The flower was received as a donation from UW-Madison in 2002, and last bloomed in 2023.
Olbrich’s corpse flower begins its bloom
Channel 3000
Category: UW-Madison Related
New CDC director grew up on Wisconsin dairy farm, has two degrees from UW-Madison
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Susan Monarez, who was confirmed to the role by the U.S. Senate on July 30, grew up on a dairy farm in rural Wisconsin and holds bachelor’s and doctorate degrees in microbiology and immunology from UW-Madison. She has drawn some attention as the first person to take on the job without a medical degree in more than 70 years, but she has spent her career in the health field.
US Senate confirms Trump nominee Susan Monarez as CDC director
Reuters
Monarez, the first CDC director without a medical degree since 1953, holds a PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research focused on developing technologies to diagnose, treat and prevent infectious diseases.
Can A.I. help revitalize Indigenous languages?
Smithsonian Magazine
Like the Skobot, most new A.I. technologies developed by Native scientists are designed for a specific language community. Jacqueline Brixey, a computer scientist formerly at the University of Southern California and now joining the University of Wisconsin, created a chatbot called “Masheli” that can communicate in Choctaw. Drawing from a collection of animal stories, the chatbot can listen and respond to users in both English and the target language, helping conversational skills.
My Life in Protest I ran from tear gas and was arrested at People’s Park, occupied Wall Street, and wore a pussy hat. At 77, I’m not stopping.
New York Magazine
True, the Tesla Resistance didn’t have the revolutionary romance of yesteryear: running through tear gas at the U of Wisconsin Dow Chemical demo (it made napalm) hand in hand with my then-girlfriend, Judy, who would soon leave me for a history grad student and break my heart. It didn’t have the grit of the People’s Park sieges in Berkeley in ’69, getting kicked in the stomach by Alameda County sheriff’s deputies on the way to the Santa Rita jail, throwing debris at the Northside home of H-bomb avatar Edward Teller. It didn’t even offer the thrill of marching across the Brooklyn Bridge during Occupy Wall Street and seeing the beacon of the 99 percent beamed onto the blank corporate slab of the Verizon Building, proclaiming ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE.
H-1B Visa crackdown proposed under Republican bill: What to know
Newsweek
The bill was introduced following a report by news platform Wisconsin Right Now, which found that the University of Wisconsin System employs nearly 500 foreign workers on H-1B visas, with salaries totaling almost $43 million annually. The report also noted rising tuition rates at the same institutions.
They attack because we’re strong, not weak
Inside Higher Ed
Universities did great things during the 20th century. Presidents and faculty found strength and legitimacy through relevance. They helped in the all-out effort to win the Second World War. Universities anticipated the needs of the Cold War. Research labs produced products that improved people’s daily lives. The University of Minnesota patented Honeycrisp apples. The University of Wisconsin patented fortifying milk with vitamin D.
‘Invisible Cartographies’ lyrically excavates geographies both material and spiritual
Tone Madison
If there was a word to describe the essence of 2023 UW-Madison MFA graduate Meg Kim’s Invisible Cartographies, it would be lush: in language, in landscape, in memory, in longing. The winner of the 2023-2024 New Delta Review Chapbook Prize, Invisible Cartographies is rooted in place—geographies both physical and psychic made visible only by Kim’s careful practice of excavation, bred by her “mass of wanting.”
Wisconsin Books to Prisoners, DOC take another step on used book access
Wisconsin Examiner
Hardtke said the department recognizes the importance of education and books as part of rehabilitation and maintains libraries at all institutions, offers books on electronic tablets and has educational partnerships with the University of Wisconsin System and the state’s technical colleges.
Fred Risser’s life is the story of Wisconsin politics
The Cap Times
Among his losing battles was the 1970s fight over merging the University of Wisconsin in Madison with other state campuses to form the UW System. He was against it, as were his constituents on the Madison campus. He fought enacting a state lottery and opposed building the so-called SuperMax prison that Tommy Thompson later admitted was a big mistake.
Study: Tenure doesn’t slow average research output
Inside Higher Ed
Researchers at Northwestern University, Northeastern University and the University of Wisconsin at Madison analyzed the careers of 12,000 U.S.-based faculty across 15 disciplines, including business, sociology and chemistry.
They evaluated publication outcomes over an 11-year span, which includes the five years before and after those scholars got tenure. Last week, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America published the results of that analysis in a peer-reviewed paper, “Tenure and Research Trajectories.”
Columbia and Penn Made Trump Deals. More Universities Could Be Next.
The New York Times
“Two hundred million dollars is not a lot of money when you have billions at stake, and any corporate person will tell you that,” said Donna E. Shalala, who was health secretary under President Bill Clinton and has led four schools, including the University of Miami and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“Basically, they’re cutting their losses and ensuring their future — for at least a short period of time.”
At Tibet Kitchen, Amdo-style noodles and dumplings tell a story of resilience
The Cap Times
Tso spent the rest of her childhood in India. In 2009, she moved to the United States with her husband, whom she met in India. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2018 with a nursing degree and has worked in healthcare ever since.
How a Madison doctor is trying to help others find affordable housing
The Cap Times
Henderson brushed off the experience, hoping it was a fluke. But after matching into residency at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, she overheard a medical student lamenting about their housing struggles and something clicked.
“The lightbulb went off in my head,” Henderson said. “I realized I think this is a nationwide issue and then really started to look into it from there.”
Key immigration proposal vows to end ‘backdoor hiring practices’ in American universities
Fox News
The conservative outlet Wisconsin Right Now reported that there are 495 staffers in Wisconsin’s university system who have the visa, which comes with roughly a $43 million annual price tag for salaries.
RFK Jr. wants to get rid of some food dyes. What might that mean for Wisconsin favorite Blue Moon ice cream?
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Two other well-known Blue Moon ice cream makers, both based in Madison — Chocolate Shoppe and the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Babcock Dairy — didn’t respond to interview requests.
DNR celebrates 10 years of Snapshot Wisconsin, 100M photos uploaded
Channel 3000
Snapshot Wisconsin, a community-based program utilizing cameras to monitor wildlife, was created a decade ago to involve community members in monitoring wildlife throughout Wisconsin. It was initially supported by a NASA community science grant received by the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2013.
Kelley’s Country Creamery of Fond du Lac started with a dream, research and a lot of hard work
Wisconsin State Farmer
She approached Tim with the idea and he encouraged her to do more research. So she enrolled in an ice-cream making course at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at the University of Wisconsin Madison and took a course from the University of Florida in Gainesville on how to run a successful ice cream business.
Usinger’s president selected for National Meat Hall of Fame
Spectrum News
Before he became president, Usinger IV was studying at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has given back there over the years, helping build a Meat Science and Animal Biologics Discovery Building, which just opened in 2020.
Madison Street Medicine marks a decade of ‘care beyond clinic walls’
The Cap Times
Dr. James Ircink, the nonprofit’s current medical director, first became involved through the Foot Care Clinic. As a medical student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ircink began volunteering at the clinics and remained committed to the organization.
Wisconsin basketball legend Frank Kaminsky welcomes first child with wife Ashley Brewer
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Earlier this year it was announced that the Wisconsin basketball legend would be honored for his accomplishments on the hardwood as a member of the 2025 University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame. He’ll be back in Madison for the induction ceremony during the weekend of Sept. 5-6.
And Kaminsky will be inducted as a first-time dad. Kaminsky, along with his wife, Ashley Brewer, announced on Sunday, July 20, the birth of their first child, Francis Stanley Kaminsky IV.
Teen lifeguard impaled by beach umbrella returns to work after freak accident: ‘I’m pretty good’
Fox News
Three weeks after the incident, Kaus is reportedly back at work, according to the local outlet. While she is not yet guarding beachgoers, the college student is reportedly checking for beach badges as she prepares to head back to school at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
U slaps students with $200 fee to help athletics budget as U starts paying athletes
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Luis Hernandez, strategic communications director and associate athletic director for the University of Wisconsin in Madison, said the school has come up with other ways to fund its $198.9 million athletics budget, including new corporate sponsorships, such as adding the Culver’s logo to the Kohl’s Center basketball court.
They’ve also scheduled events like concerts and the chance to play indoor golf at Camp Randall Stadium. The upcoming Morgan Wallen and Coldplay concerts at the stadium are the first to be held there in nearly 28 years, Hernandez said.
UW students don’t pay athletic fees, and the university plans on spending the full $20.5 million on athletes that is allowed, he said.
Local communities with state buildings get boost from Wisconsin budget
Wisconsin Public Radio
Wisconsin’s new budget boosts some of the funding available to local communities, including those that are home to state buildings.
State buildings are exempt from property taxes, but Wisconsin does compensate the cities, villages and townships where those facilities are located. The increased funding will affect hundreds of communities that house state facilities ranging from prisons to universities to office buildings.
Breakthrough proof brings mathematics closer to a grand unified theory after more than 50 years of work
Scientific American
Gaitsgory, together with Dima Arinkin at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, made this relationship more precise in 2012; then, working alone, Gaitsgory followed up with a step-by-step outline of how the geometric Langlands might be proved.
Statewide ‘Good Trouble’ protests held at Wisconsin State Capitol, Milwaukee
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
University of Wisconsin-Madison senior Roselyn Pacheco spoke about the attacks immigrants are facing from the administration.
Details of former Wisconsin football player’s death shared by police
Wisconsin State Journal
Former University of Wisconsin football player Nate White died last month after “a medical event that disrupted his breathing and heart functions,” according to a news release from police in Brookings, South Dakota.
‘White Lotus’ star Carrie Coon is among 2025 Primetime Emmy nominees with Wisconsin ties
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Coon, a University of Wisconsin-Madison grad who performed with the Madison Repertory Theatre, American Players Theatre and Renaissance Theaterworks, was nominated in 2017 for lead actress in a limited series or movie for “Fargo,” and in 2024 for lead actress in a drama series for “The Gilded Age.”
Around 40% of farmworkers are undocumented, according to USDA data. Here’s what that means
Snopes
One study by the University of Wisconsin-Madison found there are “no official statistics on the number of unauthorized immigrant dairy workers.”
“Estimates range from 46 percent; to as high as 90 percent, with the most used estimate being 70 percent,” the report said on Page 11.
Remains of unknown World War I soldier exhumed in Wisconsin for DNA identification
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A grave long marked only as “Unknown Soldier” in a quiet corner of Restlawn Memorial Park in Wausau was opened last month, as part of a statewide effort to identify missing service members through DNA technology.
The exhumation, carried out June 6, is part of the Missing in Action Recovery and Identification Project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Biotechnology Center. That project works to identify remains of service members declared missing in action, many of whom still have living relatives.
Kathleen Gallagher: Wisconsin must seize the moment with fusion energy as power demand soars
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Wisconsin and the Great Lakes region have all the pieces to build a fusion industry here. UW-Madison is one of the top two fusion energy research universities in the country (MIT is the other). Amazingly, UW-Madison has spun out three of the world’s 45 fusion companies: SHINE Technologies; Type One Energy and Realta Fusion. And UW-Madison alumni work at all the major U.S. fusion companies that use magnetic (as opposed to laser) plasma containment.
The University of Wisconsin hasn’t had baseball since 1991, but an ex-Badger just got drafted into MLB
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Daniel Wright, a 6-foot-9 pitcher, was taken in the 10th round by the Chicago White Sox. In 2020, he walked on to play quarterback for the Wisconsin football team, then returned to baseball in 2022 at Iowa Western Junior College, before landing at Houston, then Iowa.
Fast-casual health food restaurant Forage Kitchen to open in Brookfield by the end of 2025
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Two University of Wisconsin-Madison graduates founded Forage Kitchen in 2015, opening their first location on Madison’s State Street.
Riley Beggin named congressional economic policy correspondent
The Washington Post
Riley graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a BA in history and the University of Missouri with an MA in journalism.
Madison bus rapid transit seeking to address bridge plate concerns
The Cap Times
In August, Metro Transit plans to collaborate with the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Disability Cultural Center to help students on campus, including those with disabilities, to feel comfortable using the bus, added Dentice.
Developer looks to build data center campus in Dane County
Wisconsin Public Radio
In addition to an established relationship with the local power company, he said the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the area’s “skilled workforce” made the county an attractive location.
Kallmann: It’s time to talk about where Ty Majeski fits in Wisconsin stock car history
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“I just come here and try to be me and try to help Toby give us the best opportunity to win, whether we’re talking during the week, working on setups, different ideas,” said Majeski, who studied engineering at the University of Wisconsin before fulltime racing called.
Wisconsin Book of the Month: Who’s included in this list of 100 ‘Wisconsin Idols’?
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Earlier this year, Dean Robbins brought his zeal and skill for succinct communication to his first book for adults, “Wisconsin Idols: 100 Heroes Who Changed the State, the World and Me” (Wisconsin Historical Society Press).
Column: Where are the shows about regular people fighting back?
Chicago Tribune
Author Kashana Cauley began her career as an attorney before shifting to writing for TV (including the animated Fox series “The Great North” and “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah”) and as a novelist.
“I’m a first-generation college student, so nobody in my family really knew what college was for, how to get there or what it is you might do with such a degree. I don’t think that’s uncommon among Black American families; only two or three generations of us have been going to college. So I did my undergrad in economics and political science at the University of Wisconsin, but I had no idea how you got a job because I didn’t know you were supposed to get jobs through your friends’ parents; my parents sent me to college so I didn’t have to work on the assembly line at General Motors like my dad, so I was completely confused.”
A youth-led hip hop movement grows in Madison
The Cap Times
Russell, who was Madison’s 2024-2025 youth poet laureate and is a First Wave Scholar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, described the collectives’ long-term goal to create infrastructure that supports creative careers.
Pat Connaughton bids farewell to Milwaukee in moving Instagram post
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Connaughton included a series of photos from his Bucks tenure, including photos of him with the Larry O’Brien Trophy commemorating the championship; images with his young child, teammates and former coaches; plus even a couple shots from his experience in the NBA slam-dunk competition in 2020, a shot of him delivering a commencement address at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and glimpses of his real-estate and charity work.
Gov. Tony Evers’ re-election decision looms over battleground Wisconsin
NBC News
“Evers got most of what he wanted. He is now in a position to say, ‘I’ve done what I needed to do. I got funding back to UW [the University of Wisconsin system], I got funding for child care, we’ve saved the kids in Wisconsin.’ We’ve got a kids budget — I think that gives him an out,” said Brandon Scholz, a Wisconsin Republican strategist. “He can go out on top.”
Madison architect Kenton Peters dead at 93. Here are some of his best-known projects
Wisconsin State Journal
A UW-Madison alumnus and former Badgers football player, Peters began his career in Madison in the early 1960s and was a prominent figure in the city’s development scene into the 2000s. He designed and built two of the high-rise condominiums now overlooking Lake Monona, including the metallic Marina building, among numerous other distinctive projects Downtown, on the UW-Madison campus and throughout the region. Many are still standing — and standing out — today.
Wisconsin’s oldest state park has plenty to offer and helped set the stage for others
Wisconsin State Journal
“I feel like the river and the bluffs just rise up out of the landscape,” said Alanna Thelen who works at the McBurney Disability Resource Center at UW-Madison. “It really feels like a retreat.”
Vigil honors former Rufus King, UW Madison running back Nate White
WISN -- Channel 12 Milwaukee
A balloon release vigil was held at Rufus King High School in Milwaukee to honor Nate White, a former Rufus King and Badger running back who died last week.
After playing at Rufus King High School and then UW Madison, White then transferred to South Dakota State and played there for six months. Throughout his time out of state, family and friends said White kept in close contact with the community in Wisconsin.
‘He had so much love around him’: Family and friends remember ex-Badger Nate White
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
White, a 20-year-old former University of Wisconsin football player and Rufus King graduate died June 25 at his apartment in Brookings, South Dakota, where he was a student-athlete at South Dakota State. He transferred schools in January after two years with the Badgers.
Madison musicians, artists collaborate at Next Wave
The Cap Times
On the last weekend in June, artist and recent University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate Ava Albelo organized “Cog in the Machine” at Next Wave Studios, a multimedia production space on Madison’s east side.
Albelo said she funded the project with a grant from the UW-Madison Art Department. She hoped younger people would come to the show “and be interested in the artwork and ask questions and enjoy the music.”
Walter E. Dewey
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
He graduated from Wauwatosa East High School in 1979 and earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance, Investments and Banking from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1983. He earned his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 1989.
In the final weeks of Walter’s life, he and his family established a focused strategy to advance pancreatic immunology research at the UW Carbone Cancer Center. In lieu of flowers, the family invites memorial gifts to support this initiative.
Former University of Wisconsin star Nigel Hayes-Davis headed back to NBA
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Nigel Hayes-Davis has worked his way back to the NBA.
The former University of Wisconsin star, who hasn’t played in the league since 2018, has signed a fully guaranteed one-year contract with the Phoenix Suns, ESPN insider Shams Charania reported June 30.
Wisconsin native, Hall of Fame horse trainer D. Wayne Lukas dies at 89
Wisconsin State Journal
Born Darnell Wayne Lukas on Sept. 2, 1935, in Antigo, Wisconsin as the second of three children, he was raised on a small farm near Antigo and grew up with an interest in horses.
He earned a master’s degree in education at UW-Madison, then taught at La Crosse Logan High School, where he was head basketball coach.
Police investigate Pride flags torn down at Madison church
WMTV - Channel 15
A downtown Madison church reported having its Pride flags torn down sometime over the last few weeks, the Madison Police Department said Monday.
D. Wayne Lukas, horse trainer who saddled winners from coast to coast, dies at 89
The New York Times
Darrell Wayne Lukas was born on Sept. 2, 1935, in Antigo, Wis., where his parents had a farm. He received a master’s degree in education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and became a high school teacher and basketball coach in La Crosse, Wis.
Henry Vilas Zoo is finally naming its 20 flamingos. Why now?
The Cap Times
Henry Vilas has a pair of brother badgers named after former University of Wisconsin-Madison basketball players Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker. The stars even visited the zoo to meet their namesakes.
“Ten years later, there are still many Madison people who visit them and recognize the names on the sign. And isn’t that cool — that it’s a badger, and they have Badger basketball names?” Peterson said.
From Lainey Wilson to Megan Thee Stallion, best and worst of Summerfest 2025’s Weekend 2
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Summerfest’s talent team has been dealing with several cancellations (including from Whiskey Myers, Nessa Barrett, Nettspend, Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony and Milwaukee rap star Chicken P, who was arrested), and finding some solid last-minute replacements, including University of Wisconsin-Madison alum Yung Gravy and Bow Wow.
A doctor challenged the opinion of a powerful child abuse specialist. Then he lost his job.
ProPublica
A series of allegations of overzealous diagnoses of abuse have followed Dr. Barbara Knox from her job leading a child abuse team at the University of Wisconsin to similar positions in Alaska and at the University of Florida.
The child abuse pediatrician community is tightknit. After Knox left Wisconsin, Harper replaced her as an expert witness in some criminal cases. Esernio-Jenssen wrote Harper a nomination letter for a Ray E. Helfer Society award, calling her “an unstoppable force.”
Wisconsin’s 20 Most Influential Asian American Leaders for 2025, part 5
Madison 365
Badri Lankella represents Madison’s west side on the Common Council, winning election earlier this year, and serves as a commissioner of the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District. He holds a degree in civil engineering and an MBA from UW-Madison.
This Wisconsin-founded group is keeping tabs on global nuclear proliferation
Wisconsin Public Radio
“Almost 40 years ago, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison named Gary Milhollin, who had worked as a judge on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, had an idea that more needed to be done to prevent countries from building weapons of mass destruction,” said Valerie Lincy, executive director of the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control. “He created the organization with the mission of stopping the spread of these weapons by stopping trade in items that can be used to make them. We’ve been working with that mission ever since.”
Madison’s residency programs support creativity across disciplines
Madison Magazine
At the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Department hosts an elder-in-residence for a week each semester. Writers-in-residence at the Illuminating Discovery Hub, housed within UW–Madison’s Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, can craft anything from play scripts to music with the Institute’s support — so long as the work features or portrays science in some way.
Artists who don’t fit the bill there can consider two options at UW–Madison’s Division of the Arts: the Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program or the International Visiting Artist Program.
JJ Watt and his wife, Kealia, announce the birth of their second child
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
In a joint Instagram post, NFL legend and Wisconsin native JJ Watt and his wife, Kealia, announced the June 14 birth of Niko Benjamin Watt, their second child together.
Current, former teams mourn ex-Wisconsin football player, Rufus King alum Nate White
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“News of Nate White’s tragic passing has been sad and difficult to comprehend for all of the Wisconsin Badger Football family,” Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell said. “We remember Nate as a friend and teammate and we stand in support of Nate’s family and loved ones.”