UWM to host 250 students for seminars tied to Democratic convention

MILWAUKEE _ The Washington Center has selected the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as its university partner for the Campaign 2020: National Conventions seminar for the Democratic National Convention in July.

The center chose the University of North Carolina at Charlotte for the Republican National Convention in August. In both cases, the center sought as partners higher education institutions committed to experiential learning and possessing exceptional facilities to host the 150-250 students and faculty from across the United States who will participate in the unique two-week seminars.

Students and faculty spend the first week on the host campus, followed by a second week experiencing the convention through fieldwork. Participants actively engage with the convention city, gaining hands-on knowledge while interacting with public officials, policy experts, party leaders and renowned media outlets throughout the seminar period.

As part of the partnership, both UW-Milwaukee and UNC Charlotte will be granted 10 scholarships (valued at $4,300 each) for their students to participate. The Washington Center will also hire one faculty member from each academic partner to serve as a faculty leader.

“UW-Milwaukee is delighted to provide this momentous opportunity to our students,” UWM Chancellor Mark Mone said. “The Washington Center makes possible this life-shaping experience where students are not simply observers – they are active participants in our nation’s history-making political process. Our campus community is committed to working together to reduce apathy, increase engagement, and graduate civic-minded students prepared to solve the pressing challenges that face our nation and the world.”

The Washington Center’s convention seminars have been part of every national party convention since 1984. Combining traditional academic structure, experiential learning and dynamic expert speakers, this seminar remains the preeminent academic convention programming, offering incomparable size, scope and access.

“The national conventions are extraordinary exercises in American democracy, and we are fortunate to partner with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte as our campus hosts for 2020,” said Chris Norton, Washington Center president. “Both institutions embrace the type of experiential learning and civic engagement TWC celebrates. We welcome the opportunity to partner once again with UNC Charlotte and look forward to our relationship with UW-Milwaukee. It is thanks to partners such as these that we are able to provide students with experiences to explore citizenship, engage in debate and make transformative professional discoveries that determine careers.”

The Washington Center is the largest and most established student internship program in Washington, D.C. Since its founding in 1975, it has served more than 60,000 young people.

The deadline for applications is March 25, 2020. To learn more, contact info@twc.edu or visit the seminars’ webpage.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.