MADISON — Newly released data illustrate the vital partnership between Green County and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The Wisconsin Idea Database project, which tracks UW’s connections with communities across the state, identified the following data and partnerships in 2022-2023:
● UW-Madison and 22 county businesses and organizations brought $323,000 in purchasing agreements to Green County in FY23.
● Green County undergraduates received $509,476 in grants, scholarships, and other merit- or need-based gift aid from UW-Madison.
● Hundreds of other individual projects that benefit the entire state, including Green County.
“UW-Madison’s tradition of improving lives beyond campus, known as the Wisconsin Idea, is integral to the university’s culture and mission,” notes Crystal Potts, senior director for state relations and statewide outreach. “The Wisconsin Idea Database project tracks the many ways UW-Madison fulfills that promise to people and communities across the state of Wisconsin.”
Expanding access to higher education
As of fall 2023, of the 112 undergraduates from Green County enrolled at UW-Madison, about 16%, or 18 students, were receiving aid covering the full amount of tuition and fees through either Bucky’s Tuition Promise or the Badger Promise. New opportunities for Green County students to access a UW-Madison education include Bucky’s Pell Pathway and the Wisconsin Tribal Educational Promise.
The university awarded $509,476 in grants, scholarships and other institutional gift aid to Green County resident undergraduates in 2022-23. Overall, more than 65% of all UW-Madison students who graduated in 2022-23 graduated debt-free. At least 1,574 UW-Madison alumni live in Green County, including 291 who graduated in the last ten years.
Training the state’s future health care professionals
Opportunities for on-the-job training are vital for UW-Madison medical, nursing and pharmacy students. UW-Madison works with more than 500 health care facilities around the state to place students in internships, rotations, preceptorships and other placements, including 6 in Green County.
Many graduates stay in state and continue to provide high-quality care. At least 149 alumni of UW-Madison’s School of Medicine and Public Health, School of Nursing, and School of Pharmacy currently live in Green County.
Building Wisconsin’s economy
To accomplish its educational and research missions, UW-Madison partnered with at least 22 Green County businesses and organizations in the 2022-23 fiscal year, spending $323,000 on goods, services, and other expenses.
Employers from across Wisconsin seek out professional development opportunities at UW-Madison. During the 2022-23 fiscal year, employees of at least 2 Green County businesses and organizations benefited from courses offered by the UW-Madison College of Engineering’s Interdisciplinary Professional Programs (InterPro) and the Center for Professional and Executive Development in the Wisconsin School of Business.
UW-Madison remains central to advancing Wisconsin’s world-class dairy and cheese-making reputation. Thirty-seven different cheese manufacturers employ Master Cheesemakers (as certified by the Center for Dairy Research) at 45 Wisconsin facilities, including Green County’s Chalet Cheese Cooperative, Decatur Dairy, Edelweiss Creamery, Klondike Cheese Company, and Maple Leaf Cheese Cooperative.
Local collaborations, research and outreach
The Wisconsin Idea Database website details hundreds of individual collaborations between UW-Madison and Wisconsin communities, including 372 projects that benefit Green County.
One example is the UniverCity Alliance program, in which UW-Madison students and faculty work with Wisconsin counties and local governments to solve real-world problems. Participating students get valuable experience and local communities benefit from their work. In 2017, UniverCity began a partnership with Green County that ended in 2021. Find out more at https://
univercity.wisc.edu/greencounty/.
For more than a century, the UW Division of Extension has supported local leaders and volunteers all over the state in focus areas that include agriculture, health and well-being, families and finances and natural resources. In Green County, 836 people attended Extension events in 2022-23. Find out more about what Extension offers in Green County at https://green.extension.wisc.edu/.
Badger Talks is a unique program that connects UW-Madison experts with local communities around the state, engaging Wisconsin residents on topics they care about. UW experts hosted four free talks in Green County in 2022-23. Green County schools, businesses, associations, and professional and civic organizations can request a speaker online.
About the Wisconsin Idea Database project
The Wisconsin Idea Database project, managed by staff in UW-Madison’s Office of Strategic Communication, demonstrates the ways the university benefits every part of the state through career preparation, economic development, innovative partnerships and workforce development. It is part of a broader campus commitment to improving the lives of all Wisconsinites through world-class academics, research and service.
