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Category: Community

In the 608: UW Science Expeditions this weekend

Posted on
Channel 3000

The University of Wisconsin–Madison is inviting the community to explore science up close this weekend during its annual UW Science Expeditions.

The free, campus-wide open house runs Friday through Sunday, April 10–12, across UW–Madison. Organizers say the event is designed to connect the public with scientists, students and research spaces through hands-on experiences.

UW Science Expeditions features dozens of venues and activities spanning disciplines from astronomy to zoology. Visitors can take part in interactive exploration stations, attend live science shows and tour labs, museums and greenhouses across campus.

Throughout the weekend, participants can visit locations such as Washburn Observatory, campus greenhouses, and research centers, while meeting scientists and learning about ongoing work at the university.

UW report highlights Exact Sciences economic impact on Wisconsin

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Dane County’s low unemployment rate, and its role as driver of Wisconsin’s economy, is tied in part to Madison-based Exact Sciences, according to a University of Wisconsin report.

“The Economic Impact of Exact Sciences on Dane County and Wisconsin” was published by UW-Madison’s Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy before Exact Sciences was acquired on March 23 by Abbott for $23 billion.

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

Posted on
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.

Madison questions legality of Capitol Square, UW-Madison Flock cameras on city property

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Wisconsin State Journal

Differing views about Flock cameras in Madison, on UW-Madison’s campus and at the state Capitol have come to a head atop five of the city’s traffic signal poles.

Madison officials discovered in recent months that five license plate surveillance Flock Safety cameras — one on UW-Madison’s campus and four on Capitol Square — are mounted on city-owned property and may be in violation of city rules.

Wisconsin’s 28 Most Influential Native American Leaders for 2026, Part 2

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Madison 365

Dr. Lauren W. Yowelunh McLester-Davis is a Research Fellow in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and on the advisory council for the Native American Center for Health Professions.

Dr. Jeneile Luebke is an assistant professor in the School of Nursing at UW-Madison and an enrolled member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians. Her research focuses on gender-based violence in the lives of Indigenous women, using community-engaged and Indigenous-specific research methodologies.

Tara Tindall, an enrolled member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, is the Native American teacher leader for the Madison Metropolitan School District, where she oversees the Native American Education Program and the federal Title VI program serving Native students from pre-K through 12th grade.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in history from UW-Stevens Point and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from UW-Madison.

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.”

UW Health resident creates adaptive crayons for children with disabilities

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Channel 3000

A physical medicine and rehabilitation resident at UW Health is reimagining crayons by creating adaptive crayons for people with developmental disabilities, stemming from her past experiences.

Amber McKenna was in her first residency program back in 2022 at Louisiana State University Health Shreveport when she came up with the idea to use molds to melt wax and make fun-shaped crayons. Her friend suggested she take them to work and hand them out to kids at the hospital where she was doing a pediatrics residency.

Shorewood woman invited strangers to her backyard sauna. The response overwhelmed her

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The importance of relationships cannot be overstated, said Robert McGrath, a University of Wisconsin-Madison psychologist who gives public talks on how to live with vitality and resilience. He pointed to one of the longest-running studies on well-being, where Harvard University scientists followed the same group of men since 1938. The study revealed a simple yet profound conclusion: Good relationships lead to health and happiness.

Share experiences with others, even if it’s a solitary activity, McGrath recommended. He teaches a meditation class, for example, which is not exactly made for sparking conversation. But he sees strangers connect before and after class.

“Any form of connection is going to boost one’s mood,” he said. “Make that effort. Get out and connect.”

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

Posted on
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.

68 out of 72 Wisconsin counties saw a decline in public school students

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Wisconsin Public Radio

West Bend has been working with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Applied Population Lab, which found the district’s enrollment changes are primarily driven by demographic trends, particularly declining birth rates not made up for by new arrivals. The report also notes that kindergarten classes have not replaced the number of graduating seniors in recent years.

UW researchers shine light on indigenous-led research

Posted on
The Badger Herald

After taking community and tribal input, the Manoomin Team aimed to address mixed concerns regarding the state of the restored wild rice — some members of the community feared the rice because of the water it was living in, while others thought that if manoomin was present and growing, it must be healthy, according to Ojibway.

The Hua Lab at UW, led by associate professor within the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology Jessica Hua, has been a key partner in testing samples for heavy metals and PFAS.

“What we know so far … is that wild rice plants, the way that they grow, the way they make seed, is pretty protective of people’s health,” Erickson said. “I think we feel pretty good about people eating rice in the estuary and we can share that with people.”

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.”

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.

Prescribing improv to improve patient-doctor relationships

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Amy Zelenski, associate professor and director of Education Innovation and Scholarship at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, teaches an elective class in improvisational theater.

She recently visited WPR’s “The Larry Meiller Show” to discuss the relationship between improv and improving health care.

“I started my career working with medical residents, and I realized that they could say the words, but they were struggling with the connection piece,” Zelenski recalled.

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

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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.”

Wisconsin family navigates loss of gender-affirming care at UW Health

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Wisconsin Public Radio

In December, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to bar hospitals from providing “sex-rejecting” services for youth under 18.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says that children may experience “irreversible damage” when exposed to puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgical operations at a young age — for example, infertility, impaired sexual function, diminished bone density and other irreversible physiological effects.

As a result, UW Health and Children’s Wisconsin halted what the health organization calls gender-affirming care in January.  If hospitals didn’t abide by federal rules, they would lose funding for Medicare and Medicaid.

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.

Student group repurposes gently used items during dorm move-out

Posted on
The Daily Cardinal

When University of Wisconsin-Madison juniors Amelia Wozniak and Kaleb Roessler worked for a moving company last spring, they were shocked by the amount of housing items that were thrown away in good condition. That observation led them to create Badger Reclaim, an organization dedicated to helping other UW-Madison students by recycling and distributing gently used items to those in need.

25th Bowlin’ for Colons raises money for cancer research

Posted on
WMTV - Channel 15

The 25th Bowlin’ for Colons event was held Sunday, with participants raising money for colon cancer research at the UW Carbone Cancer Center.

Bowlers laced up their shoes at one of nine south central Wisconsin bowling alleys for the fundraiser. Colon cancer is the third most diagnosed cancer.

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

Posted on
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

Posted on
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.

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.

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

Posted on
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.'”

UW Health emergency department gets own address

Posted on
NBC 15

The BerbeeWalsh Emergency Department at University Hospital will now have its own dedicated address, UW Health announced on Thursday.

The emergency department’s new address is 1565 Highland Ave., in Madison.

UW Health explained the emergency department had shared the previous same address as the hospital’s main entrance.

The new address allows for patients and families to get to the department quicker.

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.

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.

Local efforts promote aging-friendly communities and social connection

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Sara Richie, who works to promote aging-friendly communities as the Life Span program manager at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Division of Extension, said it’s important for communities to be inclusive and healthy places for older residents.

“(The community groups) are ensuring that people have an opportunity to lead fulfilling and connected lives and have access to the things that they need to age in place,” Richie said. “They provide an opportunity to celebrate the strengths and contributions of older adults, and have an infrastructure that supports them, and the services to meet their needs as well.”

For years, schools couldn’t offer whole milk. Will they now?

Posted on
MarketPlace

“For schools that were looking for ways to provide cheap and nutritious meals for school children, one of the easiest ways to do that was just to provide milk, even before they were able to provide meals,” explained Andrew Ruis, research scientist in the Wisconsin Center for Education Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of the book “Eating to Learn, Learning to Eat: The Origins of School Lunch in the United States.”

Minnesotan Badgers grieve for their home state amid increased ICE activity

Posted on
The Daily Cardinal

University of Wisconsin-Madison community members from Minnesota say the recent escalation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis has left them feeling frightened, angry and helpless — while also prompting renewed conversations about community, resistance and collective action.

Many Badgers come from Minnesota due to an in-state tuition reciprocity agreement, with about 10%of the UW-Madison undergraduate population calling Minnesota home.

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.  

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 Madison Habitat for Humanity holds 30th annual Souper Bowl fundraiser

Posted on
Channel 3000

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Habitat for Humanity organization celebrated a milestone on Saturday with its 30th annual Souper Bowl fundraiser, bringing together community members and students for a family-friendly tradition that supports affordable housing in Dane County.

The event, held at Madison West High School, offered attendees the opportunity to purchase tickets and choose from more than 100 handmade ceramic bowls to fill with soup and take home as keepsakes.

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.

How 2 alums made house call health care visits popular at UW-Madison

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

hile house calls may seem to belong in the past, they’re trending upward at UW-Madison.

Wisconsin-based company Pivotal Health, which UW-Madison alumni Sal Braico and Pete Johnson launched, has, since 2021, brought nurse practitioners to patients’ living rooms — or dorms — to provide primary and urgent health care.

Hip hop exhibit expands at Wisconsin Historical Society for Black History Month

Posted on
Channel 3000

The Wisconsin Historical Society has reopened and expanded its hip hop exhibit for Black History Month, offering visitors a deeper look into more than five decades of hip hop culture in Wisconsin.

Phase two of the “Lead Between the Rhymes” exhibit now includes recognition of University of Wisconsin artists, students, professors and student organizations that partnered with Madison’s hip hop scene. These collaborations helped organize events including the “Hip Hop as a Movement” conference and other significant cultural gatherings.

Bipartisan antisemitism bill draws controversy over free speech

Posted on
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.

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.”