Wisconsin Academy: Names Alison Alter as new development director

Contact: Jason A. Smith, communications director

Madison—The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters recently named Alison Alter as their new development director. Alter is the former associate director of the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy (WAGE), an interdisciplinary research center that promotes understanding of globalization and its governance in Wisconsin and beyond. At WAGE, Alter fostered cutting-edge research on important issues and worked closely with faculty and students to help Wisconsin and the nation successfully meet the challenges of the global economy. Alter also worked with WAGE’s partners to leverage resources and host over one hundred events a year.

“I’m inspired by Wisconsin’s historical success as an incubator for new ideas,” says Alter, “and I see the Wisconsin Academy playing a key role in furthering that mission across the disciplines.” Alter values the Academy’s emphasis on the power of ideas and culture to enrich our lives here in Wisconsin, and she notes “how important it is to have a resource that brings clarity and objectivity to important issues in this 24–7 world.”

“We’re all very excited to have Alison on the team,” says Wisconsin Academy executive director Margaret Lewis. “Her passion for our mission, experience at two UW institutions, outstanding communication and organizational skills, and successes in grant making, partnership development, fund leveraging, and local fund-raising, all make her a wonderful addition.” Alter assumed her new duties as development director on September 20, 2010.

Alison Alter earned a BA in Public Policy from Stanford University and received her PhD in political economy and government from Harvard University. Before her position at WAGE, Alter previously served as an assistant professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, as a post-doctoral lecturer at Stanford University, as a grant-writer for Save the Children Federation, and as a board member for Preschool of the Arts. Alter currently chairs the campaign to renovate Olive Jones Park, a city park adjacent to Randall School in Madison. Through the addition of new playground equipment, landscaping and murals, and an amphitheater, the campaign group hopes to transform the urban park into a place where the community can play, gather, and grow together.

About the Wisconsin Academy

The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters connects people and ideas for a better Wisconsin. Founded in 1870, the Wisconsin Academy provides a place where people who care about culture, nature, and the challenges of our times can gather for fruitful discourse and meaningful action. Wisconsin Academy programs include the James Watrous Gallery at the Overture Center for the Arts, a gallery by and for Wisconsin artists; Wisconsin People & Ideas, our quarterly magazine about Wisconsin thought and culture; Academy Evenings, our statewide series of public forums; and the Wisconsin Idea, a public policy program—the most recent of which focuses on “The Future of Farming and Rural Life in Wisconsin.” For more information, please visit wisconsinacademy.org .