Newsletter

A letter from Lisa

December 2025  

‘Tis the season for gift giving. UW-La Crosse announced a tremendous gift this holiday season, and it will have a significant impact on preparing talent for the AI era.

The National Science Foundation awarded UWL a $400,000 grant through its Enabling Partnerships to Increase Innovation Capacity (EPIIC) program. Over the next three years, the funding will support UWL in building the infrastructure needed to become a hub for innovation-driven business partnerships, with a focus on technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI).

Innovation at UWL can also be found in the School of Education, where a new model for teacher preparation has been launched to help with the nationwide teacher shortage. The university is piloting the UWL Paid Teacher Residency Program in partnership with the La Crosse and Onalaska School Districts. This pilot program is providing a full year of hands-on classroom experience alongside skilled mentors in both general education and special education, while providing them with a $30,000/year scholarship.

And we can’t forget the innovative partnerships happening within UWL’s College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CASSH). UWL CASSH classes in subjects like English, Anthropology, Philosophy and Political Science are teaming up with local organizations to work on industry problems and provide deliverables to those partners through our Community Engaged Learning program. Students receive hands-on, real-world experiences, and the partnering agency receives possible solutions, fresh new ideas, and access to potential new employees.

At UWL, we are grateful for the giving spirit that surrounds us, whether that comes in the form of time, talent or treasure.

Warm wishes to all,

Lisa 