The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s outgoing chancellor is warning regents that the state’s bitter political polarization is the greatest threat to the school’s existence.
Blank: Political divide is greatest threat to UW-Madison
AP News
Category: Top Stories
UW-Madison keeps alive its 20-year streak in international computer competition
Wisconsin State Journal
The university’s team placed 17th out of 117 teams at the International Collegiate Programming Contest world finals in Moscow last fall, the results of which were recently released. It’s the 20th consecutive year UW-Madison has made it to the world finals, a title no other school in North America can claim, according to the university’s Computer Sciences department.
Inside UW-Madison’s new Chemistry Tower: modern labs, study spaces and a ‘library of the future’
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison opened its gleaming nine-story Chemistry Tower to students this semester after months of construction delays. The new building at 1101 University Ave. will ease enrollment bottlenecks that have plagued the department for decades.
Beloit College mandates COVID-19 booster shots while UW-Madison starts collecting booster data
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank told a faculty committee during a Monday meeting that she didn’t know what percentage of the campus community is boosted beyond those who received it at University Health Services. The university will be encouraging students and staff to report if they have been boosted off-campus to get a better picture of booster status across UW-Madison.
Tommy Thompson resigning from post as interim president of UW System
Wisconsin Public Radio
University of Wisconsin System interim President Tommy Thompson plans to resign from the position March 18.
The former Wisconsin governor took on the role July 1, 2020, after being hired that June by the system’s Board of Regents. Thompson has been filling the void after a failed search for a replacement for former UW System President Ray Cross, who retired in 2020 after serving as president since 2014. Thompson was 78 at the time of being hired for the interim role.
University of Wisconsin System interim President Tommy Thompson is resigning
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
UW System interim President Tommy Thompson is resigning from his post, effective March 18.
He announced his impending departure to the UW Board on Friday, as the search committee tasked with finding a permanent president anticipated it would name a hire sometime in February.
Tommy Thompson announces he will step down as UW System president mid-March
Wisconsin State Journal
Tommy Thompson announced that his last day leading the University of Wisconsin System will be March 18. His resignation announcement came Friday, the same day that a committee of UW Board of Regents members meet to select finalists in the presidential search.
UW-Madison to host community listening sessions for chancellor search
The Capital Times
The university announced on Thursday upcoming dates for a series of listening sessions that will take place throughout January, hosted by a 21-person search committee of Regent members, community representatives, administrators, students and faculty.
How Psychedelic Drugs Can Be Used for Mental Health
The New York Times
That research isn’t conclusive yet, said Paul Hutson, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies psilocybin and leads the school’s center for psychedelics research. But he anticipates there will soon be enough evidence for the Food and Drug Administration to approve psilocybin capsules to treat at least some of these disorders — most likely in the next five years or so.
UW-Madison study shows fasting, calorie restriction lead to longer, healthier lives for mice
Wisconsin Public Radio
Dudley Lamming, an associate professor of medicine at UW-Madison, and graduate student Heidi Pak were in the midst of a calorie restriction study using mice when Pak noticed the mice ate the food they were given within two hours, going another 22 hours before eating again.
UW-Madison again ranks 8th in nation for research spending
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison retained its top-10 rank in research spending among hundreds of institutions, according to the latest figures released Monday by the National Science Foundation.
Sharks may be able to protect us from coronavirus, research suggests. Here’s how
Miami Herald (McClatchy)
Although some may fear sharks when swimming in open waters, these often misunderstood creatures may hold a way to help protect us from the coronavirus, new research suggests. As one of the ocean’s top predators, sharks have antibody-like proteins that can stop the virus that causes COVID-19, according to a study published Dec. 16.
Search panel aims to name next UW-Madison chancellor in May
Wisconsin State Journal
The tentative timeline, laid out for the first time by search committee chair Karen Walsh, includes an application deadline in mid-March, semifinalist interviews in mid-April, campus finalist visits during the first week of May and a recommendation to the full UW Board of Regents by mid-May.
NCAA champion Badgers volleyball players celebrate with their fans
Wisconsin State Journal
The celebration that began on the floor of Nationwide Arena on Saturday night following the longest match in NCAA tournament history, picked up late Sunday afternoon when the team landed in Madison.
UW-Madison winter Class of 2021 celebrates after years of resilience amid pandemic
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison student speaker Jai Khanna reflected on the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic as he looked out across a sea of faces, masked under their graduation caps, during the university’s first commencement that allowed friends and families of graduates to attend in person since December 2019.
East High graduate and UW-Madison student selected for prestigious Marshall Scholarship
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison student Lydia Nyachieo applied to study abroad in the spring 2021 semester. COVID-19, of course, canceled those plans.
Wisconsin’s ‘mad scientist’: How DE Matt Henningsen’s passion for academics has him succeeding on and off the field
The Athletic
This fall, Henningsen is one of 13 finalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy, known in college football circles as the academic Heisman Trophy. The award annually recognizes the best in the country for combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.
UW System names committee members tasked with replacing outgoing UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank
WISC-TV 3
The Chancellor Search and Screen Committee, made up of students, professors, regents and community members, will be tasked with determining and interviewing candidates, who will then be forwarded to a special regent committee. In a news release, UW System said the search committee is set to meet in December ahead of a national search for Blank’s replacement beginning in January.
Committee appointed to find next UW-Madison chancellor
NBC-15
“Choosing a chancellor for Wisconsin’s flagship public university is one of the most important decisions anyone can make,” Manydeeds said. “Chancellor Blank has done a tremendous job, and I anticipate her successor will build on her many accomplishments.”
UW-Madison starts search for next chancellor with a 21-member search committee
Wisconsin State Journal
Interim University of Wisconsin System President Tommy Thompson and UW Board of Regents President Ed Manydeeds on Thursday identified 21 people across the UW-Madison campus and broader Madison community to serve on a committee searching for Rebecca Blank’s successor. Blank departs next summer to become president of Northwestern University.
UW-Madison extends campus mask mandate to Jan. 15
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison has extended its mask mandate to Jan. 15, citing holiday travel and increasing COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in other parts of the state, the university said.
Flooding, pandemic, building closure: Disruptions take a toll on UW chemistry department
Wisconsin State Journal
For the chemistry department’s professors, researchers and graduate students, the past three years have not only been a frustrating inconvenience but an experience that has forestalled months of work and delayed career trajectories.
Mandates drove up COVID-19 vaccination rates at Wisconsin colleges and universities
Wisconsin State Journal
The University of Wisconsin System early this year came out against a mandate, a stance that frustrates some students and staff who believe a requirement would not only provide a much safer environment for working and learning but also increase overall vaccination rates. The System instead requires unvaccinated students to test regularly. It has also incentivized students to get the shot by offering $7,000 scholarships to 70 vaccinated students enrolled at a campus that reached a 70% vaccination goal by Oct. 31. At UW-Madison, which did not participate in the incentive campaign and does not have a mandate, 95% of the student body is vaccinated, far and away the best outcome statewide among responding campuses that followed neither route.
UW-Madison tells all employees to get vaccinated, citing Biden’s federal vaccine mandate
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison told its employees on Thursday that they must be vaccinated by early 2022 to comply with a vaccine mandate for federal contractors. The university said the order applies to all workers, including student employees, those working remotely from home and part-time workers. About 95% of employees are already fully vaccinated.
Ho Chunk flag raised over Bascom Hall for the first time in UW-Madison history
Daily Cardinal
In his opening remarks, the Director of Tribal Relations at UW-Madison Aaron Bird Bear explained that flag raising ceremonies are a common and an important part of contemporary Ho-Chunk culture. This flag raising marked the first time a different nation’s flag flew on Bascom — in the university’s history, representing strides forward from “ignorance to awareness” on campus, a phrase that was repeated in today’s program.
UW-Madison raises Ho-Chunk Nation flag at Bascom Hall
NBC-15
“Thousands of years before Europeans arrived here, the place we now call Bascom Hill was a sacred place for the Ho-Chunk people. They made this their home,” Chancellor Rebecca Blank said. “For many years, UW–Madison was not mindful of this history, and we paid little attention to our relationship with the descendants of those who were here long before us. But we are working to change that.”
Ho-Chunk Nation flag raised over Bascom Hall
WISC-TV 3
This is also the first time the university is showing respect to another nation by flying their flag for a day alongside the United States and Wisconsin state flags.
Ho-Chunk flag raised for first time at UW-Madison
WKOW-TV 27
Karena Thundercloud, Vice President of the Ho-Chunk Nation, said “This occasion you are witnessing today is not only an acknowledgement of all that is history, but a testimony that our community is intertwined.”
Flag of Ho-Chunk Nation flies on Bascom Hill for first time in UW history
Badger Herald
Chancellor Rebecca Blank, UW Director of Tribal Relations Aaron Bird Bear, Traditional Chief of the Ho-Chunk Nation Clayton Winneshiek and Vice President of the Ho-Chunk Nation Karena Thundercloud shared their remarks about the raising of the flag. The ceremony also featured traditional flag songs sung by the Wisconsin Dells Singers and members of Sanford WhiteEagle Legion Post 556.
CNN political correspondent to speak at UW-Madison’s winter commencement
Wisconsin State Journal
CNN chief political correspondent Manu Raju will deliver the keynote speech at UW-Madison’s winter commencement, the university announced Wednesday.
UW-Madison student voter turnout rose in 2020 election despite COVID-19 obstacles
Wisconsin State Journal
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic complicating the voting process for students, many of whom were newly eligible to cast ballots, voter turnout on campus increased from 65% in the 2016 election to 73% in 2020. In total, 24,572 UW–Madison students voted out of 33,749 who were eligible in the 2020 election.
Widespread Coronavirus Infection Found in Iowa Deer, New Study Says
The New York Times
“If deer can transmit the virus to humans, it’s a game changer,” said Tony Goldberg, a veterinarian at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies the evolution of infectious diseases as they jump between animals and people. “To have a wildlife species become a reservoir after transmission from humans is very rare and unlucky, as if we needed more bad luck.”
Job and salary study for UW staff brings new pay ranges and some worries
Wisconsin State Journal
Ayearslong project studying the pay levels and job titles across the University of Wisconsin System is wrapping up and thousands of employees will next week learn the new salary range of the position they hold.
UW System to follow federal vaccine mandate for employees
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
UW System will follow federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees
Wisconsin State Journal
The University of Wisconsin System announced Wednesday that it will comply with an executive order issued by President Joe Biden more than six weeks ago requiring federal contractors to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Ancient-DNA Researchers Set Ethics Guidelines for Their Work
New York Times
“I will say that it’s encouraging to see a group of scientists like this say we have talked about this standard of behavior and we’re willing to agree to it,” said John Hawks, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who was not involved with the paper. “It’s a step forward for them to say at least we’re going to follow the law.”
Exits of UW System president and UW-Madison chancellor create opportunity, uncertainty
Wisconsin State Journal
The top two jobs in the University of Wisconsin System are turning over within months of each other next year, a major leadership shake-up that comes on the heels of new chancellors installed during the pandemic at nearly half of the regional campuses and amid a variety of other challenges.
6-year graduation rates at UW-Madison hit new record high
Wisconsin Public Radio
Students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are graduating sooner according to school data. The campus’s four- and six-year graduation rates have hit record highs.
UW-Madison graduation rates increase to record levels
Channel 3000
The university’s Office of Academic Planning and Institutional Research says its six-year graduation rate has risen to 89.2%, up from 88.5% last year. That’s more than 8% higher than the average 81.1% graduation rate of the university’s peers and puts it in the top 10 of public research universities.
UW-Madison receives $20 million gift from longtime donor family for new Letters and Sciences building
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The University of Wisconsin-Madison unveiled a $20 million gift Wednesday that will allow the it to move forward with plans to build a new home for its College of Letters and Science.
UW-Madison gets $20 million donation to build new Letters & Sciences building
WISC-TV 3
The next large-scale construction project on the UW-Madison campus will now become a reality thanks to a large donation by a pair of alumni.
UW-Madison secures $20 million donation for new classroom building
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison announced on Wednesday a $20 million donation for a new academic building that will help clear the way for the demolition of the Humanities Building.
UW-Madison announces $20 million donation for new academic building
WKOW-TV 27
The university said it has most of the funding needed for the College of Letters and Science building. On Wednesday, university leaders announced they received a $20 million donation from the family of Irving and Dorothy Levy Hall, who the building will be named after.
UW-Madison awarded $20 million for new College of Letters & Science
NBC-15
“It’s an honor for us to have this building named for our parents—Irving and Dorothy Levy,” said Marv Levy. “It’s definitely exciting to think about how transformational this building will affect the lives of students, faculty, staff and the community for decades to come.”
UW receives $20 million donation for new Letters and Sciences building
Badger Herald
’I’m looking forward to hiring people to teach for L&S and not having to apologize about the building,’ Chancellor Blank says.
UW-Madison unveils new L&S building as Levy Hall
Daily Cardinal
The University of Wisconsin-Madison announced the name of the new Letters and Science building as the Irving and Dorothy Levy Hall in a press conference at Bascom Hill on Wednesday, highlighting that it was made possible by a $20 million gift from Marv and Jeff Levy, both of whom are alumni of the university.
As more colleges require COVID-19 vaccinations, one is finding success without mandate
Scripps
Getting vaccinated on campus at the University of Wisconsin in Madison is relatively normal.
“I think is in the best interest of everyone, not just here on campus but in the larger Dane County community for students to be vaccinated,” said Sam Kuchta, a senior at the university.
Chancellor Blank reflects on achievements and the future of UW-Madison in State of the University address
The Daily Cardinal
Blank highlighted UW-Madison’s designation as a “Green Ribbon School,” the first of the Big Ten to earn such an award. Reducing environmental impacts and costs, improving the health and wellness of faculty and staff and providing effective environmental and sustainability education are components considered in the selection of Green Ribbon schools.
Rebecca Blank stepping down as UW-Madison chancellor to lead Northwestern University
Wisconsin Public Radio
The second-longest serving chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will step down in May next year to become the first female president of Illinois’ Northwestern University.
Updated: Rebecca Blank announces departure from UW, set to become Northwestern president
The Capital Times
The university announced Monday morning that Blank will become the next president of Northwestern University starting in summer 2022, where she will make history as the institution’s first woman president. She will replace long-time president Morton Schapiro, who assumed leadership in 2009 and announced his departure from Northwestern in March.
Rebecca Blank Chosen As Next President Of Northwestern University
Forbes
Northwestern University announced today that Rebecca M. Blank will become its next president, beginning in the summer of 2022. Blank is currently the Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a post she has held for eight years.
Northwestern names UW-Madison chancellor as next president
AP
Chancellor Rebecca Blank is leaving the University of Wisconsin-Madison to become the first female president of Northwestern University, the suburban Chicago school announced Monday.
UW Madison Chancellor to Depart for Northwestern
Inside Higher Ed
Rebecca Blank, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, will step down this summer to take up the presidency at Northwestern University, the private research institution announced Monday.
Northwestern University names Rebecca Blank as next president; first woman to hold post
Chicago Sun-Times
Rebecca M. Blank, the chancellor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, is set to become Northwestern’s 17th president, the university announced Monday.
Chancellor Rebecca Blank leaving University of Wisconsin-Madison to be first female president of Northwestern University
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank will leave the university at the end of the school year to become the first female president of Northwestern University.
UW-Madison chancellor headed to Northwestern in 2022
Wisconsin State Journal
Blank became chancellor of UW-Madison in 2013. She has deep ties to Northwestern and the Chicago area, serving as a faculty member from 1989 to 1999 and directing the Joint Center for Poverty Research. She was married in Chicago and her daughter attended Northwestern as a student.
For first time, less than half of UW-Madison’s freshman class hails from Wisconsin
Wisconsin State Journal
At the same time, the class includes the most in-state students of any freshman class since 2001. And while the balance has shifted, UW-Madison officials say that’s not necessarily a bad thing. With their higher tuition, out-of-state students help fund many of the university’s priorities.
After facing financial disaster, outlook improves for UW campuses
Wisconsin State Journal
After months of grim financial forecasts, University of Wisconsin System leaders presented a much rosier financial outlook this week as campuses settle into another school year shadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
UW announces $175 million in private investments for School of Computer, Data, Information Sciences
Badger Herald
’We want to foster a community where students use computing technology and data to improve their communities and make positive changes in the world,’ associate dean says
Chancellor Blank honored for her dedication to the Posse scholarship program
Daily Cardinal
Blank reiterated her commitment to Posse’s mission. “I am always proud to be the Chancellor of this university by giving [Posse scholars] these series of experiences, interactions with people, the leadership experiences, the ability to be involved in communities that are different than the one that they grew up in,” said Blank. “All of that helps us shape people who, in turn, are going to shape the world.”