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Our History

The Student Parent Success Program, formerly known as the Life Impact Program, was established in 2005 as a collaborative effort between the Jane Bradley Pettit Foundation and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. These efforts resulted in a 6-year pilot program that provided scholarship and supportive services to select UWM undergraduate student parents. With additional campus and community support, the Life Impact Program continued to support student parents for another 10 years, surpassing it’s pilot program status. In 2021, our program adopted a new model and name to make parent-friendly academic and social services available to all student parents. Our new campus community model offers holistic support for all UWM students with children, including undergraduate, graduate, and international students.

Our Mission

Providing UWM students with children holistic support designed to empower parents and improve their families’ overall economic and social success. 

Program Services

SPSP provides a comprehensive array of social supports, intended to improve student parents’ academic performance and graduation rates, and to prepare student parents for satisfying, family-supporting careers. Below is a list of some of the services and programming we provide for UWM students with children:

• Access to a support team that assists students with their personal and professional needs
• Professional Development and Leadership Opportunities
• Access to campus liaisons for a variety of campus departments
• Mentoring–connecting student parents with UWM student parent graduates
• A lending library for resources on parenting skills, professional development, and self-care
• Family friendly activities including:
  • Children’s Leaning Center Playdates
  • Family Movie Nights
  • Family Bowling
  • Student Parent Panther Prowl 5K Team
  • Workshops and Lunch and Learns on parenting topics
  • Student-Parent Social Events