Thousands of graduates filled Camp Randall Stadium Saturday as the University of Wisconsin–Madison celebrated its Spring 2026 commencement ceremonies.
The university says nearly 10,000 students are expected to earn degrees this spring, including bachelor’s, master’s and law graduates honored during Saturday’s ceremony.
Madison non-profit hospice group Agrace will break ground on its dementia village in two weeks, the first of its kind in the country.
The village is modeled after The Hogeweyk Village in the Netherlands.
Right now in the United States — caring for those with cognitive decline means prioritizing safety.
UW Madison hosted its first commencement ceremony of the year for doctoral, MFA and medical students on May 8.
Honorary degree recipient and UW graduate Speaker Tia Nelson spoke about her work in conservation and environmental protection. “The most complex problems we face will take more than persistence. They will take people with the courage to try something new,” Nelson said.
Health experts say Wisconsinites should not panic over recent international hantavirus headlines, despite concerns the outbreak could mirror the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Nasia Safdar, a professor of Infectious Disease at UW Madison, said the situation with the hantavirus outbreak is exceedingly rare.
A major cyberattack knocked out Canvas, an online platform used by about 9,000 schools across the country, including universities in Wisconsin, Thursday afternoon.
Saturday marked a huge milestone for the graduating class of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Just under 9,000 Badgers earned their bachelor’s, law, and master’s degrees at Camp Randall, starting a new chapter in their professional lives.
For the first time in 40 years, UW-Madison is launching a new college.
The university has named Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau as the founding dean of the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence, set to officially open on July 1.
As artificial intelligence continues to grow, so do its criticisms.
UW-Madison’s class of 2026 was left with a resounding message at its commencement ceremony at Camp Randall on Saturday: Find your purpose through times of uncertainty.
“Purpose is not a perfect plan, it’s a compass,” UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said to a sea of black graduation caps and gowns in the stadium. “It helps you decide what deserves your time, what deserves your courage, and what you may need to walk away from.”
Being a student at any age is a challenge, but returning to college as an adult with a job, caretaking roles and other responsibilities requires a special kind of balancing act.
Leslie Wright knows this all too well. After an attempt at college in the 1990s, she left and later earned her associate degree. Wright entered the workforce but stepped away to raise children. Through volunteer work and as a school board member in Oregon, she saw a need for mental health support in schools. She overcame obstacles to go back to school, and she’ll finish her bachelor’s in psychology this summer.
Already had a run-in with a tick this year?
You’re not alone.
Emergency room visits for tick bites hit their highest known level in southern Wisconsin and have been up across the state in recent weeks, according to data from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, which began tracking tick-related ER visits in 2022.
Most of the country has seen a similar trend, but it’s been especially pronounced in the Midwest, data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows.
The Office of the Independent Monitor, the agency responsible for independent oversight of the Madison Police Department, released a 31-page public memorandum lambasting the City attorney and Common Council members for obstructing the OIM’s independence April 21.
Wisconsin and Dane County are in bloom — and so is allergy season, which experts say is trending longer and becoming more severe for sufferers.
Tree pollen levels are high across Wisconsin this week, affecting many with seasonal allergies. While this spring’s pollen allergies may have arrived at a normal time, toward the end of March, trends in recent years point to earlier seasons that last longer, UW Health allergist Dr. Mark Moss said.
Some streets around Camp Randall will closed on Saturday due to the UW-Madison commencement ceremony.
Residents are asked to plan for extra time when traveling.
Starting at 6 a.m. the following streets will close to traffic and will reopen at 4 p.m. after commencement has finished:
North Breese Terrace, between Regent Street and University Avenue
Monroe Street, between Regent Street and North Randall Ave.
University of Wisconsin-Madison and the rest of the UW campuses are part of a nationwide outage of Canvas – an online platform used for assignments, grading and more – that is causing disruptions to final exams.
Testing for avian flu among Wisconsin dairy cows is being reduced, thanks to recent changes at both state and federal levels.
But one animal health expert worries that reduced support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture could leave continued surveillance of the highly-contagious virus on shaky ground.
Run Madtown’s Charity Chaser Runner beneficiary will be the Badger Challenge during a 5K race this month.
The Badger Challenge is a fundraising initiative supporting cancer research at UW-Madison.
A designated runner representing the Badger Challenge will start the Run Madtown Twilight 5K on May 23. Once the final participant crosses the start line, they will try to pass as many athletes as possible before reaching the finish line. For every 5K athlete passed, Run Madtown will donate $1 to the Badger Challenge.
A group of former University of Wisconsin officials and one lawmaker said better communication is key to building trust among Wisconsinites and overcoming disinvestment in the university as federal and state funding declines.
Questions about racially motivated voting restrictions gained new relevance last week when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a key component of the 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA) in Louisiana v. Callais (2026). The decision effectively ended the protections of the VRA’s Section 2, which sought to ensure that voters of color had fair representation in elections. This ruling now opens the door to the potential elimination of majority-minority districts in numerous states.
More than half of college students use artificial intelligence daily or weekly for schoolwork, according to new data from Gallup and the Lumina Foundation.
The Class of 2026 is the first to have had AI chatbots available throughout their four years of college.
Madison will be buzzing this weekend with family members and supporters of UW-Madison students in town for their graduation ceremonies.
UW-Madison has commencement ceremonies on Friday at the Kohl Center and Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.
The first dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s new College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence says the institution will be a vital non-industry leader shaping the future of AI.
Leaders in science, business, and government gathered in Madison on Tuesday to discuss the future of fusion energy.
The Fusion Summit at the Discovery Center brought together researchers, lawmakers, and more than one hundred companies exploring how Wisconsin could become a national hub for this emerging technology.
An ancient practice may hold significant benefits for your mental and physical well-being.
UW Health distinguished psychologist Dr. Shilagh Mirgain highlighted the benefits of therapeutic journaling.
Harm reduction tools like fentanyl and xylazine test strips have years of evidence behind their use, according to Dr. Elizabeth Salisbury-Afshar, a professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health and an addiction medicine specialist.
What are the true limits of life, will we even recognize it when we see it? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice explore the beginnings of life on Earth and what they might tell us about life everywhere else with astrobiologist and bacteriologist, Betül Kaçar.
The Madison school district unveiled its proposal for a new cell phone policy at a School Board meeting Monday, recommending an all-day ban for students in grades K-8 while allowing more leniency for high school students to use their phones during passing time and lunch periods.
At the meeting, some School Board members expressed trepidations about a full-day ban for K-8 students, while others questioned different aspects of the proposed policy.
Officials at the public flagship said in a recent court filing that the university may have to lay off up to 160 employees if it doesn’t get clarity on federal funding in the near future, The Cap Times reported.
At issue is an effort by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to impose conditions on financial disbursements. USDA has asked states to agree to conditions to continue receiving funding, including ensuring federal money won’t be used to “promote gender ideology” or diversity, equity and inclusion practices. In March, 21 states sued the USDA over the preconditions; though UW Madison is not a plaintiff, the state of Wisconsin is.
UW MedFlight is scheduled to land at the Iowa County Sheriff’s Office Wednesday evening as part of a training event.
The sheriff’s office said the training will occur at approximately 7 p.m.
Iowa County Emergency Services will be training with the UW MedFlight team on landing zone safety.
“For everyone’s safety, anyone wishing to watch should not park in our parking lot or along the roadway. Please use adjacent parking lots and remain a safe distance away,” Sheriff Michael Peterson said in a statement.
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On June 1, Maria Woldt will become the third director of the Dairy Innovation Hub, a state-funded initiative that brings together scientists, farmers, businesses, and educators to explore new ideas to ensure Wisconsin’s $52.8 billion dairy sector remains globally competitive while advancing economic, environmental, and social sustainability.
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Nearly 550 faculty members at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are set to receive pay raises this month as part of efforts to attract and retain faculty in high-demand fields of study.
State lawmakers provided $27 million annually and created an annual appropriation to the UW system in the current state budget for the compensation. Over 2,300 faculty members across the state’s 13 public universities are receiving raises through the funding, said Mark Pitsch, a UW system spokesperson.
Mid-May is the perfect time to start a pollinator garden in Wisconsin. But could someone just not mow their lawn for an entire month and reap similar benefits? That depends.
No Mow May is pitched as a way to let yards grow out and help pollinators. Manicured lawns provide little food or resting spots for bees, butterflies and other insects. These pollinators need vegetation to feed on and find a safe spot to nest.
Question: Is global warming impacting bird migration?
Answer: Global warming refers to the rise in global temperatures due to the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. One impact is that northern latitudes are experiencing warmer mean annual temperatures and experiencing earlier springs, milder winters and delayed falls.
The chancellor is leaving.
The president got fired.
The athletic director jumped before he could be pushed.
That’s a lot of turnover at the top for UW-Madison and the 13-campus Universities of Wisconsin. It’s also an opportunity to reset priorities for higher education in Madison and across the state. The Regents and others who will help fill these jobs need to get this right.
The University of Wisconsin has released a five-year strategic framework, “Forward, Together,” aimed at guiding the University’s priorities in student experience, research, public engagement and campus operations, according to a UW news release.
In recent weeks, researchers have announced several breakthroughs in treatment for pancreatic cancer. Researchers in New York shared results of a small study with promising signs for mRNA vaccines, and scientists shared research on ways to target and block the KRAS protein.
“For the first time, we have a phase two trial that has told us that we can help patients live longer when we block this protein,” UW Health medical oncologist Dr. Jeremy Kratz told 27 News anchor Caroline Dade.
Pediatric oncologist and researcher Dr. Christian Capitini was named the new director of the UW Carbone Cancer Center.
Capitini said the new role is both a personal milestone and a statewide promise.
“This was the biggest honor of my career… to be able to serve everyone in the state through this leadership role is just an enormous privilege and opportunity,” Capitini said.
he MadHatters, an a cappella group at UW-Madison, will be performing their final show of the spring semester on Friday, May 1.
The group consists of 14 performers, using just their voices to sing and dance for performances.
“We really try and bring the energy so the crowd can feed off of that, and it can be this really fun night,” Kevin McNeil said. “Everybody just has fun, even apart from all the music, we’ve got some video skits with a little bit of dancing in there. We make our fair share of jokes, and we just really try to make sure everyone has a good time.”
The University of Wisconsin-Madison says it contributed billions in statewide economic impact last fiscal year.
That’s according to a new analysis that was released by the university and completed by the consulting firm Tripp Umbach.
The Universities of Wisconsin has launched a national search to identify UW-Madison’s next chancellor.
Acting UW system head Chris Patton and UW Board of Regents President Amy Bogost appointed a group of 23 faculty, staff, students and people from the Madison area to identify UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin’s successor.
The UW-Madison Police Department said that officers have removed several firearms “from situations that posed a potential risk to [their] campus and the surrounding community.”
The announcement came Tuesday afternoon, detailing cases involving individuals not affiliated with the university. These incidents included a range of violations, from going armed while intoxicated to prohibited possession.
UX Club at UW-Madison is hosting its final showcase for a redesign project in partnership with the Madison Public Market on Thursday.
Over the course of six workshops, students conducted UX research, developed personas, built wireframes, and produced a fully interactive prototype for what will become Madison Public Market’s primary launch website.
The center can also serve as a place of mentorship and for networking for staff and students at UW-Madison, MATC and Edgewood University. It’s a welcoming idea for Christy Clark-Pujara, the chair of the Department of African American Studies at UW-Madison.
Many Madison drivers are paying more than $4 at the pump and say they are feeling the impact.
Average gas prices have increased more than a dollar since the U.S. and Israel first attacked Iran two months ago.
Jon Pevehouse, a political science professor at UW-Madison explained why prices are on the rise.
“In large part because Iran is a central producer, as are the countries around Iran, are central producers of oil, which of course goes into gas,” Pevehouse said.
President Donald Trump’s dismissal on Friday of the independent board that advises the National Science Foundation included UW-Madison’s top research leader.
Vice Chancellor for Research Dorota Grejner-Brzezińska was one of the 22 current members on the board that advises Congress and the president on the National Science Foundation’s operations. President Joe Biden appointed her in 2023 when she was working at Ohio State University.
If University of Wisconsin-Madison administrators don’t get more clarity on new federal funding rules soon, the university’s Division of Extension may lay off up to 160 employees.
Vice Chancellor Dorota Grejner-Brzezinska, who oversees UW-Madison’s $1.93 billion research operation, recently outlined that concern in a court declaration filed as part of a broader lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The UW-Madison Odyssey Project works to break the cycle of generational poverty through access to education.
The project has impacted two students who are about to graduate with goals of attending college.
For Lilibeth Sobrevilla, the mother of three emphasized the support she received from the project to help her educational goals.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison has named Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau founding dean of the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence as the university prepares to launch the new college July 1.
UW-Madison named Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau as founding dean of the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence as the school prepares to launch the new college on July 1.
Approved in December by the Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents, the college is the first academic division created at UW-Madison in more than 40 years.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison has received $100 million in private gift commitments for its new College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence, which is set to launch on July 1, 2026.
The donations come from what’s referred to as the Catalyst Collective — a group of alumni, business leaders and corporate partners who have pledged major investments in the college. The alumni donors include Andy Konwinski, cofounder of Laude, Databricks and Perplexity AI; John Morgridge, former chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems, and Tashia Morgridge, a retired special education teacher; Signe Ostby, a former marketing executive; and Jeff Tangney, cofounder and CEO of Doximity. The contributors also include Scott Cook, co-founder of Intuit; and Epic, a software company based in Verona, Wisconsin.
Yihana Melendez Alejandro decided at age 7 she wanted to be a doctor.
Alejandro, now a first-year medical student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is from Vieques, an island eight miles off the east coast of Puerto Rico. Vieques has no hospital and had only one small primary care clinic that was destroyed by Hurricane Maria in 2017 and has yet to reopen. For Alejandro, this served as inspiration to pursue medical school.
Particularly with the growth of social media, reports of coyotes have become more common in and around Madison.
That may be due to coyotes getting more familiar with humans rather than a growing population or territorial expansion, said David Drake, leader of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Urban Canid Project.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has named the first dean of the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence.
Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau was appointed into the new role, the university announced on Monday.
His appointment will begin on July 1.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison has received $100 million in private gift commitments for its new College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence, which is set to launch on July 1, 2026.
The donations come from what’s referred to as the Catalyst Collective — a group of alumni, business leaders and corporate partners who have pledged major investments in the college. The alumni donors include Andy Konwinski, cofounder of Laude, Databricks and Perplexity AI; John Morgridge, former chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems, and Tashia Morgridge, a retired special education teacher; Signe Ostby, a former marketing executive; and Jeff Tangney, cofounder and CEO of Doximity. The contributors also include Scott Cook, co-founder of Intuit; and Epic, a software company based in Verona, Wisconsin.
PJ Liesch, director of the UW-Madison Insect Diagnostic Lab, said around 20% of juvenile ticks carry Lyme disease, and 40% of adult ticks can transmit the infection. Ticks are also more commonly being found in residential areas, he said.
UW-Madison on Monday announced a $100 million donation and dean for the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence that will hold its first classes next fall.
The investment comes from a group of alumni and industry leaders and is intended to help swiftly recruit and hire 50 new faculty, expand research and build programs for the college, which opens July 1.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison’s core mission has long held that the work of the university should benefit the entire state. A newly released study now quantifies that commitment, estimating that the university, its affiliated organizations and the startup companies it generates contribute $38.9 billion annually to Wisconsin’s economy.
Members of the Wisconsin women’s hockey team brought their NCAA Championship trophy to the American Family Children’s Hospital on Friday afternoon.
This visit is part of Badger Fridays, during which UW athletes from various sports visit patients at American Family Children’s Hospital.
The Mifflin Street Block Party is back in Madison this Saturday, and students showed up in numbers.
To celebrate the week before finals, Badgers at UW-Madison brought their party outdoors, spawning a sea of red across Mifflin Street.
Police at the event said this year’s record turnout is thanks to clear skies and sunshine.
According to Ethan Hafenbredl, it’s giving students the community boost they need to finish out their school year.
Kimaya Soin was diagnosed with celiac disease at age 4, but it took some pushing from her mother.
“My doctors actually weren’t really going to check me for it, so it wasn’t on their radars,” Soin said. “My mom had to research my symptoms. She looked them up, and based on the symptoms I had, it was either likely celiac disease or leukemia, and she had never heard of celiac disease, like most people haven’t.”
