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Category: Higher Education/System

The math legend who just left academia—for an AI startup run by a 24-year-old

Posted on
The Wall Street Journal

Ono is an outlier whose career has been untraditional since the very beginning. As a child, pressure from his parents made him so miserable that he didn’t finish high school. Without a diploma, he still went to college, developed his passion for math and taught for decades at the University of Wisconsin and Emory before moving to UVA in 2019. He also led the nation’s top research program for elite undergraduates and mentored 10 winners of the Morgan Prize, including his new boss.

UW’s ‘exuberant cult of fraternity and sorority’ was defended a century ago

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Wisconsin State Journal

This State Journal editorial ran on Dec. 11, 1925:

It is probable that no street the length of Langdon Street in the state has dwelt so many significant people of the earlier period.

The sons and daughters of Langdon Street are known in the world’s affairs, and today are carrying on in many places. The ancestral homes have no special right to complain that, in the march of progress, they have been intruded upon.

UW-Madison proposes moving L&S’s largest majors to new AI-focused school

Posted on
The Daily Cardinal

The University of Wisconsin-Madison wants to separate the school’s largest and fastest growing majors into a new college focused on Artificial Intelligence and computing.

The University  of Wisconsin System Board of Regents will vote  Thursday on the creation of a new College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence at UW-Madison, meeting materials show.

UW-Madison seeks approval to break school of AI, computing into separate college

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison is seeking to break its computer school out into a separate college that will focus on computing and artificial intelligence — a move the university says will position the institution as a leader in AI. The UW Board of Regents will vote Thursday on whether to move the UW-Madison School of Computer, Data, and Information Sciences (CDIS) out of the College of Letters and Science into a new College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence.

UW-Madison will launch Wisconsin’s first public policy undergraduate major

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

In fall 2026, UW-Madison will launch the state’s first undergraduate major in public policy.  Students will be able to earn a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science in public policy from La Follette.

“Our point here is not to change anybody’s values, but to have students exercise their intellectual muscles to hear different points of view with the hope that when they enter into the workforce, they will be more amenable and curious about other points of view,” said La Follette School Director Susan Webb Yackee. .

The important details for Wisconsin in extending contract with Under Armour

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Wisconsin State Journal

Some details of the extension emerged Monday morning when the Board of Regents posted an agenda for a special meeting Tuesday at which it gave unanimous approval. The total amount of cash and merchandise credit for Wisconsin is increasing from $96.75 million under the existing 10-year deal to $104.5 million over the next 10 years.

The contract, which has to be fully signed before it’s released in response to a public records request, is for seven years with a three-year mutual extension, but both Wisconsin and Under Armour were considering it a 10-year arrangement

UW System Board of Regents approves two policy documents from Act 15

Posted on
The Badger Herald

The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents Nov. 19 approved two policy documents established in the 2025 Wisconsin Act 15, regarding general education requirements and teacher workloads, according to an update from UW News.

The proposed policy document regarding UW general education requirements aims to define the Core General Education Requirements for Universities of Wisconsin and the way they transfer between the different universities, according to the Board of Regents meeting notes.

How a Madison woman’s question sparked a growing statewide civics contest

Posted on
Wisconsin Watch

The competition has grown so much, in fact, that it’s too big for the five staff members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association to handle. They’re now handing the reins to the Universities of Wisconsin, which has sponsored the event since its inception.

The games will be overseen by the university system’s Wisconsin Institute for Citizenship and Civil Dialogue, which will soon become the Office of Civic Engagement, said Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman. Separately, that office will host civic education workshops for teachers across the state over the next three years, funded by a $1.1 million grant through the U.S. Department of Education’s American History & Civics Seminars program.

To help their kids ‘climb the ivy,’ Chinese mothers uproot their families for Silicon Valley schools

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San Francisco Chronicle

Her older son, 20, is now studying computer science at Santa Clara University. Her younger one, 18, is a computer engineering student at the University of Wisconsin. In school, they played in a jazz band and cultivated their love for music. These are things, she believes, they couldn’t have had in China. Gao couldn’t spend the last year of her father’s life with him due to the pandemic, but, “I have no regrets,” she said. “Because I see my kids.”

New UW gen ed policy may ease transfer process. But will it erode campus autonomy?

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The state budget passed this summer increased the UW system’s budget by $256 million but came with strings, including requiring all core general education courses be transferable between UW campuses and satisfy general education requirements at the receiving institution by fall 2026.

New UW faculty workload policy could hinder faculty recruitment, professors say

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The UW Board of Regents on Nov. 19 approved controversial changes to a teaching workload policy despite some criticism and concern from faculty.

Under the proposal, full-time instructors would be required to teach at least 24 credits every school year, or four three-credit classes each semester. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison and UW-Milwaukee, where professors are expected to produce more research, the minimum load is 12 credits per year, or two classes per semester.

It’s time to break up the programmatic accrediting agency monopolies

Posted on
Inside Higher Ed

As John D. Wiley, former provost at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, correctly noted almost 20 years ago, “We are already seeing this very phenomenon of degree inflation, and it is being caused by the professions themselves! This is particularly problematic in the health professions, where, it seems, everyone wants to be called ‘doctor.’ I have no problem whatsoever with the professional societies and their accreditors telling us what a graduate must know to practice safely and professionally. I have a big problem, though, when they hand us what amounts to a master’s-level curriculum and tell us the resulting degree must be called a ‘doctor of X.’ This is a transparently self-interested ploy by the profession, and I see no conceivable argument that it is in the public interest. All it does is further confuse an already confusing array of degree names and titles, to no useful purpose.”

What the Trump administration’s latest moves to dismantle the Education Department mean for schools and students

Posted on
Time

Experts also expressed concerns that the process of disseminating funding or services may change once they’re moved to other federal agencies. Nicholas Hillman, a professor in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says he wonders, for instance, if a college that is seeking funding from an OPE grant will now be asked different questions and will have to undergo a different review process, which could potentially create “additional hurdles” for colleges that are “already stretched pretty thin.”

California State University embraces direct admissions

Posted on
Inside Higher Ed

“My work, in partnership with states and national nonprofit organizations, shows that direct admissions programs can not only increase students’ early-college going behaviors but also subsequently raise their college enrollment outcomes,” said Taylor Odle, a professor of education policy studies at the University of Wisconsin. “These benefits are particularly large for students of color, those who will be the first in their family to attend college, and those from lower-income communities. States who have implemented direct admissions also consistently report higher enrollment levels following implementation.”

UW students turning away from gender and ethnic studies degrees

Posted on
Badger Institute

About half as many students in the Universities of Wisconsin system are getting bachelor’s degrees in ethnic and gender studies as did at their peak in 2013.

Bachelor’s degrees focusing on gender and ethnic groups have been on a steady decline, from 157 in the 2012-13 school year to 67 in 2023-24, according to Universities of Wisconsin data reviewed by the Badger Institute. In the most recent school year, 2024-25, the total number rebounded slightly to 82.

UW-Madison faculty blast ‘overreach’ by UW system on transfer credits

Posted on
Cap Times

UW system administrators went too far this fall with proposed changes to how general education course credits transfer, according to faculty and staff across the Universities of Wisconsin.

“It’s a clear overreach,” said Amy Lewis, an assistant professor of music at UW-Madison who co-leads the United Faculty & Academic Staff union on campus.

Have a hot take? Test out UW-Madison’s new AI civil discourse chatbot

Posted on
The Daily Cardinal

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is testing out a new artificial intelligence chatbot that helps students practice civil discourse through simulated conversations and real-time feedback.

The pilot program, part of the university’s new Wisconsin Exchange: Pluralism in Practice initiative, launches this month in collaboration with the Institute for Citizens & Scholars. The AI-powered, voice-based tool allows students to choose topics they care about and engage in short conversations with AI partners that take opposing viewpoints.

UW’s RISE-AI collaboration introduces AI to campus-wide research

Posted on
The Daily Cardinal

The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Data Science Institution will invest in artificial intelligence through their Research, Innovation and Scholarly Excellence (RISE) program to improve studies around the new technology

This new initiative, called “RISE-AI,” already hired 35 employees and current staff, students and faculty. They aim to “become the guides for society” in navigating the rapidly-changing world of AI, conducting research about AI’s uses to explore issues relating to medicine, agriculture and communications.

Major in AI? UW System launches new programs

Posted on
The Daily Cardinal

As artificial intelligence rapidly advances, University of Wisconsin System universities are launching new majors and certificates to prepare students for an increasingly AI-driven workforce.

The programs aim to teach students how to use the technology ethically, practically and responsibly as the technology becomes more integrated into everyday life.

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire started offering majors, certificates and minors in Artificial Intelligence this fall, while the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater has offered an AI-related certificate since as early as spring of 2022. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, engineering students have been able to add a capstone certificate in AI since April.

UW African Studies Program director discusses future of studies following federal budget cuts

Posted on
The Badger Herald

The University of Wisconsin African Studies Program hosted a discussion Wednesday afternoon featuring UW Vice Provost and Dean of the International Division Frances Vavrus and other program directors. The discussion provided insights into the importance and future of international education amidst federal funding cuts.

Diversity, UW-Madison and the Universities of Wisconsin

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Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison has shuttered the equity and well-being department in its human resources office, which worked to retain LGBTQ+ and employees of color.

The university established the Office of Equity, Inclusion and Employee Well-Being in spring 2021 to offer consultation and promote inclusive policies and environments, with a focus on support for traditionally marginalized communities.

 

UW system’s 8% drop in international students offset by freshman enrollment gains

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

The Universities of Wisconsin this fall saw record in-state freshman enrollment growth but reported 8% fewer international students on campus amid federal pressures, including visa crackdowns, according to data released Wednesday.

UW systemwide enrollment is 164,626 students this fall, a slight increase of 190 students, or 0.12%, from last fall. The modest increase is higher compared to student count projections reported last month. That report suggested a loss of nearly 100 students, 0.05% decrease, credited to plummeting international student enrollment.

 

Closing UW System campuses defies Wisconsin’s values

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Wisconsin State Journal

Born in Wisconsin in the 1960s, I was always taught that Wisconsin valued progressive ideas, transparency in government and above all our excellent education system. These ideals made Wisconsin special.

So it was very saddening to see the recent closing of yet another two-year campus in the Universities of Wisconsin System: UW-Plattville Baraboo Sauk County.

Here’s which UW system branch campuses have closed, and which are still open

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

More than half of the Universities of Wisconsin’s two-year branch campuses in recent years have faced closures or significant structural changes to adapt to shrinking enrollment.

Since 2023, with the closure of UW-Platteville Richland, six branch campuses shuttered or plan to. One campus moved classes online and another is relocating instruction to a nearby technical college.

Lifelong Learner: Bridge programs offer adults support for return to college

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Wisconsin State Journal

At 18 years old, Donovan Brendler found himself struggling to find his path in college and grappling with poor academic performance. Eight years later, in 2024, and with a greater sense of direction, he felt prepared to return to college.

That’s when Brendler learned about Badger Ready, a UW-Madison bridge program that provides a pathway to degree completion for adult students with academic barriers to traditional transfer admission. This discovery gave him a sense of empowerment and a renewed belief in his academic potential.

Federal cuts threaten future of Wisconsin’s nationally recognized language programs

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Foreign language departments at Wisconsin colleges and universities are facing an uncertain future after the Trump administration cut several funding sources the programs have relied on for more than 60 years. In March, the U.S. Department of Education dismantled its office of International and Foreign Language Education, which administered several major grant programs for language learning and international study.

Faculty in high-demand fields could get raises under new UW system policy

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Wisconsin State Journal

Universities of Wisconsin faculty in high-demand fields of study could get salary bumps under a new policy that’s part of the recent state budget deal.

Last week, the UW Board of Regents approved a proposal detailing how the UW system will dole out $27 million annually for market pay adjustments to attract and keep faculty in growing fields, fulfilling a legislative reform set in the budget agreement. Of that, $2 million is earmarked for UW-Madison to use for faculty who work in “areas that advance diversity of thought and the foundation of free markets.”

Study: Wisconsin trails most states in college affordability

Posted on
Wisconsin Watch

Public college is less affordable in Wisconsin than in nearly every other state, according to a new analysis of 2022-23 school year data. The nonprofit National College Attainment Network, which advocates for college access, reports annually on each state’s “affordability gap” between the cost of college and what students and their families can pay.

State Democrats introduce bills to reduce tuition costs for students

Posted on
WKOW - Channel 27

State Democrats introduced legislation Thursday in an effort to ease the financial burden on Universities of Wisconsin students.

The “Higher Education Powers Wisconsin Package” includes a bill to extend Bucky’s Tuition Promise.

Under Bucky’s Tuition Promise, the program covers all tuition and fees for UW-Madison students from Wisconsin whose household income is less than $65,000 per year.

Waukesha County takes steps in redevelopment process for former UWM-Waukesha campus

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

At a time of the year when colleges are usually teeming with autumn activity, the University of Wisconsin system’s former Waukesha campus stands silent, a closed venue still awaiting a plan for its future.

As previously envisioned, that future will likely involve some form of mixed-residential development on 71 of its 76 acres on the City of Waukesha’s north side. Now, nearly a year since the fate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Waukesha campus buildings was sealed, a clearer view of that future could emerge on Oct. 27, when the county may decide which developer will be the county’s partner in the effort.

13th annual ‘Fill the Hill’ at UW-Madison kicks off, raising thousands for student causes in 24 hours

Posted on
WKOW - Channel 27

‘Fill the Hill’ at UW-Madison kicked off at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 9. The event is the university’s largest fundraising day, allowing donors to gift money to student groups for 24 hours.

To celebrate the event, a flock of flamingo rubber duckies will be dumped into the fountain at Library Mall at 9 a.m. on Friday Oct. 10. Participants can rescue them with a net and keep the ones they catch.

Two UW–Madison professors awarded prestigious MacArthur ‘Genius grants’

Posted on
WKOW - Channel 27

Two University of Wisconsin–Madison professors have been named MacArthur Fellows, receiving one of the nation’s most prestigious honors.

Angel Adames Corraliza studies tropical weather patterns, focusing on atmospheric physics and climate model simulations. He says his research helps improve understanding of the planet and can ultimately save lives.

Sébastien Philippe, the second recipient, studies the harms and risks of building, testing and storing nuclear weapons. Using archival research, data modeling and his experience as a nuclear safety engineer, he examines the damage caused by nuclear testing. His work has influenced policy and improved compensation for people exposed to nuclear radiation.