The third annual Campus Showcase, sponsored by the Office of Quality Improvement and the Office of Human Resources, was held Wednesday at the Pyle Center. The focuses of this year’s showcase were campus climate and service excellence.

UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley said he defines “campus climate” as being broader than ethnic diversity. He also places weight on gender diversity in specific areas and intellectual diversity. He said the phrase should encompass all relations among faculty, staff and students.

Maury Cotter, spokesman for UW’s Office of Quality Improvement, attributed the successes displayed at the showcase to UW’s current leadership.

“It is no accident that there is this much focus on what’s important, clarity of priorities and momentum for change. That doesn’t happen without the kind of leadership that UW-Madison has now,” Cotter said.

Many well-known initiatives and groups around campus participated in the event, with more than 50 posters and displays — each depicting a unique service to the campus.

Chadbourne Residential College, the Multicultural Student Center, the McBurney Center for Disabilities, Women in Science and Engineering, SPEAKUP, University Health Services, My UW-Madison, the Allies Program, Cross College Advising Service and the Student Organization Office were all featured.

Plan 2008, a new program supported by the entire UW System, was spotlighted. The program attempts to bring students into the process of increasing campus diversity.

Brought to fruition last semester, Plan 2008 seeks to elaborate the link between diversity and quality education, making it one of the essential players in students’ campus climate.

Another highlighted group, Engineering Projects in Community Service, provides volunteers to help provide community service organizations with the technology needed to implement their services. Both engineering and non-engineering students from Madison make a difference in surrounding communities with their technological know-how.

Also participating in the event were keynote speaker Brent Ruben of Rutgers University, an expert on service excellence in institutes of higher education, and UW-Stout Chancellor Charles Sorensen.

Sorensen recently received the Baldridge award for his efforts to redefine leadership on the Stout campus and create an environment of transformational change. This is the first time a higher-education institute has received the award.

Chancellor Wiley said he hope the efforts displayed at the showcase would not diminish as time goes by.

“I’d like to challenge the Office of Quality Improvement to make these projects public domain, campus-wide, in order to magnify the impact of all the great efforts here today,” Wiley said.

Dean Pribbenow, event organizer and spokesman for the Office of Quality Improvement, shared Chancellor Wiley’s sentiments.

“An opportunity like today can serve as a catalyst for new partnerships,” Pribbenow said. “I think it provided clarity about what’s really important and what really matters. [Today] really strengthened the resolve towards campus climate.”