UW-Madison Students tackle Village challenges

UW-Madison students during a recent visit to Shorewood for their UniverCity Year project.

UW-Madison Students TACKLE VILLAGE CHALLENGES

Shorewood was selected last year to participate in UniverCity Year, a three-year program that partners college and graduate students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with municipalities around the state to tackle projects of the community’s choosing.

The students are conducting research into three Shorewood issues, each one dovetailing with the students’ own coursework. Areas of focus include conducting a feasibility study on the electrification of the Shorewood Police Department’s automotive fleet; assisting in the development of historic preservation strategy aimed at protecting Shorewood’s unique housing stock; and reviewing the Village’s communications strategy.

The students will propose solutions and then collaborate with community leaders to implement them.

“For the students, this is a real-world project that is a feather in their cap when it comes time to build their resumes,” says Assistant Village Manager Chris Anderson. “For the Village, it’s a great way to get some fresh eyes and creative solutions on issues that we’ve long wanted to investigate more fully.”

The UniverCity Year Program touts its ability to bring new solutions to what seem like intractable community problems. Each of the 20 municipalities that have participated in the program since 2016 are asked to cover some of the costs, and Shorewood will pay approximately $25,000 over the course of three years to support the work, “primarily, to have some skin in the game,” Anderson says. Students have bi-weekly check-ins with their assigned managers to provide updates on their progress and professors oversee their work throughout the project. Implementation of the projects’ recommendations will wrap up in the summer of 2025.