The Wisconsin Idea, the concept that the university’s boundaries are the state’s boundaries, was revolutionary in its time of conception. While today, a similar mission statement can be found at universities across the country, that in no way undermines the importance of the Wisconsin Idea to the university, state, nation and world.

On this site, we look to explore the Wisconsin Idea: what it is, how it is applied and how it has been increasingly protected and shared by university stakeholders as the biennial budget was unveiled. We do this by separating stories into four categories: teaching, research, outreach, including how communities, the government, the media and students interact, and public service, namely how students go about volunteering in their communities in and off campus.
–Editorial Team


Our staff took the streets to ask UW-Madison students what they think is the Wisconsin Idea.


Now that you have seen others try to identify the Wisconsin Idea, test your own knowledge with our How well do you know the Wisconsin Idea? Quiz.