The Office of Strategic Communication manages official university statements for publication, including copyright, equal opportunity compliance, and UW–Madison’s biographical overview.
Copyright
The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System is the copyright owner of electronic and print materials created by University of Wisconsin departments. Any website that falls within the UW–Madison brand hierarchy and all print materials produced for UW–Madison units should include the copyright symbol and the year of publication, e.g.,
© 2024 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion — Institutional Statement
Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW–Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinions enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals. The University of Wisconsin–Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background—people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.
EO/AA (Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action) Compliance Statement
State and federal regulations, as well as university policy, require that certain information appear on University of Wisconsin–Madison publications, demonstrating the university’s commitment to equal opportunity and accessibility. The EO/AA compliance statement must appear on all University of Wisconsin–Madison publications. There are three official versions:
- a condensed version for posters and postcards
- an abbreviated version for publications with space limitations
- a long version for use in catalogs and employee information, recruiting materials and other official publications
Condensed Version
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is an equal opportunity and affirmative action educator and employer.
Abbreviated Version
The University of Wisconsin–Madison does not discriminate in its employment practices and programs and activities on a variety of bases including but not limited to: age, color, disability, national origin, race, or sex. For information on all covered bases, the names of the Title IX and Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinators, and the processes for how to file a complaint alleging discrimination, please contact the Office of Compliance, 361 Bascom Hall, 500 Lincoln Drive, Madison WI 53706, Voice 608-265-6018, (relay calls accepted); Email: uwcomplianceoffice@wisc.edu.
Long version
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is committed to providing equal opportunity and equal access and to complying with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations and University of Wisconsin System and university nondiscrimination policies and procedures. For information on all covered bases, the names of the Title IX and Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinators, and the processes for how to file a complaint alleging discrimination, please contact the Office of Compliance. The Office of Compliance is located at 361 Bascom Hall, 500 Lincoln Drive, Madison WI 53706 and can be reached at Voice: 608-265-6018 (relay calls accepted); Fax: 608-263-4725; Email: uwcomplianceoffice@wisc.edu.
The following are the nondiscrimination bases for covering students and applicants for admission to the university; university employees and applicants for employment at the university; and those wishing to take part in university programs and activities, including visitors to campus.
Students/Educational Programs:
- age
- ancestry
- color
- creed
- disability
- ethnicity (specifically involving harassment by UW employees)
- gender identity or expression
- marital or parental status
- national origin
- pregnancy
- race
- religion
- retaliation for opposing discrimination, making a complaint of discrimination or taking part in an investigation relating to discrimination
- sex
- sexual orientation
- or any other category protected by law, including physical condition or developmental disability as defined in Wisconsin Statutes § 51.01(5).
Employees/Applicants:
- age
- ancestry
- arrest record
- color
- conviction record
- creed
- disability
- ethnicity (specifically involving harassment by university employees)
- gender identity or expression
- genetic information including genetic testing
- honesty testing
- marital or parental status
- military service
- national origin
- pregnancy
- race
- religion
- retaliation for opposing discrimination, making a complaint of discrimination or taking part in an investigation relating to discrimination
- sex
- sexual orientation
- use or nonuse of lawful products off the employer’s premises during nonworking hours
- veteran status
- declining to attend a meeting or participate in any communication about religious matters or political matters, or any other category protected by law
Visitors and Program Participants/University Activities:
- age
- ancestry
- color
- creed
- disability
- national origin
- race
- retaliation for making a complaint of discrimination, or taking part in an investigation relating to discrimination, or opposing discrimination
- sex
- sexual orientation
Also covered is any other nondiscrimination category that may be subsequently added, even if not included in the above list, as a result of federal or State of Wisconsin court, legislative, or regulatory action, or action taken by UWS or the university.
Additional campus resources: Address questions concerning sex discrimination to the Title Ⅸ Coordinator: Assistant Vice Provost, Director of the Office for Equity and Diversity, 179-A Bascom Hall, 500 Lincoln Drive, Madison, WI 53706; Voice 608-263-2378; WTRS: 7-1-1; Fax 608-263-5562. Questions concerning disability can be addressed to the Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator: Director, Office of Administrative Legal Services, 500 Lincoln Drive, Room 361 Bascom Hall, Madison, WI 53706, Voice 608-263-7400; Fax 608-263-4725.
McBurney Disability Resource Center: Students seeking disability related accommodations in order to participate in the university’s programs or activities should contact the McBurney Center at: 702 W. Johnson St., Suite 2104, Madison, WI 53715; Voice 608-263-2741; Text 608-225-7956; Fax 608-265-2998. Other resources for disability issues on campus can be found on the Americans With Disabilites Act Coordinator website.
Land acknowledgment
For extended guidance on how to develop a land acknowledgment statement recognizing that the UW–Madison campus occupies ancestral Ho-Chunk land, visit the Tribal Relations website.
Funding statement
For projects that use private, non-university funds, when possible, please include the following statement about the funding source:
“This publication was published with private funding.”
Mission statement
UW–Madison’s mission is “to provide a learning environment in which faculty, staff, and students can discover, examine critically, preserve, and transmit the knowledge, wisdom, and values that will help ensure the survival of this and future generations and improve the quality of life for all.”
The following phrase may be used as needed:
“To create, integrate, transfer, and apply knowledge.”
UW–Madison overview text
The following copy blocks can be used by campus units that wish to include an overview of UW–Madison in publications or other communications.
Short version
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public, land-grant institution that offers a complete spectrum of studies through 13 schools and colleges. With some 50,000 students from every U.S. state and 123 countries, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of Wisconsin’s state university system. UW–Madison is a formidable research engine, ranking eighth among U.S. universities as measured by dollars spent on research. Faculty, staff, and students are motivated by a tradition known as the Wisconsin Idea that the boundaries of the university are the boundaries of the state and beyond.
Longer version
In achievement and prestige, the University of Wisconsin–Madison has long been recognized as one of America’s great universities. On a lakefront campus that is considered among the nation’s most picturesque, this public, land-grant institution includes a complete spectrum of liberal arts studies, professional programs, and student activities. Many of its programs are hailed as world leaders in instruction, research, and public service.
The university traces its roots to a clause in the Constitution of the State of Wisconsin, which decreed that the young state should have a prominent public university. In 1848, legislators passed a bill that formally created the university, and its first class, with 17 students, met in a Madison school building on February 5, 1849.
From those humble beginnings, the university has grown into a large, diverse community, with some 50,000 students enrolled each year. These students represent every county in Wisconsin, as well as countries from around the globe, making for a truly international population. Both throughout its history and today, the university has sought to bring the power of learning into the daily lives of its students through innovations such as residential learning communities.
UW–Madison is the oldest and largest campus among the Universities of Wisconsin, a statewide system of 13 universities with campuses across the state. One of two doctorate-granting universities in the system, UW–Madison has the specific mission of providing “a learning environment in which faculty, staff and students can discover, examine critically, preserve and transmit the knowledge, wisdom and values that will help insure the survival of this and future generations and improve the quality of life for all.”
The university seeks to achieve these ends through innovative programs of research, teaching, and public service. UW–Madison research has fed a steady stream of inventions and life-improving ideas, from fuel-efficient engines to cutting-edge genetic therapies. Students, faculty and staff are motivated by a tradition known as the Wisconsin Idea, described by UW President Charles Van Hise in 1904 as the compelling need to carry “the beneficent influence of the university … to every home in the state.” The Wisconsin Idea permeates the university’s work and helps forge close working relationships between university faculty and students and the state’s industries and government.
UW–Madison has more than 480,000 living alumni with chapters in more than 100 cities worldwide.