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Category: UW-Madison Related

Lawrence Wong: Who is Singapore’s Prime Minister?

Bloomberg

During his childhood, Wong was once bound up and held at knife-point when his home was ransacked by thieves — a story he later recounted as education minister. Years later, he obtained Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Michigan, respectively. He also received a Master’s in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Trump and many GOP lawmakers want to end all funding for NPR and PBS − unraveling a US public media system that took a century to build

The Conversation

Some of those professors believed so strongly in democratic access to media that they built radio stations with their own hands, including one at the University of Wisconsin. In other cases, professors experimented with performing live drama. Ohio State University broadcast the first educational radio Shakespeare performances in the late 1920s.

Harvard University renames its DEI office as its battle with the Trump administration expands to more fronts

CNN

Charleston has been the subject of conservative criticism in the past, facing allegations that much of her academic writing was plagiarized from her husband, LaVar Charleston. Earlier this year, he was removed from his position as the head of the Division of Diversity, Equity and Educational Achievement at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

State joins lawsuit to block Trump administration cancellation of AmeriCorps

Wisconsin Examiner

“I was completely blindsided,” Parker Kuehni told the Wisconsin Examiner on Tuesday. The University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate with a degree in global health was in his second year with AmeriCorps, working at a Madison free health clinic and preparing to start medical school in June when he learned Monday morning that the program was canceled.

Feds reveal how immigration squad targeted thousands of foreign students

Politico

“You could have sent a letter to all these universities and said, ‘Those people have come up on a hit, you may want to check them out,’” the judge said. Even after the hearing, it remained unclear how deeply DHS officials examined the reasons students had “hits” in the federal criminal justice database run by the National Crime Information Center, or NCIC. The University of Wisconsin student who brought the suit that led to Tuesday’s hearing, Akshar Patel, had faced a reckless driving charge but it was ultimately dismissed.

Judge Hannah Dugan has all-star legal team, including ‘LeBron James of lawyers’

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Richard Frohling, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, oversees the federal team. He has spent much of his career as a prosecutor. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin Law School and working as a law clerk and in private practice, Frohling joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Milwaukee in 2000. He was named first assistant in 2015. He has twice been the Acting U.S. Attorney and briefly served as U.S. attorney in 2022.

Wisconsin EMS providers are ‘in crisis.’ Lawmakers have ideas

The Cap Times

Belleville Area EMS is fully staffed — which is increasingly rare in Wisconsin — but a drop in volunteers has forced the service to rely on student recruits from the University of Wisconsin-Madison more than on local residents. Belleville also is among a growing number of EMS services shifting from an all-volunteer model to one that leans on some paid staff.

New Gustavus president named

Mankato Free Press

Following a postdoctoral fellowship in plant physiological ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Volin taught at Florida Atlantic University and served as director of the environmental sciences graduate program. Volin joined the University of Connecticut in 2007 to head the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, advancing to serve as vice provost of academic affairs.

US universities’ faculty unite to defend academic freedom after Trump’s attacks

The Guardian

The 18 universities part of the Big 10 academic alliance include the University of Illinois, Indiana University, University of Iowa, University of Maryland, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Northwestern University, Ohio State University, University of Oregon, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University, Rutgers University-New Brunswick, University of California Los Angeles, University of Southern California, University of Washington and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The real reason why students are using AI to avoid learning

Time

The confession hung in the air between us, startling in its honesty. My sister—a college senior at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and one of the most hard-working people I know—wasn’t joking. We were sitting at the kitchen table late one night, sipping tea, when she said it. She stared into her mug. “AI is replacing my critical thinking skills,” she admitted quietly. “I know it’s not ideal, but it’s so tempting.”

‘I’ve been nothing but transparent’: Former UIC student speaks out after his visa was revoked

Chicago Tribune

At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a student one month away from graduating seemingly had her visa revoked for a previous traffic violation. In Florida, a student from Colombia was taken into custody by immigration agents after he was stopped by Gainesville police with an expired registration and driver’s license. He signed his self-deportation and returned home.

McFarland to rename Elvejehm Elementary

Civic Media

A local district is changing the name of a school. McFarland’s Conrad Elvejehm Primary School will get a new name. Its original namesake, Conrad Elvejehm, was a UW-Madison professor and the university’s thirteenth president. He was born in McFarland.

According to a report given to the McFarland School Board, Elvejehm also signed a petition to keep Black people from living in his neighborhood. He also blocked a film about racial discrimination toward renters from being shown, according to reporting from the Wisconsin State Journal.

Locals, city planner weigh in on merits, future of State Street experiment

The Badger Herald

The undergraduate experience comes with many built-in moments that form the basis for a common understanding of life as Badgers know it. Among these — confronting the perils of the University of Wisconsin all-you-can-eat dining hall buffets daily, doing your part to jump around so enthusiastically on game days that Camp Randall literally moves up and down, and, of course, spending time on Madison’s most famous strip of real-estate — State Street.

UW’s administrative restructure could disrupt already successful system

The Badger Herald

In March 2025, the University of Wisconsin announced that over the summer it would work to move individuals who work in human resources, finance and research administration out of their individual departments. These individuals will be moved into new administrative regional teams which will serve all units within the College of Letters & Science, according to The Cap Times.

Gettin’ yippy with it

Politico

The Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and UW’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications hosted the 2025 ceremony for the Anthony Shadid Award for Journalism Ethics at the National Press Club last night. This year’s award went to The Seattle Times’ Hannah Furfaro, Lauren Frohne and Ivy Ceballo for their work exposing how medical and social service systems are failing teens in Washington.

Dennis Gaitsgory, who proved part of math’s grand unified theory, wins breakthrough prize

Scientific American

The people who pushed the boundaries were basically my former students plus Dima Arinkin [a math professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison], who is my age. He was a close friend and collaborator for many years. So some ideas get recycled. It would be just nice to have an influx of people from the outside. They could bring in something totally new. I would be very excited to see new ideas.

UW-Madison freshman publishes his first New York Times crossword, after trying for 3 years

Wisconsin State Journal

For UW-Madison freshman Ryan Mathiason, the 40th time’s the charm.

The 19-year-old business major studying actuarial science didn’t know that most people give up on submitting crossword puzzles to the New York Times after a handful of rejections. For three years, Mathiason kept submitting puzzles, only to wait weeks to get told no.

Retiring Justice Ann Walsh Bradley elected chief justice, will hand reins to Jill Karofsky

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A Middleton native, Karofsky has a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and master’s and law degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 1992, she started as a Dane County assistant district attorney and was later promoted to deputy district attorney. She also has worked as director of human resources and general counsel for the National Conference of Bar Examiners and as an adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Hamel family wines redesigned its labels, much to Wisconsin’s sadness

Forbes

This previous label, which debuted on the 2010 vintages, featured Hamel Family Wines in cursive and an image of a badger. The badger reflects two things, Hamel says. Badgers are found in their Sonoma vineyards, and Hamel, his father and his grandfather all graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and Bucky badger is not only the school mascot, but Wisconsin is considered the Badger State.

Former UW art chair Truman Lowe’s works to be featured in Smithsonian

Wisconsin State Journal

He graduated from UW-L in 1969 with a degree in art education. In 1973, he completed his Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture at UW-Madison through the Ford Foundation Fellowship.

After a brief time at Emporia State University in Kansas, Lowe returned to teach at UW-Madison in 1974. He became a full professor of sculpture in 1989 and served as chairman of the art department from 1992 to 1995.

Do dogs enjoy movies? Research suggests that dogs respond to media starring other animals

Mental Floss

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison recently investigated the matter, NPR reports. For their 2024 study, they asked 1246 dog owners to examine their pet’s behaviors around screens. Eighty-six percent (1077) of participants stated that their dogs appeared to watch the content. Additionally, most animals exhibited behaviors associated with excitement.