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.”
The Wisconsin Badgers are in a relatively rare position.
For just the third time in more than three decades, UW will be hiring a new athletic director.
Chris McIntosh left earlier in April to take a new position with the Big Ten as its deputy commissioner for strategy. Marcus Sedberry will serve as interim athletic director during the national search.
One Madison police officer was hurt and another was taken to the hospital after trying to break up a fight on State Street following a busy weekend of events.
The Mifflin Street Block Party brought thousands together Saturday, with crowds later migrating to State Street. Students said State Street had more people than usual, with lines around buildings and the roadway filled with people dressed in Badger gear.
Around framed photos of his dogs and Badger merchandise, a paper name plate on John Zumbrunnen’s desk in Bascom Hall at UW-Madison has the word “interim” crossed out with a pen.
After nine months as interim provost, Zumbrunnen secured his role as the university’s chief academic officer and second-ranking official after a national search this winter. As provost, he oversees academic programs and budget planning.
Carlos Bello sent out 60 to 70 job applications early this spring. But with less than two months left before he graduates from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he still hadn’t landed a job.
The University of Wisconsin Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research announced April 21 that it is planning to change its organizational structure, according to UW News.
“The efforts include a proposed reorganization intended to better support the research and scholarly mission of UW–Madison and grow the research enterprise and creative expression across arts and humanities, biological sciences, physical sciences and social sciences,” according to UW News.
Associated Students of Madison members proposed an amendment to University of Wisconsin’s election day policy to the Faculty Senate for consideration that would extend excused absences for student election officials to include early voting periods, according to ASM vote coordinator Alisha Latham.
Law enforcement agencies in Dane County have been using AI-enhanced cameras to help investigate crimes over the past few years, but the Sheriff’s Office must now shift its strategy following a County Board vote.
The board removed $80,000 in funding from the sheriff’s budget for Flock Safety cameras, following concerns over the Atlanta-based company and how local law enforcement use surveillance software. The sheriff had contracted with Flock years ago for two dozen automatic license plate readers, which are scattered around the county.
Saturday is setting up to be one of the most crowded days of the year in downtown Madison, and several streets will be closed because of different events.
The annual Mifflin Street Block Party will take over the area just outside the UW-Madison campus. The event is unpermitted, but Madison police will close some streets to keep things safe.
UW-Madison researchers are celebrating a new executive order from President Donald Trump that expedites FDA approval for psychedelic treatments for conditions like depression and PTSD.
Paul Hutson from UW-Madison School of Pharmacy, who has studied psychedelics for mental health for years, says the new executive order will not only expedite FDA approvals but may help secure state funding for their research.
Anjon Audhya, PhD, will become the inaugural vice dean for research for the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health effective April 19. The role serves as the chief research officer for the school, charged with articulating the goals and vision of the school’s research enterprise to major stakeholder groups and planning for the long-term success and global impact of research activities.
A philanthropic couple just got a top honor at UW-Madison: their own Babcock Dairy ice cream flavor.
Babcock Dairy on Thursday announced a new, limited-edition flavor in honor of James Patterson, best-selling author and this spring’s commencement speaker, and his wife, Badger alum and longtime donor Sue Patterson.
Ellie Huber sat down with staff writer Henry Matson to discuss longtime UW-Madison faculty member Kristin Eschenfelder’s appointment as L&S dean amid broader leadership changes. In other campus news, student Democrats and Republicans debate foreign policy, free speech and political polarization, and Memorial Union’s sunburst chairs are back on the terrace.
The University of Wisconsin System has undergone a striking series of leadership changes over the past few months. In February, University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin announced her departure for Columbia University. A couple weeks ago, the Regents terminated President Jay Rothman, and most recently, Athletic Director Chris McIntosh announced his exit.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison ranked first on the Peace Corps’ 2026 Top Volunteer-Producing Colleges and Universities list, according to an April 7 Peace Corps press release.
The university also ranked first in 2025 and sustained its second place ranking for all-time volunteer-producing institution
College freshman Nandini Aluri spent a month “all day and all night” painting dozens of designs — a digital camera, the University of Wisconsin-Madison crest, an intricate design in the style of henna — on a matching set of brown corduroy pants and jacket.
She designed this wearable suit for “Becoming,” a fashion show hosted by The Vault. The Vault is a student organization at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that focuses on fashion, from design to marketing to business operations.
Also on the panel was Parnia Serjooei, a University of Wisconsin-Madison student with plans to apply to medical school this May. She is the vice president of the UW Persian Students Society and has visited Iran.
Several Downtown and UW-Madison campus-area streets will be closed for a time on Saturday to make way for the annual UW Athletics fundraiser known as the Crazylegs Classic.
More than 9,000 people are expected to participate in the event’s 8K wheelchair race, 8K run or 2-mile walk, with the wheelchair race starting at 9:50 a.m., the run at 10 a.m. and the walk at 10:20 a.m.
During his four years at UW-Madison, student Harshet Anand repeated the “painful” and competitive search for housing in Madison with his roommates.
“We’d bounce between Zillow, Apartments.com, Facebook groups, texts from anyone that was older than us,” said Anand, a computer and data science major who graduated in spring 2025. “We’d spend hours and hours comparing listings, waiting days for property managers to respond to emails, scheduling tours around sometimes midterms.”
The police are assigned and the balconies inspected. All that’s left — as much as city leaders might wish otherwise — is for the drinking to begin.
With the Mifflin Street Block Party scheduled for Saturday, Madison officials on Wednesday laid out a series of warnings and plans pertaining to the annual and unsanctioned bacchanalia that traditionally occurs near the end of the UW-Madison spring semester.
UW-Madison is gearing up to bid farewell to its chancellor, Jennifer Mnookin, who is leaving next month to take the helm at Columbia University.
The university is hosting a send-off for Mnookin on May 14 at the Memorial Union Terrace from 2 to 4 p.m. for the campus community, UW-Madison announced Wednesday.
Marcus Sedberry is getting a pay raise to serve as interim athletic director at the University of Wisconsin.
Sedberry will have an annual base salary of $875,000 for the temporary role, according to an offer letter from UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin dated April 12. That was the same day Chris McIntosh submitted a resignation letteras he left the school to take a job as deputy commissioner of strategy at the Big Ten Conference.
Author Sarah Thankam Mathews spoke about her relationship with writing and her experience immigrating to the U.S. last Thursday as part of the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Heritage Month keynote speech.
Mathews is a University of Wisconsin-Madison alum who published her debut novel, “All This Could Be Different,” in 2022. The book follows a young woman in Milwaukee in 2008 as she navigates relationships and employment during the Great Recession.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has chosen journalist Eliot Stein’s “Custodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Alive” as the Go Big Read book for the 2026-2027 school year, according to UW News.
The Wisconsin Hoofers are getting a new expansion, as the University of Wisconsin plans a $2.7 million renovation to the club’s lake lab, according to Isthmus. The renovation to the lake lab, which is located off the Memorial Union shoreline, would include additional storage for the Hoofers’ sailing facility, an expanded rooftop, and a ramp compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, according to Isthmus.
The UW-Madison Police Department is renewing call for information in the 1982 death of UW-Madison student Donna Mraz.
In the early morning hours of July 2, 1982 just days before the July 4 holiday Mraz was walking home from her shift at The Bittersweet restaurant on State Street. While on a sidewalk behind Camp Randall Stadium, she was stabbed repeatedly by an unknown offender with an unknown motivation.
A University of Wisconsin lab worker upset about his colleague’s behavior and promotion allegedly confessed to poisoning the co-worker’s water bottle.
Makoto Kuroda, 41, was charged with recklessly endangering safety and tampering with a household product “with the intent to kill, injure or otherwise endanger the health” of another person, according to a criminal complaint filed in Dane County last week.
Mike Abernethy had an unexpected meeting with a former patient in 2020 — one he’ll never forget.
It was after a shift in the emergency department. He was checking out with groceries at Walmart when a man approached him and asked, “Are you Dr. Abernethy?”
Abernethy had no recollection of the man until he unzipped his jacket and revealed a large scar.
Severe storms swept through Wisconsin last week, bringing strong winds, heavy rainfall and massive hail that caused extensive damage to homes, businesses and cars, especially in the central and southern parts of the state
About 900 University of Wisconsin–Madison students are preparing for Humorology, the university’s largest student-run philanthropy and variety show tradition.
Students spend the year writing and performing original mini-musicals in teams made up of Greek life and other campus groups. The final shows will be held April 23–25 at the Wisconsin Union Theater in Madison.
The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art on Tuesday announced the addition of Gelsy Verna’s ‘Mother, Father, Please Help Me‘ to its permanent collection.
The piece was one of Verna’s last major works and will be on display as part of an exhibition at MMoCA’s Henry Street Gallery from May 8 to Sept. 27. Verna, a Haitian-born Canadian artist, served as an associate professor at UW-Madison from 2001 to 2008. The school’s art department dedicated a project space in her memory following her death in March 2008.
UW-Madison’s future engineering building just got another major fundraising boost.
Badger alumni and donors John and Tashia Morgridge have donated $25 million toward the university’s 395,000-square-foot engineering building that’s under construction, the Phillip A. Levy Engineering Center, the university announced Tuesday.
A cluster of outdated historic dorms at UW-Madison next to Lake Mendota is getting a major makeover, including new elevators and air conditioning.
Located in UW-Madison’s Lakeshore neighborhood, Humphrey and Jorns halls and Kronshage Residence Hall’s complex — which consists of a main building and eight smaller buildings — will be overhauled with $79.2 million in upgrades starting next fall, according to UW Board of Regents materials.
The visible light spectrum covers colors from violet to red. Each color corresponds to a different wavelength, with green sitting roughly in the middle. Blue and violet have shorter wavelengths. Light rays change direction when they hit particles — a process known as scattering. The sky looks blue because air molecules scatter shorter wavelengths more effectively.
After months of listening, learning and analysis, the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research is undergoing strategic planning efforts focused on a comprehensive set of updates to ensure the University of Wisconsin–Madison maintains a strong and resilient research enterprise amid significant changes to the research environment and to meet identified areas of opportunity.
A scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison had simmered for years with such resentment and jealousy over a colleague that he poisoned the man’s water with chemicals this month, local authorities said.
A University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher admitted to poisoning his colleague, saying he was angered by the co-worker’s attitude after a promotion and his disdain for following lab rules, according to a complaint filed in Dane County Circuit Court.
You’re one of the smartest people in the country. You’ve had success throughout your career, academically and professionally. You serve on several boards of international businesses and joined public policy debates. You’ve answered questions on national issues posed by conservative and liberal talk show and podcast hosts.
But you might write the following note turning down a suggestion that you apply to be the next president of the Universities of Wisconsin.
A UW-Madison School of Journalism Ph.D. student is back home living just outside Tehran. Each day brings fear and uncertainty for Tahereh Rahimi, who does not support the war, nor does she support the regime. She sees her country and people living there being destroyed. Communications are mostly down in the country, so we sent her questions to learn firsthand what it’s like right now. Here’s a sampling of what she said.
the Trump Administration has slashed the number of grants from the National Institutes of Health, with far fewer focused on women, cancer and mental health
The ICE OUT UW Coalition marched up Bascom Hill to demand the University of Wisconsin end surveillance and refuse cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcements on Higher Education Day of Action April 17.
ICE OUT UW is comprised of UW’s United Faculty and Academic Staff union, their graduate student union Teaching Assistant Association and several student groups such as the Socialist Alternative and Voces de la Frontera, according to Wisconsin Bail Out the People Movement.
The Transcend UW startup competition hosted student entrepreneurs in the Discovery Building April 16 to 17, according to the Transcend website. At the event, participants pitched ventures and connected with investors and industry professionals, according to Transcend President Siddharth Singh. Prize winners walked away with thousands of dollars for their innovations.
Four people were charged in the shooting of a 17-year-old on Lathrop St., leading to their death in 2021.
The teen was killed in a drive-by near the UW-Madison campus.
Police found 18 spent shell casings and the victim had a single gunshot wound.
UW Madison hosting Family Gardening Day in May.
This spring, the staff of the Chazen Museum of Art in Madison, Wis., is in the midst of shuffling the deck of its collection, following a well-laid plan but staying open to last-minute inspiration as they go. The museum will be closed for around two months this summer, with the grand reopening scheduled for September.
Mick Byrne made it clear his impending retirement was not a revelation. Instead, some alarms went off for the University of Wisconsin cross country and track coach.
In late November, a handful of days after the NCAA men’s and women’s cross-country championships, Byrne had triple bypass heart surgery.
Wisconsin mothers on Medicaid will soon have access to a full year of postpartum health coverage after Gov. Tony Evers signed legislation extending benefits from 60 days to 12 months after giving birth.
The policy change addresses what doctors consider a dangerous and long-standing gap in care, when many pregnancy-related complications and mental health challenges emerge.
