THE MILWAUKEE IDEA

The loud cheer you heard coming from the UWM campus around Aug. 15 wasn't from a Panther athletics event. It was the collective sigh of relief from The Milwaukee Idea Action Teams as they handed in their final reports to Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. Literally hundreds of people from across the campus and throughout Milwaukee have been working hard all summer to create workable and fundable plans for implementing the ten First Ideas announced at the chancellor's inauguration in March - ideas for a new core curriculum, international study, fresh-water research, environmental and public health, economic development, and much more.

Since May, Action Teams have met regularly to figure out the nuts and bolts of how to turn ideas into realities. They've looked at funding options, staffing diagrams, research plans, and curriculum design. They've talked to students, business leaders, community activists, social service agencies, and politicians. They've brainstormed, debated, argued, and thought outside the box. Then, in early August, they pulled it all together and submitted a final plan.

"It's been an incredibly busy three months, but what I think was most exciting about being involved with an Action Team was the chance to plan and create with faculty and staff from across the campus," said Rene Gratz, professor of health sciences. She co-chaired the team working on Knowledge Fest and saw the initial idea grow from one event into a dozen specific proposals for increasing the visibility of and opportunities for research at UWM. From a regular forum on ground-breaking work to a database that links faculty and staff to each other and the community, the potential to enhance opportunities at UWM is immense, said Gratz.

"Knowledge Fest is subtitled `A Community of Ideas,' and our goal has been to find ways in which we cannot only better partner with business or civic groups, but also how we can become a stronger UWM community of scholars and researchers, increasing our own awareness of the many interdisciplinary research partnerships that are possible," Gratz said.

The proposal for Knowledge Fest and those for the other First Ideas will be reviewed by an Evaluation Team, appointed by the chancellor and representing faculty, staff, students, administration, and the Milwaukee community. It will examine the reports, seek clarification, and make recommendations for how to move forward. One thing they'll be looking for is how well each proposal fits into existing UWM structures, programs, and research activities.

"The Milwaukee Idea is not a zero-sum game," said Zimpher, when asked how the action proposals will affect existing plans for expanding research and bolstering faculty. "It is not research or The Milwaukee Idea. It is not more faculty or The Milwaukee Idea. It is more and better of all as each gives rise to enhanced opportunities for the others."

Allen Zweben, director of the Center for Addiction and Behavioral Health Research, can see tremendous room for new research opportunities coming from the First Idea proposal he helped lead. Healthy Choices will engage campus and community in addressing tobacco, alcohol, and drug use. "This idea will help us partner with more organizations, provide us with new avenues for research, give us feedback on what are the key, community-based issues," Zweben said. "For example, we're proposing a database of articles, published by faculty and staff at UWM, relating to Healthy Choices. This will be a great resource for the community, but it will also show us where the knowledge gaps are and where there are opportunities for additional, creative work. There's a lot that needs to be done."

It's been only a year since The Milwaukee Idea was introduced to UWM. Faculty, students, and staff have been involved in one of the campus's most inclusive exercises in vision-making. Since then, ideas have been generated, plans created, and the first steps taken to make The Milwaukee Idea part of the fabric of the university. But, as Zweben said, much remains to be done.

In the coming months, the proposals approved by the Evaluation Team will be forwarded to the appropriate committees and governance groups for implementation. New ideas will surface and new connections will grow. And, in the process,
UWM will continue to become a more
engaged university, with deep roots in a tradition of learning and scholarship.