ho-Chunk cultural resources in Waunakee

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:42 +0000

Travel routes used by the Ho-Chunk Nation wind their way through the Dejope or Four Lakes region, which includes Wisconsin. Though in some cases they have morphed into modern roads and walking paths, many of the original paths exist only in scattered historical records and living memory.

Combining investigation and historical work and in collaboration with the Ho-Chunk Nation, University of Wisconsin-Madison PhD student Megan Binkley will continue to work with Tribal Historic Preservation Officer Bill Quackenbush, other Ho-Chunk Nation Community Advisors, and Nelson Institute Faculty Associate Jessie Conaway to combine historical records, oral histories, and archaeological data into a map of Ho-Chunk travel routes and trails throughout time.

UniverCity Year Contact Info: UniverCityAlliance@wisc.edu

Creating the ‘Waunakee is Home’ media campaign

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:42 +0000

The positioning strategy of the campaign will focus on promoting the value of diversity within Waunakee. Over the past few years, diversity has become a “buzzword”that has become politicized. As a result, it is important for campaign messaging to strive to be nonpolitical and non-polarizing in order to avoid resistance and community backlash. Toward this end, campaign messaging will celebrate diversity by promoting stories about individual experiences. These stories will bring these individuals together through the pride of living in an area that celebrates its residents. The campaign will focus on the present and future of diversity in the village rather than on the diversity issues and disputes of the past. Our strategy reinforces community pride with visuals that showcase the assets of Waunakee — the library, sports games, and churches in order to build on community. We can link the inherent pride in the Waunakee community to the recognition that diversity and acceptance are part of what makes the Waunakee community great.

UniverCity Year Contact Info: UniverCityAlliance@wisc.edu

Confronting mental health in the Waunakee School District

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:42 +0000

This campaign seeks to provide education and guidance primarily for these families/parents who are seeking support for newer concerns. This will help
families identify their level of need so that they can utilize resources effectively. The primary goal of the campaign is to both educate and inform families in the Waunakee community on the relevance and importance of mental health in the school community, as well as provide them with the knowledge and
appropriate resources to manage their child’s mental health journey. By providing information and equipping families to navigate mental health
challenges, the campaign will help to normalize the reality of mental health’s impact on the Waunakee student body. Finally, the campaign will help clarify
the school’s role and ability to support students by distinguishing appropriate treatment pathways between school and external resources.

UniverCity Year Contact Info: UniverCityAlliance@wisc.edu