Extraordinary members of the University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty have been honored during the last year with awards supported by the estate of professor, U.S. Senator and UW Regent William F. Vilas (1840–1908).
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.
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 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.
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.
University of Wisconsin-Madison’s University Health Services is hosting a free art and history gallery this April highlighting campus sexual assault activism over the past 50 years, featuring student-made artwork for Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
The exhibit is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday on the first floor of 333 East Campus Mall as part of a Connect and Reflect series to raise awareness about sexual violence.
University Wisconsin-Madison College Democrats and Republicans debated campus free speech, foreign policy and political polarization at Union South Monday in an event focused on fostering productive conversations between those with differing opinions.
The Wisconsin Union Directorate Society and Politics Committee moderated the conversation.
The severe weather in Madison this week couldn’t stop the reemergence of the colorful sunburst chairs at UW-Madison’s Memorial Union Terrace.
Crews unpacked the orange, yellow and green sunburst chairs and tables on Wednesday in preparation for a celebration at 3 p.m. Friday for the official opening of the terrace at the Memorial Union, 800 Langdon St.
One of the best-selling authors in the world will be giving the keynote commencement speech at UW-Madison this spring.
James Patterson was announced as the spring speaker by UW-Madison in a press release on Wednesday.
“James Patterson has shown what it means to make the most of your education — and what it means to give back. We are thrilled to welcome him as this year’s commencement speaker,” UW–Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said. “His successes as a writer are unparalleled, and so is the generosity of his time, talent and resources, which have made lasting impacts on higher education and the lives of countless students.”
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 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 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.
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.
The Wisconsin Union will return its iconic sunburst chairs to the Memorial Union Terrace on April 15.
A Terrace chair return party will follow on April 17, starting at 3 p.m. The event will feature free Terrace-themed watercolor painting from 5-8 p.m., music from DJ Margaux from 3-5 p.m. and lawn games, according to a press release.
The Madison Police Department said a shooting near UW’s campus on Saturday is now considered to be accidental.
Police responded to Langdon Street, near N Carroll Street, around 3:30 a.m. after they heard someone had been shot in the arm. When they got there, they found a 16-year-old with a gunshot wound to his forearm.
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.
Start the countdown. The iconic sunburst chairs will soon return to the Memorial Union Terrace.
The Wisconsin Union announced Tuesday that the chairs will be placed on the Terrace on April 15. The Union will host a Terrace chair return party on April 17 at 3 p.m.
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.”
Students at UW-Madison’s student radio station WSUM are celebrating a recent winning streak of awards, including a top honor of best college station in the nation from the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS).
After nearly four hours of contentious debate, the Associated Students of Madison reached their meeting’s time limit Wednesday and failed to vote on a resolution which would call on the University of Wisconsin System to divest from Israel.
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.
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.
In a rare moment of drama in the Senate Tuesday, a bill that would give the UW-Madison athletics department millions to pay down debt and free up other money for revenue-sharing with players passed by a single vote that changed just as the legislation appeared doomed.
“Our Town” was adapted as an opera by composer Ned Rorem and librettist J.D. McClatchy in 2005. It premiered at Indiana University Opera and Ballet Theater in 2006.
The operatic production is coming to University Opera on March 20 for a four-day run in Music Hall on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.
Some Wisconsin campuses called off in-person instruction Monday as gusty blizzard winds ripped through the state, while students at other universities trekked to class through the snow.
UW-Madison students took advantage of the snowy weather from the blizzard that swept across Wisconsin on Monday.
The Cap Times will host middle and high school students this July for the 2026 Youth Press Corps, a summer journalism camp coordinated by the Greater Madison Writing Project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Following the sports and money theme, the Senate will also consider a bill that would give more than $14 million to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for athletic facility costs in order to offset the money the school pays student athletes in NIL deals.
Conservative-backed Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Maria Lazar discussed judicial impartiality, gerrymandering and the importance of freedom of speech for University of Wisconsin-Madison students in an interview with The Daily Cardinal Friday.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A Flock Safety camera installed near Memorial Union sparked confusion between the City of Madison and the University of Wisconsin-Madison over who owns the pole supporting the device — and whether the camera complies with city regulations.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Dance Department is celebrating its 100th year of operation, making it the oldest in the United States to offer an accredited dance degree. While the program was established in June 1926, founder Margaret H’Doubler began her instruction nine years prior.
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.
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.
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.”
The University League is celebrating 125 years of providing student scholarships to UW-Madison students, while also promoting volunteer, educational and social activities for its members.
The league has 31 endowed scholarships, along with a general scholarship fund.
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.
UW-Madison’s dance department celebrates its one-hundredth anniversary this year. A century of history comes with challenges faced along the way. Much of the department’s success is accredited to innovative contributions by founder Margaret H’Doubler and student dancers.
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.”
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.
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.”
A new housing assessment study reported that private development meets the needs of the University of Madison students and claimed there exists housing accessibility and affordability in Madison, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
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.
“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 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.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Academic Staff Assembly passed a resolution on Monday calling for UWPD to end their contract with Flock Safety and publish all other contracts with surveillance technology companies, like Motorola Safeties and Rhombus.
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.
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.
W-Madison has named John Zumbrunnen provost after he’s served in the interim role since June, Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin announced Monday.
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.”
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter, with help from the Madison Anarchist League chapter and several local bands, organized a fundraiser for Sudan at the Mousetrap on Feb. 28.
Current District 8 Alder MGR Govindarajan, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison College Democrats, endorsed sophomore candidate Ellen Zhang in the upcoming Madison Common Council election on Thursday, citing her understanding of city government and ability to build relationships within local leadership.
Interim Provost John Zumbrunnen has been selected to hold the role of provost permanently, beating out finalists Anna Stenport (the University of Georgia) and Charles Martinez Jr. (the University of Texas-Austin), the University of Wisconsin-Madison announced Monday.
John Zumbrunnen has been appointed as the provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin announced. The position is the second to the chancellor UW, managing all academic program and budget planning.
John Zumbrunnen, who has served as interim provost for UW-Madison since June 2025, saw that interim tag removed Monday. He was also named the school’s executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin announced.
John Zumbrunnen has been named the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin announced Monday.
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.
