UW-Madison leaders are telling all departments to reduce their budgets by at least 5% amid a flurry of federal changes shaking up higher education and now further uncertainty surrounding the state’s budget.
Facing funding cuts from the Trump administration and uncertainty from the Wisconsin Legislature, the leader of the state’s flagship university directed all departments Monday to cut their budgets between 5 percent and 7 percent next year.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, told reporters Wednesday afternoon the Republican caucus supports a roughly $80 million cut to the University of Wisconsin System budget, saying the reform is needed to fix the “broken” process currently in place.
Republicans who control the state Legislature are considering cutting funding to the University of Wisconsin System by $87 million as they build a new two-year state budget that may require Democratic votes to pass.
Republicans on the Legislature’s budget committee may deal the Universities of Wisconsin the system’s biggest cut in nearly a decade, to the tune of $87 million.
The cut was first reported by Civic Media on Monday night. By contrast, the UW system had requested an increase in state aid of $856 million. The committee had been slated to take up the UW system’s budget on Tuesday but punted it for unspecified reasons.
The Orion Initiative, administered through the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, aims to invest in partnerships between frontline rural providers and the academic medical community.
The Trump administration’s plans to pause new international student visas, revoke the visas of Chinese students and ban travel from a dozen countries could wreak havoc on higher education in Wisconsin.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison stands to lose the most, with about 15% of its student body coming from overseas. UW-Milwaukee and Concordia University each enroll more than a thousand international students and would also be affected.
Brandon Coventry never thought he would consider a scientific career outside the United States. But federal funding cuts and questions over whether new grants will materialize have left him unsure. While reluctant to leave his family and friends, he’s applied to faculty positions in Canada and France.
“I’ve never wanted to necessarily leave the United States, but this is a serious contender for me,” said Coventry, who is a postdoctoral fellow studying neural implants at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Still, other researchers argue broad restrictions on gain-of-function research could stifle studies that could ultimately protect people from risky viruses. The University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Medical College of Wisconsin testified against the bill last year.
“Gain-of-function experiments allow investigators to understand the complex nature of host-pathogen interactions that underlie transmission, infection, and pathogenesis and can help attribute biological function to genes and proteins,” a UW-Madison spokesperson said in a statement to WPR.
UW-Madison conducts a wide range of health and disease studies, including research that helps track viruses like avian influenza. The university is assessing how the order and related NIH guidance might affect research on campus, the spokesperson said.
There I was, this past Saturday afternoon in Camp Randall Stadium, before a verified crowd of 48,263—8,679 of them graduates of varying undergrad and postgrad programs—trying to impart wisdom upon/pollute the minds of America’s future. Yes. Terrifying. Humbling. Disappointing to students, surely.
Over 48,000 people packed into sunny Camp Randall Stadium Saturday to celebrate the latest graduates from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s class of 2025 arrived Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium to celebrate the largest commencement in university history as speakers — including graduates, alumni, Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin and Wall Street Journal Sports Columnist Jason Gay — emphasized resilience and learning to bridge political divides.
State Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz assured law school graduates Friday that they’re prepared to face this moment of “intense polarization.”
“We are living in a time of impassioned debate about what is and is not allowed in our country, about what should and should not be allowed in our country, and those debates often take place in courtrooms,” Protasiewicz told more than 275 University of Wisconsin-Madison graduates during a ceremony at the Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center.
On Saturday, nearly 7,000 UW-Madison students entered Camp Randall Stadium as students, holding hands and posing for pictures in their caps and gowns. The stadium functioned like a super cocoon, and those same people emerged two hours later as alumni.
UW-Madison had its 172nd spring commencement to celebrate graduating students on Saturday at Camp Randall. According to UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin, 8,679 students graduated, making it the largest in the school’s 176-year history.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison held its 2025 Spring Commencement Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.
More than 8,000 students moved their tassel from right to left at the ceremony. Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said this year’s graduation is the university’s largest ceremony.
On Saturday, the University of Wisconsin-Madison celebrated its 172nd spring commencement ceremony.
This year marked the largest commencement celebration in the school’s history. This spring, 8,679 students graduated from UW-Madison.
University of Wisconsin-Madison professors may join others across the Big Ten in calling for an alliance to counter the Trump administration’s hostility toward higher education.
All of the 27 students and alumni whose visas were terminated earlier this month at the University of Wisconsin-Madison had their status restored as of Saturday night, university leadership announced Monday.
More than two dozen students at Wisconsin schools saw their legal statuses restored after the Trump administration terminated their records from a government database.
President of the Dane County NAACP chapter Greg Jones was the only member of the public to testify at a Joint Audit Committee hearing Tuesday on two recent audits into the diversity, equity and inclusion practices of state agencies and the Universities of Wisconsin. His message to lawmakers was simple: listen to individuals’ stories about the impact of diversity, equity and inclusion programs and stay away from politicized attacks on DEI.
Asecond UW-Madison international student has been granted protection from deportation just weeks before graduating, and a judge has ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to restore her visa after the administration deleted her record earlier this month.
Two college leaders in Wisconsin signed a letter criticizing the Trump administration’s efforts to control universities and punish those that do not bend to his will.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin and Beloit College Eric Boynton were among 200 college leaders nationally who signed the April 22 letter condemning government overreach.
University of Wisconsin System President Jay Rothman continued to push for an increase in state funding, defending the system’s 2025-27 biennial budget request at a committee hearing Thursday while impending federal funding cuts cast a long shadow over higher education in Wisconsin.
UW-Madison officials’ sense of relief Thursday was almost palpable at the official groundbreaking for the new engineering building.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked the cancellation of a 21-year-old University of Wisconsin-Madison undergraduate student’s visa and any actions in relation to that by the Trump administration.
Recent visa terminations are making international students in Wisconsin worry about their future, and take precautions like removing social media and not participating pro-Palestinian organizing.
A federal judge has barred the Trump administration from deporting a UW-Madison international student whose student visa was canceled April 4 just weeks before he was set to graduate.
A group of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Realta Fusion, a Madison-based nuclear startup, have developed a fusion device in Stoughton that creates the same kind of reaction that fuels the sun and stars. The process is much different than fission, the nuclear reaction that powers current nuclear reactors and the atomic bomb.
A federal judge barred the government from taking any action against a University of Wisconsin-Madison engineering student from India, delivering a temporary blow to the Trump administration’s sweeping campaign to revoke international student visas.
Republican-ordered audits released Friday found that Wisconsin state agencies and the University of Wisconsin system have failed to track the millions of dollars they spent on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, making it difficult to fully assess the initiatives.
At least 40 student visas have been revoked at schools within the University of Wisconsin school system, with more than two dozen from UW-Madison alone.
A spokesperson from UW-Madison wrote, “As of April 9, UW-Madison is aware of the automatic sevis termination of 26 total records. This includes 15 current students and 11 recent alumni on employment authorization … A sevis record termination generally means that a nonimmigrant individual no longer holds lawful nonimmigrant status and should depart the U.S. immediately.”
At least 40 student visas across the UW System have been terminated as of April 10, according to university officials. The number has doubled since April 7.
More than $12 million in research grants destined for the University of Wisconsin-Madison have been cut by President Donald Trump’s administration, according to a lawsuit filed by Wisconsin and 15 other states. Democratic state Attorney General Josh Kaul says the administration is “sabotaging medical and public health research.”
The University of Wisconsin’s School of Education graduate program has been ranked No. 1 for the second year in a row, according to the U.S. News & World Report.
The Trump administration is revoking visas for international university and college students across the country. Now, some international students at the Universities of Wisconsin have gotten their visas revoked.
Members of the UW-Madison community gathered Wednesday morning in Washington, D.C. ahead of their lobbying day on Capitol Hill.
“The reality is we’re certainly facing some interesting, challenging times here at the federal level,” said Craig Thompson, vice chancellor of university relations at UW-Madison. “There’s obviously potential cuts to research and other programs, and there’s just a great deal of uncertainty on campus.”
University of Wisconsin-Madison officials report that more than $1.7 million was raised to address key needs on campus during the sixth edition of the “Day of the Badger.”
Students and alumni from the University of Wisconsin-Madison gathered on Capitol Hill Wednesday to lobby amid growing uncertainty over federal funding for the university.
More international students studying at Wisconsin colleges and universities have had their visas revoked by the Trump administration, scrambling their plans to study and work in the U.S.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has lost at least $12.6 million in anticipated research dollars after President Donald Trump’s administration recently canceled four of its research grants, part of a national crackdown on funding for transgender issues, COVID-19 and diversity.
A spokesperson for the University of Wisconsin System said the U.S. government has terminated visas for international students at universities across the state, including 13 at UW-Madison.
The Trump administration revoked the visas of more than two dozen current or former University of Wisconsin System students, UW officials have announced.
Visas for current or former students have been terminated at other Universities of Wisconsin schools, in addition to those that have been reported at UW-Madison.
Several international students and alumni from the University of Wisconsin-Madison have had their visas canceled from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, the university said in a statement Monday.
The United States government terminated six University of Wisconsin-Madison student visas and seven alumni visa employment extensions, the university announced in a statement Monday.
Six University of Wisconsin–Madison students had their visas terminated by the U.S. government, the university announced Monday.
In addition, seven alumni on employment extensions were also affected. A terminated visa status requires the individual to leave the United States immediately.
A handful of international students and alumni staff at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have had their visas terminated, according to the university.
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Chancellor Thomas Gibson will now lead UW-Milwaukee, the Board of Regents announced Monday.
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Chancellor Thomas Gibson was tapped to lead UW-Milwaukee, the UW Board of Regents announced Monday.
The State Building Commission has deadlocked on recommendations for new capital spending in the upcoming budget Tuesday, ceding its authority once again to the Legislature’s Republican-controlled budget committee.
Director Samantha McCabe runs International Student Services at UW-Madison. She said international students are worried about a potential travel ban, their visas and federal funding uncertainty. She is concerned recent federal actions could ultimately shrink the international student population at UW-Madison.
The Social Security Administration axed the Retirement and Disability Research Consortium (RDRC), a federally funded research program studying demographic trends and social security policy impact.
The Wisconsin Women’s Hockey team is celebrating their eighth national championship with fans at LaBahn Arena on Monday night.
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison said they are struggling to advance study of a potential new epilepsy treatment after the Trump administration’s pause on grant review meetings by the National Institutes of Health.
The University of Southern California and the University of Wisconsin-Madison are the latest universities to announce plans to trim their spending as they attempt to cope with increasing financial challenges stemming from the funding cutbacks and policy demands coming from the Trump administration.
Last Friday, University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin, Provost Charles Isbell Jr. and Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Rob Cramer advised academic administrators to exercise several budget controls for the remainder of fiscal year 2025, including reducing non-essential spending on travel, supplies, equipment, and events as well as reviewing all vacancies to determine if filling them is critical. Even more significant, all UW-Madison schools, colleges and administrative divisions were instructed to develop 5% and 10% budget reduction plans for the upcoming fiscal year.
Mark Johnson has been musing about golf, fly fishing and, eventually, hockey the past few days while sitting behind a microphone at the Frozen Four, and one of the constant themes was life lessons.
Wise people, the University of Wisconsin women’s hockey coach said on the eve of his 12th appearance in an NCAA championship game, learn from the experiences that life throws their way. Wiser people, he continued, take knowledge from the journeys of others.
Match Day — the long-awaited moment when medical students nationwide learn where they’ll begin their residencies — arrived Friday at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
For Samantha Bush, it wasn’t just about where she’d spend the next few years of her training, it was about continuing a mission she started years ago.
Days before his flight to Argentina, a UW-Madison researcher lost a Fulbright award from a federal funding freeze.Under President Trump’s administration, the U.S. State Department froze funds in February for international education programs. That includes the Fulbright Program, which allows scholars to conduct research overseas.
For one UW-Madison researcher, the freeze put more than a year’s worth of planning down the drain. “There’s a lot of anxiety in the scientific world now,” said UW-Madison professor emeritus, Richard Lindroth.
Hillary Jones Henry was banking on the American government keeping its promise.
A native of Kenya, Jones Henry was accepted into the federally funded Fulbright Foreign Student program for the 2024-25 academic year, teaching Swahili at UW-Madison in exchange for a monthly stipend of $1,320 to help cover costs, like rent. But on Feb. 22, his scheduled payment didn’t arrive. He tried to donate blood and plasma as a quick way to make money but was denied due to the prevalence of malaria in Africa.
