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University of Wisconsin–Madison

In no other state in the union has any university done the same work for the community that has been done in Wisconsin by the University of Wisconsin.
Theodore Roosevelt, 1911

Is the tradition that Theodore Roosevelt wrote about in 1911 still alive and well? The University of Wisconsin–Madison was recently ranked the second largest research organization in the country. But is this research relevant to the social and economic problems of today, and is it used in ways that are valuable to people in their homes, businesses, and communities?

The History of Making Universities More Relevant

Like other states, Wisconsin's tradition of serving the community was influenced by three federal laws that officially recognized that higher education should pursue knowledge that was practical and widely useful. Through the 1862 Morrill Act, the federal government granted land to each state and specified that the proceeds from these land sales be used to establish land-grant universities. These universities expanded instruction in the classroom by including the children of farmers and other ordinary people, but also beyond the classroom by providing scientific insights and answers to people's problems. The Hatch Act of 1887 created agricultural experiment stations that studied what farming methods would work best given local terrain, soil, and weather. Although these land-grant universities and their experimental stations were generating research on issues of practical importance, often this knowledge did not reach the people it could benefit. The final link was the 1914 Smith Lever Act, which established a cooperative extension system in each state to disseminate this knowledge directly to citizens who needed it.

Unlike other states, however, Wisconsin operates under the century-long tradition of the Wisconsin Idea—making the boundaries of the university the boundaries of the state. Historians point to several prominent examples of how the state and the nation benefited from the university's commitment of service to the state. For example, the federal Social Security Act, widely recognized as the foundation of U.S. social programs, was drafted by a Wisconsin professor. Another professor was the principal architect of the nation's first unemployment compensation and minimum wage laws (Knox & Corry, 1995).

We contend that the Wisconsin Idea is still alive and well in several departments and institutes across campus. We focus here on the largest and most diverse program in applied developmental science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the Department of Human Development and Family Studies. It is the most cross-disciplinary of the applied behavioral science programs on campus, with its connection to the Cooperative Extension System and its collaboration with the Schools of Education, Social Work, and Nursing to establish a training program in prevention and intervention science.

The Human Development and Family Studies Program

The applied nature of the department is consciously highlighted by the first words appearing on its Web site: “MISSION: Bridging Research and Action. Improving the quality of life by discovering, integrating, applying, and disseminating knowledge about human development, families, and their larger social contexts.”

Historically, the department was established as an applied, problem-oriented, cross-disciplinary unit, in contrast to traditional disciplines like psychology and sociology. The faculty have degrees from many disciplines, including psychology (developmental, clinical, community), sociology, anthropology, and education. The department was established in the same era that created schools of agriculture with faculty from biology and botany and schools of engineering with faculty from physics and chemistry. In each case, the intent was to establish a unit that utilized the science of multiple traditional disciplines in order to address complex societal issues.

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