Historical Reckoning at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

The UW-Madison Public History Project was born in 2019 with a broad mandate to uncover and give voice to the many groups across the institution’s history who experienced and challenged discrimination and exclusion on campus and who, through their courage, resilience, and actions, worked to make the university a better place. The project surveys over 175 years of history and puts special emphasis on public engagement. The project’s premiere exhibition, Sifting & Reckoning, had over 23,000 visitors in 3 months and was accompanied by a digital exhibit website, curricular materials, an event and lecture series and more - all aimed at fostering the difficult work of historical reckoning on campus. Kacie Lucchini Butcher, the Project’s Director, will reflect on the initial successes and challenges of the project as well as the permanent future of the project as it transitions to the Rebecca M. Blank Center for Campus History in the summer of 2023.