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Category: Campus life

UW-Madison will stop sharing Flock camera data with Wisconsin counties tied to ICE

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Wisconsin State Journal

The UW-Madison Police Department will stop sharing its campus Flock camera’s data with Wisconsin counties that are cooperating with federal immigration enforcement, Chief Brent Plisch said at a meeting Monday.

The eight AI-powered surveillance cameras, installed on campus in July, have been a flashpoint at UW-Madison in recent weeks, sparking calls from staff and faculty on leaders and police to remove them, over concerns about mass surveillance and data sharing with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

UW-Madison to revamp sailing facility, outdoor classroom on Lake Mendota shoreline

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Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison is reimagining its sailing facilities and outdoor classroom along the shoreline of Lake Mendota, with major proposed upgrades.

The university is planning to build an estimated $2.7 million facility for its Outdoor UW equipment rental facility and Wisconsin Hoofers outdoors club for boat storage, events and education, according to a preliminary design proposal.

Civil rights activist Ruby Bridges to speak at UW campus event April 8

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The Badger Herald

Civil rights activist Ruby Bridges will be on the University of Wisconsin campus for “A Fireside Chat With Ruby Bridges,”  according to the Wisconsin Union Directorate. The event will take place at Memorial Union in the Shannon Hall April 8 at 7 p.m. as part of the Wisconsin Union Directorate Lecture Series.

The “Fireside Chat” consists of a 60-minute moderated Q&A and a 30-minute audience Q&A, according to the Wisconsin Union. Prospective attendees can submit questions for Bridges through the Wisconsin Union website.

Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson charms a friendly audience at UW-Madison

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Wisconsin State Journal

Only a small fraction of those who showed up Monday evening to see former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speak in the Great Hall at the Memorial Union, which seats about 300, were able to get in.

But those who arrived at least 90 minutes early experienced a freewheeling, good-natured lecture on world affairs. He defended the Trump administration’s recent aggressive foray into foreign policy, including the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran and the capture of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro.

AI is growing. Universities of Wisconsin wants to help you understand it.

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Wisconsin Public Radio

AI technology is developing so fast, experts say advances are becoming hard to measure.

Recognizing this, the Universities of Wisconsin has launched a free series of videos for people who need a starting point.

The AI Skills Access Passport (ASAP) was developed in partnership with UW Credit Union. The series is designed for the general public.

UW-Madison’s budget cuts force Space Place closure

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Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison is closing its astronomy outreach center, UW Space Place, this spring after nearly 36 years, citing budget cuts.

Over the last three decades, the astronomy department has run Space Place as a hub for guest lectures on space and astronomy research, as well as for programming for Madison-area schools and families that teaches about UW-Madison and Wisconsin’s impact in the field.

“Space Place was the primary way of satisfying that sort of demand for the community for decades,” said Jim Lattis, UW Space Place’s longtime former director, who retired last May after more than 30 years and who has continued to volunteer there post-retirement. “So that’s going to go away. The astronomy department is going to do their best, but there’s no longer anybody who is specifically dedicated to doing astronomy outreach in those forms.”

ASM election sees 4% voter turnout in Spring 2026 election

Posted on
The Badger Herald

The University of Wisconsin student body completed voting for the Associated Students of MadisonSpring 2026 Election this week, from March 16 to March 18.

As the polls closed, 2,134 ballots were cast by a student population of 49,724 students. Overall, this was a 4% voter turnout, a decrease from the previous year, which was a 6% voter turnout.

UW disability center sees spike in learning accommodations, mirroring national trend

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The Daily Cardinal

The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s McBurney Disability Resource Center has seen an almost 250% increase in the number of students receiving accommodations over the past 10 years, according to their director Mari Magler.

Nearly one in 10 UW-Madison students was affiliated with the McBurney Center between summer 2024 and spring 2025, with 5,791 students connected to the center and a fall 2024 enrollment of 51,791.

 

UW-Madison-area City Council candidates focus on housing, ICE

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The Cap Times

The Cap Times recently spoke with Gronert and Zhang — both sophomores at the University of Wisconsin-Madison — about their campaigns and hopes for the district, which includes much of the UW-Madison campus and an off-campus area north of Regent Street.

The candidates said housing affordability, transit access and public safety are top priorities. They talked about rising food insecurity, as well as how the university is responding to concerns about the impact of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.

Group formed by UW-Madison faculty wives now a scholarship engine

Posted on
The Cap Times

Richard Leffler never heard of The University League before meeting his wife, Joan, and for years, he attended events only as her guest. When she became president, he watched her lead the nonprofit through the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home to keep programs afloat.

“She worked all day on that computer. She got her own Zoom subscription. Anything she did, she did 100%,” Leffler said.

Since its founding in 1901, the organization has grown from a small social group of faculty wives into a nonprofit that awards scholarships to University of Wisconsin-Madison students and sustains a vibrant community of members. It awarded over $166,000 in scholarships last year.

New UW-Madison provost: ‘We don’t know how long our hotness will last’

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The Cap Times

John Zumbrunnen doesn’t pretend to have all the answers as the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s new provost. He doesn’t actually think he should.

A provost’s job, he said, is to “make sure that campus is asking the right, big strategic questions” and bring together teams in “search for the answers.”

That’s the pitch Zumbrunnen recently made as he sought to become UW-Madison’s next chief academic officer and the second-highest ranking leader on campus.

UW seminar focuses on burning events, population dynamics of midwestern prairies

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The Badger Herald

The Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin held a seminar March 11. It focused on the relationship between the effects of fires and habitat fragmentation on population dynamics of narrow-leaved purple coneflower, Echinacea angustifolia, on the ever fragmenting prairies of western Minnesota. The seminar was hosted by research ecologist at the UW Arboretum Jared Beck.

How Wisconsin squares suing Miami while joining Big Ten’s call for changes to tampering rules

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Wisconsin State Journal

One of the groups experiencing the “Wild West” of current college athletics wants even less oversight.

Big Ten Conference leaders want the NCAA to pause investigations and possible punishments against teams for tampering with athletes around transfer portal windows, according to a letter sent by the Big Ten to the NCAA that was obtained Wednesday by ESPN. The conference, which includes the University of Wisconsin, believes the rules regarding contact with transfers can’t keep up with the rest of the changes made to the landscape of college sports.

State posts, then takes down request for new UW-Madison dorm

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Wisconsin State Journal

In response to questions from the State Journal, DOA spokesperson Tatyana Warrick wrote in an email that the RFP “was posted in error.”

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the request was simply posted prematurely or the state has reconsidered the idea. A spokesperson for Gov. Tony Evers’ administration did not respond to requests for comment from the State Journal.

Wisconsin Union’s inaugural chef-in-residence brings more vegan, vegetarian options to campus

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The Daily Cardinal

Chef Lauren Montelbano has worked as Wisconsin Union’s first chef-in-residence since last April, expanding vegetarian and vegan options across Union restaurants and collaborating with Union chefs to develop recipes and culinary programs for the Madison community.

Over the past year, she designed dishes for the catering menus, Grab ‘N’ Go areas and the Rathskeller and hosted a cooking demo and class through WUD Cuisine to teach more about vegan food preparation.

“I had the opportunity to collaborate and learn from the highly skilled and talented chefs that have made the Union their home,” Montelbano said. “Their attention to detail, passion for teaching and ability to manage multiple high volume businesses at once was inspiring to witness and be a small part of.”

UW-Madison, WARF open San Francisco office to boost campus startups

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Wisconsin State Journal

Entrepreneurs launching startups through UW-Madison and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation will soon have a larger presence on the West Coast.

The university and WARF, the campus’ nonprofit patent licensing arm, are partnering with seven other schools to open a two-year pilot workspace in San Francisco that university-founded startups and teams traveling to the Bay Area can use for work and to meet with investors.

Hmong American Peace Academy received national recognition for exceptional performance. How did it do it?

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Wisconsin Watch

Angelina Vang said she knew she wanted to go to college since her freshman year.

She has choices – she’s been accepted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Loyola University and DePaul University. She’s looking to study medicine and become an emergency physician.

The office has also supported Yang, who plans to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“A lot of the students here are first generation,” Yang said. “Having that support really builds our self-esteem and making sure that we know what we want to do in the future and how we can go to college or enter the workforce.”

UW-Madison faculty union calls for removal of Flock security cameras

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Channel 3000

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department’s use of Flock security cameras has sparked privacy concerns among faculty and staff, leading to calls for the surveillance technology to be removed from campus.

UW-Madison police adopted the security cameras in July 2025. The department said the cameras help with investigations by identifying license plates and vehicles, but do not identify faces, people, gender or race. The system captures photos rather than videos.

‘Mathematicians are just going crazy’: YouTuber 3Blue1Brown packs UW lecture hall, talks high-dimensional spheres

Posted on
The Daily Cardinal

A crowd of over 400 gathered in Van Vleck Hall to hear Grant Sanderson, a STEM content creator known by his YouTube handle 3Blue1Brown, talk about high-dimensional spheres in a Feb. 13 event hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Math Club.

Sanderson’s UW-Madison talk was titled: “Who cares about high-dimensional spheres?” Enough people, a UW-Madison math club member joked, to “outdraw the Harry Styles pre-album release listening party.”

UW-Madison international students navigate uncertain federal policies

Posted on
The Daily Cardinal

As recent changes to immigration policy under the Trump administration lead to a decline in foreign student enrollment across the country, some current and prospective international students feel uncertain about their future in the U.S.

The U.S. saw its largest decline in foreign enrollment in a decade, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic, as international enrollment for the 2025-26 academic year fell by 17%.

At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, freshman international enrollment declined by 30%, with only 325 students joining this academic year compared to 506 students the year before.

Wisconsin Film Festival features ‘September’ songwriter documentary

Posted on
The Cap Times

“The World According to Allee Willis” will be screened as part of the Wisconsin Film Festival on April 10 at the Chazen Museum of Art. Fenton, an award-winning creative visualist and writer (she’s won three Emmys and a Grammy) and Willis’ longtime partner, will lead a discussion after the screening.

Willis grew up in Detroit in the 1950s during the height of Motown and was heavily inspired by the music coming out of the city. She studied journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before moving to Los Angeles.

Academic Staff approve resolution opposing Flock Safety cameras on UW-Madison campus

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WKOW - Channel 27

Academic staff at the University of Wisconsin-Madison approved a resolution Monday opposing the university’s use of license plate reader cameras operated by the company Flock Safety.

The resolution, written by Barrett Elward, Co-President of the United Faculty and Academic Staff Union, raises concerns about privacy and the potential for widespread data collection.

Survey: Fewer than 10 percent of UW-Madison faculty are conservative

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Fewer than 10 percent of faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison identify as conservative, while 70 percent identify as liberal, according to a new poll from the school’s Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership.

The study surveyed 2,388 tenured and tenure-track faculty across all of UW–Madison’s schools and colleges on ideological composition, campus climate, academic freedom, free expression and hiring.

Trump cuts upend UW-Madison students’ plans and research projects

Posted on
The Cap Times

The Trump administration disrupted university research last year by canceling grants, delaying new awards and seeking other policy changes that put millions of dollars in jeopardy both in and beyond Wisconsin.

“There continues to be great volatility and uncertainty around federal funding, which is our largest single source of external revenue,” Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said at a campus meeting last month.

How UW-Madison’s WSUM became the best campus radio station in the country

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

On Feb. 21, the station took home one of the highest awards in college journalism: the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System named WSUM the best college station in the nation.

Kelsey Brannan, the director of student radio at WSUM — one of the station’s two full-time employees — said WSUM’s students provide listeners with authentic shows and music that aren’t replicated on other stations or streaming services.

“You’re hearing students bring in music that you’re not hearing anywhere else,” Brannan said. “They’re telling news stories from their perspective that you’re not getting from the national news or even local outlets — it’s a really unique perspective. You’re hearing sportscasters who are students who are calling the games that their peers are participating in. There’s something really special about that.”

Mount Mary offers a 3-year bachelor’s degree. Universities of Wisconsin could follow.

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Wisconsin Public Radio

This year, Mount Mary University became the first college in Wisconsin to offer a reduced-credit bachelor’s degree.

The Universities of Wisconsin could soon follow.

Last week, the Board of Regents Education Committee unanimously approved revising a policy that would allow campuses to offer 90-credit degrees.

The approval on March 5 did not yet establish three-year degrees.

A critique of the new UW-Madison faculty survey

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Inside Higher Ed

A new report by Alex Tahk, director of the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, reveals the results of an important survey of UW Madison faculty. But there are serious problems with the survey questions, and we need to be careful not to adopt Tahk’s claims about “ideological imbalance and its consequences” uncritically.

UW Athletic Hall of Fame has a new home

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The Daily Cardinal

The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Athletic Hall of Fame will have a new, permanent home outside of the Kohl Center, according to a UW Athletics press release. Construction is set to begin early spring and be completed in time for the 2026 Hall class next September.

UW-Madison faculty pressure leaders to remove on-campus Flock AI cameras

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

A group of UW-Madison faculty and staff is putting pressure on campus police to remove AI-powered license plate-reading surveillance cameras.

UW-Madison installed eight cameras in July 2025 from the Atlanta-based company, Flock Safety. The company operates a network of automated cameras that monitor 24/7 and capture images of the rear of passing cars.

New professorship recognizes Frank Lloyd Wright’s legacy

Posted on
Madison Magazine

Anna Andrzejewski, an art historian who arrived at UW–Madison in the early 2000s, is the first holder of the Wright professorship, which was inaugurated on July 1, 2025.

Andrzejewski has taught a course on Wright’s architecture and writings since 2016. The endowed professorship — which she calls “utterly transformative and inspiring” — will enhance and expand Andrzejewski’s Wright-related teaching and research while supporting student field trips to Wright-designed buildings in the region.

Book Review: ‘The Opinionated University’

Posted on
Inside Higher Ed

“As I argue in a new essay for Inquisitive magazine, institutional neutrality as originally formulated by the University of Wisconsin in 1894 is a concept that protects academic freedom by prohibiting colleges from punishing or condemning faculty for their political views. The issue of affirmative institutional statements is a much later, and more minor, concern. But when a university condemns certain political stands, it inevitably creates the danger of suppressing those ideas.”

“Universities ought to return to the 1894 University of Wisconsin approach to the opinionated university, where academic freedom is so important that even denouncing a professor violates standards of neutrality. But when the concept of institutional neutrality is abused by politicians and administrators to silence faculty, then it becomes a cure worse than the disease. Soucek’s book recognizes these dangers and provides a thoughtful approach to trying to address the problems inherent in the inevitable opinions of a university.”

 

UW requires students to report vaccination records

Posted on
The Badger Herald

As of Thursday, Feb. 12, a new University of Wisconsin policy requires its students to share their vaccination status amidst the recent measles outbreak.

Despite some confusion, according to Jake Baggott, Associate Vice Chancellor & Executive Director of University Health Services, students are not required to be vaccinated but rather obligated to share their status for specific vaccinations, such as Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR), Varicella (Chicken Pox), Hepatitis B and more, according to the UHS Vaccination Records website.

Eight student staff, 2,500 mouths to feed: The Open Seat Food Pantry’s campaign for help

Posted on
The Badger Herald

The Open Seat food pantry, located in the UW Student Activity Center, provides food and hygiene products to students experiencing food insecurity. Open to all UW–Madison students without income verification, the pantry aims to remove barriers to basic needs so students can focus on academics instead of worrying about their next meal.

Now, the eight part-time student employees who operate the pantry are calling on Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori Reesor to fund a full-time, permanent staff position dedicated solely to pantry operations. Student organizers say the current model — in which students manage every aspect of a large-scale food distribution program — is no longer sustainable.