campus" and to "serve and stimulate society" with a goal "to meet the state's workforce needs". After a negative reaction from politicians and the public, the Wisconsin Idea was restored to the budget proposal. Following the attempted removal of the Wisconsin Idea and in response to broader political trends at the time, the University of Wisconsin-Madison along with former Sociology staff member Patrick Brenzel created the course and public lecture series “Forward? The Wisconsin Idea, Past & Present” in 2015. When Brenzel conceived of the course, he had hoped it could “reinvigorate a broader, multidisciplinary conversation about how we (UW faculty), within our specialties, can re-engage with the people of Wisconsin.” First facilitated by Chad Alan Goldberg in 2016, the course has had various professors guide the course since its creation. With over 70 guest lecturers having presented on topics ranging from public health to limnology, the course aims to identify challenges to the promise of the Wisconsin Idea in the 21st century. In politics The Wisconsin Idea, in United States History, also refers to a series of political reforms of the late 19th century and early 20th century whose strongest advocate was Robert M. La Follette, Sr., Wisconsin's governor (1901–1906) and senator (1906–1925). The Wisconsin Idea was created by the state's progressives to do away with monopolies, trusts, high cost of living, and predatory wealth, which they saw as the problem that must be solved or else "no advancement of human welfare or progress can take place". Reforms in labor rights were one of the major aspects of the Wisconsin Idea. The progressive worker's compensation program was first introduced by German immigrants, who were abundant in Wisconsin. The system was adopted from the existing system in Germany, which was based on the idea that the employer was obligated to take care of his employees and keep paying them as they grew old. Many of the reforms were based on traditions and customs brought to the state by German immigrants. The emphasis on higher learning and well-funded universities stressed by the Wisconsin Idea was derived from the education system of Germany. Progressives also proposed the first state income taxes, as well as submitting the idea of a progressive tax. They also passed legislation prohibiting pollution and police brutality. The Wisconsin Idea would go on to set an example for other states in the United States. The progressive politicians of the