Chancellor Mnookin: Welcome back!

Dear students,

Welcome back to Madison! I hope you’ve had a chance to relax and recharge with friends and family over the past month.

Since finals ended, campus has been a beehive of activity—we received final approval to construct a new Engineering building, welcomed 346 new students to UW–Madison, and announced the exciting discovery of a new species of dinosaur that’s millions of years older than any previously found in North America.

We didn’t shovel much snow over break, at least by Madison standards, but we had quite a few of these arctic days and Lake Mendota officially froze over. I’m looking forward to a truly memorable Winter Carnival next month!

The start of a new semester is a wonderful chance to try something new — connect with new people, interact with a new set of faculty members around topics both new and familiar, dive into a new research project, or try a different student organization.

It’s our shared goal that everyone feels included and has a strong sense of belonging here at UW–Madison. We also strive to be a place where we think critically and engage respectfully, where we sift and winnow in our effort to learn and understand, and where we can thoughtfully exchange views and ideas, even when we disagree.

If you’re looking for a starting point for connection this semester, please consider attending our January 28 MLK Symposium. Our speaker will be Donzaleigh Abernathy, the goddaughter of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and youngest daughter of the Rev. Dr. Ralph Abernathy, who co-founded the Civil Rights Movement. For more information on what is sure to be an inspirational evening, visit https://diversity.wisc.edu/mlk-symposium/

To stay on top of all that’s happening on campus, bookmark our events calendar, at https://today.wisc.edu/events/.

Finally, please remember that we have lots of resources to support your academic success, help you explore internships and careers, stay healthy and well, and find community, so don’t hesitate to reach out.

I know that your friends and family back home are already missing you.  I hope you’ll send them a selfie on your first day back.

Wishing you a great first week of classes, and On, Wisconsin!

Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin