The University of Wisconsin-Madison launched “The Wisconsin Exchange: Pluralism in Practice”, a campus-wide initiative aimed at promoting open dialogue and creating a campus atmosphere where “different points of view are both expected and respected.”
The initiative will streamline the university’s preexisting programs with new opportunities, emphasizing the value of diverse viewpoints and civil dialogue.
Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin announced the initiative Wednesday, saying that learning happens best when “people with different beliefs come together and when we, as a campus, create opportunities for people to share their perspectives.” She said the Wisconsin Exchange “brings these goals to life.”
The announcement comes after conservative political figures and campus groups criticized UW-Madison in recent years for stifling free dialogue and lacking “intellectual diversity.”
“We certainly don’t expect everyone to agree. We know there will be uncomfortable conversations. But it is vital that we talk — and listen — to each other,” the new website reads.
The university said the launch comes at a “pivotal time” where polarization on college campuses is increasingly prevalent. UW-Madison pointed to a 2023 survey that found 43% of students believed speakers with offensive views should be “disinvited” from campus. Additionally, the Wisconsin Exchange website reads that 50% of students nationally surveyed said they would not “dorm across the aisle” with someone who voted differently in the last presidential election.
UW-Madison was ranked poorly in the 2026 College Free Speech Rankings, with a score of 59 and a grade of F on “speech climate.”
The program will host events that model how to debate controversial topics with both skill and care. The initiative will also award grants and host events, including a speaker series beginning in 2026, a postdoctoral fellowship program and other workshops and forums.
The initiative will also work with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute’s Center on Civility and Democracy to host a forum in spring 2026 on bipartisanship and productive, “results-oriented, cooperation” through ideological differences.
The “institutional priority” was made possible through funding from donors. UW-Madison spokesperson John Lucas did not respond to an immediate inquiry on which donors contributed to the funding and how much.
The university’s “commitment to free expression” has been embodied through programs such as Deliberation Dinners. Piloted in 2023, the project allows undergraduate students from a wide range of backgrounds to engage in meaningful discussions about controversial issues, like marijuana legalization, abortion and nuclear power generation in Wisconsin.
Mnookin has been a strong advocate for pluralism in recent years and alluded to the program’s launch at a roundtable conversation with student journalists earlier this month, saying Deliberation Dinners would expand alongside “additional initiatives.”
“Pluralism is about bringing people with many different backgrounds and sometimes conflicting perspectives and ideas together to discuss and debate, or, as we sometimes talk about it here at UW–Madison, to sift and winnow — our way of describing a kind of inquiry that generates insights and discoveries,” she said at the fall 2024 convocation.
She also said at a Reagan Institute panel in September that “college campuses should be one of the places within society where ideas are explored and bump up against each other.”
In 2024, Mnookin also announced a new “Institutional and Public Position Statements" policy, indicating the university would “generally refrain” from establishing a position on current events following criticism over previous statements UW-Madison made surrounding the war in Gaza.
She said that while public leadership statements are often intended to demonstrate concern for members of a community suffering from the impact of broader events, students may feel excluded “by what is said and by what is left unsaid,” diminishing the overall sense of belonging in the community.
Mnookin said at the time the policy “will strengthen [the] university and make more space for dialogue and debate.”
UW-Madison hopes to serve as a national model for dialogue across different beliefs on campuses in a time where the Trump administration has continually pointed to a lack of ideological diversity on college campuses.
The website reads that college campuses have the “opportunity and responsibility” to build bridges of understanding and constructive engagement.
“Our students come to campus with energy and conviction,” interim Provost John Zumbrunnen said in a press release. “But many arrive having had few chances to interact with people who don’t share their background or views. Our task is to help them build skills and then give them opportunities to grow into the thoughtful leaders and citizens our democracy, and our world, needs.”
Ella Hanley is the college news editor for The Daily Cardinal. She previously served as associate news editor and wrote for the city and state news desks. She is a fourth-year journalism and criminal justice student. She has written breaking news and in-depth on Trump administration funding cuts to UW-Madison and local Madison people and organizations. Her work reporting on Yung Gravy has been featured in the New York Times. Follow her on Twitter at @ellamhanley.
