Cory Tennison knows real-life legal drama isn't generated by surprise witnesses or courtroom confrontations like those on television shows such as Law & Order or The Practice.

Instead, the UW-Madison third-year law student will tell you about long, caffeine-fueled nights spent poring over boxes of trial transcripts, witness depositions, and DNA test results. But sometimes, burrowing through hundreds of pages of documents can unearth more drama and excitement than any television show or movie.

As a member of the Wisconsin Innocence Project, an arm of the Law School's Frank J. Remington Center, Tennison and two other students did exactly that. Their discovery of previously overlooked DNA evidence helped free Chris Ochoa, a Texas man convicted and imprisoned for a 1988 rape and murder he did not commit.

Ochoa's exoneration was the first for the Innocence Project, supervised by law professors John Pray and Keith Findley. Formed more than three years ago, the program investigates claims of innocence by convicts in state and federal prisons.

"The Innocence Project is the embodiment of the Wisconsin Idea," Tennison says about the concept that UW-Madison's boundaries extend to the state and beyond. "I had the chance, as a 22-year-old student, to help free an innocent man. That's an educational opportunity that cannot be matched."

Ochoa's release last January thrust the Innocence Project into the national spotlight. Yet, Pray says, Tennison is motivated by the search for justice, not media attention or a fat salary. "At a certain point in the Ochoa case, Cory took the ball and ran with it," he says. "From that moment on, he almost lived in my office and he spent an incredible number of hours working on every aspect of the case. But that's the kind of person he is. He jumps into everything he does all the way."

The St. Paul, Minnesota native and American University graduate has dreamed of being a lawyer since he was 8 years old. But, he says, the Ochoa case gave him a new perspective on the justice system — one that has shaped his career plans.

"For more than a century, the Wisconsin Idea has been a core value of UW-Madison — a value of extending the resources of the university in service to the state and nation — that sets us apart from universities around the world. Through the creation, application, transfer, and integration of knowledge, the Wisconsin Idea creates a partnership between the university and the people and resources of Wisconsin, the nation, and the world."

— Howard Martin,
Associate Vice Chancellor for Extended Programs

• The Wisconsin Idea — the belief that the university should serve not just its students, but reach out to the state and beyond — remains a central priority of the institution. The Morgridge Center for Public Service brings the concept to life by encouraging students to contribute to society while strengthening their educational and personal growth. The center serves as a clearinghouse for volunteer opportunities, connecting student and faculty volunteers to groups in need of hands and minds. During the past year, the Morgridge Center also has made strides in integrating community service into course work called "service-learning." Some 60 percent of students participate in some form of volunteerism by the time they graduate.

• The Wisconsin Idea Undergraduate Fellowships are special projects in which students, in collaboration with faculty, instructional staff, and community organizations, work to address problems or needs in the community. Supported by the Evjue Foundation, fellowships of up to $3,000 are awarded based on time required to complete a project. Popular subjects have included the arts, criminal justice, economic development, environmental issues, and hunger and poverty. However, topics range across the spectrum. Recent recipients are studying cancer care for minorities, working to increase organ donation, and improving job training for unemployed adults.

• The Wisconsin Idea also can find a voice in entertainment. The annual Wisconsin Film Festival, a public program of the UW-Madison Arts Institute, emphasizes state filmmakers in its "Wisconsin's Own" showcase. In highlighting their work, the festival hopes to discover another Michael Mann, the Academy Award-nominated director and UW-Madison alum. Held each spring, the festival is entering its fourth year. The 2001 festival lineup included 108 films, videos, or new media works representing 21 countries around the globe.

Graduate School staff provided a public service right on campus when they volunteered their time to add native Wisconsin plant species along the edge of Muir Knoll Woods.