Wright, who was born in Richland Center in 1867 and briefly studied civil engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is famous for his pioneering work as an architect.
Quan Barry is an English professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the author of many books, including “When I’m Gone, Look for Me in the East” (featured on Big Books and Bold Ideas in 2022) and “We Ride Upon Sticks.” Her new novel is “The Unveiling.”
Curry, then an artist in residence at UW-Madison’s School of Agriculture, took some liberties when he created “Madison Landscape,” a 7-foot-wide, 8-foot-high tempera and oil canvas mural that for more than three decades was a fixture behind the tellers at First National Bank on Capitol Square.
Several, like Curry, have strong connections to Wisconsin. They include:
“Our collective expectations of fathers have shifted. We expect dads to be more involved with their kids,” says Allison Daminger, author of “What’s on Her Mind: The Mental Workload of Family Life” and a professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
“At the same time, the expectations on breadwinning and dads hasn’t changed. We’ve added to their job description. I think younger dads are starting to feel that strain.”
“It’s important to be able to express ourselves through our clothing and kind of use it not only as a statement … that we’re still on campus, but also just have some pride in ourselves and our traditional attire,” said Miinan White, an enrolled member of the Ho-Chunk Nation and a member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe.
Their very first assignment is hand carving the utensil out of a block of poplar. But there is a reason that Katie Hudnall — the director of UW’s woodworking and furniture program — calls it the “not a spoon” assignment.
“If the project was just shaping a perfect wooden spoon, they wouldn’t really get the chance to design something for themselves,” says Hudnall. “The assignment is really to create not just a spoon. The design element is what gets them to unlock their art brains.”
“I really saw a turning point during the pandemic when parents were really struggling, and moms in particular were really struggling,” said Allison Daminger, a sociologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies the division of labor in adult romantic relationships.
Daminger’s book, “What’s on Her Mind: The Mental Workload of Family Life,” examines how gender shapes household duties and why women are more likely to carry the mental load.
Maile Lloyd studied art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she graduated in May 2025 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Originally from Madison, Lloyd is a graduate of West High School and also studied at Madison College
At a time when American politics are increasingly polarized and partisan, the University of Wisconsin-Madison is launching a new undergraduate major focused on working across those divides to create evidence-based public policy.
I had the privilege of visiting Nina Leopold-Bradley in late 2010 at her home in the Wisconsin River valley near Baraboo.
It was no ordinary interview.
Rather than meet at the nearby Aldo Leopold Foundation office, she insisted I come to her private residence and join her friends and family assembled for the holidays. As Nina, then 93 years old, described it, there were just “20 humans at the table, five dogs and four guitars.”
A series of federal and campus funding cuts have plunged the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s foreign language programs into financial uncertainty.
Last spring, UW-Madison regularly offered 31 different foreign languages through the fourth semester level, but now, the future of many lesser-taught languages are in limbo after the Trump administration withheld federal funding and university-ordered campus-wide budget cuts.
If the bear trend reflects fear, the performative male trend reflects distrust. It started as a parody of a certain kind of man: someone who performs “wokeness” for social approval. What stands out, though, is what these videos don’t show. They rarely show the turn, i.e. the moment where the performance is revealed as manipulation. Instead, they stop at the aesthetic: tote bags, curated sensitivity, painted nails—like the real-life performative male contest held at my alma mater, UW–Madison, earlier this fall.
A series of federal and campus funding cuts have plunged the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s foreign language programs into financial uncertainty.
Last spring, UW-Madison regularly offered 31 different foreign languages through the fourth semester level, but now, the future of many lesser-taught languages are in limbo after the Trump administration withheld federal funding and university-ordered campus-wide budget cuts.
Benjamin, who graduated from Vassar College and holds an MFA in fiction from the University of Wisconsin, made her novel debut in 2014 with The Anatomy of Dreams, which received the Edna Ferber Fiction Book Award and was long-listed for the 2014 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize.
AI-generated tracks already make up nearly one in five uploads on some platforms, said Jeremy Morris, a media and cultural studies professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, raising concerns about royalty dilution and algorithmic bias.
“Streaming is the new record-store shelf,” Morris told Axios, adding that algorithms now determine which artists get the best placement.
“When you see your best friend on Zoom, you don’t think, ‘OMG, a ghost,’ or ‘How did she get so tiny and inside my computer?’” says Amanda Shubert, teaching faculty at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and author of the new book “Seeing Things.” “The question my book asks is: When, how, and why did this experience of seeing things that are not there become part of daily life — a kind of illusion we enjoy, but are not tricked by?”
In addition to his radio career, Meiller was a professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison for 106 semesters, before retiring in 2022. He taught in the university’s Department of Life Sciences Communication.
Lowe earned an undergraduate degree in art education from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 1969 and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1973. During his graduate program, Lowe studied sculpture, glassblowing, ceramics and other art forms that would go on to influence his work: a catalog of earthy, curved sculptures built from organic materials.
Musicians in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Medicine and Public Health perform classical music with surgical precision as part of the Medical Sciences Orchestra. Founded in 2018 by fourth-year medical student Joohee Son, the orchestra provides a chance for new operations for students, faculty and alumni in the medical field.
University of Wisconsin-Madison’s chapter of Voices of Courage for Equity and Social Justice (VOCES) hosted a panel discussion with immigration attorneys to teach attendees about immigration rights and how students can support immigrants on campus.
Yung Gravy, rapper and University of Wisconsin-Madison alum, returned to Madison during his nationwide tour for a show at The Sylvee on Nov. 25.
The venue was filled with energy and excitement as Gravy, wearing UW-Madison merch, performed hit songs including “Betty (Get Money),” “oops!” and his latest release “Debbie.”
PhD candidate Morgan Henson received the Gulickson fellowship for the second year in a row, an award given to graduate students working to improve the teaching experience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
His research focuses on how far-right political movements use digital platforms and media to gain political support. Outside the classroom, Henson is making a different kind of impact: helping his fellow teaching assistants.
Mike Leckrone led the UW Marching Band in support of the Badgers for many years, but when Bucky went missing, he rose to the challenge of donning the stripes himself.
For the past few years, Thomsen has been collaborating with the preservation officers with the Ho-Chunk Nation and the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, as well as Sissel Schroeder, an anthropologist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Products Laboratory. Together, they’re unraveling the mysteries of the Indigenous canoes, which are some of the oldest surviving specimens of their kind in eastern North America.
Gary Lupyan, professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin, also emphasizes the importance of context in understanding hitherto unseen words. “Words like ‘horrendible’ in Wicked, by virtue of being so close to a conventional English word, can be understood when first encountered,” he says. “Especially if they’re also used in a context where one might expect a familiar word, such as ‘horrible.’”
In fall 2026, UW-Madison will launch the state’s first undergraduate major in public policy. Students will be able to earn a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science in public policy from La Follette.
“Our point here is not to change anybody’s values, but to have students exercise their intellectual muscles to hear different points of view with the hope that when they enter into the workforce, they will be more amenable and curious about other points of view,” said La Follette School Director Susan Webb Yackee. .
Miller was born in Milwaukee in 1943 spent the first eight years of his life in the Ogden Avenue house, according to Shorewest Realtors agent Nell Benton, who brokered the sale. His family then moved to Dallas, Texas before Miller enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1961.
‘Lab culture: A recipe for innovation in science’ by Dr. Ahna Renee Skop, Crystal Xin Qing, Hareem Rauf, Dr. Diana Chu
This cookbook — written in-part by a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor, a student and an alumnus — is a collection of more than 75 recipes and stories from more than 120 scientists from around the globe who are connected with the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s IF/THEN Ambassadors program.
Mattel reflected on her younger self and the fear of not being good enough when she first began drag, adding she realized years later there is no exact path to success. She emphasized projecting confidence early on and “faking it till you make it.”
“Like who wants to see a drag show where some drag queen is like ‘I’m middle amount good?’” she joked to the audience. “I really believe that the only difference between people really clawing up that mountain and people staring at the top of it is the audacity. Nobody is better than anybody.”
While a fuzzy microfiber suit, red-and-white striped Motion W sweater and 30-pound head are standard issue, it is up to the people inside the costume to make Bucky Badger unique.
In anticipation of the 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2 premiere of the new historical PBS Wisconsin documentary narrated by comedian Charlie Berens — Bucky! — we tracked down former Bucky Cecil Powless to unmask what it takes to become the chaotic and infectious icon of energy that is beloved by the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the entire state.
The competition has grown so much, in fact, that it’s too big for the five staff members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association to handle. They’re now handing the reins to the Universities of Wisconsin, which has sponsored the event since its inception.
The games will be overseen by the university system’s Wisconsin Institute for Citizenship and Civil Dialogue, which will soon become the Office of Civic Engagement, said Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman. Separately, that office will host civic education workshops for teachers across the state over the next three years, funded by a $1.1 million grant through the U.S. Department of Education’s American History & Civics Seminars program.
Tomas Dodds, journalism professor and founder of the Public Media Tech Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, hopes to help local journalists understand the implications of AI in the newsroom by providing a variety of resources, such as training sessions and workshops.
“In the newsroom, you don’t know how your colleagues are using AI,” Dodds said, adding that the Public Media Tech Lab would facilitate discussions in the newsroom where coworkers could disclose how they use it and create AI usage policies from these discussions.
Assistant drum major Arista Whitson helps lead the University of Wisconsin-Madison Marching Band in collaboration with drum major Caleb Monge. For every Badger football game played at Camp Randall, the band performs a pregame, halftime and fifth quarter performance celebrating their legendary tradition with energy and precision.
Written by Susan Webb Yackee, a professor of public affairs and director of the La Follette School of Public Affairs at UW-Madison.
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.
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.
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.”
At the University of Wisconsin, the humanities department is stepping into the AI world with a new initiative. Backed by a $500,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the College of Letters and Science is launching the Center for Humanistic Inquiry into AI and Uncertainty, according to the CL&S website.
Woznick traces his love of nature back to middle school, when he joined an after-school nature club. On Wednesday afternoons, the group would walk to Warner Park and learn about the plants and animals living there. That nascent fascination would inform Woznick’s career path: He double-majored in geology and environmental studies as an undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison before completing a master’s degree in geoscience at Utah State University.
Dugout canoes discovered in Lake Mendota have been getting much attention in recent years, but a series of burial mounds on the lake’s shoreline are now getting their turn.
The Wisconsin Historical Society has announced that a grouping of burial mounds on the UW-Madison campus has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Two University of Wisconsin–Madison professors have been named MacArthur Fellows, receiving one of the nation’s most prestigious honors.
Angel Adames Corraliza studies tropical weather patterns, focusing on atmospheric physics and climate model simulations. He says his research helps improve understanding of the planet and can ultimately save lives.
Sébastien Philippe, the second recipient, studies the harms and risks of building, testing and storing nuclear weapons. Using archival research, data modeling and his experience as a nuclear safety engineer, he examines the damage caused by nuclear testing. His work has influenced policy and improved compensation for people exposed to nuclear radiation.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate is also an author. Her debut novel “Sunny Side Up” narrates the journey of plus-size protagonist Sunny as she powers through life with confidence and humor.
To purposely further adhere his politics and his art, Bad Bunny involved University of Wisconsin-Madison associate professor of history Jorrell Meléndez-Badillo in the DtMF album rollout. The distilled history lessons from Meléndez-Badillo’s acclaimed book “Puerto Rico: A National History” were used as visualizers and displayed onscreen during the Residencia. His anti-colonial storytelling clarifies moments like the SCOTUS Insular cases, which afforded Puerto Rican U.S. citizens only some constitutional rights. He also emphasizes that these decisions were made in the early 1900s, when both journalistic coverage of Puerto Ricans and public intellectual discourse of them (including the President), was almost unilaterally disparaging and racist. This proliferated the idea that Puerto Ricans could never be American because of their “ignorance, laziness, and inferior ability to self-rule” (Melendez-Badillo, ch. 6).
wo more MacArthur fellows were added Wednesday to UW-Madison’s growing list of faculty who have received the prestigious award.
Since 1985, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has granted eight UW-Madison professors the fellowship, which often is referred to as a “genius award.”
Two UW-Madison professors have been named MacArthur Foundation fellows, called “genius awards,” for their work in studying weather patterns in the tropics and investigating the effects of nuclear weapons.
UW-Madison professors Ángel F. Adames Corraliza, who is an atmospheric scientist, and Sébastien Philippe, a nuclear security specialist, were selected Wednesday for the prestigious fellowships. Fellows receive $800,000 paid out over five years for any use.
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation named atmospheric scientist Ángel Adames Corraliza, 37, and nuclear security specialist Sébastien Philippe, 38, as recipients of the prestigious MacArthur fellowship. Also known as the “genius grant,” the national award is given annually to a small group of people across a range of disciplines who show exceptional creativity in their work and future ambitions.
The Overture Concert Organ Series opened on Oct. 2 with a performance by Madison Symphony Orchestra Principal Organist Greg Zelek and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Concert Choir, conducted by Director of Choral Studies Dr. Mariana Farah.
At 31, Zelek is an organ prodigy and has played all over the world. He is one of a handful of full-time symphony organists in the US and has the privilege of performing on the Overture Center’s own stunning, custom-made organ.
University of Wisconsin-Madison officials said the university’s ethnic studies requirement will remain in place Wednesday, as a plan to standardize required courses across the University of Wisconsin System left the requirement in ambiguity.
For Ángel F. Adames Corraliza, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the award is also a recognition of the talent and grit coming from Puerto Rico, where he is from, despite the hardships his community has endured. His research has uncovered many new findings about what drives weather patterns in the tropics, which may eventually help improve forecasting in those regions.
Adames said usually one of his classes would be ending right when the foundation would publish the new class of fellows, so he was planning to end the lecture early to come back to his office. He said he’s having trouble fathoming what it will be like.
“I am low-key expecting that a few people are just going to show up in my office, like right at 11:02 a.m. or something like that,” he said.
Since the fellowship launched in 1981, fellows have included writers, scientists, artists, social scientists, humanists, teachers and entrepreneurs. While no institutional affiliation is required, the award went to the following 2025 fellows with ties to a college or university:
Funding for a long-term study on the effects of social media on 325 Wisconsin teenagers aged 13-15 resumed on Monday after funding for the study was frozen by the Trump administration in March of this year, according to UW News.
The study is operating on a five-year $7.5 million grant from the National Institute of Health who terminated the grant on the basis that the grant no longer “effectuates agency priorities,” according to UW News.
For Jessica Skeesuck, vice chair of the Brothertown Indian Nation, restoring wild rice goes beyond just helping the environment.
“It is an important food from a nutritional value perspective, but also from a very important cultural perspective for many tribes, including Brothertown Indian Nation,” Skeesuck told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.”
Skeesuck and Jessie Conaway, an outdoor educator at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, are co-leads on the Intertribal Lake Winnebago Wild Rice Revitalization Project.
New research going on at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is focused on how Black residents find and build community in the City of Madison, which is predominantly white.
About a dozen students are part of the first research lab within UW-Madison’s Department of African American Studies. It’s called the Soulfolk Collective.
Written by Anthony Hernandez, a faculty member in the Department of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He received a research award from the National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation for his study on leadership in higher education.
Universities of Wisconsin proposal to redesign general education curriculum would eliminate requirements that students take an ethnic or cultural studies class.
UW system administrators are trying to standardize general education requirements to comply with reforms approved during the biennial budget negotiations aimed at making it easier for students to transfer credits between the 13 universities.
Thirteen winners have been announced in the UW-Madison 2025 Cool Science Image Contest.
Winning snapshots include photos from professors, students, and specialists.
The planetarium at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse has educated hundreds of thousands of visitors about deep space and the night sky for close to 60 years.
That run is ending in December when the projection room will host its final program.
The University of Wisconsin’s Institute for Research on Poverty hosted a webinar Sept. 30 to examine the impact of housing quality on families and communities — focusing on health, stability and the lasting effects of discriminatory policies such as redlining.
The event featured presentations from senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Erik Hembre, Emory University assistant professor of epidemiology Christine Ekenga and Boston University assistant professor of sociology Steven Schmidt.
It’s Bucky Badger’s birthday.
The design for the mascot was copyrighted on Oct. 2, 1940, after an illustrator sketched the likeness of an upright badger wearing a cardinal and white sweater. The Library of Congress deemed this Bucky’s birthday.
