Category Society & Culture
As climate heats up, rising rainfall averages hide crop-killing droughts
Research performed in the Ethiopian highlands shows that even in years with above average rainfall, crops can be severely reduced by drought early in the growing season, when seeds must sprout and get established.
Students extend winning streak in fashion industry competition
UW–Madison students cleaned up in a prestigious national competition sponsored each year by the YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund — the fashion industry’s premier competition for gifted young designers, merchandisers, retailers and business majors.
New initiative to boost middle class in Dane County announces finalists
Three finalists were chosen to pitch their ideas in Phoenix on Jan. 29. Schmidt Futures has committed to further support the efforts of at least one team from each of the four partnering universities.
Bortin’s landmark in journalism saw Russia open up
UW–Madison alumna Meg Bortin went from being a non-journalism major to becoming a correspondent and editor at Reuters and the International Herald Tribune. In 1992, she helped found the first independent English language daily newspaper in Russia: The Moscow Times.
‘Lands We Share’ exhibit helps give farmers a voice
A collaboration of faculty and students at four UW campuses, the traveling exhibition and public dialogue tour focuses on the intersection of farming, land, ethnic culture and history in Wisconsin.
Viola sonata to have world premiere at UW–Madison
Composer and music educator John Harbison, winner of both a MacArthur Fellowship “genius” grant and a Pulitzer Prize in composition, has created a new work for Sally Chisholm, violist with the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Pro Arte Quartet, that will have its world premiere in February at UW–Madison.
Ada Deer: A lifetime of firsts
Deer, a 1957 graduate, went on to become the first female chair of Wisconsin's Menominee Indian Tribe as well as a national leader in Indian affairs.
A Capitol and Very Wisconsin Idea Video game teaches state history in schools
Thanks to a new educational video game — “Jo Wilder and the Capitol Case” — created by UW–Madison’s Field Day Lab and Wisconsin Public Television (WPT), learning about Wisconsin history, is “really cool,” a student says.
Chazen installation documentary premieres Dec. 20
'Behind the Canvas,' premiering at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 20 on Wisconsin Public Television, highlights artist Jim Dine’s latest contribution to the Chazen Museum of Art: a mural exploring the art of classical antiquity that took more than two years to make and ship from France.
2018 UW–Madison winter commencement to take place on Sunday
The University of Wisconsin–Madison will award degrees to about 3,320 undergraduate, graduate and professional students this semester, with just over 1,000 of them expected to take part in winter commencement.
Aaron Perry is changing how his community perceives and experiences health
Through the Black Men’s Wellness Sustainable Initiative, Aaron Perry is using a grant from the Wisconsin Partnership Program in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health to change how his community perceives and experiences health.
Paving the way to a world-ready state: The Wisconsin Language Roadmap
The Wisconsin Language Roadmap emphasizes the importance of providing language learning opportunities for all Wisconsin students to develop skills needed to succeed around the world.
Commencement spotlight: The road less taken leads military vet to his ‘dream school’
“I would not have made it to UW–Madison without the military,” Noah Ash says. “I was given this amazing opportunity, and I have tried my best to make the most of it.”
UW-Madison folklorist Leary nominated for Grammy
The nomination is for Leary's album notes for "Alpine Dreaming," whose content comes from a record label, Helvetia, launched in 1920 by Ferdinand Ingold, a Swiss settler in Monroe, Wisconsin. Several UW–Madison departments contributed to the project.
Aphra Mednick creates transformative experiences as new assistant dean of Summer Term
As Summer Term’s interim director for 2018, she and her team created several innovative programs, and she has even more ambitious plans for next year and beyond.
Commencement spotlight: Long journey makes nursing degree all the sweeter for JoAnn Brink
After working on it for 20 years, Brink will earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing from UW–Madison. “There was no way I was not going to finish that degree.”
Friendly competition aims to boost food donations
Throughout the week of Dec. 3-7, the McBurney Disability Resource Center has challenged the nine departments of the Division of Student Life to a friendly competition to increase donations to the Open Seat Food Pantry.
UW-Madison helps launch national effort to increase college access and equity
The participating institutions will work within “clusters” of four to 12 institutions to implement innovative and effective practices to advance student success on their campuses.
For student commencement speaker, years of writing and performing lead to Kohl Center stage
Jamie Dawson, a seasoned spoken word artist and member of the First Wave program, has been chosen as the student speaker for winter commencement.
Go Big Read seeking book suggestions
Once again, the theme for Go Big Read is “contemporary issues” — topics such as technology, climate change, health care, or any other issue that’s spurring conversation. Books can be fiction or nonfiction.