Since 1985, faculty, academic staff, and administrators from all over the university have had the chance to embark on the Wisconsin Idea Seminar, a five day bus tour which exposes participants to the educational, social and political aspects of the state and how the university impacts its surrounding areas.

Approximately 40 people are chosen each year for the tour, with this year’s stops including a Native American reservation, UW System campus, tourism destination, state correctional institution, and a Milwaukee high school.

The goal of the trip is to familiarize new faculty members, recently tenured professors, new deans and academic staff who have statewide functions with the Wisconsin Idea.

One of those people is Professor Nicholas Hillman of the Educational and Leadership Policy Analysis Depart at UW-Madison. Hillman joined the faculty in 2013 and, after recently living in Indiana and Utah over the last decade, wanted to better understand the Wisconsin Idea, he said.

“I’m really excited to see the state of Wisconsin and how the university impacts the state,” Hillman said. “This university thrives off the idea of being bigger than the campus and I’m really looking forward to seeing it firsthand.”

His department chair nominated him for a slot on the trip and he was ultimately chosen.

Hillman and the bus tour’s other participants will depart on May 18.