W-Madison has named John Zumbrunnen provost after he’s served in the interim role since June, Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin announced Monday.
UW-Madison picks interim provost as permanent second-in-command
Wisconsin State Journal
March 10, 2026
Top Stories
Zumbrunnen named provost after interim stint
The Daily Cardinal
Interim Provost John Zumbrunnen has been selected to hold the role of provost permanently, beating out finalists Anna Stenport (the University of Georgia) and Charles Martinez Jr. (the University of Texas-Austin), the University of Wisconsin-Madison announced Monday.
John Zumbrunnen appointed as next UW–Madison provost
WKOW - Channel 27
John Zumbrunnen has been appointed as the provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin announced. The position is the second to the chancellor UW, managing all academic program and budget planning.
UW-Madison provost named executive vice chancellor for academic affairs
Channel 3000
John Zumbrunnen, who has served as interim provost for UW-Madison since June 2025, saw that interim tag removed Monday. He was also named the school’s executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin announced.
Interim leader named as UW-Madison provost
Wisconsin Public Radio
John Zumbrunnen has been named the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin announced Monday.
UW-Madison hires political science professor for provost position
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is tapping a longtime professor to fill one of its most important positions on campus.
John Zumbrunnen, 55, was named the provost on March 9, two months before UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin departs to become the next president of Columbia University.
Research
UW-Madison launches AI-powered research tool
The Daily Cardinal
Outgoing Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin praised the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s artificial intelligence initiatives in her address to the Board of Regents last month, including one new tool researchers have been using to partner with industry partners and collaborators.
Higher Education/System
How UW-Madison’s WSUM became the best campus radio station in the country
Wisconsin State Journal
On Feb. 21, the station took home one of the highest awards in college journalism: the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System named WSUM the best college station in the nation.
Kelsey Brannan, the director of student radio at WSUM — one of the station’s two full-time employees — said WSUM’s students provide listeners with authentic shows and music that aren’t replicated on other stations or streaming services.
“You’re hearing students bring in music that you’re not hearing anywhere else,” Brannan said. “They’re telling news stories from their perspective that you’re not getting from the national news or even local outlets — it’s a really unique perspective. You’re hearing sportscasters who are students who are calling the games that their peers are participating in. There’s something really special about that.”
Mount Mary offers a 3-year bachelor’s degree. Universities of Wisconsin could follow.
Wisconsin Public Radio
This year, Mount Mary University became the first college in Wisconsin to offer a reduced-credit bachelor’s degree.
The Universities of Wisconsin could soon follow.
Last week, the Board of Regents Education Committee unanimously approved revising a policy that would allow campuses to offer 90-credit degrees.
The approval on March 5 did not yet establish three-year degrees.
A critique of the new UW-Madison faculty survey
Inside Higher Ed
A new report by Alex Tahk, director of the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, reveals the results of an important survey of UW Madison faculty. But there are serious problems with the survey questions, and we need to be careful not to adopt Tahk’s claims about “ideological imbalance and its consequences” uncritically.
Campus life
Student groups, local bands unite for house show fundraiser for Sudan
The Daily Cardinal
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter, with help from the Madison Anarchist League chapter and several local bands, organized a fundraiser for Sudan at the Mousetrap on Feb. 28.
Current District 8 alder, UW College Democrats endorse candidate Ellen Zhang
The Daily Cardinal
Current District 8 Alder MGR Govindarajan, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison College Democrats, endorsed sophomore candidate Ellen Zhang in the upcoming Madison Common Council election on Thursday, citing her understanding of city government and ability to build relationships within local leadership.
State news
Bird flu outbreaks hit Wisconsin egg producer again, millions of hens impacted
Wisconsin State Farmer
Ron Kean, University of Wisconsin-Madison’s poultry specialist, told Wisconsin Public Radio that poultry producers are also growing frustrated by a lack of solutions in this new era of avian flu response.
“There’s going to have to be more work on vaccination, which is a big international political issue,” he said. “That I think is one of the big frustrations for the poultry industry.”
Wisconsin family navigates loss of gender-affirming care at UW Health
Wisconsin Public Radio
In December, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to bar hospitals from providing “sex-rejecting” services for youth under 18.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says that children may experience “irreversible damage” when exposed to puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgical operations at a young age — for example, infertility, impaired sexual function, diminished bone density and other irreversible physiological effects.
As a result, UW Health and Children’s Wisconsin halted what the health organization calls gender-affirming care in January. If hospitals didn’t abide by federal rules, they would lose funding for Medicare and Medicaid.
Pass NIL bill, Wisconsin Badgers athletics director urges lawmakers
The Cap Times
If state lawmakers don’t pass a college sports bill in the coming weeks, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s athletics department anticipates facing difficult financial decisions.
“Either we will need to reevaluate our expectations on the success of our sports, or we will need to reevaluate how they’re supported or how many of them exist,” Chris McIntosh, UW-Madison’s athletics director, said at a legislative hearing this month.
Arts & Humanities
American Family Field may go second straight year without big concert
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The dry spell is a swift reversal from back-to-back blockbuster years for concerts at American Family Field in 2023 and 2024.
It’s also happening as another Wisconsin stadium has entered the concert picture.
Camp Randall Stadium, home of the University of Wisconsin Badgers football program, hosted its first concerts since 1997 last year with Wallen and Coldplay, and has an AC/DC concert scheduled July 19. On top of that, Lambeau Field is back in the live music business – hosting its first concerts since 2019 with Luke Combs May 15 and 16 – with the Green Bay Packers’ new CEO and President Ed Policy vowing to book more events.