Odyssey Project

Krista Uelmen from Krista & The Morning Rush spoke with Kevin Mullen, Assistant Professor & Co-Director of the UW Odyssey Project, and Mark Español, Odyssey Beyond Bars Alumni & DJ.

Read about Jenny Pressman’s award-winning work for the UW Odyssey Project as well as her life story that shapes who she is and what she does for her community.

The gift to the Odyssey Future Fund will support the UW Odyssey Project’s long-term sustainability and student success for years to come.

The UW Odyssey Project celebrates 20 years and invites the community to the Chazen Museum of Art for a celebratory event on April 20.

Five Odyssey alumni share how writing has helped shape their life and the world.

After serving 38 years in prison, Robert Taliaferro returned home in January 2022. As he walked away from Oakhill Correctional Institution in Oregon, Wisconsin, he carried with him more than 175 college credits and a resume that included editing an award-winning prison newspaper.

In fall 2023, veterans can start a new UW Odyssey Project course tailored to them. Read about the program and learn how to apply now!

The UW Odyssey Project offers a free, two-semester humanities course for adult students facing economic barriers to college.

Great news! The Odyssey Project is receiving $500,000 from the recent federal spending bill signed by President Biden.

Read about new funding for the Odyssey Project from the CUNA Mutual Group Foundation.

The Odyssey Project celebrated Bob Auerbach, father of Odyssey Co-Director Emily Auerbach, receiving the 2021 Outstanding Individual Philanthropist award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals-Greater Madison Chapter for his support of Odyssey and other charities.

Students, staff and community came together to recognize the 18th graduating class of UW–Madison’s award-winning program.

The pilot project will deliver introductory college courses in English to incarcerated students who are interested in post-secondary education but are not yet enrolled in a credential-granting program.

Congratulations to Professor Baron Kelly, joining the prestigious College of Fellows of the American Theatre in the honorary society’s next incoming class.

The Oct. 3 event will feature talks by local leaders, voting information and winners of the “Why Vote?” contest.

In his village of Koumea in Togo, Africa, 8-year-old Hezouwe Walada watched nearly half of his community—including three of his young cousins—die of malaria in early 2000. He decided then and there he wanted to become a doctor. After 20 years, nearly 6,000 miles and a host of trials and tribulations, Walada started at the University of Wisconsin–Madison through the Odyssey Project.

It takes a village to create hope for the future. In the midst of challenging times, the University of Wisconsin–Madison Odyssey Project has secured funding…

In the midst of a highly insecure time, the University of Wisconsin–Madison  Odyssey Project  secured $3 million in gifts, a base for the future of…

Even a pandemic cannot dampen the spirits of these graduates. In a Zoom ceremony that included more than 200 people, participants were treated to a…

Brian Benford describes his educational journey as full of “potholes, roadblocks, angst and unfulfilled dreams. Starting in the 1970s, I attended many schools only to…

The UW–Madison Odyssey Project received a generous gift of $50,000 from the Oscar Rennebohm Foundation to support Odyssey’s mission of breaking the cycle of generational…

The award-winning UW–Madison Odyssey Project can claim another accolade. They set a fundraising record at the Madison Club’s annual Charity Gala, raising more than $200,000 to provide educational access to adults living at the poverty level and wraparound services to empower them and their families to transform their lives.

Odyssey Project students share stories of trial and triumph

Three-quarters of Odyssey Project graduates take more college courses after completing the program’s credit-bearing humanities class.