Higher Education’s Role in Preventing and Responding to Gender-Based Violence (Opening Essay: August 2015 Special Issue of the eJournal of Public Affairs)

In the late 1800s an amazing transformation took place in American colleges and universities. Originating from the University of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Idea encouraged institutions of higher education to engage their resources and energies in working toward solutions to public problems. One of the main factors driving this notable shift in institutional focus was a democratic effort to extend the benefits of higher education to a wider portion of the community and to repay the public by serving its needs. In his commencement address at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2010, U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan said: