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Category: Campus life

Longtime CEO of Morgridge Institute for Research at UW-Madison to retire

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Wisconsin State Journal

The Morgridge Institute for Research’s leader, Brad Schwartz, is retiring after more than a decade, the UW-Madison-based nonprofit announced Tuesday.

The Morgridge Institute is a private biomedical research hub housed in the taxpayer-supported Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery.

While serving as CEO for 13 years, Schwartz expanded its research footprint in partnership with UW-Madison and recruited top scientists.

Badger Challenge to host gala ball supporting cancer research at UW-Madison

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WKOW - Channel 27

The Badger Challenge is launching a new event to raise funds for cancer research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The 2026 Badger Challenge Ball will bring together survivors, supporters, researchers, and community partners for a formal dinner, reception, and auction at The Edgewater. Set against the lakefront backdrop, the evening aims to celebrate hope while directly supporting life-changing cancer research.

’How is love the solution?’: Black History Month keynote speaker leads ‘Black love’ workshop

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The Daily Cardinal

Award-winning writer, healing justice practitioner and yogi Yolo Akili Robinson hosted Black Love as A Practice: A WorkShop to Help us Embody The Love We Desire Wednesday night, an event planned  by the Black History Month Planning Committee (BHMPC) and the Black Cultural Center (BCC) where students rethought Black love not just as a feeling, but as a practice and a behavior.

Throwback photos: Take a look back at the creation of UW-Madison’s Kohl Center

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

Fans are used to seeing basketball and hockey games at the Kohl Center, but that was only made possible after a large donation and lengthy construction project. On Jan. 17, 1998, the Wisconsin Badgers hosted Northwestern in the inaugural men’s basketball home game following completion of the new facility (UW won 53-33). Former U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, who graduated from UW in 1956, donated $25 million toward the $76.4 million facility. Take a look back at archive photos tracing the construction process.

The ancient US discovery predating the pyramids

Posted on
BBC

Beyond Lake Mendota, Ho-Chunk ancestors left their mark on the landscape through a massive collection of effigy mounds used for gathering, ritual and burial, with at least 4,000 remaining throughout Wisconsin. Today tourists can visit the roughly 200 mounds in Madison, and take the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s First Nations Cultural Landscape Tour – a walking tour that explores upwards of 12,000 years of human history (running between 1 March and 30 November).

“I think the tours are so important for campus,” said Omar Poler, an Indigenous education coordinator in the Office of the Provost and a member of the Sokaogon Chippewa Community. “They’ve changed the way that UW-Madison sees and understands its own place,” Poler notes, adding that this is especially true of the tour guides.

UW humanoid robotics club to build human-like robot from scratch

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The Daily Cardinal

The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Wisconsin Humanoid Robotics club, founded in November, plans to design and build a humanoid robot from scratch.

Humanoid robots are human-like automatons powered by artificial intelligence, with arms, bipedal legs and the ability to execute a range of mechanical tasks in the same way a human would. An analysis by Morgan Stanley projected the humanoid industry to become a $5 trillion market in the next 25 years. Humanoids could have applications in hazardous industrial work environments, consumer households and even scientific operations beyond Earth.

UW-Madison’s public affairs school receives $30M honoring Herb Kohl, finds new home

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Wisconsin Public Radio

The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s La Follette School of Public Affairs has found its future home at one of the college’s oldest buildings — thanks to a $30 million donation from the late U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl’s philanthropic foundation.

The public affairs school is currently sprawled across 28 different locations on UW-Madison’s nearly 1000-acre campus. The gift from Herb Kohl Philanthropies will turn the university’s Music Hall into Herb Kohl Hall and also help support school programming.

Artists vie for major public art commission near UW-Madison campus

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The Cap Times

The inspiration for one of four new public art proposals on the edge of the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus came from a 6-year-old boy named Luke.

“We go birding when we’re in Madison,” said artist Jason Klimoski, who with his wife, Lesley Chang, founded the architecture firm StudioKCA. “When we go to the Arboretum or Vilas Park, robins make that ‘cheerio’ sound: ‘Cheerio, cheerio, cheerio.'”

For first time in decades, UW changes rules for campaigning in dorms

Posted on
The Cap Times

Wisconsin’s state universities are set to have new policies on campaigning in residence halls for the first time in nearly 40 years.

The Board of Regents, which oversees the Universities of Wisconsin system, last reviewed and approved the schools’ policies in 1988, when Ronald Reagan was president, floppy disks were popular and the movie “Die Hard” was released in theaters.

Phish, Shinedown coming to Kohl Center this year

Posted on
Channel 3000

It’s gearing up to be an action-packed summer at the Kohl Center.

UW Athletics and FPC Live announced this week that Shinedown and Phish will perform at the venue later this year. Shinedown is coming to town on May 16 while Phish will have shows on July 7 and 8.

Tickets for Shinedown will go on sale on Friday and tickets for Phish go on sale Feb. 27.

UW Library Friends should be thanked not booted off campus

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Wisconsin State Journal

Readers most likely have encountered the Friends of the UW-Madison Libraries by attending their semi-annual book sales that bring in some $60,000 a year. The friends group has used the proceeds in various ways, including supporting speakers and making grants to visiting scholars using special and often unique material in the UW’s and State Historical Society’s libraries and archives.

How safe is UW drinking water?

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The Badger Herald

The Madison Water Utility oversees the 21 wells that service the City of Madison, including the University of Wisconsin campus, according to Grande. They closely monitor a wide variety of regulated contaminants, like volatile organic compounds, pesticides, inorganic compounds, bacterial contaminations and PFAS, according to Grande.

Global Impact Musician program brings East African players to Madison

Posted on
The Cap Times

Music educator and violinist Zeynep Alpan believes music is more than entertainment — it teaches “life.”

Alpan, who works on music education programming with the New York Philharmonic and Lincoln Center, is the co-founder of Global Impact Musician (GIM), a nonprofit based in New York and partnered with the University of Wisconsin-Madison that works with young professional musicians in East Africa.

UW-Madison now will mandate that students disclose their vaccination status

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison students now will be required to report their vaccination status to the university, campus officials said Thursday.

The mandate comes after UW-Madison announced earlier this month that a student living in an off-campus apartment tested positive for measles. University and Dane County officials said at least 4,000 people were exposed.

UW-Madison to require students share vaccination status for measles

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

UW-Madison has announced it will now require students to share their vaccination status for multiple diseases, including measles.

The policy change comes after a measles case in a UW-Madison student, which was reported in early February. The student visited several locations on and off campus while contagious, and university officials had to notify about 4,000 people who may have been exposed.

Measles cases spread on college campuses

Posted on
Inside Higher Ed

A student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison also tested positive for measles last week; an update from the university on Friday confirmed that the student was no longer contagious and provided a list of times and places, both on and off campus, “where they may have inadvertently exposed others to measles.” The university called for exposed unvaccinated students to quarantine for three weeks in accordance with local public health guidance.

UW-Madison dean named interim chancellor to succeed Jennifer Mnookin

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Wisconsin State Journal

The Universities of Wisconsin has named a temporary successor for UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin.

College of Letters and Science Dean Eric Wilcots will serve as interim chancellor starting May 17 as Mnookin begins her departure to lead Columbia University, UW system President Jay Rothman announced Wednesday.  

SAE to cancel Lily’s Classic fundraiser after negotiations with university

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The Daily Cardinal

Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity will cancel Lily’s Classic, its annual fundraiser and social event on the frozen Lake Mendota, this year after the University of Wisconsin-Madison imposed expectations fraternity leadership said they were not comfortable with.

The event will transition from the traditional philanthropy boot hockey tournament to a private social event after multiple rounds of negotiations with university officials, Harrison Long, SAE’s philanthropy chair, told The Daily Cardinal. He said the fraternity “doesn’t want to be liable” for issues on the ice.

UW-Madison hosts traveling euchre competition

Posted on
WKOW - Channel 27

The University of Wisconsin-Madison hosted a stop on a traveling euchre competition, bringing players together to celebrate the popular Midwest card game.

Campus winners received $1,000 in scholarship funds and will advance to regional competition for a chance to qualify for the 2026 World Euchre Championship in New Glarus, Wisconsin.

UW experts talk AI research ethics

Posted on
The Daily Cardinal

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison discussed ethical concerns stemming from the rise of generative artificial intelligence in academia and research at a Jan. 30 panel.

The panel, which included experts from the UW-Madison Data Science Institute, Libraries and Institutional Review Boards Office (IRB), provided recommendations for researchers, offering definitions and opportunities for ethical AI use in research.

UW–Madison’s Winter Carnival thrills crowds with student-led fun

Posted on
ABC 27

The University of Wisconsin–Madison recently held its Winter Carnival on Saturday, a cherished campus tradition organized by Hoofer clubs.

The event featured Rail Jam, a freestyle skiing and snowboarding competition that attracted large crowds of competitors and spectators. Dave Elsmo, director for Outdoor UW, highlighted the event’s deep roots and organization.

INVESTIGATION: Wisconsin university closes DEI unit but keeps most staff working on equity issues

Posted on
The Center Square

After concerns were raised about spending on DEI, the University of Wisconsin-Madison shuttered a department but kept most of the staff and their titles working on equity issues, an investigation by The Center Square found.

The former Division of Diversity, Equity and Education Achievement – which employed about 100 people who earned more than $7 million annually – had been mired in financial mismanagement and attacks from Republicans before the university closed it last year.

An audit found that the university had no grasp of its total diversity spending and whether it was effective, and auditors identified problematic employee bonuses, travel and other expenses in the division.

Measles risk in Madison is real, UW Health doctor says

Posted on
The Cap Times

Health officials confirmed a second measles case in Wisconsin earlier this week — this time in Madison — and one local expert says there’s a reason to be concerned but clear ways to stay safe and healthy.

The Cap Times spoke with Dr. Joseph McBride, an infectious disease specialist at UW Health, after public health officials reported a University of Wisconsin-Madison student contracted measles, likely through international travel, and potentially exposed people on campus.

Bipartisan antisemitism bill draws controversy over free speech

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The Daily Cardinal

Tensions rose in discussion over a bipartisan bill that would require state agencies, including the University of Wisconsin System, to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism for any “law, ordinance or policy” when evaluating possible discriminatory intent at a Jan. 28 public hearing.

Daniel Hummel, a research fellow with the History Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an expert on U.S. relations with Israel, said there has been increased “antisemitic rhetoric around campus” since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

Madison measles case leads to hundreds of exposures

Posted on
Spectrum News

Dane County health officials continue to contact hundreds of people who may have been exposed to measles after a University of Wisconsin–Madison student tested positive for the highly contagious virus.

Public Health Madison & Dane County posted a growing list of exposure locations on its website, including several UW-Madison buildings such as Union South, the Genetics and Psychology buildings, multiple Madison Metro bus routes, Qdoba on Park Street and the Waisman Center.

UW-Madison Global Health Webinar highlights urgent challenges in childhood vaccination decline, antimicrobial resistance

Posted on
The Daily Cardinal

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Global Health Institute convened experts from around the world with UW-Madison faculty for a Jan. 27 webinar examining the growing complexities of infectious disease control.

The discussion, moderated by Daniel Shirley, an infectious diseases professor at the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, brought together researchers working across human, animal and global health systems to address two converging crises: antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and declining childhood vaccination rates.

43rd annual Wonders of Physics show returns to UW-Madison

Posted on
The Daily Cardinal

Clint Sprott, a UW-Madison physics professor who retired in 2008, started the show in 1984 as a free, public lecture. He still attends the show every year.

“[My] most favorite is seeing the smiles and enthusiasm of the audience,” Sprott said. “The show was a major part of my life for 40 years, and it is certainly fun to be something of a celebrity.”

UW-Madison sophomore launches productivity startup aimed at simplifying student life

Posted on
The Daily Cardinal

Growing up in a first-generation Indian household, Armaan Jain was thrown into activities from a young age — baseball, basketball, soccer and everything but football. The packed schedule forced him to learn time management early, a skill reinforced by parents who deeply valued education and structure.

“From elementary school onward, I had to have systems in place to succeed,” he said. “I learned early that motivation isn’t always there, so you need something that keeps you going anyway.”