Beer is a big part of Wisconsin’s culture. So it’s no surprise that the University of Wisconsin-Madison has an entire class devoted to brewing. We learn more about the science behind brewing and hearing about fermenting yeast, SCOBY and lactose.
In a sunlight-dappled room in UW-Madison’s Science Hall, between historical maps from around the planet, rests a world unlike the others: the fantasy land of Middle-earth.
Curated by Mark Fonstad, the exhibit showcases the hand-drawn maps, writing tools and stories behind the atlas depicting the “Lord of the Rings” realm his mother Karen Wynn Fonstad created.
Launched this spring, The SoulFolk Collective is the first research lab to be housed in UW-Madison’s Department of African American Studies. The group is made up of about a dozen undergraduate and graduate students and is led by Jessica Lee Stovall.
“As a Black studies professor,” Stovall said, “I’ve been really interested in the ways that we can create learning and research environments that are Black affirming, that center Black joy and Black liberation, Black organizing.”
Dr. Ahmed Elbayomy, a research fellow in neurological surgery at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and lead author on two of the studies said in a statement: “More research is certainly needed, but seeing the potential protection offered by these medications is a fascinating finding.”
Michaela Hoffelmeyer, an assistant professor of public engagement in agriculture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, recalled interviewing early-career queer farmers who worried that valuable internships and apprenticeships would place them in hostile work environments or unsafe communities.
Queer farmers may also be forgoing good farmland because they want to avoid harassment, Hoffelmeyer said.
While transparency is an important democratic value, the tone and substance of the piece ignore the real complexities of steering a major public institution through extraordinarily difficult times.
The UW administration is working diligently — behind the scenes and under intense pressure — to ensure the university’s long-term viability and academic excellence. That work deserves respect, not knee-jerk criticism.
“For example, if you’ve been immunized for polio, and then you get a measles infection, the immunity you had to polio could be wiped out or reduced,” said Malia Jones, a University of Wisconsin-Madison assistant professor in the Department of Community and Environmental Sociology. “You wouldn’t even know that you’re susceptible to some of this stuff.”
Wisconsin Watch spoke with two University of Wisconsin-Madison experts: Dr. Jim Conway, a professor in the Divisions of Infectious Diseases and Global Pediatrics; and Malia Jones, an assistant professor in the Department of Community and Environmental Health.
Written by Greg Wiercioch, a member of the clinical faculty at the Frank J. Remington Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School.
