The UW Board of Regents fired former University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow a second time, ending a drawn-out faculty disciplinary process focused on his controversial pornographic videos.
Category: Top Stories
UW-Madison’s new freshman class is less diverse than previous classes, new data shows
The percentage of Black, Latino and Indigenous students in UW-Madison’s Class of 2028 has dropped, despite a record number of applications, following last year’s Supreme Court ruling that barred consideration of race in college applications.
UW-Madison slips slightly in annual Best Colleges ranking
UW-Madison dropped slightly in the latest edition of the U.S. News & World Report’s rankings for 2025, going down one place to tie for 13th in the national public colleges category.
Gov. Evers visits UW-Madison to discuss impact of proposed $850 million funding increase
Gov. Evers toured one of the campus dining halls before hosting a roundtable discussion with students to learn more about their concerns and how they thought that extra funding could be spent.
Universities of Wisconsin enrollment up overall
Preliminary enrollment figures released Monday show eight colleges in the Universities of Wisconsin system have more students this year than last fall.
Universities of Wisconsin projects higher enrollment, led by UW-Madison
Universities of Wisconsin systemwide enrollment is projected to increase by just more than 1,000 this fall overall, an encouraging sign as enrollment has increased for a second year in a row after a decade of declines.
Long-planned UW-Madison engineering building nets $75M donation
University of Wisconsin-Madison alumni donors are giving $75 million for construction of a long-awaited new engineering building.
UW-Madison receives one of largest gifts in its history to build new engineering building
The University of Wisconsin-Madison unveiled a $75 million gift Wednesday for a new engineering building that just last year seemed doomed to be delayed.
UW-Madison announces $75 million donation for new engineering building
The Levy surname will grace a second UW-Madison building, as prolific Madison-area philanthropists Marv and Jeff Levy have pledged $75 million in support of the College of Engineering’s new building.
UW-Madison announces $75M gift for new engineering building
UW-Madison officials said the new building will be named the Phillip A. Levy Engineering Center. It will be an eight-story, 395,000 square-foot building that gives the College of Engineering a chance to expand its enrollment.
Brothers donate $75 million for UW-Madison engineering building
Brothers Marvin and Jeffrey Levy, both UW-Madison alumni, are donating $75 million to help build the university’s new engineering building. On Wednesday, Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said this is the largest single gift in college history.
University of Wisconsin-Madison ranked #1 public university by Washington Monthly
The Washington Monthly ranked the University of Wisconsin-Madison as the number one public university in the country in a study released this past August.
Chancellor Mnookin talks student expression, approved budget, housing at student media roundtable
University of Wisconsin Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori Reesor hosted a media roundtable with student journalists Tuesday. Updates on campus initiatives, financial and housing needs and free expression were prominent in the discussion.
Chancellor Mnookin reflects on free speech, student housing, protest violations during media roundtable
A lot has been on University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin’s plate since the spring.
Between a 12-day pro-Palestine encampment and juggling the university budget process, she’s had to carefully tread an upcoming election with a student body that has divided perspectives. Mnookin and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori Reesor sat down with campus media Tuesday to discuss free speech efforts, the affordable housing shortage and protest culture.
Looking To The Future By Reckoning With The Past With UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin
Dr. Gee has an in-depth conversation with University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin on what the university is doing to improve the sense of belonging for students of color. Their discussion covers Dr. Gee’s participation in a committee working to recognize the universities history with students of color and what can be done moving forward. The committee will be releasing a report soon with their findings and recommendations. Chancellor Mnookin shares about her plans and initiatives in this role at the university and how she sees that they are developing so far.Jennifer L. Mnookin is the 30th leader in the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s 175-year history, and one of the nation’s top legal scholars.
Washington Monthly ranks UW as top public university
UW ranked first by Washington Monthly’s 2024 College Guide and Rankings according to three categories.
Affirmative action ruling, FAFSA mess add tension to UW student count
UW-Madison will conduct its official student census on the tenth day of classes. Roughly 8,400 first-year students and another 1,400 transfer students are expected to enroll this fall, the university estimated in late August. Over 70,000 applicants sought a spot in the incoming class.
“This is the largest applicant pool in the university’s history and a 3.6% increase over last year’s record number of applicants,” according to Kelly Tyrrell, a campus spokesperson.
UW-Madison’s School of Veterinary Medicine finally has room to breathe
After years of being crammed in an outdated UW-Madison School of Veterinary Science building, staff, students and their patients finally have a bit of breathing room.
Students return to UW-Madison for start of fall semester
Thousands of students are flooding the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus Wednesday for the first day of the fall semester, marking the beginning of a new academic year. University officials say they are welcoming 10,000 new and transfer students this year, continuing a trend of growing enrollment.
UW-Madison officials tout stepping outside comfort zones, making new connections at convocation
Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin and other speakers spoke to the importance of taking on new challenges and making new connections Tuesday.
UW-Madison creates freedom of expression videos as part of DEI deal
As first-year and transfer students start classes this fall at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, they must watch a new presentation about freedom of expression on campus.
UW-Madison releases updated protest policies ahead of fall semester
Revisions to the protest policy include restrictions on “expressive activity” within 25 feet of university facility entrances, size limitations for signs in buildings, specific sound amplification restrictions and restrictions on protest activity during select times on campus areas typically used for photos like the Abraham Lincoln statue at the top of Bascom Hill.
UW-Madison students feel the heat of move-in day
As Madison sweltered under an excessive heat warning Tuesday, thousands of UW-Madison students arrived at campus residence halls for fall semester move-in.
Study: Less than one-third of UW-Madison off-campus housing considered affordable
The study confirmed what is largely already known through reams of anecdotal evidence: Nearly 70% of rentals are too expensive, costing individual students $1,000 or more in rent each month per student, often hundreds of dollars above what the students consider affordable; the cheapest apartments are often furthest from campus and more run down; and UW-Madison is one of the most expensive off-campus housing markets in the Big 10 conference.
Regents accept UWM plan with system’s first mass layoff of tenured profs
With only one dissent, the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents approved a plan Thursday from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee that will include the layoff of 35 tenured faculty members.
In precedent-setting vote, UW Regents close college and lay off 32 tenured professors
The board overseeing Wisconsin public universities voted to lay off 32 tenured University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee professors, marking the first large-scale application of a Republican policy put in place nearly a decade ago.
UW system pledges no tuition increases for 2 years if state aid increases by $855 million
Universities of Wisconsin schools would keep in-state undergraduate tuition steady for the next two academic years if lawmakers hike state aid by $855 million of state dollars as part of the upcoming budget cycle, UW system President Jay Rothman said in a budget request Monday.
Razing UW-Madison’s Humanities building among top priorities for 2025-27
The Universities of Wisconsin’s top priorities in its next capital budget are tearing down and replacing two failing 1960s-era monstrosities: Cowley Hall at UW-La Crosse, and the towering concrete fortress known as Mosse Humanities building at UW-Madison.
Partnership between UW-Madison and GE paved way for promising new Wisconsin tech hub
Written by Jay Hill, vice president of Advanced Technologies at GE HealthCare, and Anjon Audhya, senior associate dean for basic research, biotechnology and graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
UW-Madison celebrates its 175th anniversary in the Chippewa Valley
175 years after UW-Madison was founded, it continues prioritizing teaching, research and public service across the state. Now, the university is celebrating its impact while thanking Wisconsinites in the Chippewa Valley and beyond for their support.
Wisconsin project digs through records and dirt to find MIA soldiers
Eighty years later, Stevens was finally buried in Florida National Cemetery. His daughter attended the service in March, along with Ryan Wubben and other members of a University of Wisconsin-Madison group who helped find Stevens’ remains.
“It’s an interesting feeling that the success of your project results in a funeral,” said Wubben, the field physician for the University of Wisconsin Missing in Action Recovery and Identification Project.
UW leader previews budget asks: More money for student aid, salaries
Weeks before a deadline to submit budget requests to Gov. Tony Evers, Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman provided a glimpse of his ambitions for increased state funding of higher education.
Universities of Wisconsin graduates stay in state, according to ‘Facts and Trends’
Almost 90% of Wisconsin residents with a bachelor’s degree from the Universities of Wisconsin were still living in the state five years after graduation.
Federal government funds Wisconsin rural residency program, negotiates lower drug prices
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is awarding $11 million to 15 organizations, including the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to establish new medical residency programs in rural areas.
Fewer UW system students have applied for financial aid. Will enrollment drop, too?
The number of financial aid applications is down across the Universities of Wisconsin system, an early indication that enrollment may be down this fall as well.
Grants supports effort by UW-Madison and tribal partners to expand on Indigenous food practices
UW-Madison researchers have teamed up with a group of the university’s tribal partners for a new project to support and expand Indigenous food traditions and practices of Great Lakes tribal nations.
UW-Madison one step closer to harnessing the power of the sun through fusion research
For the first time, a fusion device at the University of Wisconsin in Madison has generated plasma, inching one step closer toward using nuclear fusion as a a new source of carbon-free energy.
UW Health, Mayo Clinic nationally recognized in U.S. News and World Report
University of Wisconsin Hospitals was ranked number 1 in Wisconsin for the 13th year in a row.
New bonuses approved for UW leaders, pushing UW-Madison chancellor pay past $1 million
The University of Wisconsin-Madison chancellor will earn more than $1 million by the end of this coming school year.
The UW Board of Regents created a retention bonus system for its chancellors in a closed-door meeting Monday with no public discussion or vote. The board also approved pay boosts for eight of the 13 chancellors to bring their compensation closer to peer universities.
Wisconsin biohealth industry named one of nation’s elite tech hubs
The Wisconsin hub focuses on personalized medicine, or tailoring treatments to a patient’s genetic makeup or other individual characteristics. Along with UW-Madison and Madison Area Technical College, partners include Madison companies Accuray and Exact Sciences, GE Healthcare and Rockwell Automation in the Milwaukee area and Neenah-based manufacturer Plexus.
Wisconsin lands $49 million in funding for medical sciences
The Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub Consortium members include the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), the University of Wisconsin System Administration, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, GE HealthCare, Rockwell Automation, Exact Sciences Corporation, BioForward Wisconsin, Employ Milwaukee, Accuray, Plexus, WRTP Big Step, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Madison Area Technical College, the Madison Regional Economic Partnership (MadREP), and Milwaukee7.
A college degree is worth the investment. But Wisconsin high school grads increasingly seek other options.
Wisconsin colleges have a well-documented demographics problem. Smaller and smaller graduating high school classes have left colleges scrambling to fill seats, squeezing budgets and making painful cuts.
Janesville visit celebrates UW’s founding, statewide partnerships
Bucky Badger, the Wisconsin Alumni Association and members of the UW band came to Janesville for a birthday party Tuesday.
UW-Madison researcher develops ice cream that doesn’t melt
In the UW-Madison basement-level lab, the answer was largely predestined. One scoop was regular ice cream, not unlike what visitors could buy upstairs at the Babcock Dairy store. The other was a concoction of UW-Madison Ph.D. researcher Cameron Wicks, in which an addition of polyphenols — compounds naturally occurring in plants such as blueberries and green tea leaves — helps ice cream keep its shape by counteracting melting ice crystals.
UW-Oshkosh closing Fox Cities campus in spring 2025, Outagamie County exec says
The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh at Fox Cities will shutter at the end of next school year, according to Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson.
It’s the sixth UW campus to close because of budget problems and declining enrollment.
UW-Oshkosh Fox Cities latest branch campus to close
Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson said Thursday the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh is closing the Fox Cities campus in Menasha.
This will be the sixth two-year campus in the UW system to be marked for closure as the state continues to grapple with lower enrollment in its university system.
Universities of Wisconsin set to close another 2-year school, this time in Fox Cities
Universities of Wisconsin officials plan to close another two-year school in the face of declining enrollment, this time in the Fox Cities.
After a year of deep cuts, 7 UW system schools remain $17.4 million in debt
A year of deep cuts has significantly lowered the Universities of Wisconsin’s total debt, but it’s still projected to be $17.4 million in the red through 2025, according to information shared during the UW Board of Regents meeting Thursday.
In Wisconsin, college dreams grow dimmer for rural students
In the last 18 months, the Universities of Wisconsin has effectively closed five of the system’s branch campuses, most of which predominantly served rural students. The UW system cites declining enrollment, not finances, as the reason, even as the system projects that 13 campuses would be a cumulative $60 million over budget by the end of fiscal 2024.
She’s 92 and finally a high school graduate, via Madison College
Wells started taking classes at Madison College last year. But the chain of events that led to earning her degree stretches back to 2007, when Mary Wells participated in the UW Odyssey Project.
9 more dugout canoes found in Lake Mendota; 1 may be 4,500 years old
Archaeologists with the Wisconsin Historical Society announced Thursday they have identified up to nine more dugout canoes on the lake’s bottom near Shorewood Hills.
UW bucks trend in keeping ACT and SAT optional for admission
The UW Board of Regents approved the extension at a meeting in April, with plans to reevaluate in 2026-2027. Regent Bob Atwell voted against the extension, saying it was a COVID-era policy and the rationale to keep it going “has passed.”
Singapore’s new prime minister is a UW-Madison graduate
Singapore’s new prime minister is a 1994 graduate of UW-Madison. Lawrence Wong took over as prime minister on Wednesday, becoming the fourth leader of the country since its independence in 1965.
UW-Madison confers 7,868 degrees amid lingering campus turmoil
For 7,868 newly minted UW-Madison graduates, Saturday’s commencement ceremony was a last hoorah, a time to take in the view from the peak of their academic careers thus far.
UW-Madison class of 2024 celebrates adaptability, adversity during commencement
The spring 2024 commencement ceremony marks just over four years since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down many activities across the nation, including high school graduations. For many bachelor’s degree graduates, this commencement offered resolution.
Handful of students protest war in Gaza at UW-Madison commencement
A handful of students quietly protested the war in Gaza at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s commencement Saturday, but the annual graduation ceremony inside Camp Randall Stadium otherwise proceeded without disruption.
UW-Madison holds 2024 commencement
The University of Wisconsin-Madison received diplomas Saturday. For many of these graduates, the ceremony was a first.
“In high school, we didn’t really have a graduation because of COVID,” said Park Falls native Noah Peterson. “So it kind of feels like that whole area is kind of missing.”
After 12 day-encampment, UW-Madison protesters reached deal. Why? And what’s next?
There’s nothing like the threat of a disrupted commencement ceremony to get a deal done.
With tens of thousands of visitors descending on Madison for graduation weekend and protester numbers uncertain for the summer, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the campus’ Students for Justice in Palestine chapter cut a dealFriday.
UW-Milwaukee strikes deal with pro-Palestinian protesters to take down encampment
The encampment is ending at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. UWM and pro-Palestinian protesters reached an agreement Sunday afternoon, two weeks after tents went up on the lawn outside Mitchell Hall, in defiance of a state rule banning camping on campus property.
University of Wisconsin-Madison holds its spring commencment ceremonies
Graduates sing “Sweet Caroline” during commencement Saturday, May 11, 2024 at Camp Randall Stadium at the University of Wisconsin – Madison in Madison, Wisconsin. The song is a popular tradition at Wisconsin football games. The school also held a commencement ceremony at the Kohl Center Friday. In total, the university anticipates that nearly 8,600 students will be earning degrees — 6,236 bachelor’s degrees, 1,394 master’s degrees and 968 PhDs.