A new historical documentary, “Bucky!”, follows Wisconsin’s beloved mascot from his debut in 1949 to his current status as a state icon.
Bucky Badger is ready for his close-up
Channel 3000
Author: Nathan Steagall
Wisconsin Union’s Thanksgiving To Go program supports campus food access
The Daily Cardinal
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.
‘Resist, resist, resist!’: Holocaust survivor and civil rights attorney talks activism at UW Hillel event
The Daily Cardinal
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.
UW system faculty balk at Legislature’s teaching workload requirements
Cap Times
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.
As AI use grows, here’s how area schools are starting to use it in the classroom
The Post Crescent
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.
Cold air plus warm water equals lake effect snow
Wisconsin State Journal
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.
Meet the Wisconsin Bug Guy, who identifies 2,500 insects a year
Wisconsin State Journal
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.
Lifelong Learner: The rise of nontraditional students in higher ed
Wisconsin State Journal
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.
Infant Formula Company Tied to Botulism Outbreak Had Known Problems
The New York Times
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.
Students rally against Trump administration’s higher education compact
The Daily Cardinal
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.
Student government calls on university to fund campus food pantry amid record demand
The Daily Cardinal
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 Open Seat sees exponential shopper increase, ‘unable to handle’ amidst FoodShare benefit uncertainty
The Badger Herald
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.”
UW-Madison speech and debate team perseveres in face of budget cuts
The Daily Cardinal
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.
Entrepreneur educator discusses importance of heritage, cultural immersion
https://badgerherald.com/news/campus/2025/11/12/entrepreneur-educator-discusses-importance-of-heritage-cultural-immersion/
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.
WARF gives $206.9 million to UW-Madison, Morgridge Institute to boost research
Wisconsin State Journal
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 nursing dean steps down early for health reasons
Wisconsin State Journal
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.
Drugged driving is a growing concern on Wisconsin’s highways
WPR
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.
Wisconsin friends team up to create disability justice zine
WPR
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.
UW students turning away from gender and ethnic studies degrees
Badger Institute
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.
Chancellor Mnookin Discusses Pluralism, Wisconsin Exchange in Exclusive Interview
The Madison Federalist
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.
UW-Madison marks Veterans Day with special ceremony at Memorial Union
NBC 15
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.
UW alerts students on recent e-scooter thefts
The Badger Herald
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.
Q&A: Curating vintage Bucky Badger with UW-Madison Head of Archives Katie Nash
PBS Wisconsin
Travel through the stacks and carrels of University of Wisconsin-Madison libraries in search of Bucky Badger archival images and materials with UW-Madison’s Head of Archives Katie Nash.
UW Public Defender program’s future unclear after layoff of ‘beloved’ law professor
The Daily Cardinal
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School laid off professor and director of the Public Defender Project John Gross due to administrative budget cuts. This will be his last year teaching, and without him, some law students fear for the public defense program’s future.
New major at UW-Madison: Public Policy
ABC 27
The La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin–Madison will launch a new undergraduate major in public policy in fall 2026.
Students can earn either a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science in public policy. The program is designed to prepare students for careers in government, nonprofits, consulting, advocacy, and business. Many graduates are expected to pursue further education in public affairs or law.
UW-Madison faculty blast ‘overreach’ by UW system on transfer credits
Cap Times
UW system administrators went too far this fall with proposed changes to how general education course credits transfer, according to faculty and staff across the Universities of Wisconsin.
“It’s a clear overreach,” said Amy Lewis, an assistant professor of music at UW-Madison who co-leads the United Faculty & Academic Staff union on campus.
UW Health to build 4-story urgent and primary care center on the West Side
Wisconsin State Journal
UW Health is expanding its existing Digestive Health Center on Madison’s West Side to build a four-story medical center offering patients urgent and primary care.
The construction of the estimated $122 million University Row Medical Center, at 750 University Row, marks a step toward UW Health’s plan to vacate its aging 20 S. Park St. clinic. The new clinic will offer adult and pediatric primary care, rehabilitation, urgent care, imaging and laboratory services and a pharmacy.
Veterans Day ceremonies in Madison and freebies for veterans
Wisconsin State Journal
Tuesday is a day to remember those who served this country. There is a ceremony planned to honor veterans at the state Capitol, and many businesses are offering free meals and more to veterans. Here are a few.
UW-Madison’s Memorial Union is hosting a free Veterans Day event featuring free refreshments, a program and a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Memorial Union breaking ground as a memorial to service members. The event is from 1:30 to 2:50 p.m. Tuesday.
Why a Wisconsin police department says no to some football team vehicle escort requests
Wisconsin State Journal
The UW-Madison Police Department is involved with escorting buses that carry teams to Camp Randall Stadium for University of Wisconsin football games and in getting the opponent to the airport afterward.
Here’s how national flight reductions are impacting travelers in Wisconsin
WPR
Every Thanksgiving, Cheryl Peralez’s daughter flies out of Milwaukee to Charlotte, North Carolina, to spend time with family for the holiday.
This year, Peralez, a Cudahy resident, is worried her daughter’s flight later this month may be canceled due to the ongoing government shutdown. She is now wondering if she’ll have to drive instead of flying.
UW-Madison’s oldest a cappella group to host fall showcase next weekend
NBC 15
Founded in 1997, the MadHatters are the oldest a cappella group at UW-Madison. Next weekend, the group will be hosting their annual fall showcase. The performance will take place at 7 p.m. on Saturday, November 15, at the Overture Center.
UW grad makes Disney’s new ‘Electric Bloom’ about a girl group
Cap Times
The friendship between the three bandmates in Disney’s new show “Electric Bloom” shares similarities to one creator’s real life friends at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“When I was at Madison it took me a minute, but then I started finding theater, and I had a girl group to do shows with,” said co-creator Rachel Lewis, who graduated from UW-Madison in 2003 with a degree in theater. “Finding your friends, finding your place, that really translates to the themes of our show.”
What, exactly, is a November gale?
Wisconsin State Journal
This week marks anniversaries of some strong November gales in the Great Lakes region. The most famous of these include the White Hurricane (Nov. 7-10, 1913), the Armistice Day Blizzard (Nov. 11, 1940), the Edmund Fitzgerald Storm (Nov. 9-10, 1975) and the storm Nov. 10-11, 1998.
How to break the doom loop of modern American politics
Wisconsin State Journal
If politics is the process by which we resolve our differences without violence and figure out how to govern, then it’s been a while since politics has worked well in America.
We study politics for a living, and we’ve never seen a time in recent history when Americans have been so divided by party lines. Everyone suffers when both major parties become so adversarial that they can’t even agree on funding the most basic government services.
In the face of federal grant cuts, UW-Madison’s research head learns to pivot in her first year
Wisconsin State Journal
Dorota Grejner-Brzezińska a year ago stepped into a top role at UW-Madison with big plans to expand its billion-dollar research operation.
Then the executive orders poured in. Her plans had to change.
UW-Madison wants to conduct more research with the Department of Defense
Wisconsin State Journal
As the pot of federal funding for research at universities and colleges continues to shrink, UW-Madison’s campus leaders are positioning the university to grow its work with the Department of Defense.
That doesn’t mean UW-Madison researchers will be at the forefront of developing new bombs, said Vice Chancellor for Research Dorota Grejner-Brzezińska.
75-year-old completes Madison Marathon 3 weeks after getting new heart valve
Wisconsin State Journal
Cary Segall, who set out to run the Madison Marathon on Sunday, 26 days after getting a new heart valve at University Hospital, accomplished his goal of finishing in under six hours.
His time was 5:57:37 and he was the first and only man in the 75- to 79-year-old age group and the second-oldest finisher.
Why Wisconsin football players carried American flags onto the field before Washington game
Wisconsin State Journal
University of Wisconsin football players carried American flags onto the field as they ran out of the Camp Randall Stadium tunnel before Saturday’s game against No. 24 Washington.
A new era of learning’: Professors grapple with AI in the classroom
The Daily Cardinal
As artificial intelligence infiltrates nearly all facets of society, an education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is no exception. While professors use AI to provide accessible materials, they want their students to understand how to use AI tools without circumventing learning.
Can AI be eco-friendly? UW scientists explore sustainable computing
The Daily Cardinal
Artificial intelligence is powering breakthroughs in everything from health care to climate science, but each new discovery comes with a cost: significant energy. Now, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are asking a new question — how can this powerful technology be more sustainable?
Initiative addressing antisemitism, Islamophobia comes to campus
The Badger Herald
The University of Wisconsin is implementing a national pluralism grant this year to support staff and faculty in addressing antisemitism and Islamophobia on campus, according to an emailed statement from UW Student Affairs.
The grant will provide support for a project titled “Pluralism Cohort Initiative for Senior Leadership in Student Affairs” over the course of the 2025-2026 school year, using the work of a cohort of 20 senior administrators at UW, according to SA’s statement.
Gothic horror on the Great Lakes, History of the fires and murder at Taliesin, Weather Guys
WPR
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Right now, the fall colors are reaching their peak. And it turns out our weather has a lot to do with the foliage we enjoy. The Weather Guys return to talk about the leaves, Great Lakes water temperatures, how weather forecasting has changed over the years and more.
Financial advice for all, daylight savings from an ecological perspective, and truffle-hunting researchers
WPR
The debate over daylight savings “misses a key ecological perspective,” says UW-Madison lecturer Rachelle Wilson Tollemar. Humans, like the natural world, require brighter and darker times of the year to properly function. “We are beings who also need winter to rest and summer to bloom,” she says.
Gales of November: Marking 50 years since the Edmund Fitzgerald sank
ABC 27
November 10 marks a tragic chapter in Great Lakes history. The freighter Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a vicious storm on Lake Superior, taking 29 crew members with her.
For many in Wisconsin, the day is more than a passing anniversary; it’s a reminder of how powerful the lakes can be.
‘We’re building the wrong AI,’ MIT professor tells UW-Madison crowd
Cap Times
There are two types of artificial intelligence, Sendhil Mullainathan argued to a sold-out crowd Thursday at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
One kind can do everything that the smartest people can do. That sounds ambitious, he said, until you realize “we already have things that can do what people can do — people.”
The other kind of AI, Mullainathan said, can do what even the smartest people cannot.
Luke Fickell will be Wisconsin football coach in 2026. Badgers AD McIntosh explains why
Wisconsin State Journal
Chris McIntosh is doubling down on the most significant decision of his tenure as the University of Wisconsin’s athletic director.
Luke Fickell will return as the Badgers’ football coach in 2026, McIntosh told BadgerExtra in an interview Thursday morning. BadgerExtra reported after Wisconsin’s loss to Ohio State on Oct. 18 that McIntosh met with the team that week and players’ takeaway from that meeting was that Fickell’s job was safe. McIntosh spoke to the team again Thursday after practice to ensure players knew Fickell was staying put.
Wisconsin Football to kick off 2027 season in Ireland
ABC 27
UW Athletics announced on Wednesday that Wisconsin will kick off its 2027 football season in Ireland.
The Badgers will take on the Pitt Panthers on Aug. 28, 2027, in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland.
Blue books are back: The revival of pen and paper exams
The Daily Cardinal
Fresh off the heels of summer break, some students were startled by three words they thought had been lost to time: “blue book exam.”
Indeed, for many students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison this year, gone are the days of the take-home paper or at-home Canvas final. Faced with rising instances of students using generative artificial intelligence tools, such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini, to cheat, professors have instead returned to the ol’ reliable: a handwritten, in-class exam.
Have a hot take? Test out UW-Madison’s new AI civil discourse chatbot
The Daily Cardinal
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is testing out a new artificial intelligence chatbot that helps students practice civil discourse through simulated conversations and real-time feedback.
The pilot program, part of the university’s new Wisconsin Exchange: Pluralism in Practice initiative, launches this month in collaboration with the Institute for Citizens & Scholars. The AI-powered, voice-based tool allows students to choose topics they care about and engage in short conversations with AI partners that take opposing viewpoints.
UW’s RISE-AI collaboration introduces AI to campus-wide research
The Daily Cardinal
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Data Science Institution will invest in artificial intelligence through their Research, Innovation and Scholarly Excellence (RISE) program to improve studies around the new technology
This new initiative, called “RISE-AI,” already hired 35 employees and current staff, students and faculty. They aim to “become the guides for society” in navigating the rapidly-changing world of AI, conducting research about AI’s uses to explore issues relating to medicine, agriculture and communications.
Major in AI? UW System launches new programs
The Daily Cardinal
As artificial intelligence rapidly advances, University of Wisconsin System universities are launching new majors and certificates to prepare students for an increasingly AI-driven workforce.
The programs aim to teach students how to use the technology ethically, practically and responsibly as the technology becomes more integrated into everyday life.
The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire started offering majors, certificates and minors in Artificial Intelligence this fall, while the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater has offered an AI-related certificate since as early as spring of 2022. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, engineering students have been able to add a capstone certificate in AI since April.
UHS addresses meningitis cases amongst UW students
The Badger Herald
University Health Services released a statement Oct. 31 that said four University of Wisconsin students were diagnosed with meningitis and quickly received medical care. One student was hospitalized for a short time and has been released.
What is the most popular major at UW-Madison?
Wisconsin State Journal
Last spring, UW-Madison awarded the largest number of degrees in the university’s history, the campus reported Wednesday.
The university awarded 13,733 degrees to 13,663 recipients. The total is 1,200 more degrees students earned the year prior.
Trixie Mattel coming to speak at UW-Madison event
NBC 15
Drag queen and Wisconsin-native Trixie Mattel is coming to University of Wisconsin- Madison to talk about her life as an entertainer and activist, Wisconsin Union announced Wednesday.
Trixie Mattel was a competitor on season seven of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and won season three of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars”.
More students are double-majoring out of fear they won’t be able to get jobs
The Washington Post
After he graduates from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Drew Wesson hopes to begin a career in strategic communication, a field with higher-than-average job growth and earnings.
Ho-Chunk flag raised at UW-Madison
NBC 15
Badger Recovery offers alternative spaces to UW-Madison’s party culture
The Daily Cardinal
At a university with a strong drinking culture, some University of Wisconsin-Madison students are creating an alternative community with Badger Recovery programming.
UW-Madison’s Badger Recovery program provides resources for students navigating recovery from addictive behavior in all forms, such as free coaching, peer meetings and sober social events for students in recovery from substance use, eating disorders, gambling and other behaviors.
Dick Cheney worked for Wisconsin politicians, attended UW-Madison before his rise in DC
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Dick Cheney, one of the most powerful and controversial vice presidents in history, died Nov. 3 at age 84.
Cheney died from complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, according to a statement from his family.
The Cheney family had numerous connections to Wisconsin. Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne, attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the 1960s. His daughter, Liz, was born in Madison. Cheney returned to Wisconsin as recently as 2019.
Obituary: Peter Kaufman
Wisconsin State Journal
Peter Kaufman, age 65, passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, October 21, 2025. He was born on March 29, 1960, in Seoul, South Korea.
Peter was a graduate of UW-Madison, earning a degree in Computer Science. After graduation, he started working at UW-Madison in the university’s technology operations department (DoIT) excelling in many areas. His final career focus was on computer security and intrusion protection. After spending his entire career at UW-Madison, he retired in July 2017.
Lilacs are blooming in the Arboretum like it’s spring
Wisconsin State Journal
It may be November, but some lilacs in the UW Arboretum are behaving like it’s spring.
That these normally spring-blooming bushes are blossoming here in the fall is starting to become an annual event, said David Stevens, curator of the UW Arboretum’s Longenecker Horticultural Gardens.