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Author: Nathan Steagall

UW-Madison makes Time Magazine’s list of World’s Top Universities

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NBC 15

UW-Madison took second place among public universities on Time Magazine’s list of World’s Top Universities, UW officials said Tuesday.

The school took spot #20 for the overall worldwide list.

The rankings, generated by Statista, focused on academic capacity and performance, innovation and economic impact, and global engagement.

“UW–Madison’s value lies not just in our direct teaching and research, but also in the impact our graduates have when they go out into the world and our contributions in advancing knowledge across the globe,” says UW interim Provost John Zumbrunnen. “It’s encouraging to see this value acknowledged in the Time rankings.”

Minnesotan Badgers grieve for their home state amid increased ICE activity

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The Daily Cardinal

University of Wisconsin-Madison community members from Minnesota say the recent escalation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis has left them feeling frightened, angry and helpless — while also prompting renewed conversations about community, resistance and collective action.

Many Badgers come from Minnesota due to an in-state tuition reciprocity agreement, with about 10%of the UW-Madison undergraduate population calling Minnesota home.

UW-Madison dean named interim chancellor to succeed Jennifer Mnookin

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Wisconsin State Journal

The Universities of Wisconsin has named a temporary successor for UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin.

College of Letters and Science Dean Eric Wilcots will serve as interim chancellor starting May 17 as Mnookin begins her departure to lead Columbia University, UW system President Jay Rothman announced Wednesday.  

Going to the Kohl Center Friday? Watch out for flying bratwursts

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Wisconsin State Journal

Thomas Aponte grew up in Connecticut, where people eat hot dogs more than bratwursts, but he’s learned to enjoy a good brat.

As a marketing intern for Wisconsin Athletics, the UW-Madison sophomore also has been enjoying his new role: running the Brat Blaster, which joined the T-shirt cannon this season in flinging projectiles into the stands during Badgers basketball games at the Kohl Center.

Man accused of making threats during altercation Downtown while armed with gun

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Wisconsin State Journal

A man was arrested after making threats while armed with a gun during an altercation Downtown on Tuesday afternoon, Madison police reported.

At about 1:55 p.m., UW-Madison police were sent to the intersection of West Johnson Street and East Campus Mall after reports of a person threatening another person near a bus stop and arrested a 46-year-old Madison man, police spokesperson Marc Lovicott said in a statement.

UW-Madison tallies $27 million in federal research cuts under Trump

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has lost at least $27 million in federal research money since President Donald Trump upended the funding landscape in academia.

It’s the first time the state flagship has put a price tag on its losses since the Trump administration began cutting existing projects, delaying grant reviews and reducing the number of new projects getting funding.

A $10,000 bill? Consider rising vet costs before adopting a dog

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Wisconsin State Journal

Many Americans struggle to pay for health care for themselves and their families, even if they have insurance coverage.

Some very big bills also arise when the furriest members of their households get sick or just need an annual checkup: their dogs. Americans spend an average of about $1,700 annually on their dogs’ food and care, including $580 for veterinary bills.

Here is Bad Bunny’s connection to UW-Madison

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Wisconsin State Journal

Bad Bunny will perform Sunday night in the Super Bowl halftime show.

The Puerto Rican artist’s winning album, “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS,” has strong ties to UW-Madison, featuring contributions from a professor.

The Wisconsin State Journal spoke with professor and historian of Puerto Rico Jorell Meléndez-Badillo in October, who called the selection of Bad Bunny to headline the Super Bowl LX halftime show a “victory” for Puerto Rico.

UW Madison Habitat for Humanity holds 30th annual Souper Bowl fundraiser

Posted on
Channel 3000

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Habitat for Humanity organization celebrated a milestone on Saturday with its 30th annual Souper Bowl fundraiser, bringing together community members and students for a family-friendly tradition that supports affordable housing in Dane County.

The event, held at Madison West High School, offered attendees the opportunity to purchase tickets and choose from more than 100 handmade ceramic bowls to fill with soup and take home as keepsakes.

UW student builds impressive igloo on Lake Mendota with hand-cut ice blocks

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ABC 27

University of Wisconsin student Henry Fries has built an igloo on Lake Mendota using hand-cut ice blocks.

Fries, an igloo builder and architect, drew inspiration from his childhood.

“I kind of started out with ice force and steel force as a kid, and really enjoyed it, but came to university here at UW and there has been a lot of snow, so I ended up getting an ice off for Christmas, and I on a win said, You know what? Go cut some ice and build an igloo,” Fries said.

UW–Madison’s Winter Carnival thrills crowds with student-led fun

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ABC 27

The University of Wisconsin–Madison recently held its Winter Carnival on Saturday, a cherished campus tradition organized by Hoofer clubs.

The event featured Rail Jam, a freestyle skiing and snowboarding competition that attracted large crowds of competitors and spectators. Dave Elsmo, director for Outdoor UW, highlighted the event’s deep roots and organization.

How to Improve Your Vocabulary as an Adult

Posted on
The New York Times

Almost every day for the last 24 years, my father and I have traded emails about Dictionary.com’s Word of the Day. We started the tradition when I was in fifth grade and he was 38, just a few years older than I am now. The rules are simple: Once we review the chosen word and its example sentences, whoever reads the email first forwards it to the other, including a short sentence typed up to put the day’s special word to use.

Infleqtion And University Of Wisconsin–Madison Show Faster, More Reliable Qubit Readout

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The Quantum Insider

Infleqtion, a global leader in quantum sensing and quantum computing, announced research results from a collaboration with the University of Wisconsin–Madison that demonstrate a more reliable way to measure individual quantum bits, or qubits, without interrupting ongoing circuits. The work addresses one of the central challenges in quantum computing by enabling faster computation cycles while preserving fragile quantum states.

UW-Madison professors increasingly integrating AI despite lingering concerns

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The Daily Cardinal

As students return to campus this semester, professors are once again evaluating how artificial intelligence can, and cannot, be a tool for learning in their classrooms.

Despite concerns about generative AI impeding learning, some professors at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are choosing to address and even integrate AI into their course syllabi.

UW System president says AI can help move Wisconsin forward

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WPR

Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman says artificial intelligence is no longer an abstract idea, but is now transforming how the state’s public universities operate.

Rothman penned an op-ed on the future of AI and higher education Monday ahead of the Thursday Board of Regents meeting where he said there will be a “robust discussion” on the topic.

Their goal is gold: Madison sends 7 athletes to compete in Milan

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The Cap Times

The University of Wisconsin-Madison will send five current players from the women’s hockey team and seven past players, the most the school has ever sent to a single Olympics (UW-Madison sent 11 players to the 2022 Games in Beijing). Four of the current players will suit up for Team USA; one, freshman Adéla Šapovalivová, will play for Team Czechia.

Public Health identifies 2 more measles exposure locations in Madison

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Wisconsin state Journal

Two locations have been added to the list of possible exposure to measles in Madison, Public Health Madison & Dane County announced Tuesday, after the county recorded its first measles case of 2026 Monday.

A UW-Madison student living in an off-campus apartment tested positive for measles, the university said Monday, and 4,000 people who may have been exposed have already been notified.

Tariffs, inflation have hiked cost of Lakeshore visitor center by $4.7 million, UW-Madison says

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Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison is seeking approval to increase the budget for its Lakeshore Nature Preserve visitor and research facility by $4.7 million, citing setbacks from higher tariffs and inflation on building materials.

The UW Board of Regents on Friday will consider raising the budget for the Frautschi Center, named after the late UW-Madison alumnus and Madison philanthropist W. Jerome Frautschi, who died Jan. 10.

 

Conservative students call for investigation into UW-Madison race-based scholarships

Posted on
Channel 3000

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.

Madison families with transgender kids scramble after hospitals halt gender-affirming care

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Wisconsin State Journal

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.

‘The game’s changed’: How Wisconsin football’s strength program is evolving

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Wisconsin State Journal

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.

Conservative student group files federal civil rights complaint against UW-Madison

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Wisconsin State Journal

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.

Who was Amelia Frank, forgotten UW contributor to Nobel Prize winner?

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Wisconsin State Journal

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.

UW-Madison researchers using fruit flies to find potential treatment for incurable cancer

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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.

Badger who made ‘The Shot’ writes about rising from tough times

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Cap Times

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.”

UW Health dietitian advises more fiber, fewer restrictions in 2026

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ABC 27

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.”

Asthma puts too many kids in ER. Study explores tie to climate change.

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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.

How acting classes help UW-Madison med students relate to patients

Posted on
Cap Times

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.

10 Universities of Wisconsin research projects notable in 2025, from AI to zebrafish

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Wisconsin State Journal

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.

Not in a sustainable place’: Wisconsin coach Greg Gard calls for better NIL leadership

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Wisconsin State Journal

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.

Remembering Tom Mulhern — and the legacy he left behind

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Wisconsin State Journal

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.

Dean Emerit of Nursing Linda D. Scott passes away at 69

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The Daily Cardinal

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.

UHS hosts ‘Movember’ events for Men’s Mental Health Month

Posted on
The Daily Cardinal

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.

Climate change is a major threat to Wisconsin agriculture

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Wisconsin State Journal

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.

Obituary: Veronica King

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Wisconsin State Journal

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.

We Need to Be Worried’: Three University Leaders on the Fate of Higher Education in the Trump Era

Posted on
The New York Times

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.

Next Level Prep Expands to UW-Madison NIL in Collaboration with Twin Bridge Sports

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WIVB 4 Buffalo

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.”

Governor candidates Tom Tiffany, Josh Schoemann call for changes to UW, including tuition freeze

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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.