Chancellor announces final-round MIU awards
The Madison Initiative for Undergraduates (MIU) has granted $4 million to 19 projects to complete its third and final round of funding.
The final allocation will go toward the hiring of an additional 24.5 faculty positions in innovative or high demand programs, bringing to 80 the number of faculty positions that the program has funded.
Proposed by Chancellor Biddy Martin in 2009, MIU is a successful example of how flexibility and curricular innovation can improve undergraduate education, says Provost Paul M. DeLuca Jr.
“The positions and programs funded by MIU have loosened bottlenecks in high demand classes and majors, while also addressing important student service needs,” he says.
“With this final round, we’ve received even more proposals that provided innovative curricular options to students,” adds Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning Aaron Brower, who coordinated the program. “We’re proud of the remarkable success and impact that we’ve had on this campus in such a short time.”
In this final round, 56 proposals were made from schools, colleges and units across campus. The first two rounds disbursed funding of $3.8 and $8.2 million.
In the final round, funding for faculty lines will be provided to:
- College of Letters and Science, School of Journalism and Mass Communications;
- College of Letters and Science, Department of Political Science;
- School of Nursing, The Future of Care Project;
- College of Letters and Science, Department of Philosophy;
- College of Letters and Science, Department of French and Italian;
- College of Letters and Science, Department of English;
- Teaching Academy, Madison Program for Teaching and Learning Excellence;
- College of Letters and Science, Department of Communication Arts;
- College of Letters and Science, Department of Mathematics;
- College of Letters and Science, Department of Sociology;
- School of Education, Undergraduate Certificate in Education & Educational Studies, and,
- College of Engineering, Campus-Wide Engagement of Undergrads in Society’s Engineering Grand Challenges.
Funded for student service and academic support projects include:
- School of Education, Campus-wide Shared Advisor Notes System;
- College of Letters and Science, Department of Chemistry;
- School of Education, Design Lab, a digital composition center;
- Division of Student Life, Building BRIDGES Across Campus;
- Division of Student Life, McBurney Disability Resource Center Transition Services Program, and,
- Division of Enrollment Management, Common Scholarship Application.
As in earlier rounds, the review process included both a student board and the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates Oversight Committee, which is composed of students, faculty, staff and administrators. A group of top-rated proposals was then recommended to Martin.
The Madison Initiative for Undergraduates, approved in 2009, involves a supplemental tuition charge to improve the quality and long-term value of undergraduate education while also providing funds for need-based aid.
Interested members of the campus community may also email Sheila Voss at svoss@provost.wisc.edu to receive access to the Madison Initiative MyWebspace page.
Tags: learning