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University of Wisconsin Colleges and UW-Extension Honored for Diversity Program

Last Updated: October 26, 2009 Related resource areas: Diversity Across Higher Education

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Diversity award recognized college enrollment, broadcast program topics and more.

Released October 8, 2009

MADISON, Wis. –– The State Council on Affirmative Action and the Office of State Employment Relations announced today that the University of Wisconsin Colleges and University of Wisconsin-Extension will receive the Council’s 2009 Ann Lydecker Educational Diversity Award for their Multicultural Awareness Program.

David Wilson, chancellor of UW-Extension and the UW Colleges said the award, "is truly an honor for our institutions and is a great testimony to how we live our strategic priority of diversity."

The award states that through focused training and workshops, the Multicultural Awareness Program "meets the needs of diverse students and clientele and encourages development of a welcoming and responsive environment where differences are recognized, understood, appreciated and leveraged to achieve greater productivity and creativity."

Wilson said UW-Extension and the UW Colleges could take pride in several areas of progress in diversity in the past several years:

  • UW Colleges students of color have increased by 41 percent from 2005-2008 and retention of students of color is at its highest rate ever.
  • Broadcasting and Media Innovations, a division of UW-Extension, continues to win statewide and national awards for its diverse programming including Wisconsin Public Television’s "Way of the Warrior" program and Wisconsin Public Radio’s "Bridging the Shores: The Hmong-American Experience" documentary. These programs have been broadcast in many states beyond Wisconsin.
  • A Small Business Development Center (SBDC) partnership from the division of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development resulted in the launch of 70 new Latino-owned businesses in south-central Wisconsin in 2008.
  • UW-Extension’s Cooperative Extension division continues to reflect its diverse audiences by reaching out through classes and publications in Spanish and Hmong and by taking educational opportunities into communities, including public health clinics, community gardens, schools, libraries, neighborhood centers and Head Start centers. Twenty-six percent of Wisconsin Nutrition Education Program participants are people of color.
  • UW-Extension’s division of Continuing Education, Outreach and E-learning continues to grant funds to support continuing education diversity efforts at the 26 UW campuses.

The 2009 Ann Lydecker Educational Diversity Award will be presented to the UW Colleges and UW-Extension at an awards presentation Nov. 12, 2009, from 1 – 2:30 p.m. at the State Capitol, Senate Parlor. All are welcome to attend.

The University of Wisconsin Colleges is comprised of 13 freshman-sophomore campuses which offer an associate degree in arts and science and prepare students of all ages and backgrounds for baccalaureate and professional programs. The University of Wisconsin-Extension includes Cooperative Extension offices in 72 counties and three tribal nations, 12 Small Business Development Centers and Outreach and E-Learning programs delivered via the 26 UW System campuses and distance-learning channels, as well as the statewide networks of Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Television.

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http://www.uwex.edu/news/2009/10/uw-colleges-and-uw-extension-honored-for-diversity-program

Editor: Howard Cosgrove, (608) 262-9871


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