Media library offers alumni more ways to learn online

An online media library created by the Wisconsin Alumni Association (WAA) offers University of Wisconsin–Madison graduates a new way to stay connected to the university by enjoying access to lectures by popular UW–Madison professors and alumni.

The media library makes its debut with two central collections: lectures from the Global Hot Spots series, featuring topics in international studies, and archived lectures by Charles Anderson, a renowned professor emeritus of political science and integrated liberal studies, who taught at UW–Madison from the 1960s to 1996.

Visitors to the media library can listen to the lectures online through streaming audio or by downloading clips directly to a computer.

Sarah Schutt, senior director of alumni education, says the project grew from the discovery of available archival material, plus a strong desire from alumni to access more educational material online.

“People say ‘I’d really like to come back for this program, but I can’t. Will you have it online? Is there somewhere I can get a download of it?'” Schutt says. “This library is a way to serve the needs and interests of our alumni and learners.”

Future additions to the library will include more offerings from the Wisconsin Alumni Lifelong Learning program, which consists of various enrichment programs that help bring together alumni in an educational setting. WAA, in partnership with the Division of Continuing Studies, offers nearly 100 learning events each year in Madison, around Wisconsin, throughout the United States and online.

Eventually, Schutt hopes the media library will expand to include a wide range of learning opportunities, campus speakers and events, and other alumni programs. The library may also serve as an interactive place for conversation between alumni and professors or various experts.

“Getting the word out about what faculty and staff are doing on campus helps people stay in touch with what is happening on campus, and at the same time, be personally enriched by it,” Schutt says. “They can make a choice to really engage in something that is meaningful to them.”