Company Profile
Company Overview
The University of Wisconsin-Extension works in partnership with 26 UW System campuses, 72 Wisconsin counties, three tribal governments, and other public and private organizations to fulfill its public service mission. This is the “Wisconsin Idea” – extending the university’s boundaries to the corners of the state.
Through statewide outreach networks, UW-Extension also connects university research to the specific needs and interests of residents and communities. Educators, working on campuses and in communities, use up-to-date research and careful analysis to help Wisconsin people address economic, social and environmental issues.
Company History
In the early 1900s, University of Wisconsin President Charles Van Hise and Governor Robert LaFollette defined a third mission to be added to the teaching and research functions of the state University – a mission that would extend the resources of the University to serve the needs of Wisconsin people. These courageous leaders had a dream that gave birth to the Wisconsin Idea: extension of educational programs to address the relevant social, economic, environmental and cultural issues of its citizens.
The extension function of the University of Wisconsin was well established long before the creation of the University of Wisconsin-Extension as an institution. Wisconsin was one of the first states to institutionalize extension education and is nationally acclaimed for the innovative, progressive role of its University in relation to the people of the state. UW-Extension has a long, proud, and productive history of outstanding contributions to Wisconsin people and communities. In fact, many of Wisconsin’s institutions, organizations, traditions, and achievements as one of the most progressive states in the Union, are directly attributable to the Wisconsin Idea – education for people where they live and work, with practical applications for their daily lives.