The UniverCity Alliance held a meet-and-greet at Memorial Union Wednesday. The event allowed University of Wisconsin students to meet with Dane County and Madison representatives.
UCA works to improve Wisconsin communities by using UW resources, Senior Associate for Communications and Outreach Abigail Becker said.
“The goal for this meet-and-greet is really to meet students on campus who are interested in developing a sense of place here in the city of Madison and Dane County,” Becker said.
District 8 Alder and UW student Juliana Bennett attended the event, along with Supervisor Olivia Xistris-Songpanya of District 13. Xistris-Songpanya is a current UW student in the International Studies program and represents the university at the county level.
Performance Excellence Specialist for the City of Madison Kara Kratowicz, who was appointed by Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, was also in attendance.
During the event, students had the chance to ask community representatives questions. The representatives discussed their work to help Madison reach the United Nation’s sustainability goals by increasing green roofs and solar panel use. Pesticide usage in lakefront housing was also discussed.
“UniverCity Alliance is a cross-campus initiative of people who are dedicated to making cities stronger, healthier [and] sustainable for all the life in them,” Becker said.
According to Becker, UCA does this by reaching out to towns, cities, villages and sometimes municipalities to see if they can help. Since 2016, UCY has successfully completed 20 programs, according to Becker.
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The primary program UCA helps through is a three-year program called UniverCity Year (UCY), Becker said. The first year is spent analyzing what different projects require, collaborating with the communities to find out their needs and planning for the second year.
Also during the first year, UCA connects with UW Faculty that can manage the project well, according to Becker. These faculty members use the projects in their coursework.
This program gives UW students a chance to get involved in projects as a part of the class, Becker said. Once the project is complete, UCA then implements the solutions in the community.
Becker hopes to add a filter to the UW Course Search & Enroll to distinguish which courses work with UCA.
