If you've ever studied higher education in this state, you've likely heard of the "Wisconsin Idea."
It's a philosophy born during the country's Progressive Era that binds the University of Wisconsin system to the aims of the state. It’s been embraced since being introduced by former UW System president John Bascom in the late 1800s.
J. David Hoeveler, a professor in UW-Milwaukee's history department, says he’s always been fascinated with the concept. He explores its history and evolution in his latest book, John Bascom and the Origins of the Wisconsin Idea.
The book takes stock of Bascom's intellectual career, then stops and asks how it plays out among people who become the 'second generation' of the Wisconsin Idea.
Although Bascom wasn't the first figure to use the phrase "Wisconsin Idea," Hoeveler credits the former UW president as its greatest advocate. He says Bascom believed university research should help solve problems faced by Wisconsin residents, and that he encouraged students and professors to work for the betterment of their state.
"The pursuit of truth is to be open-ended, and never permanent," Hoeveler says, paraphrasing Bascom's ideas. "We never reach absolute conclusions. And once we begin to do that, we cease to be a university. That's John Bascom."
Many of Bascom's contemporaries -- including longtime Wisconsin politician Robert La Follette and UW system president Charles Van Hise, both former students of Bascom's at UW-Madison -- also contributed to the evolution of the Wisconsin Idea.
Hoeveler says Bascom had a big influence on these men, most importantly with his ideas about the role of the state and the role of the university as an intellectual center.
"This is what's unusual, that there's a congealing of people who have ideas about what education should do, how the state is important in people's lives and really try to articulate that," Hoeveler says. "There's a[n] intellectual renaissance here that is unmatched by any other institution at the time. Wisconsin, to me, stands out particularly in that way."
Hoeveler says university leaders have also always stressed academic freedom and the pursuit of truth as part of the Wisconsin Idea.
The concept is unique to Wisconsin, Hoeveler says. University faculty have historically played a critical role in the legislative process, by way of lending their expertise to reform legislation, participating in different state commissions and performing outreach from the university to other areas of the state.
Hoeveler adds that this may have something to do with the fact that the state's flagship university is located on the streets of the state capitol: Madison.
The Wisconsin Idea has most recently been invoked in the debate over tenure protections for UW system professors. Many tenure advocates argued that the new, more "watered down" version of protections weakens the Wisconsin Idea.
Hoeveler agrees. "Academics has become highly specialized, and the 0ne-to-one relationship between the university and the Capitol is much more nebulous," he says.
Hoeveler will appear at Boswell Books Wednesday night at 7 p.m. to talk about his book, John Bascom and the Origins of the Wisconsin Idea.
