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Author: Nathan Steagall

UW-Madison faculty debate campus ideological diversity at conservative student group’s panel

Posted on
The Daily Cardinal

A conservative student group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison hosted a panel discussion on campus Oct. 15 highlighting growing tensions on college campuses over free speech, representation and political balance in the classroom.

Wisconsin Young Americans for Freedom’s panel, featuring current and former UW-Madison professors and state Rep. Dave Murphy, R-Greenville, examined how universities can preserve open debate while addressing concerns about a shrinking range of political views, especially in the aftermath of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk’s assasination at a college in Utah.

Here’s where 2,000 sunburst chairs go when they leave UW-Madison’s terrace

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

The time to pack away 2,000 sunburst chairs for the winter has come, and Wisconsin Union project engineer Joel Gerrits has the plan all laid out, broken down into five-minute increments.

“Here, if you look at the bottom,” Gerrits said, pointing to a printout he created. “That’s almost 3,000 pieces of furniture. It does take a long time to unload, and then stack, put them away, so it’s not like we just go there and dump them.”

Diversity, UW-Madison and the Universities of Wisconsin

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison has shuttered the equity and well-being department in its human resources office, which worked to retain LGBTQ+ and employees of color.

The university established the Office of Equity, Inclusion and Employee Well-Being in spring 2021 to offer consultation and promote inclusive policies and environments, with a focus on support for traditionally marginalized communities.

 

Health care conference highlights cancer caregivers

Posted on
ABC 27

A conference at the Monona Terrace in Madison focused on how to support caregivers for cancer patients.

Speakers at the annual Fall Cancer Conference touched on how families are impacted by cancer.

Kristin Litzelman, an associate professor at the UW-Madison School of Human Ecology, said family members of cancer patients may not recognize themselves as caregivers, so they may not realize they have access to resources to support them.

Inside UW’s most haunted building: Science Hall’s ‘Fright Night’ returns

Posted on
The Daily Cardinal

University of Wisconsin-Madison students explored Science Hall’s rumored hauntings in an interactive haunted house experience Wednesday hosted by the Nelson Institute Ambassadors in collaboration with Japanese Student Association (JSA) and Intermission Theater.

Starting in 2013, the annual Fright Night gives Science Hall a frightening makeover, decorating the building with cobwebs, skeletons, candles and spiders while giving visitors a spooky self-guided tour of the building to celebrate Halloween and the building’s history.

Halloween starship delivery bots, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and more spooky Halloween campus events

Posted on
The Daily Cardinal

The University of Wisconsin-Madison will host many free Halloween events around campus leading up to Oct. 31.

Starship delivery bots are already celebrating. Customized spooky robot themes are available now until Oct. 31, with personas of Count Snackula, Witchy Wheels, FrankenFeast, Hungry Haunter and Pumpkinbot available to choose. Robots will deliver speaking in-character.

Obituary: Charles “Dan” Cornwell

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

Charles Daniel (“Dan”) Cornwell was born in Williamsport, PA, on Dec. 27, 1924, son of John Gibson Cornwell, Jr., and Anna Moul Cornwell, the latter of Hanover, PA. Dan joined the Chemistry faculty of UW-Madison in 1952. His best-known research was a study of the iodine and chlorine resonances in the nuclear quadrupole resonance spectrum of crystalline alkali chloroiodides.

Detox center’s closure is a ‘looming disaster’, 4 police chiefs say

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Wisconsin State Journal

Dane County’s detoxification center has been a resource for police officers and sheriff’s deputies for nearly four decades. But at the end of 2025, without renewed talks between county officials and the company that runs it, that tool to handle the region’s intoxicated will be gone.

On Oct. 17, four police chiefs representing the Madison, Sun Prairie, Middleton and UW-Madison departments sent a letter to Dane County Executive Melissa Agard imploring her and county government to work out a deal to keep Tellurian Behavioral Health’s detox center open.

Madison Magazine writer honored in Best American anthologies

Posted on
Channel 3000

Originally published in the January 2024 print issue of Madison Magazine, Oloizia’s “All the Lonely People” is noted in “The Best American Essays 2025” among works selected by guest editor Jia Tolentino of The New Yorker. The reported essay explores potential solutions to the loneliness epidemic declared by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy in May 2023. Oloizia experiments with tempering his own moderate loneliness through cuddle therapy, behavioral economics and a University of Wisconsin–Madison course on human flourishing.

UW Madison announces new Wisconsin Exchange initiative to promote civil dialogue on campus

Posted on
The Badger Herald

UW-Madison presented a new initiative titled “Wisconsin Exchange: Pluralism in Practice,” aiming to encourage civil dialogue and connect students, staff and faculty in a polarized world, according to UW News.

Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin said in a statement that learning happens best when those from different backgrounds come together and the Wisconsin Exchange will recognize that by building off existing programs and offering opportunities for open conversations, according to the Wisconsin Exchange website.

Wisconsin hockey superfan known for leading crowd in cheers dies

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Wisconsin State Journal

There was only one name to know when it came to leading cheers at University of Wisconsin hockey games: Phil.

Phil Dzick, who spent decades organizing Badgers fans counting goals and asking for more at the Dane County Coliseum, the Kohl Center and LaBahn Arena, died Wednesday, a Wisconsin spokesperson said. He was 81.

Navy veteran celebrates becoming UW Health’s 1,000th lung transplant

Posted on
Channel 3000

Last year, a U.S. Navy veteran received a lung transplant at UW Health, giving him another chance at life.

David Peabody, a former anti submarine warfare technician, began his journey when he was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 2010. Years of declining health brought the Louisville native to Madison, where he was referred to UW Health and the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, one of only three VA hospitals performing lung transplants nationwide. Madison is home to the largest VA lung transplant program in the country.

Alex Warren concert helps launch ‘Future Friends’ mental health initiative

Posted on
The Daily Cardinal

Pop artist Alex Warren brought his Cheaper Than Therapy Tour to Madison Thursday night for the nationwide launch of Future Friends on college campuses. Future Friends, a new initiative merging live music, mental wellness programming and community action on college campuses, was created by Harris and Sabrina Schwartzberg, founders of Two Bridge and Corey McGuire.

The event opened with remarks from Schwartzberg, who thanked University Health Services for their support and emphasized the importance of mental health on college campuses.

UW-Madison launches privately funded ‘pluralism’ initiative to promote open conversation

Posted on
The Daily Cardinal

The University of Wisconsin-Madison launched “The Wisconsin Exchange: Pluralism in Practice,” a campus-wide initiative aimed at promoting open dialogue and creating a campus atmosphere where “different points of view are both expected and respected.”

The initiative will streamline the university’s preexisting programs with new opportunities, emphasizing the value of diverse viewpoints and civil dialogue.

UW-Madison chancellor orders review of Badgers’ athlete welfare, mental health policies

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

The University of Wisconsin athletic department’s policies around player welfare and mental health are set to be scrutinized. UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin has ordered a review of “programs and policies associated with the student-athlete experience,” athletic director Chris McIntosh said Wednesday at a meeting of the Athletic Board.

 

UW system’s 8% drop in international students offset by freshman enrollment gains

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

The Universities of Wisconsin this fall saw record in-state freshman enrollment growth but reported 8% fewer international students on campus amid federal pressures, including visa crackdowns, according to data released Wednesday.

UW systemwide enrollment is 164,626 students this fall, a slight increase of 190 students, or 0.12%, from last fall. The modest increase is higher compared to student count projections reported last month. That report suggested a loss of nearly 100 students, 0.05% decrease, credited to plummeting international student enrollment.

 

Here’s why the Wisconsin Badgers switched to Klement’s brats

Posted on
Wisconsin state Journal

Part of the shipment of food to be prepared for the next week’s University of Wisconsin football game arrived as usual at Camp Randall Stadium on a Thursday last year.

The collection was short in one product that in Wisconsin almost certainly would get noticed if concession stands ran out early: There weren’t enough brats.

Wisconsin’s tribal nations grow, preserve libraries with a UW-Madison assist

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

 It’s 7:30 a.m. on a Thursday, and class for the Tribal Libraries, Archives, and Museums program at UW-Madison is just getting started.

Program director Cassy Leeport, a descendant of the Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe, pulls up to a university parking lot and greets her student Cheyenne Woerman as she hops into the UW-Madison-issued minivan scented with cut sweetgrass ready for braiding.

Wisconsin AD Chris McIntosh vows ‘more Athletics-funded investments’ into football program

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

University of Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh again put his support behind football coach Luke Fickell on Monday and vowed increased investment in the program.

In a letter sent via email to fans Monday morning, McIntosh said the football team hasn’t performed to the department’s expectations and while that’s frustrating, he believes in Fickell’s plan for the program.

Closing UW System campuses defies Wisconsin’s values

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

Born in Wisconsin in the 1960s, I was always taught that Wisconsin valued progressive ideas, transparency in government and above all our excellent education system. These ideals made Wisconsin special.

So it was very saddening to see the recent closing of yet another two-year campus in the Universities of Wisconsin System: UW-Plattville Baraboo Sauk County.

Firefighters credit sprinkler head for saving UW-Madison Discovery Building

Posted on
NBC 15

Madison Fire Department credited a fire sprinkler head for putting out most of a fire at the UW-Madison Discovery Building Thursday night.

At 11:15 p.m. firefighters arrived at the building on the 300 block of N. Orchard Street for a fire alarm going off.

MFD said an automatic fire sprinkler head detected the fire and turned on. The sprinkler head also triggered the building’s fire alarm.

Firefighters put out the rest of the fire with a two-and-a-half-gallon water can extinguisher.

Minimal damage from hamper fire in UW-Madison Discovery Building

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

A hamper full of kitchen rags and towels caught fire in the UW-Madison’s Discovery Building Thursday night, according to the Madison Fire Department

Firefighters were dispatched to the research center on campus around 11 p.m. Thursday after the building’s fire sprinkler system detected the burning laundry bin triggering the alarms.

The sprinkler system limited damage to a few items in and around the hamper and a nearby wall, before firefighters extinguished the remaining flames.

 

Here’s which UW system branch campuses have closed, and which are still open

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

More than half of the Universities of Wisconsin’s two-year branch campuses in recent years have faced closures or significant structural changes to adapt to shrinking enrollment.

Since 2023, with the closure of UW-Platteville Richland, six branch campuses shuttered or plan to. One campus moved classes online and another is relocating instruction to a nearby technical college.

Lifelong Learner: Bridge programs offer adults support for return to college

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

At 18 years old, Donovan Brendler found himself struggling to find his path in college and grappling with poor academic performance. Eight years later, in 2024, and with a greater sense of direction, he felt prepared to return to college.

That’s when Brendler learned about Badger Ready, a UW-Madison bridge program that provides a pathway to degree completion for adult students with academic barriers to traditional transfer admission. This discovery gave him a sense of empowerment and a renewed belief in his academic potential.

Obituary: Edris Makward

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

Professor Emeritus Edris Makward passed away peacefully on October 9, 2025 at his home in Seattle at the age of 92, after several years of declining health. He served as the Department Chair of African Languages and Literature from 1971-1975, followed by serving as Chair of the University African Studies Program from 1977-78.

Nurse turned doctor developed home so people don’t have to die on the street

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

Solace Home’s residents have a life expectancy of six months or less. Residents arrive there after living on the street, in shelters or in unstable housing situations.

Catlett, 67, had been a nurse for 16 years before she went to medical school. Much of her nursing career was part time so she could also be somewhat of a stay-at-home mom. Then she did her four years of medical school at UW-Madison over six years and did her residency at UW, too. She got her undergraduate degree at Duke University.

UW-Madison professor who contributed to Bad Bunny’s album calls Super Bowl halftime choice a ‘victory’

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Wisconsin State Journal

The UW-Madison professor who contributed as a historian to Bad Bunny’s most recent album says his selection to headline the Super Bowl LX halftime show is a “victory” for Puerto Rico.

Bad Bunny and his team reached out to Jorell Meléndez-Badillo, UW-Madison associate professor of Latin American and Caribbean history, to write 17 historical narratives, which were made into videos called “visualizers,” to accompany his songs for his album “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.”

Former Wisconsin Badgers quarterback returns for Rose Bowl reunion

Posted on
The Capital Times

Brooks Bollinger has occasionally caught his youngest son watching YouTube highlight videos of his dad’s playing days at the University Wisconsin and in pro football.

In turn, he has found himself sitting down with his second grader and reliving some of his past gridiron exploits, notably as a four-year starting quarterback with the Badgers

“The first thing that comes to mind is how damn long ago it was,” chuckled the 45-year-old Bollinger, a member of the UW Athletic Hall of Fame.

 

Federal cuts threaten future of Wisconsin’s nationally recognized language programs

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Foreign language departments at Wisconsin colleges and universities are facing an uncertain future after the Trump administration cut several funding sources the programs have relied on for more than 60 years. In March, the U.S. Department of Education dismantled its office of International and Foreign Language Education, which administered several major grant programs for language learning and international study.

Say goodbye to the chairs at Memorial Union Terrace

Posted on
Channel 3000

Terrace Season is coming to an end, which means the colorful chair decorating Memorial Union will be leaving at 8 a.m. on Oct. 27.

The Terrace first opened in 1928, with the first full “Terrace Season” took place the following year in 1929. The green, orange and yellow Sunburst chairs first came to campus in 1933 and over the years emerged as a campus icon and trademark of the Wisconsin Union.

Bird flu detections in Jefferson County part of years-long outbreak, experts say

Posted on
NBC 15

The Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory was activated in 2022 to help the state monitor and track the disease, testing samples from poultry and wild birds across the state. Since then, scientists there have continued running surveillance year-round as detections rise and fall with migration seasons.

“Since then, we’ve lost several hundred million birds,” said Dr. Keith Poulsen, director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. “It changes a little bit. Flu changes all the time, right? But this is still considered really the same outbreak that started in 2022. And it’s the biggest foreign animal disease outbreak in U.S. history.”

Can AI Replace Teachers?

Posted on
Bloomberg

From Tennessee classrooms to university research labs, artificial intelligence is helping teachers tailor instruction to every student. Developers like Kira’s Andrea Pasinetti and professors like Shamya Karumbaiah say that AI can act as a digital teaching assistant, tracking progress and giving real-time feedback, but only if it supports, not replaces, the human teacher.

Wisconsin ranks 46th in nation for college affordability, new report says

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Wisconsin is ranked among the worst in the country for college affordability, according to a new report.

The National College Attainment Network, a nonprofit aimed at improving student access to higher education, has calculated each state’s affordability gap for nearly a decade. It compares the cost of attendance at each institution to what the average student and family can pay.

Amid DEI cuts, UW-Madison opens the Midwest’s first hub for Puerto Rican studies

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Two professors at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have launched the Midwest’s first center for Puerto Rican studies.

Supported by a $3 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Puerto Rican Studies Hub aims to connect researchers, students, artists and the public through lectures, musical performances, fellowships, film screenings and more.

What is Luke Fickell’s buyout at Wisconsin? Inside the details of the coach’s buyout clause

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

Luke Fickell requested fans’ ire Monday when asked for his message to a frustrated nation of University of Wisconsin football backers.

His answer asked for support for the players on the field and for fans to direct their anger about the state of the Badgers to him. Fury from fans can be heard at Camp Randall Stadium on game days, which have included two blowout losses at home in the past four weeks, and daily via social media.