UW-Madison Dean of Students Lori Berquam and Mark Kueppers, assistant director of leadership for the Center for Leadership and Involvement, met with the Associated Students of Madison Coordinating Council Wednesday to get feedback on new language regarding the Wisconsin Experience.
Kueppers and Berquam said they want to develop new language that students could “tap into” to find common ground. Kueppers added that he wanted the language to provide “an element of inspiration” to students.
When coming up with the language changes, Kueppers said they focused on why UW-Madison is different from other universities and what the university’s institutional values are. Currently, they have settled on four pillars: “Relentless Curiosity,” “Intellectual Confidence,” “Purposeful Activism” and “Cognitive Empathy and Humility.”
ASM Vice Chair Vanessa Studer said she has concerns of a divide between students and administration over what the Wisconsin Experience means, and questioned how to engage students so the concept could become more than branding.
Berquam shared Studer’s concerns, saying that campus can often come off as segmented, both in and outside of class. She spoke to how experiences outside of class are just as important and a large part of students’ time on campus, developing their “intellectual confidence.”
Members of the committee, along with Kueppers and Berquam, emphasized how each student’s experience on campus is different, and how the Wisconsin Experience takes on different meanings for each student.
UW-Madison takes part in the National Survey of Student Engagement, Berquam said, which is how the university can quantifiably measure the success of the Wisconsin Experience. Berquam said her ultimate goal is to have the “most sought-after graduates in the world.”
Berquam and Kueppers said they plan to gather feedback from students, organizations and faculty across the campus going forward to refine the language changes, describing it as an “all hands on deck exercise.”
