UW-Parkside Designated a Voter-Friendly Campus by NASPA and Campus Vote Project
Kenosha, Wis.- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside was named a Voter Friendly Campus, one of 272 campuses in 39 states and the District of Columbia by Fair Elections Center’s Campus Vote Project and NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. The initiative recognizes institutions that have planned and implemented practices that encourage their students to register and vote.
The mission of the 2025 Voter Friendly Campus designation is to bolster colleges’ and universities’ efforts to help students overcome barriers to participating in the political process – every year, not just during years featuring federal elections. UW-Parkside was evaluated based on a written plan for how it planned to register, educate, and turn out student voters in 2025, how it facilitated voter engagement efforts on our campus and a final analysis of these efforts.
As part of our effort to be designated a Voter Friendly Campus, UW-Parkside’s Election Experience facilitated a number of events aimed at helping students get involved with the democratic process. This nonpartisan program offered a variety of events designed to bring students, faculty, staff, and community members into conversation about U.S. elections, processes, democracy, and our larger political context.
The events included presentations by guest speakers, student research, art gallery exhibitions, panel discussions, interactive debate watch parties, and more. Programming was made possible by the UW-Parkside College of Social Sciences and Professional Studies and collaborations with the Tommy G. Thompson Center, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign (WDC), and the Andrew Goodman Foundation.
Professor Emerita Dr. Peggy James created the first Election Experience in 2012 with the goal of promoting participation in democratic engagements among UW-Parkside students and in the surrounding communities. Today, it continues to encourage civic learning and engagement throughout Kenosha and Racine counties.
UW-Parkside has made intensive efforts to inform students of their civic duty and prepare them to be engaged participants in our democracy. We are eager to continue refining our tactics, expanding our efforts, and engaging students through 2025 and beyond.
The institutions designated Voter Friendly Campuses represent a wide range of two-year, four-year, public, private, rural, and urban campuses, collectively serving over one million students.
Since its founding in 1968, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside has been a trusted partner for the region’s higher educational needs, empowering students to thrive, advancing applied knowledge, and developing talent for the future. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as certificates and pre-professional programs, designed to foster personal and professional growth through real-world and impactful learning experiences. Located in the dynamic Chicago-Milwaukee corridor, UW-Parkside offers unmatched access to world-class internships, professional networks, and endless career-building opportunities, placing students at the center of it all.
NASPA is the leading association for the advancement, health, and sustainability of the student affairs profession. Our work provides high-quality professional development, advocacy, and research for 15,000 members in all 50 states, 25 countries, and 8 U.S. territories.
Fair Elections Center is a non-partisan organization dedicated to safeguarding the future of our democracy through innovative efforts focused on voting rights and civic engagement. We use advocacy, litigation, organizing, education, and technology to protect and expand the right to vote, understanding the particular impact on disenfranchised, underrepresented, and marginalized communities. Fair Elections Center’s Campus Vote Project works with universities, community colleges, faculty, students and election officials to reduce barriers to student voting and helps campuses institutionalize reforms that empower students with the information they need to register and vote.
Media Contact:
Derek Fye
Communications Manager
University of Wisconsin-Parkside
fye@uwp.edu | (262) 771-5419