Featuring Lisa Klein

Lisa Klein leads community engagement efforts at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, focusing on ways the university and the surrounding community can work together more effectively. Lisa Klein works with the community at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse. Lisa is an alumna of UWL. Used to work in TV journalism. She has spent most of her career making connections. She supports projects that help the public. Now Lisa uses her experience to make partnerships and help students learn outside of class. She works with groups to bring the university and community together. Lisa Klein builds relationships between UWL and local organizations.

Turning Community Connections into a Working System

Many universities maintain relationships with local organizations, yet those connections often develop independently across departments and programs. The challenge is not creating partnerships. Building strong community partnerships requires more than creating connections. More challenging, however, is developing an environment that makes such relations possible.

Klein was employed by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2019. In particular, she was tasked with creating better ties between the institution and the local community through cooperation and collaboration. In connection with this task, some common approaches were introduced in order to promote communication and help different people communicate more effectively with each other.

A significant component of her job duties involves outreach. During the course of her first year in employment, Klein met numerous individuals and organizations from such spheres as the non-profit sector, civil society, government agencies, and the business world. Such interaction facilitated the establishment of communication and collaboration in the future.

Making Classroom Learning More Connected to Reality

One of the recurring questions in higher education is how students can apply academic knowledge before entering the workforce. Community Engaged Learning has become one avenue for addressing that challenge.

Klein has been really important in helping the Community Engaged Learning program at UWL grow. This program brings together teachers, students and people from the community to work on projects that really make a difference and also help students learn. The Community Engaged Learning program is the one through which the community can receive assistance from the university. This program also allows students to engage in solving real problems rather than academic coursework. 

 That shows how well it is working. It started with a few classes but now it has grown a lot and it gives students a chance to work with businesses, charities and community groups. The Community Engaged Learning program has students doing all sorts of things like researching, helping write grants and solving problems in the community.

For Klein, the objective is not simply participation. The emphasis remains on creating experiences that benefit both students and community partners through mutually beneficial relationships.

Building Trust Between Campus and Community

Partnerships succeed when organizations understand each other’s needs. Universities possess expertise, research capabilities and student talent. Community organizations bring practical challenges that can benefit from those resources. Connecting the two requires ongoing communication and trust.

Klein’s background in journalism continues to influence her approach. Years spent as a reporter, anchor and public communicator developed skills centered on listening, relationship building and identifying shared interests among diverse groups. Those abilities now support her efforts to connect faculty expertise with community priorities.

Klein's efforts aim to assist community-based organizations in engaging with university knowledge and expertise. She fosters collaboration by bringing university staff together with the local partners for projects. This is done to ensure that the university continues to play a role within the community and not act like another entity working parallel with the community.

The reason for such an approach to her work is due to the fact that building partnerships between communities and institutions is no easy task and requires proper dialogue and commitment from both sides. Through partnerships and CEL, she facilitates the bridging of gaps between the two entities.