Skip to main content

Category: Higher Education/System

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

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.

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

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 legislature advances $14.6 million funding bill for UW athletics NIL program

Channel 3000

Wisconsin lawmakers moved closer to providing millions in taxpayer funding to help the University of Wisconsin-Madison athletics department compete in the evolving landscape of college sports name, image and likeness programs.

The Joint Finance Committee approved Bill 1034 on Wednesday afternoon in an 8-5 bipartisan vote, advancing legislation that would allocate $14.6 million to UW athletics. The bill could reach the Senate floor as soon as next week.

Women’s History Month: Honoring Vel Phillips, a Wisconsin trailblazer

WMTV - Channel 15

A statue of Vel Phillips stands at the corner of Main and Carroll streets in Madison — the only statue of a Black woman on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Capitol.

Phillips, who became the first Black woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s law school in 1951, built a career defined by historic firsts in Wisconsin politics and civil rights.

Legislative committee advances funds so UW-Madison can pay student athletes

Wisconsin Public Radio

The Legislature’s budget committee voted Wednesday to give more than $14 million a year to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for athletic facilities costs as the sports powerhouse pays student athletes for “name, image, likeness” deals, known as NIL.

But the vote on the GOP-led Joint Finance Committee suggests the legislation will require Democratic votes to get over the finish line in the Senate.

UW-Madison international students navigate uncertain federal policies

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

Book Review: ‘The Opinionated University’

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 campuses can start offering 3-year bachelor’s degrees, Board of Regents says

Wisconsin State Journal

Wisconsin’s public universities are now allowed to offer reduced-credit, three-year degrees — joining dozens of schools across the country finding alternatives to traditional four-year bachelor’s programs.

The UW Board of Regents on Thursday approved policy changes allowing the Universities of Wisconsin’s schools to develop the degrees, which typically require students to take 90 credits to earn a bachelor’s degree, rather than a minimum of 120.

Three-year college degrees could be coming to some UW campuses

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Shorter and ultimately cheaper college degrees could be coming to some University of Wisconsin campuses.

The UW Board of Regents approved revising a policy that previously mandated bachelor’s degree programs be a minimum of 120 credits. The changes, unanimously endorsed without discussion during a March 5 meeting, now allow campuses to offer 90-credit degrees.

UW-Madison lukewarm on 3-year degrees despite UW system’s blessing

The Cap Times

Wisconsin’s 13 public universities can now develop three-year bachelor’s degree programs — but it could be a while before any appear at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“I know there are some other UW institutions that are exploring that as a possibility. We have not had discussions here at Madison about that,” Allison La Tarte, UW-Madison’s vice provost and chief data and analytics officer, said at a recent campus meeting.

UW-Madison students studying abroad in Middle East relocated

WKOW - Channel 27

The University of Wisconsin–Madison is addressing the impact of the ongoing conflict in Iran and the broader Middle East. Students who are studying abroad in the region are being moved to new locations, where the university says they will continue their programs. Their plan aims to ensure the safety and well-being of students and staff.

“The situation is evolving rapidly, and we are closely following developments,” said Fran Vavrus, vice provost and dean of the International Division. Vavrus emphasized the university’s commitment to connecting with both international students in Madison and those studying abroad.

UW-Madison dance major — the first in the nation — turns 100

Wisconsin Public Radio

University of Wisconsin-Madison President Edward Birge did not want the university to be known as a dancing school.

But after physical education instructor Margaret H’Doubler began teaching dance classes in 1918, that’s the direction things were headed. Hundreds of students signed up each semester, and H’Doubler and her students were being invited to colleges and universities across the country to share their methods.

Birge took away H’Doubler’s travel privileges, to no avail.

“It was too late. Other institutions were inviting H’Doubler all the time, and if she couldn’t come to them, they would come to her,” said Andrea Harris, professor of dance history and Buff Brennan faculty fellow in dance at UW-Madison. “The interest outweighed any pushback that there was at that time.”

Which Wisconsin college programs produce highest earnings?

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Milwaukee School of Engineering came out on top, which apparently did not sit well with the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Two UW-Madison economists dove into earnings data by program. Their recent report, “Degrees of Deception,” found their university came out on top for the most majors of any Wisconsin school. But this point of pride was obscured in the overall rankings because the university offers some lower salary-producing programs that MSOE doesn’t offer, such as music and social work.

NSF plans to boost staffing, halve grant solicitations

Inside Higher Ed

Dorota Grejner-Brzezinska, a board member and the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s vice chancellor for research, expressed concern that fewer solicitations will lessen junior faculty’s ability to receive awards that jump-start their careers. She also said the agency’s practice of frontloading the funding of previously multiyear grants further reduces how many researchers receive grants in a year.

 

Sustainability hiring initiative announces new lead, headquarters

The Daily Cardinal

The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s sustainability-focused hiring and research initiative will have a new home at the Wisconsin Energy Institute led by professor of plant and agroecosystem sciences Chris Kucharik.

The RISE-EARTH initiative is one of several hiring and research priorities from campus administration across disciplines like artificial intelligence and human health.

Why UW-Madison interim provost believes he’s the right one for the permanent job

Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison’s Interim Provost John Zumbrunnen saw a room of familiar faces Tuesday during his presentation to faculty and the campus community explaining why he should be in the role permanently.

Zumbrunnen is one of three finalists in the university’s search for the next provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs. Finalists are doing in-person visits to campus this week as UW-Madison seeks a replacement for Charles Isbell Jr., who was named chancellor at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in 2025.

Governor gets firsthand look at future of nuclear energy at UW–Madison

Wisconsin State Journal

The visit follows a partnership announcement between the Public Service Commission and UW’s Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics to study nuclear energy opportunities in the state.

Inside the University of Wisconsin Nuclear Reactor Tuesday morning, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers peered over the shoulders of student operator Nick Tierney, a senior majoring in nuclear engineering, to eye the array of instrumentation on the reactor control panel, then climbed the stairs to look down into the reactor’s cooling pool.

What to know about 4 days of legislation passed in the Assembly

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Name and likeness of college athletes

The bill, if signed into law, would formalize rules around name, image and likeness opportunities for college athletes in the state while providing taxpayer funding for athletic facility maintenance.

UW-Madison, the one power-conference athletic department in the University of Wisconsin System, would receive $14.6 million of taxpayer money annually for debt service for maintaining its athletic facilities. UW-Milwaukee would receive $200,000 for debt service and maintenance for the Klotsche Center, and UW-Green Bay would receive $200,000 for debt service for its athletic facilities.

Ignite Wisconsin grant works to jumpstart Wisconsin’s lead in fusion energy

ABC 27

Ignite Wisconsin’s grant of nearly $800K to the Wisconsin Fusion Energy Coalition will help push Wisconsin as a national hub for fusion energy.

Gov. Tony Evers, along with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), announced Thursday that the coalition, led by 5 Lakes Institute and UW-Madison’s fusion research work, will “accelerate startup formation, supply chain development, and community outreach in a sector projected to reach nearly $3 trillion by 2080.”

International teaching assistants raise concerns over required fluency test

The Daily Cardinal

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has required international students with partial or full teaching assistant appointments to prove their English fluency for decades, but now, amid heightened federal funding uncertainty, some international graduate students say departments are using the test to force them out.

Consequences for failing the language test differ by department and year, and this year, some students say those consequences have become increasingly punitive.

UW master’s programs in education, engineering programs ranked among best in nation

The Badger Herald

University of Wisconsin online master’s in Education and Engineering were ranked 8th and 11th best in the U.S., according to U.S News and World Report rankings.

The UW education program’s No.8 national ranking makes it the highest-ranked program in the Midwest. UW also ranked well in specific online master’s degree programs, including holding the No. 2 in Educational Administration and Supervision.

Land-grant schools spark ag future

Agri-view

Like most schools, UW started out small with just a couple of buildings – North Hall and South Hall – on Bascom, a hill in Madison where the campus was established. And though agriculture was part of the mission from the beginning, the School of Agriculture at the university we now take for granted began much later.

College athletes’ NIL deals would be exempt from public records law under Wisconsin bill

Isthmus

UW-Madison is looking for an additional $14.6 million from taxpayers annually to maintain its athletics facilities.

But the state’s flagship public university also wants to ensure that name, image and likeness (NIL) contracts for the student athletes who train in them — and all other Badgers athletes — aren’t viewable by the public. Legislators on the Assembly Committee on State Affairs on Feb. 11 unanimously passed a bill which would exempt NIL contracts and revenue sharing for any UW campus from Wisconsin’s public records law.

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

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

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.