Impact 2030 update


In the summer of 2020, the UW–Madison School of Education launched Impact 2030 — an ambitious, donor-funded initiative that’s designed to dramatically strengthen our already highly regarded School.

Now in its third year — and with the support of $44 million in gift funds — Impact 2030 is helping the School expand innovation, research, and creativity. Additional fundraising efforts are underway to support the growth of many of these programs. Impact 2030 is centering its efforts across four pillars leading up to the School’s centennial in 2030.

 

Strengthening student scholarships

As the School of Education challenges its students to change the world, it realizes they need support to do so. The School is significantly increasing its scholarship and fellowship packages, and utilizing a new strategic plan for equity, diversity, and inclusion to better attract and serve students from groups that are historically underrepresented at UW– Madison.

These supports, in the form of scholarships and fully funded doctoral and master of fine arts programs, make the School competitive with highly ranked peers across the nation. The Dean’s Excellence Scholarship program is one example of how the School is focused on transforming its approach to better attract, enroll, and support a greater number of underrepresented and first-generation students. The Dean’s Excellence Scholarship program — which uses both donor dollars and matching funds from the campus Director’s Scholarship — is a pilot initiative that’s now recruiting and supporting first-year students with diverse backgrounds via guaranteed four-year funding packages. As of this past fall, 39 students were enrolled and being supported by the new program.

Bolstering faculty and staff support

As dedicated educators, groundbreaking researchers, and vital mentors to the next generation, faculty and staff are central to what makes our School one of the most highly rated in the nation. The School is continuing to commit significant resources to a Faculty Fellows program that recognizes top faculty members by providing flexible funding to further outstanding research and scholarship.

Over the previous year, the School has also bolstered support to staff and broadened its backing of faculty members to support early-career scholars with the creation of PROWESS (PROposal Writing for Early-career Scholar Success). This intensive program was launched and led last summer by Associate Dean for Research Dorothy Farrar Edwards. It was designed to spur development of successful research proposals from 12 early career researchers. PROWESS included five two-hour instructional seminars, two writing groups, additional meetings with mentors, and a mock review as participants prepare to submit their proposals by August 2023.

Transformational and innovative learning experiences

Another goal of Impact 2030 is to provide the very best, high-impact educational experiences for students across the School’s 10 departments. The School is increasing opportunities for students to participate in cutting-edge research projects, working alongside faculty mentors, and is planning to expand paid internship opportunities so our students can explore careers and develop valuable job skills.

And with the lifting of COVID-19 travel restrictions, the School is offering a new range of study abroad programs tied to students’ majors. Scholarships are available for students with financial need. There will be six course offerings this summer, with two more being added in 2024. The six current courses offered are: UW Team Building in Costa Rica; UW Theatre in London; UW Education, Diversity, and Community in the Galapagos Islands; UW Social Foundations of Learning in Uganda; UW Dancing Cultures in Greece; and UW Movement as Medicine in Portugal.

Investing in Wisconsin’s Future Teachers

The UW–Madison School of Education Wisconsin Teacher Pledge program is dedicated to strengthening and diversifying Wisconsin’s teacher workforce. It pays the equivalent of in-state tuition and fees, testing, and licensing costs for all teacher education students. In return, graduates “pledge” to teach for three or four years at a pre-kindergarten through 12th grade school in Wisconsin.

The Teacher Pledge won’t solve the teacher shortage by itself — but enrollment numbers are showing it is helping to incentivize students to enter the School’s teacher education programs. Will it continue to show promise? University researchers are studying this pilot of the Teacher Pledge to find out and the School will share key findings that could help aid efforts around Wisconsin and across the nation in building a stronger teacher workforce.

As of the fall semester, 515 students have taken the pledge — with 220 pledge alumni now out and teaching in classrooms across 65 different Wisconsin School districts.

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