Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin is set to leave the University of Wisconsin-Madison after this school year to become the new president of Columbia University in New York.
Chancellor Mnookin set to leave UW-Madison for Columbia
The Cap Times
Category: Top Stories
Columbia University selects UW-Madison Chancellor Mnookin as its next president
Wisconsin Public Radio
Columbia University has selected University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin as its next president.
Mnookin has led the state’s flagship university since 2022.
In a statement Sunday, Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman said Mnookin brought “unbounded energy, resilience, and deeply thoughtful leadership to the position.
Columbia Selects University of Wisconsin Chancellor as Its President
The New York Times
Jennifer Mnookin has led the flagship campus of the state university system since 2022. She takes the helm at Columbia after a tumultuous period.
University of Wisconsin–Madison Chancellor to Lead Columbia
Inside Higher Ed
Columbia University has selected Jennifer Mnookin, a legal scholar and current chancellor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, as its next president.
Jennifer Mnookin named next president of Columbia University
CBS News
Columbia University has named its next president.
The board of trustees has appointed Jennifer Mnookin to lead the university. Mnookin, 58, currently serves as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is a nationally recognized legal scholar.
She’ll start in the role on July 1.
UW-Madison cancels classes, a rare move
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison has called off classes on Friday due to extreme frigid winter weather — the first time the university has canceled instruction since 2019.
The university canceled lectures, labs and discussion sections, but other campus operations will continue as normal, the university announced Thursday.
UW-Madison cancels classes on Friday due to extreme cold
Channel 3000
UW-Madison is cancelling classes on Friday due to extreme cold.
Bitterly cold temperatures are expected to begin on Friday and continue into the weekend. An Extreme Cold Warning has been issued for Dane County from midnight to 1 p.m. Friday, with wind chills expected in the range of -30-40 F.
UW-Madison cancels classes Friday due to extreme cold
The Daily Cardinal
The University of Wisconsin-Madison cancelled Friday classes due to freezing weather conditions for the first time since 2019, according to a news release.
The cancellation of all lectures, labs and discussion sections comes after the National Weather Service placed Dane County under an Extreme Cold Warning from midnight to 1 p.m. Friday, with wind chills projected to range from 30 to 40 degrees below zero.
How UW-Madison decides when to cancel class during extreme cold or snow
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The University of Wisconsin-Madison canceled classes Jan. 23, though all other campus operations will continue as normal. It marks the 13th weather-related closure for the state flagship since 1965.
UW-Madison cancels classes Friday due to extreme cold
WMTV - Channel 15
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has canceled classes for Friday, January 23, according to a release.
Cold temperatures are expected to start Friday and continue through the weekend.
How Trump made life difficult for international students and Wisconsin
The New York Times
One of the first signs of trouble came last spring, when the Trump administration abruptly moved to deport scores of international students, including a handful at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
University officials were alarmed, well aware that around 8,000 students, 15 percent of its enrollment, were from abroad. And they worried that the looming deportations might spook prospective international students, said Frances Vavrus, the dean of the international division at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
5 UW professors reflect on the year when Trump upended federal research
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Avtar Roopra’s research has effectively stalled since President Donald Trump started his second term and upended the federal research funding landscape. Agencies have cut projects, delayed grant reviews, fired thousands of federal employees who offer guidance to researchers and reduced the number of new projects getting funding.
“This is like the Holy Grail of epilepsy, what we’ve been looking for for hundreds of years,” Roopra said. “All of it is on hold. It’s extremely frustrating.”
Federal civil rights complaint against UW-Madison filed over scholarships
Wisconsin Public Radio
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty filed a civil rights complaint against the University of Wisconsin-Madison on behalf of conservative students on campus.
The firm alleges the school is offering about two dozen race-based scholarships. WILL is asking the U.S. Department of Education to investigate “race-based practices” on behalf of its client, the Young America’s Foundation.
UW-Madison research foundation seeks next ‘diamonds’ amid federal cuts
The Cap Times
The organization is set to provide $206.9 million in total support to UW-Madison and the Morgridge Institute for Research this school year, including $50 million toward research projects and nearly $36 million for faculty, graduate students and staff.
Now in its second century, the nonprofit faces challenges, though. The Trump administration’s widespread cuts to federal research funding could limit the number of discoveries coming to WARF.
UW-Madison set to finish two new buildings in 2026, start another
The Cap Times
tudents are on track to take classes in a new humanities building at the University of Wisconsin-Madison this fall. And the athletics department plans to finish an indoor football practice facility next to Camp Randall Stadium this summer.
As those two projects wrap up in 2026, Wisconsin’s flagship public university also plans to break ground on a visitor and education center at the Lakeshore Nature Preserve, near Picnic Point.
For 1st time since 2014, UW-Madison research ranks in top five nationally
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has reclaimed its status among the top five institutions nationally for research spending – the highest ranking the state flagship has earned since 2014.
UW-Madison’s national research ranking has been a sore spot on campus for a decade after the university fell out of the top five for the first time in nearly 45 years. It dropped to No. 8 in 2018. UW-Madison officials at the time attributed the slide in rankings to state budget cuts and the loss of senior faculty members.
UW-Madison ranks fifth nationally in research spending, tops $1.93 billion
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison is among the top five universities in the country for research spending — the highest ranking the institution has earned since 2014.
A National Science Foundation survey released Tuesday ranked UW-Madison No. 5 out of 925 universities for the $1.93 billion it spent for research in fiscal year 2024, which ran from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.
Trump’s closure of national weather center may imperil UW-Madison research
Wisconsin State Journal
Established in 1960, the center says it provides “state-of-the-art resources, including supercomputers, research aircraft, sophisticated computer models and extensive data sets” to the atmospheric and related Earth system science community. It’s funded through the National Science Foundation.
Among other things, the center has helped improve early warnings in weather forecasts and air safety, the American Meteorological Society said in a statement.
UW scientists alarmed by Trump plan to break up national weather research center
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists are sounding the alarm over a Trump administration plan to dismantle a prominent weather and climate research center, saying it could jeopardize the future of weather forecasting.
The National Center for Atmospheric Research is based in Boulder, Colorado, but is overseen by a consortium of universities, including UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee. The center allows researchers to work together on large projects that no one scientist or university could do alone.
Madison police: Man arrested after disturbance at Jewish center
Wisconsin State Journal
A 40-year-old Madison man wearing a Palestinian flag and holding his hand in his pocket as if he had a gun walked into a Jewish student organization on State Street on Monday asking for food, police said Tuesday.
POLICE: Madison man entered Jewish group’s building, gestured as if he had gun
Channel 3000
Madison police arrested a man who they said entered a Jewish student organization’s building on the UW-Madison campus Monday evening and gestured as if he had a gun.
Madison Police: Man arrested after allegedly pretending to have a gun at UW–Madison Jewish student event
WMTV - Channel 15
The Madison Police Department arrested a Madison man after he allegedly made gestures to make it seem like he had a gun at an event for Jewish UW-Madison students, officials reported on Tuesday.
Man arrested for disturbance at Jewish nonprofit on UW-Madison campus
WKOW - Channel 27
A man was arrested after causing a disturbance at a nonprofit organization serving Jewish students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.
Officers responded to the 500 block of State Street around 6:15 p.m. on Monday after reports of a man, wearing a ballistic vest and Palestinian flag, entering the building asking for food, according to Madison Police Department spokesperson Stephanie Fryer.
UW-Madison students graduate in Winter Commencement
Spectrum News
More than a thousand students walked across the stage at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for the 2025 Winter Commencement.
UW system to get $54 million after mandated changes to gen eds, faculty workloads
Wisconsin State Journal
The Legislature is releasing $54 million for the Universities of Wisconsin now that the Board of Regents has fulfilled mandated changes to faculty workloads and students’ general education.
Legislative panel approves new teaching requirements for UW faculty
Wisconsin Public Radio
A Republican-led state legislative committee approved new teaching requirements for Universities of Wisconsin faculty Thursday, a condition of the bipartisan state budget passed this summer.
New UW teaching workloads, credit transfer rules pass final hurdle
The Cap Times
Starting next fall, full-time faculty and instructional academic staff at UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee will need to teach at least one course per semester and a minimum of 12 credit hours each school year. Employees at the other 11 state universities face higher requirements.
All credits for general education courses must also be transferable and satisfy general education requirements across the universities by September.
UW-Madison chancellor says new AI college will connect campus, serve most popular majors
Wisconsin Public Radio
Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin, who leads the University of Wisconsin-Madison, sees opening a new College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence as the right move to support in-demand majors and says funding the school won’t come at the expense of other areas of the university.
UW-Madison earns $1 million for winning Big Ten blood drive competition
WMTV - Channel 15
The University of Wisconsin-Madison won the Big Ten “We Give Blood Drive” competition, earning $1 million that will go toward student or community health initiatives.
The competition, sponsored by Abbott, challenged all Big Ten schools to collect the most blood donations to help address the nationwide blood shortage.
‘The next step:’ UW-Madison details $80 million college focused on AI
WMTV - Channel 15
For the first time in more than 40 years, the University of Wisconsin-Madison is launching a new college.
Approved by the UW Board of Regents on Thursday, the “College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence” is set to open in July.
“We see the new college as kind of the next step,” UW-Madison Interim Provost John Zumbrunnen said. “We envision it as a hub around computing, data and AI on our campus, but really beyond our campus too.”
University of Wisconsin wins Big Ten blood drive, securing $1M for health initiatives
WKOW - Channel 27
The University of Wisconsin won in the second season of Abbott and the Big Ten’s We Give Blood Drive, overcoming Nebraska in a close contest.
Running from Aug. 27 through Dec. 5, the “We Give Blood” competition, was announced at the 2025 Discover Big Ten Football Championship Game in Indianapolis.
UW-Madison’s proposed AI-focused college gets Regents’ OK
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison has the go-ahead to start a new College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence.
The UW Board of Regents on Thursday gave UW-Madison permission to move the School of Computer, Data and Information Sciences (CDIS) out of the College of Letters and Science and transform it into the new college.
UW Board of Regents approves new College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence
The Badger Herald
The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents approved the reorganization of the School of Computer, Data and Information Sciences to create a new, standalone College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence during its December meeting on Thursday.
New College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence approved for UW–Madison
WMTV - Channel 15
UW Board of Regents approved UW-Madison’s proposal to create a College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence (CAI), school officials announced on Thursday
Regents approve UW-Madison plan to create College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence
Channel 3000
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences (CDIS) will be reorganized into the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence under a proposal approved by the UW Board of Regents Thursday.
UW receives approval to move L&S’s largest majors to new AI-focused school
The Daily Cardinal
The University of Wisconsin-Madison received approval to separate the school’s largest and fastest-growing majors into a new college focused on Artificial Intelligence and computing ahead of next fall.
The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents voted unanimously Thursday to authorize creation of a new College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence (CAI) at UW-Madison, the first new academic division since 1983, when UW-Madison created the School of Veterinary Medicine.
UW-Madison creating a new college for artificial intelligence
Wisconsin Public Radio
For the first time in 42 years, the University of Wisconsin-Madison will launch a new college.
In 1983, the college opened the School of Veterinary Medicine so students could learn how animals and humans relate.
Why UW-Madison is creating a new college focused on AI
The Cap Times
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is set to create a new college for the first time in more than 40 years.
The Board of Regents — which oversees UW-Madison and Wisconsin’s 12 other public universities — approved a proposal Thursday to establish the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence.
UW-Madison seeks approval to break school of AI, computing into separate college
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
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. .
U.S. colleges’ international enrollment drops 17%. How has UW-Madison fared?
Wisconsin State Journal
The number of new international students at colleges and universities across the country fell 17%, according to the nonprofit Institute of International Education’s annual report released Monday from data collected from 825 U.S. higher education institutions, including UW-Madison.
New UW gen ed policy may ease transfer process. But will it erode campus autonomy?
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 general education policy will make transferring between UW campuses easier
Wisconsin Public Radio
Universities of Wisconsin students will have an easier time transferring general education credits from one campus to another after the Board of Regents approved a new core general education policy this week.
Miss America, Wausau native to speak at UW-Madison winter commencement
WMTV - Channel 15
A former Miss America and Wausau native will take the podium as the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s winter commencement keynote speaker, UW officials announced Wednesday.
UW-Madison, Microsoft, TitletownTech team up to boost Wisconsin research with AI
WKOW - Channel 27
A new collaboration between UW-Madison, Microsoft, and TitletownTech is set to boost scientific research in Wisconsin. The partnership will leverage advanced AI tools to help researchers tackle major challenges more efficiently.
New UW faculty workload policy could hinder faculty recruitment, professors say
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.
Former Miss America returns to UW-Madison as commencement speaker
Wisconsin State Journal
Former Miss America and UW-Madison graduate Grace Vanderhei will be back at UW-Madison’s commencement — less than three years after she celebrated her own graduation — as the university’s winter commencement speaker.
UW Regents pass workload requirements, redesigned gen eds
Wisconsin State Journal
The UW Board of Regents on Wednesday approved minimum teaching requirements for Universities of Wisconsin professors and a redesign of general education courses to make them easier to transfer between schools.
WARF gives $206.9 million to UW-Madison, Morgridge Institute to boost research
Wisconsin State Journal
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation will give nearly $207 million to UW-Madison and the Morgridge Institute for Research to boost research and future facility costs, the university announced Thursday.
Two UW-Madison professors awarded ‘genius grants’
The Daily Cardinal
Ángel F. Adames Corraliza and Sébastien Philippe joined seven University of Wisconsin-Madison professors since 1981 to receive an $800,000 “no-strings-attached” genius award from the philanthropic MacArthur Foundation.
UW-Madison wants to grow defense research — but not build weapons
The Capital Times
Vice Chancellor Dorota Grejner-Brzezinska wants the University of Wisconsin-Madison to conduct more research with the U.S. Department of Defense — with a caveat.
“I’m not thinking of us going directly to classified (research) and developing new weapons. There’s so much good work we can do that benefits … society but also provide national security,” said Grejner-Brzezinska, who oversees UW-Madison’s $1.7 billion research operation.
Faculty in high-demand fields could get raises under new UW system policy
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.”
UW-Madison flamingo fundraiser brings in a record-breaking $738K
Wisconsin State Journal
Pink flamingos blanketed the front lawn of UW-Madison’s Bascom Hill on Friday, each ornament in the grass representing a donation toward the record-breaking total of $737,849 brought in by the annual fundraiser.
13th annual ‘Fill the Hill’ at UW-Madison kicks off, raising thousands for student causes in 24 hours
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.
In the 608: ‘Fill the Hill’ returns to UW-Madison with flock of pink flamingos
Channel 3000
Thousands of pink plastic flamingos will once again cover Bascom Hill as the University of Wisconsin–Madison celebrates its 13th annual Fill the Hill fundraiser.
The Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association hosts the event each fall as part of the University’s day-of-giving campaign. Each donation of $5 or more adds another flamingo to the growing flock on the hill.
These UW-Madison faculty have been awarded MacArthur fellowships
Wisconsin State Journal
wo more MacArthur fellows were added Wednesday to UW-Madison’s growing list of faculty who have received the prestigious award.
Since 1985, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has granted eight UW-Madison professors the fellowship, which often is referred to as a “genius award.”
2 UW-Madison professors named MacArthur Foundation ‘genius’ fellows
Wisconsin State Journal
Two UW-Madison professors have been named MacArthur Foundation fellows, called “genius awards,” for their work in studying weather patterns in the tropics and investigating the effects of nuclear weapons.
UW-Madison professors Ángel F. Adames Corraliza, who is an atmospheric scientist, and Sébastien Philippe, a nuclear security specialist, were selected Wednesday for the prestigious fellowships. Fellows receive $800,000 paid out over five years for any use.
MacArthur 2025 ‘genius’ grant winners include 2 UW-Madison professors
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation named atmospheric scientist Ángel Adames Corraliza, 37, and nuclear security specialist Sébastien Philippe, 38, as recipients of the prestigious MacArthur fellowship. Also known as the “genius grant,” the national award is given annually to a small group of people across a range of disciplines who show exceptional creativity in their work and future ambitions.
How does the government shutdown impact UW-Madison research?
The Daily Cardinal
Some University of Wisconsin-Madison research will be affected due to the federal government shutdown, according to a message from both the Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration and of Research.
UW-Madison ranked sixth nationally for research expenditure in 2024 and is at risk for delayed research project funding after the shutdown.
UW-Madison to keep ethnic studies requirement
The Daily Cardinal
University of Wisconsin-Madison officials said the university’s ethnic studies requirement will remain in place Wednesday, as a plan to standardize required courses across the University of Wisconsin System left the requirement in ambiguity.