Our Mission
The UW South Madison Partnership (UWSMP) acts as a connector among Madison-area families, community organizations, and UW-Madison faculty, students, and staff.
We seek to foster mutually beneficial partnerships that reflect the priorities of the South Madison community. In our shared event and program space on South Park Street, the UWSMP promotes an environment of belonging, access, and awareness of both community and university resources, and opportunities for building quality relationships.
We are committed to strengthening our local communities and impacting positive outcomes in the areas of community development and civic engagement, education, and health.
Our Guiding Principles
Embrace co-creation.
We work with the Madison community and the university to create meaningful, long-lasting collaborations that address opportunities and challenges. We bring together community and university partners, establishing common understanding and a shared vision through transparent and collective participation in processes.
Cultivate diversity, inclusion, and belonging.
We integrate these principles into the fabric of our organization’s culture and structure because we believe they are fundamental to attaining positive outcomes. We prioritize maintaining an environment where all individuals and groups experience authentic belonging.
Build community.
We promote excellence in the areas of teaching, research, and outreach to foster purposeful partnerships for the betterment of our local community and beyond. We invest in building and sustaining quality relationships grounded in shared power and mutual benefit.
Advance social justice and antiracism.
We actively commit to exposing and fighting racism in ourselves, our institution, and our broader community through advocacy for equitable policies and practices. We recognize that the work of social justice and antiracism requires continuous education paired with action that explicitly challenges and changes both personal and institutional histories of racism, white supremacy, and violence against marginalized communities.
Seek growth through adaptability.
We pursue and are open to new ideas that support us in responding to the needs and complimenting the strengths of our community. We encourage curiosity, creativity, and innovation that challenge our organization to continually learn and grow.
Our Vision
Become a central resource, model, and catalyst for reciprocal partnership work that effectively bridges the needs of campus and the community by being:
- A responsive and reliable partner to the South Madison community with a long-term commitment to the well-being of those residing in the neighborhood.
- A center of connection between campus and community committed to growth through shared knowledge production and lifelong learning.
- A place of belonging that honors and celebrates people of all backgrounds.
- Trusted in upholding the highest standards of quality partnerships, where the work is sustainable, responsive, shared, and built on trust.
- Successful in improving awareness of and access to resources that impact social change.
Strategic Priorities
- Foster mutually beneficial partnerships between local community and campus partners.
- Enable co-creative, equitable, and sustainable use of UWSMP space.
- Listen and build trust with the South Madison community to responsibly contribute to the success of the neighborhood.
- Center community priorities, goals, knowledge, experience, and expertise in connection with student learning and community-engaged research.
- Act as an accessible bridge to UW-Madison resources of higher education, community capacity-building, and public research.
- Increase our capacity to identify opportunities for collaboration and better understand our impact so we can respond effectively and continue to improve as a partner.