The SCO recently received an Outstanding Partner Award from the UW-Stevens Point GIS Center. The award was presented at the Geography/Geology Department annual banquet on May 1st in Stevens Point.
The award was given in recognition of the SCO’s “inspiration, collegiality and dedication to advancing geospatial activities and ideas throughout Wisconsin and beyond its borders.” The office was commended for exemplifying “the significant advancement that can be achieved in working together to solve complex societal problems using geographic information systems.”
The award was presented by Doug Miskowiak, Education Specialist at the UW-Stevens Point GIS Center. Miskowiak highlighted examples of the SCO’s commitment to fostering collaboration and partnerships between educational institutions in Wisconsin. He linked these efforts to the “Wisconsin Idea” and the office’s broad statewide focus. Miskowiak mentioned three projects in particular:
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The Capstone Certificate in Geodesign is a joint UW-Madison/UW-Stevens Point online program in Geodesign, and one of only a handful of Geodesign programs being developed in the country. This program is currently going through the review and approval process. The SCO assisted with the development of the program proposal by coordinating the efforts of the two institutions.
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The SCO partnered with UW-Stevens Point and UW-Eau Claire to develop a proposal for the UW System’s Program Innovation Grant program in 2013. The group proposed the development of a multi-campus research incubator for Unmanned Aerial Systems. Although the proposal was not funded, collaborations of this sort demonstrate how talent and resources distributed across institutions of the UW System can be pooled to respond to specific needs.
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The SCO also assisted with the Menominee Place Names Project, an effort to map Menominee place names in Wisconsin. This project, spearheaded by the Museum of Natural History at UW-Stevens Point, led the creation of an award-winning map by UW-Stevens Point student Joe Martell, which was showcased at the May 1st banquet.
In accepting the award on behalf of the SCO, Howard Veregin, State Cartographer, noted that inter-campus cooperation is a priority for the office. Such cooperation can serve to strengthen programs through the unification of talent and resources, which ultimately serves the interests of students, the UW System, and the state as a whole.