2024 Reilly-Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment awards granted

The Wisconsin Idea is expansive and inspires mutually-beneficial collaborations addressing diverse issues that range from strengthening access to entrepreneurship resources for Wisconsin’s newcomers to co-designing lake research with tribal communities in northern Wisconsin.   

Eight projects and 12 seed grants from the Reilly-Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment show a range of how UW–Madison faculty, staff and students can collaborate with community members to co-create and share knowledge and solutions that benefit and enrich the lives of the people of Wisconsin, the nation and the world.  

The competitive grant program honors the legacy of Ineva Reilly Baldwin and Ira Baldwin. Ineva spent her professional career in university administration, holding a number of assistant and associate dean positions, championing student well-being and raising the profile of the arts and humanities. She lived nearly a century and, in that time, left an enduring mark as a philanthropist and civic leader. Ira was a longtime UW professor, researcher and administrator, and served as dean of the Graduate School and the College of Agriculture and as vice president for academic affairs. The Reilly-Baldwin endowment, at the time it was gifted to the university, was one of the largest gifts ever received by UW–Madison. 

The Office of the Provost invites proposals for new outreach and public engagement activities that partner with community organizations for the 2025 Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment grant competition. The deadline to apply is Sept. 30. See the information session dates and times. 

Project

The projects receiving larger grants (up to $120,000) are:

A Whoopensocker of an Arts-based Literacy Program

Erica Halverson, Professor, Curriculum and Instruction, School of Education

Megan Monday, Director of Education, PBS WISCONSIN 

Creating an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem for Refugees

Sarah Schlosser, Outreach Program Manager, Organizational and Leadership Development, Division of Extension

Lindsey Farnsworth, Outreach Program Manager, Community Food Systems, Division of Extension 

Creating Worker-Owned Cooperative Businesses with Women, BIPOC, and Immigrant Workers

Charity Schmidt, Outreach Specialist, UW Center for Cooperatives, Division of Extension

Courtney Berner, Outreach Program Director, UW Center for Cooperatives, Division of Extension 

Engaging Wisconsin’s Native Americans in Social Science Research

Yoshiko Herrera, Professor, Political Science, College of Letters & Science

Natalie Jones-Kerwin, PhD student, Political Science, College of Letters & Science 

Phenological Initiatives for INdigenous Peoples in Limnology (PhIN) Project

Raymond Allen, Honorary Fellow, Center for Limnology, College of Letters & Science

Gretchen Gerrish, Scientist III, Center for Limnology, College of Letters & Science 

Supporting Locally Meaningful Chemistry Learning

Ryan Stowe, Assistant Professor, Chemistry, College of Letters & Science 

Wisconsin Latino Immigrant-Serving Organizations Project

Carolina Sarmiento, Associate Professor, School of Human Ecology

Armando Ibarra, Professor, School for Workers, Division of Continuing Studies 

Supporting Survivors of Tech-Enabled Intimate Partner Violence in Rural Wisconsin

Rahul Chatterjee, Assistant Professor, Computer Science, College of Letters & Science 

Seed Projects

The projects receiving seed grants (up to $4,000) are:

Building A Physical Activity Program to Increase Access, Inclusivity, and Well-Being in Adolescents

Morgan Shields, Academic Program Manager, Department of Kinesiology, School of Education 
Yadira Aleida Ortiz, Student 

 Caregiver Pain Points and Joy Points:  Public Research to Promote Dialogue About Family Caregiving 

Kristin Litzelman, Associate Professor, School of Human Ecology 

Centering Filipinx Narratives in American Politics: A Pathway to Advancing Community Well-being

Hadley Rahrig, Postdoctoral Trainee, Department of Psychology, College of Letters and Science

Christine Wilson, Scientist III, Center for Healthy Minds, College of Letters and Science 

Community-based Adoption of a Mobile App for Adaptive Horseback Riding for Children with Autism

Beth Fields, Assistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology, School of Education

Benazir Meera, Research Associate, Department of Kinesiology, School of Education  

Creating Equitable Sports Opportunity (CESO) in Wisconsin

Maria Dehnert, Research Program Coordinator, Intercollegiate Athletics

Peter Miller, Professor, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, School of Education 

Culture Across the Waves: Supporting Global Irish Heritage Learners

Rebecca Shields, Instructional Administrator, Language Sciences Program, College of Letters and Science 

Developing a Community-Aging Research Agenda with Older Adults at Risk of Health Disparities

Diane Farsetta, Outreach Program Manager, School of Nursing 

 Intergenerational Housing Model and Evaluation Protocol: A Co-created Theory of Change 

Uchita Vaid, Assistant Professor, Department of Design Studies, School of Human Ecology

Jung-hye Shin, Professor, Department of Design Studies, School of Human Ecology 

 Pharmacists as Allies: Referring High Fall Risk Older Adults to Tai Chi Prime Community Classes  

Betty Chewning, Professor, School of Pharmacy

Ejura Salihu, Teaching Assistant, School of Pharmacy  

Reducing Food Insecurity and Waste Through Free Food Alert

Travis Blomberg, Campus Resource Coordinator, Department of Sustainability, Facilities Planning and Management 

Emily Johnson, Zero Waste Project Assistant, Department of Sustainability, Facilities Planning and Management   

Oral Histories of Union Coal Mining and Energy Transition on the Navajo Nation

Ericka Wills, Assistant Professor, School for Workers, Division of Continuing Studies