Whitburn Center

Whitburn Center
Funding and Impact

Funding Sources

The Whitburn Center is 100 percent externally funded through a combination of private donations, competitive research grants, and fee-for-service revenues. Below are specifics of our funding sources by year:

2023:

  • Fee-for-service sub-contract with the Winnebago County Health Department to evaluate GO Transit students busing program: $11,500.
  • Competitive research grant from the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership for The Nonprofit Sector in Rural Wisconsin, Moving Towards Collective Impact: $69,455.
  • Private donation for general funding of Whitburn Center Operations, donor wishes to remain anonymous: $125.
  • Competitive National Science Foundation ADVANCED Program Grant. Whitburn Center is a subcontractor for the evaluation piece: $22,024.23
  • Private donation for general funding of Whitburn Center Operations, Scott and Laurie McCallum: $150.

2022:

  • Private donation for general funding of Whitburn Center Operations, donor wishes to remain anonymous: $25,000.
  • Private donation for general funding of Whitburn Center Operations, donor wishes to remain anonymous: $125.
  • Competitive research grant from the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership for Modernizing the Local Government Workforce in Wisconsin: $65,487.
  • Competitive research grant from UW Oshkosh Sustainability Institute for Assessing Social Vulnerability, Resilience, and Adaptive Capacities in East Central Wisconsin $19,937.16
  • Competitive National Science Foundation ADVANCED Program Grant. Whitburn Center is a subcontractor for the evaluation piece: $22,024.23
  • Fee-for-service for Fiscal Evaluation for the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce: $5,000.

2021:

  • Founding donation from Gerald Whitburn to be paid out over five years: $500,000
Student and Alumni Opportunities

The Whitburn Center engages UWO students and graduates in our work. Since 2021 we have:

  • Employed nine different students (undergraduate and graduate).
  • Provided tuition scholarships for graduate student employees.
  • Funded professional development activities for our students.
  • Rewarded funded fellowships to three MPA alumni.
  • Took two graduate students to present research at an academic conference.
  • Funded professional development activities for MPA students.
  • Created a formal MPA alumni board.
Events

Since 2021 we have held 16 events featuring MPA alumni, MPA students, and various state and community leaders. All events combine community interest with an educational component geared at connecting students to career success.

Research Impacts

The Whitburn Center has produced over a dozen work products on topics like Emergency Planning Resilience, board governance, fire districts, public workforce reform, public budgeting, and state finance. 

Partnerships/Collaborations/Presentations

We have worked with and/or presented to a large variety of partners, including: Winnebago County, City of Eau Claire, UW Extension, Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce, Wisconsin League of Municipalities, Wisconsin Towns Association, Wisconsin Counties Association, Wisconsin County and Municipal Management Association, Wisconsin Fire Chief’s Association, Sun Prairie School District, Leadership Oshkosh, Harvard Kennedy School, Wisconsin Association of School Boards, Pastors for Florida’s Children, League of Women Voters, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, American Society of Public Administration, Public Administration Theory Network, and more.

Media Hits

The Whitburn Center is a source of positive media coverage for UWO. Our work and experts have been featured in numerous state, local and national media outlets. Examples include: