Ideas to Excellence celebrates undergraduates

Every spring, the academic and creative work of undergraduates is celebrated with numerous events at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

For the first time, and with the help of Provost Paul M. DeLuca Jr. and Vice Chancellor for Administration Darrell Bazzell, these achievements will be showcased under the name Ideas to Excellence, a fitting moniker for the celebration.

Banners with the name appear on Bascom Hall, and a variety of events can be found at http://learning.wisc.edu/ideas.

“The idea is to pull it all together under one umbrella and showcase the huge impact our students are having in all areas,” says Aaron Brower, vice provost for teaching and learning.

Events include:

• the 84^th annual Student Art Show from March 28 to April 26 at the Memorial Union, the 10^th annual Science Expeditions on April 14 at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery (WID),
• the Qualcomm Wireless Innovation Prize on April 18 at WID
• the 14^th annual Undergraduate Symposium on April 18 at Union South,
• the G. Steven Burrill Business Plan Competition on April 27,
• ESCAPE: 2012 Design Gallery and TASA Fashion Show on May 4 at Union South and many other events.

“Our students do really fantastic work in all areas – research, service work, fine arts and performances,” Brower says. “You name it.”

Employers and alumni are invited to attend, as well as the public.

“We’re trying to shine a bright light on these opportunities to interact with students,” says Laura Hewitt, coordinator of Ideas to Excellence.

There will be exhibitions, poster sessions, presentations and performances. The idea is for Ideas to Excellence to become a spring tradition.

“It’s so diverse,” Hewitt says. “It’s really impressive to see what happens here.”