University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor Eva Golos created a graph of the USGS data illustrating the moment the tremors reached the Midwest.
July 31, 2025
Research
UW-Madison professor grades the state’s nearly 600 water utilities
University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor of Public Affairs Manual Teodoro has issued report cards for nearly every water utility around the state as part of his Wisconsin Waterworks Excellence Project.
“The idea here with the report card is to signal to the public where utilities are doing well, and where they are doing poorly in a way that is easily accessible,” said Teodoro.
Higher Education/System
UW-Madison creates entrepreneurship unit amid campus-wide budget cuts
The University of Wisconsin-Madison plans to create a new administrative unit to collaborate with the business community amid campus-wide budget cuts, led by a new Associate Vice Chancellor for Entrepreneurship who will drive business growth at the university “beyond patents.”
Budget agreement includes funding for virtual mental health services on smaller UW campuses
The 2025-27 Capitol Budget passed at the beginning of July includes $7 million for virtual mental health services to University of Wisconsin students at all campuses apart from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The inclusion of the funding follows a bill introduced by Sen. Jesse James, R-Thorp, and Senate Republicans on June 2 to address mental health issues among UW System students.
Federal loan changes in Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ could squeeze UW-Madison students
New federal loan restrictions passed as part of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act are expected to reshape how thousands of students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison pay for their education, potentially increasing reliance on private loans and reducing access for low-income families.
WPR to cancel ‘University of the Air’ show amid funding uncertainty
Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) announced plans in late June to cancel “University of the Air” along with three other legacy shows in part because of federal and state funding challenges.
Can A.I. help revitalize Indigenous languages?
Like the Skobot, most new A.I. technologies developed by Native scientists are designed for a specific language community. Jacqueline Brixey, a computer scientist formerly at the University of Southern California and now joining the University of Wisconsin, created a chatbot called “Masheli” that can communicate in Choctaw. Drawing from a collection of animal stories, the chatbot can listen and respond to users in both English and the target language, helping conversational skills.
Campus life
UW Athletics coy about hosting more concerts at Camp Randall
Given how well this summer’s concerts at Camp Randall Stadium were received, music fans might not have to wait another 28 years to attend another.
“The overall success of these shows demonstrates that we are capable operationally of hosting more shows and there is definitely an appetite and demand for more in the future,” said Mitchell Pinta, deputy athletic director and chief revenue officer for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s athletics department.
UW-Madison Related
US Senate confirms Trump nominee Susan Monarez as CDC director
Monarez, the first CDC director without a medical degree since 1953, holds a PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research focused on developing technologies to diagnose, treat and prevent infectious diseases.