UW South Madison Partnership Community Celebration

All members of the community are invited to join the UW South Madison Partnership (SMP) for its third Community Celebration on Thursday, August 25.

The free, family-friendly event, to be held from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the SMP space at the Village on Park, 2238 S. Park St., is open to all. The celebration will feature a complimentary food truck, music, games, face-painting, and a visit from both Bucky Badger and UW–Madison’s new chancellor, Jennifer Mnookin.

Chancellor Mnookin, Alder Sheri Carter, Judge Everett Mitchell, and poet Dr. Fabu Carter are scheduled to make remarks at 4:30 pm. Food will be available by the time Bucky arrives at 5:30 pm.

The event will showcase new murals by local artist Lilada Gee and an exhibit of photos of South Madison by local photographer Hedi Rudd. Mark Espanol, current Odyssey Project student and alumnus of Odyssey Beyond Bars, will DJ the celebration live.

“The relationship between UW–Madison and our surrounding community continues to grow and deepen,” says Brenda González, UW–Madison’s Director of Community Relations. “We’re excited to celebrate the South Madison Partnership’s bigger, better space and to finally welcome everyone inside to see what’s happening.”

This will be the first Community Celebration held since SMP moved into its new, larger space—four times the size of its prior office—in 2020. The UW South Madison Partnership opened in 2015 to connect UW–Madison with an area of the city whose residents historically have had less access to university programs and resources.

About the UW South Madison Partnership

Opened in 2015, the UW South Madison Partnership (UWSMP) is a University of Wisconsin–Madison initiative to foster mutually beneficial relationships with the South Madison community in a way that is responsive to its needs. Equipped with multi-use classroom spaces, a computer lab, meeting rooms, co-working spaces, a kitchenette and an open gathering space, the SMP provides space for community members to engage with UW–Madison closer to home.

Programming at the UWSMP includes the UW Odyssey Project, which offers a free humanities course for adult students facing economic barriers to college, the Neighborhood Law Clinic, which provides a range of legal and advocacy services to low-income community members, and dozens of other programs and partners focusing on health, education and other services. Find out more at https://communityrelations.wisc.edu/south-madison-partnership/overview.