With the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s diversity, equity and inclusion programs under fire and its chief diversity officer position vacant, the university has created a new position: special advisor to the chancellor and provost.
There have been at least 58 visa terminations at Wisconsin colleges and universities as of April 17. The terminations include current students as well as alumni who were legally working on their student visas after graduation through a program called Optional Practical Training.
Officials at UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee said they did not believe the terminations at their schools were related to free speech or protests. Some other students nationally have been targeted for their participation in pro-Palestinian protests last year.
University of Wisconsin-Madison pro-Palestine students have the freedom to speak and they must have the freedom to stay. Will Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin stay silent?
The University of Southern California and the University of Wisconsin-Madison are the latest universities to announce plans to trim their spending as they attempt to cope with increasing financial challenges stemming from the funding cutbacks and policy demands coming from the Trump administration.
Last Friday, University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin, Provost Charles Isbell Jr. and Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Rob Cramer advised academic administrators to exercise several budget controls for the remainder of fiscal year 2025, including reducing non-essential spending on travel, supplies, equipment, and events as well as reviewing all vacancies to determine if filling them is critical. Even more significant, all UW-Madison schools, colleges and administrative divisions were instructed to develop 5% and 10% budget reduction plans for the upcoming fiscal year.
Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin this week defended demoting a leader of diversity and inclusion efforts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“It’s not something I did, or would do, lightly. … It was my decision, and I own the responsibility for the decision,” Mnookin told a group of faculty leaders Monday in response to questions over the move. The chancellor said her leadership team also unanimously supported demoting LaVar Charleston, who served as UW-Madison’s vice chancellor for inclusive excellence.
The University Committee met Monday with the Dean of the Graduate School Bill Karpus, Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin and other University of Wisconsin leaders to discuss graduate admissions and federal funding cuts.
Founder and President of Interfaith America, Eboo Patel, joined University of Wisconsin Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin to discuss building bridges and fostering community at Tripp Commons March 12.
Leaders from Wisconsin’s top universities, including University of Wisconsin System President Jay Rothman and UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin, urged Congress to reverse federal research funding cuts at a press conference Wednesday at the UW-Madison’s Health Sciences Learning Center.
Wisconsin receives roughly $654 million per year in National Institutes of Health grants, which supports more than 7,700 jobs and $1.4 billion in economic activity, according to United for Medical Research.
Without additional funds from elsewhere, UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said the capping of indirect costs would have a “ripple effect” on the state’s economy.
Thursday afternoon, University of Wisconsin staff and various members of the scientific community gathered to address concerns of cuts in medical research funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Life-saving work in biomedical research is on the line, University of Wisconsin System and UW-Madison administrators said, if the National Institutes of Health makes cuts to its funding to the system.
“Taking a meat cleaver to this funding is simply wrong,” Universities of Wisconsin System President Jay Rothman said Thursday.
Researchers at the Universities of Wisconsin defended their work in medical research on Thursday as they face uncertainty amidst federal funding cuts.
UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin warned of the danger of “indiscriminate reductions in research funding,” and medical and scientific researchers argued that funding from the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, is critical to their work.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin indicated during a Faculty Senate meeting Monday the university would walk back hiring and rethink grant-making if a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding cut is implemented.
Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin and other campus leaders are evaluating different scenarios for how federal funding cuts and policy changes could affect the University of Wisconsin-Madison financially.
University of Wisconsin System President Jay Rothman and UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin emphasized the mission of the Wisconsin Idea and the value of higher education during the Wisconsin Counties Association Legislative Conference Tuesday.
During a Faculty Senate meeting that was streamed online on Monday, Jennifer L. Mnookin, the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, urged professors to “hold off” on optional expenses so the university could help ensure that “you’re making smart choices.”
“The transition has created for us an enormous amount of uncertainty, combined with fast-moving and changing information,” she said. “It’s generated some potentially quite significant threats to important aspects of our mission, as is true for our peer institutions nationally.”
There’s a significant problem with the federal government’s efforts to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion in research, UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said Monday: the federal government has not defined what exactly it means.
The pause in federal funding is “significant and concerning” for UW-Madison, Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin and other leaders said in a statement.
UW-Madison is encouraging most federally funded research to continue, outside of a “small number” of unspecified stop-work orders aimed at a handful of researchers, the statement said.
Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said she wanted a plan early this year to implement recommendations to improve the Black community experience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. That process may take longer, though, after a shakeup in leadership.
Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin acknowledged hearing “deep concerns” about the future of the University of Wisconsin’s nonrevenue sports.
Schuyler, who is an enrolled Oneida Nation citizen, earned a scholarship to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the 1990s. He dropped out when he was 21 credits short of earning his bachelor’s degree.
The radio broadcast described a new UW-Madison program launching in fall 2024.It would cover not only tuition but room and board, books and other expenses, to enrolled members of Wisconsin Native American tribes.
“That was my sign,” Schuyler said.
UW-Madison started offering six weeks of paid time off to eligible employees in July, after the birth or adoption of a child. Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin celebrated the move. “The truth is that this isn’t going to be terribly expensive to implement,” Mnookin said in April, when the policy was announced.
The university community said farewell to a long-standing fixture on campus when “the Shell” was torn down this fall. UW-Madison’s athletics department plans to build a new indoor football practice facility next to Camp Randall stadium. The $285 million project is needed to remain competitive with peer institutions, especially at a top-tier football program in a northern climate, athletics department officials said.
Speakers included University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin, Top Chef runner-up Dan Jacobs and student speaker Sawyer Getschman.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison now ranks sixth nationally for research ranking, according to the National Science Foundation’s annual rankings. Since 2018, it has ranked 8th out of 920 public and private universities.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison rose in national rankings on federal research activity after slipping for nearly a decade.
The university announced the ranking change Monday alongside an announcement that it had spent a record-breaking $1.7 billion on research for fiscal year 2023, a 13.7% increase over the prior year. UW-Madison’s growth outpaced the national increase of 11.2% spent on university research and development, bringing the national amount spent to $108.8 billion.
he average tenure of university presidents is on the decline.
Nine of the 13 Universities of Wisconsin chancellors assumed their post over the past four years. That tracks with data from The American Council on Education, showing the average tenure of college presidents is roughly six years, down from 8.5 years in 2022.
A new book by a former UW-Superior chancellor digs into why college leaders are vacating these powerful positions. The book profiles seven presidents who stayed at their institutions and brought them through difficult times.
University of Wisconsin chancellors are likely to earn bonuses this school year under a new system that could add more than $40,000 to most of their compensation packages.
Black student enrollment at the state’s flagship university has never surpassed 3 percent of the student body, according to data from the Universities of Wisconsin. In 2023, 1,327 students out of 50,335 identified as Black, about 2.6 percent.
This year, the percentage of underrepresented students of color in the freshman class dropped by 3.7 percentage points from last year to 14.3 percent, according to UW-Madison data.
The percentage of Black, Latino and Indigenous students in UW-Madison’s Class of 2028 has dropped, despite a record number of applications, following last year’s Supreme Court ruling that barred consideration of race in college applications.
A new Universities of Wisconsin policy requires statements in the name of UW institutions to avoid expressing a point of view on political or social controversies.
A racist social media video featuring a University of Wisconsin-Madison student consumed the campus in spring 2023. A Black student advocacy organization formed. Protests staged. A petition signed, to the tune of 67,000 signatures. And an ad-hoc group formed to study the Black experience on campus.
The Levy surname will grace a second UW-Madison building, as prolific Madison-area philanthropists Marv and Jeff Levy have pledged $75 million in support of the College of Engineering’s new building.
University of Wisconsin Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori Reesor hosted a media roundtable with student journalists Tuesday. Updates on campus initiatives, financial and housing needs and free expression were prominent in the discussion.
A lot has been on University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin’s plate since the spring.
Between a 12-day pro-Palestine encampment and juggling the university budget process, she’s had to carefully tread an upcoming election with a student body that has divided perspectives. Mnookin and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori Reesor sat down with campus media Tuesday to discuss free speech efforts, the affordable housing shortage and protest culture.
Dr. Gee has an in-depth conversation with University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin on what the university is doing to improve the sense of belonging for students of color. Their discussion covers Dr. Gee’s participation in a committee working to recognize the universities history with students of color and what can be done moving forward. The committee will be releasing a report soon with their findings and recommendations. Chancellor Mnookin shares about her plans and initiatives in this role at the university and how she sees that they are developing so far.Jennifer L. Mnookin is the 30th leader in the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s 175-year history, and one of the nation’s top legal scholars.
Office of Student Assistance and Support to offer food access, housing, financial support.
“We are stronger when we create space to listen to each other across all kinds of differences,” Mnookin said.
Just days before the start of a new school year — and with it the likely resumption of pro-Palestinian protests on campus — UW-Madison has revised its rules on student protests, including several new restrictions on where and how loud demonstrations can be.
As first-year and transfer students start classes this fall at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, they must watch a new presentation about freedom of expression on campus.
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone thought he’d be exhaling.
But the day after reaching a deal with student protesters, the campus crisis that consumed Mone in early May wasn’t over. In fact, it was intensifying.
The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents approved chancellor pay raises and bonuses for student retention in a closed session meeting Monday.
The new compensation plan will see UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin’s current $811,512 annual salary increased to $892,663. She will also receive a philanthropic bonus of $150,000 for staying at UW-Madison through mid-2025 and $50,000 for each year she stays afterward until June 2029.
Leaders of Wisconsin’s public universities got another pay raise this week and could receive bonuses worth tens of thousands of dollars in the coming years.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison said it would “facilitate access to relevant decision makers” by July. The University of Washington said on Friday that the president and other officials “will meet in person with no more than five student representatives on the divestment request.”
On Friday, nearly two weeks after UW-Madison students pitched their tents on Library Mall, they reached an agreement with the university’s administration.
This afternoon, Dahlia Saba, a media liaison with Students for Justice in Palestine, told our News Producer Faye Parks that – while the agreement does signal a small step forward – it doesn’t address their primary demands.
A handful of students quietly protested the war in Gaza at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s commencement Saturday, but the annual graduation ceremony inside Camp Randall Stadium otherwise proceeded without disruption.
There’s nothing like the threat of a disrupted commencement ceremony to get a deal done.
With tens of thousands of visitors descending on Madison for graduation weekend and protester numbers uncertain for the summer, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the campus’ Students for Justice in Palestine chapter cut a dealFriday.
The tents are coming down at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The university said Friday afternoon it had reached an agreement with pro-Palestinian protesters who first pitched tents April 29. The compromise came hours before commencement weekend began, and the potential for a disrupted ceremony loomed large.
Pro-Palestinian student protesters at UW-Madison agreed Friday to dismantle their illegal encampment on Library Mall and refrain from disrupting this weekend’s commencement after campus officials agreed to several of their demands, including helping students present their concerns to decision-makers about how the university’s endowment is invested.
Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin released a statement shortly after the resolution was reached. She said, “one of the most fundamental missions of a university is and must be to foster engagement and dialogue across intractable differences.”
UW-Madison graduate student and Students for Justice in Palestine spokesperson Abbie Klein discusses demands campus protesters are making of the university and negotiations with its administration.
The administrations of UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee both released statements Wednesday updating their respective campus communities on the status of the pro-Palestine student encampments. Both encampments currently remain standing.
Communication between UW-Madison pro-Palestinian student protesters and campus administration seemed to have fallen apart on Wednesday after protesters requested more than the university leaders were willing to agree to.
Negotiations between leaders at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and students involved in pro-Palestinian demonstrations have broken down.
The UW-Madison students who set up a pro-Palestine encampment on Library Mall last week issued a list of six demands of university leadership. As of Tuesday, the encampment was still in place and negotiations were ongoing, though Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin has pushed back against some of the students’ demands.
This afternoon, during the start of finals week at UW-Madison, several dozen faculty members and staff staged
UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee students’ pro-Palestinian encampment protests entered their second week Monday with communication continuing between students, staff and university administrators.
Several dozen faculty and staff members from the University of Wisconsin-Madison staged a walkout Monday in opposition to the university administration’s response to a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus.
University of Wisconsin-Madison professors confronted Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin on Monday over a decision last week to send in police and break up a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus.
Negotiations are still in progress between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and UW-Madison administrators, but the parties remain at odds over many of the protesters’ demands, Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said at a Faculty Senate meeting on Monday.
