Nonprofit conservative law firm Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) filed a federal complaint against UW-Madison for what it claims are race-based scholarships.
The organization filed the complaint with the U.S. Department of Education under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, claiming UW-Madison operates 22 race-based scholarships for the 2025-2026 academic year that exclude students based on their racial background according to claims by the organization.
Parents of transgender children in the Madison region are scrambling for alternatives after two of Wisconsin’s largest pediatric hospitals halted gender-affirming care for minors, leaving scarce options in the state.
Madison-based UW Health and Children’s Wisconsin in Milwaukee confirmed this week that they are pausing gender-affirming care for those under 18 years old. The health systems’ decisions follow pressure from U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s announcement on Dec. 18 of new rules and a warning that the federal government could pull funding from hospitals if they offered gender-affirming care to minors.
Brady Collins was on camera next to University of Wisconsin football coach Luke Fickell late in a number of Badgers broadcasts this season.
Collins, the program’s director of strength and conditioning, is one of Fickell’s close friends whose positivity has helped stabilize emotions and the Badgers’ struggles. While Collins tried to keep Fickell’s and players’ eyes looking forward to success around the corner, his mind raced regarding what he and the strength staff could do better.
John Blackwell couldn’t believe the question.
The junior guard had lifted the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team to a stunning finish in Tuesday’s 78-75 win over Minnesota at Williams Arena, scoring 20 of his 27 points in a second half that was capped by a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.
A national conservative student group has filed a civil rights complaint against UW-Madison, asking the U.S. Department of Education to investigate the university’s use of race-based scholarships.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, on behalf of its client Young America’s Foundation, filed the complaint on Monday with the U.S. Office for Civil Rights, alleging UW-Madison is offering at least 22 illegal race-based scholarships during the current school year.
John H. Van Vleck, who grew up in Madison and attended and taught physics at the University of Wisconsin, won the Nobel Prize in 1977 for his work on magnetism. In his Nobel lecture, amid a discussion of rare earth elements, one sentence leaps out:
“Miss Frank and I made the relevant calculations.”
Who was Miss Frank? Van Vleck credits her with key work on the quantum mechanics of magnetism, but she is almost absent from the history books.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is dramatically reducing the number of vaccines it recommends to all American children, taking six off the list that have been considered routine for decades.
University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have unlocked a potential new treatment to target an incurable form of childhood cancer with the help of a fast-producing pest known for swarming kitchen produce.
Professors Melissa Harrison and Peter Lewis used fruit flies to to study how cellular pathways are misregulated by a cancer-causing mutant protein. The pesky bugs were perfect lab subjects for the project because two-thirds of the cancer-causing genes in humans are shared by fruit flies.
In the heart of Milwaukee’s North Side, Stark Park thrummed like a drumbeat at the center of the neighborhood, wrote Freddie Owens, the former University of Wisconsin basketball player turned author.
It was the early 1990s and the neighborhood bore the bruises of a city wrestling with the crack epidemic, poverty and crime, he opined in his book, “Echoes of Stark Park.”
As the new year approaches, a survey from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine shows that half of American adults plan to start new diets. Dietitians, however, caution against extreme restrictions and unrealistic goals.
Registered dietitian Brianne Thorton of UW Health said, “Dieting has not changed much. It just looks different with a different name on top.”
Better bike lanes, electric buses and more charging stations for electric cars – these are all ways cities can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change.
But for those who think curbing the planet’s warming is a lofty goal, two Wisconsin researchers are trying to show how these actions can improve human health – and perhaps prevent Milwaukee residents from scoring worst in the nation in one key measure.
Four Wisconsin universities reported hazing incidents on their campuses in the wake of a new federal law mandating disclosure of hazing violations.
“Banking” DNA from endangered regional animals is under consideration by UW researchers. Then we talk to another researcher on campus, Sathya Chandra Sagar, about his work on a global study of bird calls.
Gabby Mullally, a fourth-year medical student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is applying for residencies and plans to specialize in anesthesiology. She knows she would be working with patients during times of heightened anxiety, namely right before someone undergoes surgery.
That’s why she took an improv theater class this past semester.
Years living with an autoimmune disease meant it was a matter of when, not if, Adam Barnes would need a liver transplant.
That time was approaching after he was hospitalized for a blocked bile duct in 2024. The idea of seeking a living donor came up but there was something about it that turned him off.
As uncertainty around federal funding for researchers at the Universities of Wisconsin is expected to continue into the new year, their new discoveries will, too.
From a new eco-friendly way to create plastic to meeting the person behind the state’s insect research, the findings across the UW system didn’t slow down in 2025.
It’s a coincidence that the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team was preparing for a game against No. 5 Purdue on Saturday at the Kohl Center as coach Greg Gard was posed with a question about … well, a host of happenings in the “wild, wild world” of major college basketball — G League players and former NBA draft picks gaining NCAA eligibility, and programs making midseason additions that will play in the spring semester.
There were many hot topics in higher education in 2025. Here are five of them.
Dear Tom,
It’s hard to believe it’s been more than 11 years since we lost you. A lot’s happened since then, and now seemed like a good time to bring you up to speed.
You never even found out that you were voted the Sportswriter of the Year in Wisconsin for the third time in your career. There it is on the National Sports Media Association’s website: 2014 — Tom Mulhern, Wisconsin State Journal, Madison. Page down and you can see your name in 2005 and 2010, too.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Police are investigating stickers that appeared on campus encouraging violence against federal immigration agents.
Republicans are pointing to the imagery as another example of the hostile climate conservatives face on college campuses.
College is notoriously a time of exploration and experimentation. At a school like the University of Wisconsin-Madison — one of the top party schools in the country — many students say they see that reflected in the campus dating scene.
Dean Emerit of the School of Nursing Linda D. Scott died Monday at the age of 69, the University of Wisconsin-Madison announced Tuesday.
Scott stepped down as Dean just six days ago due to health reasons, moving her retirement up from June 2026. She was the first Black dean of the College of Nursing — and the eighth dean ever — and spent almost ten years in the role, being appointed in July 2016. She led expansions to the program as well as the school’s centennial celebration.
niversity Health Services (UHS) is celebrating Men’s Mental Health Month with a series of events advocating for male students’ mental and physical health.
The month of November is often known as ‘Movember’, a time dedicated to promoting men’s health and breaking stigmas surrounding mental health and masculinity. A recent survey from The Healthy Minds Network reported 31% of college-aged men have said they experienced depression.
In an online presentation Nov. 17, associate professor at the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Arizona Maha Nassar presented a history of Palestinian student activism and how students have used peaceful protest for change.
The secrets of Lake Mendota continue to be revealed.
The latest cache of ancient canoes discovered in the spring includes one estimated to be around 5,200 years old. It is now the oldest dugout canoe recorded from the Great Lakes region and the third-oldest in eastern North America, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society.
UW-Madison researchers at a new federally funded center on campus will examine how aging influences diseases, such as cancer and neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson’s.
Lawmakers also took up a measure to penalize the UW system and the state technical college system if they’re found to have violated the free speech rights of their students and staff. Another bill would require the UW system to drop any fees it levies for online-only classes. Both passed largely along party lines.
he Weather Guys’ Oct. 27 column noted that the Arctic is the world’s fastest-warming region. As the Arctic warms, the temperature contrast between the poles and mid-latitudes weakens, slowing weather systems over North America.
For Wisconsin, that means more multi-day heavy rains, multi-week summer droughts and occasional deep winter freezes, even as average temperatures rise.
Veronica A. King, 85 of Madison, Wis., passed away on Thursday, November 6, 2025 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison. Veronica was employed as a secretary in the Department of Plant Pathology at UW-Madison.
It’s an eventful moment in American higher education: The Trump administration is cracking down, artificial intelligence is ramping up, varsity athletes are getting paid and a college education is losing its status as the presumptive choice of ambitious high school seniors. To tell us what’s happening now and what might be coming around the corner, three university leaders — Sian Beilock, the president of Dartmouth; Michael Roth, the president of Wesleyan; and Jennifer Mnookin, the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison — spoke with Ariel Kaminer, an editor at Times Opinion. Their conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Student-athletes at the University of Wisconsin–Madison recently participated in an innovative NIL initiative called Next Level Prep, created by Twin Bridge Sports to highlight athletes’ authentic voices and elevate their personal brands. Twin Bridge describes Next Level Prep as “more than a campaign — it’s a platform that empowers student-athletes to inspire the next generation.”
In the Republican race for governor, Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann has some big ideas for the state’s public universities.
He said he is open to eliminating tenure protections for professors, would consider closing a four-year public university and sees merit in spinning off the University of Wisconsin-Madison from the Universities of Wisconsin, also known as the UW system.
Aging is the biggest risk factor for cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and cardiovascular disease, according to the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez discussed her support for increased funding for the University of Wisconsin System, saying tuition hikes are a “burden” for families in an interview with The Daily Cardinal Monday.
Author of ‘James’ — University of Wisconsin-Madison’s 2025-2026 Go Big Read book — Percival Everett discussed race and reading with UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin for the Go Big Read keynote address on Nov. 4.
It’s been said the best teachers can be judged by the success of those they mentor. In the case of Nobel Prize winner James D. Watson, who died this month at 97, a prime example is UW-Madison molecular biologist and biochemist Richard Burgess.
Dozens of political scientists, election experts and members of the public gathered in a UW-Madison conference room Friday to debate whether returning to a 19th century election process could empower voters and help turn back the United States’ slide toward authoritarianism.
The hemp industry is facing major uncertainty nationwide, but University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have developed a breakthrough strain that could protect farmers from potential fallout. The strain, named ‘Badger G’, was created at the Wisconsin Crop Innovation Center.
A new historical documentary, “Bucky!”, follows Wisconsin’s beloved mascot from his debut in 1949 to his current status as a state icon.
The Wisconsin Union is hosting their 22nd annual ‘Thanksgiving To Go’ program, providing homemade meals for members of the Madison community distributed on Nov. 26. Ordering is currently set to close on Nov. 18 at 9 a.m., or while supplies last.
Tom Jacobson, a Holocaust survivor and former civil rights attorney, discussed his experiences in Nazi Germany and his extensive achievements as an ardent civil rights activist on campus and in his career at UW Hillel Tuesday evening.
When lawmakers passed a new state budget this year, they approved a roughly $256 million increase in funding for Wisconsin’s 13 public universities. But that money came with strings attached, including new requirements for how much faculty need to teach.
When ChatGPT launched in November 2022, students almost immediately found uses for the new technology, sometimes over the objections of their teachers. But whether schools choose to ban or embrace it, AI has become a part of everyday life for students.
Question: What is lake effect snow?
Answer: Lake effect snow forms when cold air passes over the warmer water of a lake. As cold air moves over water, the lower layers are warmed and moistened by the lake below. This makes the air mass unstable. Evaporation increases the moisture content of the air mass, which is then precipitated in the form of snow on the land downwind.
Sometimes they are delivered alive in a Tupperware container that someone has neatly packed. Sometimes they arrive at PJ Liesch’s lab in a paper envelope, leaving him to piece together an insect’s broken wing or leg to identify it.
National Nontraditional Student Week is in November. Once considered outliers, adult students are enrolling in larger numbers and bringing much-needed perspective to college campuses.
ByHeart, the company linked to a botulism outbreak in infants, shut down one of its manufacturing plants this year after federal investigators found a series of safety violations, including a leaking roof and hundreds of dead bugs where infant formula was produced.
Around 20 people gathered on Library Mall Friday afternoon to demand that University of Wisconsin-Madison leadership reject the Trump administration’s plan to give institutions preferential federal funding who agree to policy changes aligned with addressing their critique of higher education.
The Associated Students of Madison (ASM) passed a resolution at a meeting Wednesday night calling on the University of Wisconsin-Madison to provide financial support for Open Seat Food Pantry.
ASM created Open Seat in 2016 as a pilot initiative to address food insecurity on campus. This year, the food pantry faces record-level demand for food amid a significant increase in visits. Over 2,500 visits occurred in September 2025 compared to 550 visits in September 2023, an increase of about 355%.
The Associated Students of Madison in an Instagram post Nov. 11 shared a message from The Open Seat, stating that they saw an exponential increase in shoppers among FoodShare uncertainty.
“The Open Seat is under-resourced and cannot handle the increasing level of need on campus,” the message said. “Even with increased financial support and the resumption of FoodShare benefits, our team will continue to struggle balancing our own education with the needs of our shoppers.”
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Speech and Debate Society (WSDS) is set to lose university funding and their advisor after this year due to budget cuts.
Leaders of the club said funding cuts could hinder the club’s goal to provide access and eliminate fees for all students interested. Immediate consequences include the removal of the team’s official coaching position, reduced competitive travel opportunities and added fees for the roughly 40 student members.
Educator and entrepreneur Roxie Hentz held “Bridging Continents: Empowering Youth and Reawakening Heritage,” at Ingraham Hall.
Hentz recently retired as the founding director of CEOs of Tomorrow, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help young people unlock their entrepreneurial potential, Hentz said.
“I just want to take you through a story of my life as I entered into the world of Africa, and how it actually changed my life,” Hentz said.
Hentz said she spent 19 years as an educator and integrated entrepreneurship education into teaching when she partnered with the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation will give nearly $207 million to UW-Madison and the Morgridge Institute for Research to boost research and future facility costs, the university announced Thursday.
UW-Madison School of Nursing Dean Linda Scott is stepping down effective immediately because of health reasons, the campus announced Wednesday.
Scott had announced Aug. 19 that she would leave the position in June and remain a member of the faculty. This year is Scott’s 10th in the role at the School of Nursing.
As the United States becomes more and more accepting of marijuana, many police and public health experts worry about the dangers people using those drugs pose on the road.
Heather Barkholtz has been experimenting in a laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to try to understand how cannabis products affect people’s driving.
For artist and educator Emily Nott, who has had chronic migraines since she was 7 years old, learning about disability justice concepts was “life-affirming.”
“Having ideas at my fingertips like spoon theory and bed activism were ways to not fold those experiences in on myself and hide them and feel shame about them,” she told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.”
Now, Nott is sharing these ideas more widely with “Crip Wisdoms: A Feminist Disability Studies Coloring Book,” a handmade art booklet, or zine, that pairs quotes, poems and reflections on disability justice with interactive pages for writing, coloring and other activities. She created it with Miso Kwak, a fellow graduate student in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
About half as many students in the Universities of Wisconsin system are getting bachelor’s degrees in ethnic and gender studies as did at their peak in 2013.
Bachelor’s degrees focusing on gender and ethnic groups have been on a steady decline, from 157 in the 2012-13 school year to 67 in 2023-24, according to Universities of Wisconsin data reviewed by the Badger Institute. In the most recent school year, 2024-25, the total number rebounded slightly to 82.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin sat down with The Madison Federalist for a wide-ranging sit-down interview on Thursday, November 5th. She discussed topics including the Wisconsin Exchange, intellectual diversity on campus, and the performance of the Badgers football team.
A Veterans Day Program took place at Memorial Union on Tuesday celebrating veterans and marking a century since Memorial Union’s dedication to service members.
The Memorial Union is dedicated to fallen UW Madison service members.
University of Wisconsin students were notified via email Tuesday that UW Police Department has received four reports of electric scooter theft since Oct. 17.
Two scooters were stolen outside the Nicholas Recreation Center, one was stolen outside Sellery Hall and the other was stolen outside the Computer Sciences and Statistics building, according to the email.
