John and Tashia Morgridge, University of Wisconsin-Madison alumni, have pledged $85.2 million to support the renovation of the 139-year-old Science Hall, a project expected to begin in 2027.
This gift is the leading private contribution to UW-Madison’s $163.2 million plan to restore and modernize the historic building.
Professional Dairy Producers will feature two educational sessions this week through its weekly The Dairy Signal program, offering dairy producers updated information on herd management and market conditions affecting the industry in 2026.
The Tuesday, May 26 episode will focus on improving reproductive performance on dairy farms. The session will examine current reproductive protocols, management strategies, and recent research findings designed to help producers strengthen herd efficiency and productivity.
Wild turkeys were reintroduced to Wisconsin 50 years ago in what has been a conservation success story.
The National Wild Turkey Federation says the birds were native to Wisconsin but disappeared from the state in the late 1800’s due to habitat loss and unregulated hunting.
Several attempts to restore turkeys using pen-raised birds failed.
In 1976, a deal was struck to get wild trapped birds from Missouri in exchange for grouse.
Magnetic fields are found everywhere in the universe, from planets and stars to entire galaxies. These invisible forces influence major cosmic events and processes, including solar storms, the movement of high energy particles, and even galaxy formation. While small magnetic fields are often chaotic and turbulent, much larger magnetic structures appear surprisingly organized. For decades, scientists have struggled to explain how disorder in space could create such large-scale order.
A proposed redesign of Regent Street near Camp Randall Stadium is heading to Madison’s City Council for potential approval, but not without controversy or testing of new roadway design guidelines.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison would not release any documents related to its contract or payments to consultant Tripp Umbach weeks after the university released a document that made claims regarding the university’s statewide economic impact.
The university claimed that it does not hold the contract and that it was denying access to what it called “draft documents” related to Tripp Umbach and payments to the firm.
UW-Madison is anticipating a smaller cohort of international graduate students on campus next fall, according to the university’s director of the graduate school.
Dean of the Graduate School William Karpus said at a campus meeting last week that fewer international students have applied to graduate programs, and the university has also admitted a smaller number than in previous years for next fall.
Question: What is fire weather?
Answer: Wildfires need three essential elements: heat, oxygen and dry fuel. Fire weather refers to a mix of meteorological conditions that make it easy for wildfires to ignite and spread quickly. The main weather factors are low humidity, strong winds, warm temperatures and atmospheric instability.
A group of more than 65 Wisconsin organizations that advocate for gender-affirming care is demanding that the state’s two largest hospitals, including Madison’s UW Health, reestablish the medical treatments for transgender youth.
In January, Wisconsin’s two largest pediatric hospitals, Madison-based UW Health and Children’s Wisconsin in Milwaukee, confirmed they paused gender-affirming care for patients younger than 18.
The Madison school district is seeking state approval to change how it ranks high school students nearing graduation, which could affect how many students qualify for automatic admission to state universities.
When Charity Alfred stepped off the elevator onto the third floor of Witte Residence Hall for the first time, she wasn’t just entering a dorm.
She was entering Essence, a community which she would come to describe as “its own little neighborhood,” carved out of an isolating predominantly white campus.
UW-Madison’s Science Hall will be undergoing a major renovation, courtesy of a gift from philanthropists.
John and Tashia Morgridge gifted $85.2 million to help restore the university’s iconic red-brick building.
Science Hall was first constructed in 1887 and was built as the first home of the College of Letters & Science. The renovation project is scheduled to begin in 2027.
The State of Wisconsin Department of Administration requested proposals from contractors on May 14 for a new residence hall at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. All proposals are due to the State July 16.
The new dorm, which is expected to be finished by 2028, is a step towards increasing dorm space available for students, a long-time priority for the university.
Fifty years after wild turkeys were reintroduced to Wisconsin, conservationists, hunters and volunteers of the National Wild Turkey Federation gathered on Bascom Hill at the University of Wisconsin–Madison on Sunday, May 17, to celebrate one of the state’s greatest wildlife comeback stories.
As more than two billion people worldwide still lack access to safely managed drinking water, new research from the La Follette School of Public Affairs at UW–Madison investigates the effects of early-life exposure to citywide water filtration on longevity in the early 20th century.
University of Wisconsin-Madison students experienced a higher rate of food insecurity than the national average last school year, and more than a third of Badgers lacked stable, safe, adequate and affordable housing.
As part of its 80th anniversary celebration, Woods Equipment is making financial contributions to agriculture programs at universities and local organizations across the Midwest. Among the universities is UW-Madison.
“For 80 years, our equipment has worked alongside farmers and the next generation of land stewards,” said Jillian Love, Marketing Manager at Woods Equipment. “These partnerships are our way of giving back and making sure there is a next generation ready to carry that work forward.”
A teenager knows something isn’t right. They want to talk to a therapist but don’t want their parents to know everything they say. In Wisconsin, whether the teen can control that decision depends on a set of laws, hinging on the age of the minor, that most teens and many parents do not fully understand.
UW-Madison’s Science Hall will undergo an extensive renovation to restore its historical features while adding modern updates, assisted by an $85.2 million gift from philanthropic couple and class of 1955 alumni John and Tashia Morgridge, the university announced Thursday.
For more than a half-century, Madison has been considered one of the most desirable places to live in the United States. Since 2020, Dane County has added nearly 30,000 residents.
The engine driving much of that growth is in the heart of Madison.
“You can’t discuss housing in Madison without first understanding the impact of the university,” said Paul Soglin, who served as Madison mayor for nearly a quarter-century.
“Pets for Life” is a monthly wellness clinic hosted in Lac du Flambeau, in partnership with UW-Madison’s School of Veterinary Medicine, offering veterinary services that have been scarce in the community.
For the last year, staff from the university’s School of Veterinary Medicine have been making the trips, offering veterinary services that have been scarce in the community.
No one could have predicted the massive spread of golden oyster mushrooms in the United States.
The golden oyster mushroom, or Pleurotus citrinopileatus, seems like an innocent and edible fungi, but it has become a rapidly spreading, invasive species throughout the central and northeastern United States.
In the last 15 years, it has been found in moist woodlands throughout Missouri, especially the upper part of the state and in Boone County.
To get around these days, Pat Richter has been using a cane, a concession to the toll on his 84-year-old hips and knees from playing football.
But he has taken it all in stride.
Even if that stride, in his words, has been reduced to “slow but sure” steps.
Some would suggest that’s the approach the University of Wisconsin should take in hiring its next athletic director, a title Richter once held for 14-plus years.
The Dairy Innovation Hub held its fifth annual Dairy Symposium on Tuesday, May 12, at the Memorial Union on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus. During the day-long event, which drew over 200 attendees, scientists shared and discussed their Hub-funded work with researchers, students, campus colleagues, and others.
On Monday, April 20, 2026, the German+ Program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison hosted its 34th “German Day” in Union South on the UW–Madison campus. Since 1990, students of German from high schools and middle schools have been showcasing their knowledge of German through poetry, spelling, skits, Pictionary, charades, solo and ensemble music performances, posters, and memes.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s solar racing team is unveiling a new solar-powered vehicle built by students.
What is Badger Solar Racing?
Badger Solar Racing is a student-run team at UW-Madison that designs and builds solar-powered vehicles to race in competitions. The organization began focusing on creating solar vehicles in 2021.
Kyle Ma, the president of Badger Solar Racing, said over 100 current and former Badgers are involved in the organization.
UnityPoint Health Meriter and UW Health were recently found to be among the highest-quality healthcare providers in the nation by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The agency gave the hospital and healthcare system a five-star rating for its quality of care including patient experience, safety and clinical outcomes.
The World KidWind Competition brought more than 500 students from around the globe to UW Madison today to take on clean-energy challenges.
Students from 4th grade through 12th grade competed in events ranging from solar home design to wind-tunnel testing.
A University of Wisconsin-Madison business student predicts politics on prediction market platforms, wagering on foreign election outcomes and what President Trump will say during the State of the Union. In the past five months, Jack Campion says he’s made about $110,000.
“I’m making money doing what I love, like I’ve always loved reading the news,” Campion said. “It’s working. Doesn’t work for everybody though.”
A sign of our crazy times: It wasn’t even noteworthy when we learned during the bruhaha over the firing of Jay Rothman, the president of the Universities of Wisconsin, that the position’s market value is millions of dollars below that of a good college basketball player.
Born Kathryn Dorothy Frederick, Clarenbach was raised in Sparta. After graduating from Sparta High School as valedictorian at age 16, Clarenbach went directly to UW-Madison to study political science. By 1946, the 22-year-old had earned her bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D.
She began her women’s rights career while devising a continuing education program for women through the University of Wisconsin-Extension. While she saw success with the program, her husband, a real estate agent, was able to rework his schedule to stay home with their kids.
UW Health has announced the creation of WorkForward, a new non-profit organization that is designed to bolster the national health care workforce.
“Building on the health system’s nationally recognized leadership in developing innovative career pathways in health care, WorkForward is the first employer-based intermediary in health care, aligning employers, educators, governing bodies and other organizations around shared workforce development goals and outcomes,” UW Health said in a news release.
At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a group of students and staff are working to reduce the amount of food wasted. They’re using a tool that a graduate of the university helped develop.
At Badger Markets, food that doesn’t sell right away now gets a second chance.
Mention the “Dream Team” to a longtime sports fan, and they will assume you’re referring to the 1992 U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team, a powerhouse with a roster that included Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.
May 1 marked Decision Day for high school seniors. The date is the traditional deadline for high school seniors to commit to a college or university for the fall semester.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is doing some reporting on which Wisconsin students do – and do not – get into the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The state flagship is the most competitive school to gain admission.
University of Wisconsin-Madison professors, Jane Paulsen and Michael Newton discovered that two proteins decline in the human brain as Huntington disease develops, furthering improvements for treatments of the disease.
Huntington’s disease (HD) is a rare, genetic disease that causes neurons in the brain to degenerate over time, affecting a person’s movement, cognition and overall quality of life.
To understand psychedelics — those powerful and cryptic agents of the mind — scientists are exploring uncharted landscapes. “We don’t yet really know why psilocybin or other psychedelic drugs seem to have the effects that they do,” Professor Paul Hutson, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Transdisciplinary Center for Research in Psychoactive Substances, told the Wisconsin Examiner.
A federal disaster recovery program is reimbursing some Wisconsin hospitals for costs related to COVID-19 response, years after the start of the pandemic.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently announced $5.4 billion in funding awarded from its Public Assistance program to states, local governments and health care systems across the country.
UW-Madison ranked third in the nation in the 2025 U.S. News and World Report’s Best Nuclear Engineering Programs. Four fusion companies spun out of the university — Xantho Technologies, SHINE Technologies, Type One Energy and Realta Fusion — and nearly 600 plasma physics PhD students have graduated from UW-Madison since its founding, interim chancellor Eric Wilcots said in opening remarks.
UW-Madison is closing a pair of libraries this summer as a result of campuswide budget cuts.
Friday was the last day students, faculty, staff and the public could visit the Geology and Geophysics Library. The Social Work Library shutters Aug. 14.
UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin is signing off as the university’s head this week, making way for an interim leader.
Eric Wilcots, the dean of UW-Madison’s College of Letters and Science, the largest division on campus, is succeeding Mnookin as the university’s temporary leader after her last day on Saturday.
Question: Who or what triggers the decision to sound a tornado siren?
Answer: The National Weather Service is responsible for issuing forecasts, watches and warnings for a variety of weather and water hazards. A “warning” is issued when hazardous weather poses an immediate threat to life or property.
Kids from around the country will compete to build wind turbines at the UW-Madison campus.
Another iconic music group is making a stop in Wisconsin this year. The Smashing Pumpkins will perform at the Kohl Center on Sunday, Oct. 11, UW Athletics announced Monday.
The alt rock band, known for hits like “Tonight, Tonight” and “1979,” are celebrating the 30th anniversary of their third studio album, “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.”
Hundreds of anglers took to south central Wisconsin lakes Saturday for the annual Casting for Kids tournament, raising money for children fighting cancer at the UW Carbone Cancer Center and American Family Children’s Hospital
It wasn’t pink plastic flamingos that filled Bascom Hill on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus Sunday morning. It was decoy turkeys.
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the reintroduction of wild turkeys to Wisconsin, the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) planted 50 decoy turkeys at the base of Bascom Hill.
Gas prices have jumped nearly 78 cents a gallon in Madison over the past month, and experts say the increase is driving up grocery costs.
Regular gas is running at $4.57 per gallon on average in Madison, according to AAA.
At Jenifer Street Market on Madison’s east side, co-owner David McKenzie says prices continue to climb, particularly when it comes to produce.
To get around these days, Pat Richter has been using a cane, a concession to the toll on his 84-year-old hips and knees from playing football.
But he has taken it all in stride.
Even if that stride, in his words, has been reduced to “slow but sure” steps.
Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin and I met for a sendoff lunch this week as she departs the University of Wisconsin-Madison after nearly four years.
I asked her how it feels to be moving to a job — the presidency of Columbia University in New York City — once held by Dwight Eisenhower, a future U.S. president.
She smiled and said the story told at Columbia is that Eisenhower, who joined the university in 1948 as a World War II hero, left to run for president in 1952 because, well, the politics required to run the entire nation would be simpler than Columbia’s.
On Feb. 4, 1951, Max Otto delivered the inaugural sermon at the new Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Unitarian Meeting House. The UW-Madison philosophy professor and congregation member said that the striking building on Madison’s near west side, distinguished by a soaring glass and wood “prow,” “will truly be our own if our religious undertaking, ennobled by the beauty of its new home, has vitality and meaning enough to transcend the fame of the building in which it is housed.”
UW-Madison is taking another shot at building a new dorm to alleviate its campus housing crunch.
The Wisconsin Department of Administration, on behalf of the university, posted a request for proposals on Thursday, asking developers to submit plans for student housing with 1,500 to 2,000 beds and a 400-seat dining space.
College students might imagine many nightmare scenarios during finals week:
But what if these horrors weren’t yours alone? What if all students and their professors found themselves living a shared nightmare at the worst possible time?
UW Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin is leaving the university to serve as the 21st president of Columbia University.
She received a farewell party at the Memorial Union Terrace for her last week, including music by the University of Wisconsin Marching Band. She later posted a farewell letter saying serving has been one of the greatest privileges of her life.
Her last day on campus is May 15.
Thousands of students will graduate from colleges in Wisconsin this month, and while concerns about artificial intelligence loom, a college dean and a Madison college student said personality and durable skills are irreplaceable.
Alejandra Beal is a student studying radiography at Madison Area Technical College. She also works as a peer coordinator specialist for the college’s career and employment services department, helping students navigate resources, schedule appointments and approve jobs on Handshake.
Universities across the country have wound down their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in recent years, following criticism of the programs’ patterns of racial discrimination and compelled speech. In some cases, DEI roles were not removed but simply renamed and moved to other departments. In fact, a recent Inside Higher Ed survey found that 43 percent of universities have rebranded their DEI initiatives. The names change; the agenda remains the same.
A malfunctioning freezer at the UW-Madison Zoology building prompted a response from the fire department Tuesday afternoon.
According to the Madison fire, firefighters were dispatched to 1117 W. Johnson Street after 12:35 p.m. for a smoke odor on the third floor.
As more than two billion people worldwide still lack access to safely managed drinking water, new research from the La Follette School of Public Affairs investigates the effects of early-life exposure to citywide water filtration on longevity in the early 20th-century.
UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin is saying goodbye.
She posted a farewell letter Wednesday, calling her time as chancellor one of the greatest privileges of her life.
Mnookin is leaving to become president of Columbia University in New York City.
Patients hospitalized with nonsevere COVID-19 infections who received empiric antibiotics targeting community-acquired pneumonia may not experience clinically meaningful improvement in outcomes and could have a slightly increased risk of clinical deterioration or in-hospital mortality.
