05 Sep Grants power two decades of statewide impact
By Mary Ellen Gabriel, UW School of Medicine and Public Health
The University of Wisconsin’s medical school would not be the UW School of Medicine and Public Health without the Wisconsin Partnership Program (WPP), a grantmaking program celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Historically, WPP was created to manage and disburse funds awarded to the medical school through the non-profit-to-for-profit conversion of Blue Cross & Blue Shield United of Wisconsin, which catalyzed the school’s transformation into the nation’s first combined school of medicine and public health. Funding from WPP helped launch the Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine (WARM), Master of Public Health (MPH) program and many other innovative education initiatives, ensuring that public health would always inform teaching and learning in the school. WPP also funds many community-led projects to advance health and health equity.
Combining the power of academic research with community knowledge, WPP strives to address the most pressing and complex health challenges in Wisconsin. Over the last 20 years, WPP has awarded 636 grants totaling $301 million to propel research, enhance the health workforce, strengthen communities and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more…