First attributed to UW President Charles Van Hise in 1904, the Wisconsin Idea is the principle that education should influence and improve people’s lives beyond the university classroom.
For more than 100 years, this idea has guided the university’s work and the College of Letters & Science.
Emily Auerbach, professor of English and the director of the Odyssey Project, recently received the Leadership in Social Justice Award from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Student Personnel Association at the group’s annual awards ceremony. The Odyssey Project offers a free six-credit humanities class each year to 30 students who have faced overwhelming obstacles to higher [...]
Lewis Friedland, a professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication, has received a grant from the Morgridge Center for Public Service to support service learning and community-based research. Friedland, one of eight grant recipients across campus, receieved $14,500 for two years for his Madison Commons project. The Madison Commons, a [...]
The rules are simple, explains Mike Randall, a University of Wisconsin-Madison physicist, who is leading the Rube Goldberg lab tonight at Emerson School in Madison. “Make a contraption that starts by dropping a marble and ends by ringing a bell.” The students have a half hour to make their contraptions; then Randall starts judging the [...]
Any Wisconsinite worth his or her weight in cheese curds knows how to navigate through our state’s collection of tongue-twisting place names. Waukesha? No problem. Allouez? Please. Nanaweyah Ominihekan? Well, maybe there are a few that cause even native Wisconsinites to stumble. That’s where Pronounce Wisconsin comes in. The State Cartographer’s Office launched the online [...]
Eighty high school students from 20 schools around the state had the chance to speak (and sing) in 10 different languages at the inaugural Wisconsin Global Youth Summit on Feb. 23 at Union South. The day focused on what high school students can do to bring international elements into their schools. The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Language [...]
For the second straight year, clinical associate professor Michelle Quinn and a group of graduate students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders assisted in literacy efforts in Guatemala over winter break. Quinn and eight bilingual graduate students – Rose Heckenkamp, Kaylee Cullen, Allison Petska, Nicole Breunig, Ruby Braxton, Amanda Murphy, [...]
You may not have heard of Mentoring Positives, a Madison nonprofit that serves delinquent and at-risk youth throughout Dane County. Kristin Schmidt (BA’11, Communication Arts) and Samantha Winkler (BA’11, Communication Arts and Spanish) are out to change that. The two Communication Arts alums are leading a pro-bono marketing and communications campaign for Mentoring Positives as [...]
It’s not as if Allison Gilmore was dead set on attending law school. But, as a Legal Studies and Sociology major at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she figured it was merely the next logical step. Her experience last summer shattered that preconception. Gilmore is also pursuing a certificate in Criminal Justice and, as such, needed [...]
Monumental discoveries were made. Critical projects were finished. Laudable programs were celebrated. And scholars and alumni were remembered in the College of Letters & Science’s 124th year.
These were just some of the markers of 2012 in L&S. Here are some of the moments that made 2012 a memorable year for the College.
The school day has ended, but there’s another assignment awaiting the small group of fourth- and fifth-graders gathered in the library of Shorewood Hills Elementary School in Madison. They must build a story or game in Scratch, a computer programming language as their final project in an after-school computer science club run by University of [...]
On its 10th anniversary, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Odyssey Project has much to celebrate. Journeys from homelessness to graduate school, or incarceration to meaningful employment, are two of more than 250 success stories. For some students, the best outcome is the empowerment of finding their own voice. The Odyssey Project is the subject of a new episode [...]
David Bethea envisioned three fundamental goals for the Department of Slavic Languages and Literature’s Pushkin Summer Institute, a pre-college enrichment program: building command of the Russian language; honing critical-thinking skills; and cultivating writing ability. But there was one outcome Bethea could not have imagined: students’ deeply emotional response to the experience. Bethea, the Vilas Research [...]
It took seven years and the efforts of an international collaboration of scientists to turn the South Pole ice into the world’s largest, most innovative telescope: the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. A new outreach project is now bringing the benefits of this worldwide effort back to its Wisconsin roots. IceCube is a Wisconsin-based project, with key partners [...]
Chemistry Professor Bassam Shakhashiri will give his 43rd Christmas “Science is Fun” presentation Dec. 1 and 2 on the UW–Madison campus. The event will be shown on Wisconsin Public Television later in December. As always, the show will focus on astounding demonstrations from the world of chemistry and beyond. “Chemistry is the science of how atoms bond [...]
A new playground that opened Oct. 25 at the Discovery Center Museum in Rockford, Ill. is the first in the world built around unique structures formed by the element carbon. Carbon has been called the element of life because it combines with other elements to make up living organisms, but all by itself it also forms structures [...]
“I want to blow your mind, take you places you have never seen before. Do not hesitate to ask question. I will not bite.” Paul Sell is equal parts carnival barker and enthusiastic graduate student as he discusses the size of the universe. As the twilight deepens at the amphitheater at Devil’s Lake State Park, [...]
Fishing in the Neighborhood has grown into a statewide program in its second summer, with five clubs across Wisconsin.
Professor Cathy Middlecamp helped lead a camp on climate change in Barrow, Alaska.
Faculty and students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison will lend their expertise to conservation efforts in central Africa as the first university member of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership.
It took a trip halfway around the world to bring two University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists together.
The Wonders of Physics program aims to educate – and entertain – the public and, in particular, pre-college students around the state and beyond.
A series of online courses geared for members of the military to learn more about foreign policy and international relations is testing the geographic limits of one of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s guiding principles. In this case, the boundaries of the university have extended to a student stationed on an aircraft carrier at sea, as [...]
There is a stack of notecards on Ieva Reich’s desk in the Daniels Chemistry Building off University Avenue at UW-Madison. The cards do not contain equations or formulas. There are no diagrams or talking points on the cards either. Reich, the soon-to-be retired instructor in the Department of Chemistry, uses the notecards to learn the names [...]
Speech and language pathology graduate students in the Department of Communicative Disorders are pioneering new ways to support children with severe and complex communication needs. The AAC Story Time Preschool at the University of Wisconsin Speech and Hearing Clinic is incorporating technology, such as iPads, to help facilitate speech and language development in children ages 2-4. [...]
UW writes its own history with 24-hour social media project With only 24 hours to complete the task, University of Wisconsin-Madison students, faculty, staff and alumni participated in a project to document what makes UW a great place to live, learn and build friendships. The project asked participants to submit e-mails, photos and tweets with [...]
Register now! Against a backdrop of extraordinary global economic, environmental and social challenges, the sixth annual Nelson Institute Earth Day Conference will examine issues related to consumption and growth, economic and environmental sustainability, quality of life and happiness. Envisioning a Fairer Future: Sustainability, Security and Happiness on a Finite [...]
The University of Wisconsin recently sat down for a short conversation with Anna Therese Day, independent journalist and a BA’10 graduate of Political Science. Day has been covering the Middle East and the Arab Spring as an independent journalist. You can follow Anna on Twitter at @AnnaofArabia.
Recently, students and faculty in the Department of Communicative Disorders have been engaging in a variety of outreach activities. Krista Lett, fourth year student earning her doctorate in Audiology (AuD), won the student poster presentation at the Wisconsin Speech Language Pathology and Audiology state convention held February 24-25, 2012 in Milwaukee, WI. Krista’s advisor was [...]
Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer and UW-Madison Professor Deborah Blum (MA’82) has turned a quest to write the definitive handbook on poisons in America into the intriguing tale of two Jazz-Era scientists who played a major role in developing the field of forensic toxicology and fostering cooperation between scientists and police. Blum, who has been teaching [...]
The UW-Madison Archives recently posted a photo gallery on flickr documenting the construction of the UW Arborteum. The pictures show Arboretum construction activities in Madison, Wisconsin dating roughly from 1930-1950. Images include land preparation and restoration, planting activities, wall and structure construction, and work to improve the water quality of Lake Wingra. To view the [...]
For Susan Curtis, a retired school nurse, art appreciation is not just academic. She knows that art also has the power to break down cultural barriers and stereotypes, inspire creativity, and foster community. With Africa Connects!, a K-12 art history and service-learning project in Madison, Curtis puts that idea into practice. With help from the Chazen [...]
As founder of the Guatemala-based Range of Motion Project (ROMP), Eric Neufeld ’98 has worked to provide more than 1,500 custom-made prosthetic limbs to people in developing countries since 2005—people who, without Neufeld’s help, might have never regained mobility. With B.A. in Biological Aspects of Conservation, Neufeld represents one of the 13 outstanding alumni of [...]
The world knew Anthony Shadid as a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who covered the strife-torn Middle East, often at considerable personal risk. The University of Wisconsin-Madison knew Shadid when he was just a young journalism student on deadline for the Daily Cardinal. Shadid, 43, died Thursday, Feb. 16 of an apparent asthma attack while on assignment in Syria for the New York Times.
In 1940, there weren’t any laptops in dorm rooms or mainframes at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The Department of Computer Sciences – one of the oldest in the nation – would not celebrate its first birthday for another 24 years. But things were starting to change in information studies, technology and science. It was a gradual change and it left an impact on Robert Holtz who studied at UW-Madison and graduated with a BS’40, MS’43 in electrical engineering.
More than 700 students and teachers from 31 high schools gathered together at the beautiful Union South at UW-Madison for World Languages Day in November. World Langauges Day is an annual a college-for-a-day experience for high school students and teachers focused on languages and cultures from around the world. The event is sponsored by the Language Institute. UW-Madison faculty, staff [...]
The Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies (MKI) has been named the recipient of a prestigious National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Challenge Grant to support the MKI Library Project. The award, which provides the Institute with $300,000 to be matched over the next four years on a three-to-one basis, will go toward an endowment for a librarian/archivist position, the [...]
“It’s about time we started counting the effects of popular noncash and tax-related public programs on poverty,” Professor Tim Smeeding said of the Census Bureau’s November release of new poverty numbers based on an alternative federal measure, the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM). Smeeding joins many other economists in praising the SPM for bringing poverty measurement [...]
Kaylee Paige Cullen is the recipient of a Trewartha Senior Thesis Grant awarded by the College of Letters & Science Honors Program. She is a senior at pursing majors in Communicative Disorders and Spanish. This Senior Thesis Grant enables honors students to undertake more demanding and extensive honors senior thesis research projects than might not otherwise [...]
Second year students in the Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) program in the Department of Communicative Disorders embodied their area of study for Halloween by dressing up as parts of the human auditory system. The students created t-shirts that represented the parts of the outer ear, middle ear, inner ear, and brain. They wore these “costumes” [...]
Our food writer looks to define a Wisconsin tradition while sipping a brandy old-fashioned (Chicago Tribune) Featuring the history of Wisconsin’s time-honored supper clubs and the expertise of Professor of Folklore James Leary who is also the co-director of the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures.
School Spotlight: Madison Math Circle gives young students a taste of higher math and science (Wisconsin State Journal) Every week, middle and high school students are invited to the UW-Madison campus to hear a talk designed to stimulate their interest in math and science and then to mingle with professors and their peers over pizza. [...]
Fourth year senior Lorena Barbosa-Mireles recently received a $5,000 scholarship from Dr. Pepper and was profiled in a new video. Lorena, who is majoring in Social Work, was selected as a recipient because of her outstanding community service. Her work on campus highlights some of the amazing ways our students are living the Wisconsin Idea. [...]
The weather outside may soon be frightful. But inside, Chemistry professor Bassam Z. Shakhashiri will soon be spreading science cheer.
Stephen Roach (’68 BA L&S) saw his world view shift during his years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “I was here in a different era. When I came to Wisconsin, it was a classic Big Ten football school,” said Roach, a leading economist with particular expertise on China. “When I left Madison, campus was occupied by the National Guard and there was a lot of tear gas in the air. It was a transformative period in the history of this school and this nation.
Scott Barton, a New York-based chef, is no stranger to his role as kitchen commander. He bounces around the room, correcting techniques, dispensing trivia about palm oil and tapioca, and finding jobs for anyone who’s been idle a bit too long for his taste. But his sous-chefs are not highly — or even basically — trained, in most cases. Tonight he will help 20 freshmen at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to prepare an authentic Brazilian meal.
Three students in the School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) have combined organizational savvy and community outreach to create a resource for connecting artists, libraries, and the people who love them.
The UW-Madison Geospatial Alliance invites you to take part in GIS Day, an international day of outreach and education about Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and geography.
Kenya: Students, teachers promote Health by Motorbike (Wisconsin State Journal) A woman from a remote village in Kenya delivered her own twins and the babies of neighbors. But she still had this question: When should the umbilical cord be cut? That such vast personal experience could lack such basic knowledge of maternal health baffled Araceli Alonso, a [...]
At a world-class research institution, out-of-the-classroom experiences play a huge role in students’ lives. As part of the Wisconsin Experience, 88 percent of students participate in extracurricular activities that bolster their education.
In research, that often means traveling to the source itself. Even if it’s in Georgia. And even if you’re a graduate student.
A group of 50 University of Wisconsin–Madison students will take on a new role Wednesday, Oct. 19, leading small groups of Middleton high school students through discussions about this year’s Go Big Read selection, “Enrique’s Journey.” Go Big Read is a common-reading program at UW–Madison that is designed to engage students, faculty, staff and the community in a shared, academically focused reading experience. It is now in its third year.
A popular website that draws from tens of thousands of rare aerial photographs of Wisconsin will receive the 2011 Governor’s Award for Archival Innovation from the Wisconsin Historical Records Advisory Board.
There has been a marked increase in green slime, exploding volcanoes, and rockets blasting off in the Madison public schools over the past few years, thanks to the hard work of Dolly Ledin at UW–Madison’s Institute for Biology Education.
The Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin–Madison was awarded a five-year national Poverty Research Center grant by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
A hearing aid recycling program that helps provide services to low-income individuals is under way, led by the University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Communicative Disorders.
Tanya Buckingham (Assistant Director of the UW Cartography lab) and Jim Lacy (Associate State Cartographer) both spoke this summer during a weekly series at UW-Madison called “Wednesday Nite @ the Lab” (WN@TL).
Little compares to grilling brats in the summer for Wisconsinites. Unless, of course, preparing fish caught in Wisconsin waters. Thanks to the initiative of UW-Madison student Jannet Arenas along with help from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), a new generation of youngsters is partaking in one of Wisconsin’s time-honored outdoor traditions.
Story by Holly Hartung, College of Letters & Science Most may associate “Foxy Lady” with the distinct guitar riffs from the Jimi Hendrix song of that same title. But participants of the Wisconsin Teachers of Local Culture 2011 Tour know the “Foxy Lady” as a sea-faring vessel—well, almost. This past summer, the Foxy Lady navigated [...]
“It’s really bad out there,” said Timothy Smeeding, director of the UW–Madison Institute for Research on Poverty. “I have never been so depressed. This report is the worst report I’ve seen in 30 years. We’re supposedly a year out of recession and things are still slipping.”
Rohany Nayan knows what it’s like to feel left out because of her faith. But Nayan, who came to the U.S. from Malaysia in 1985, says being part of Islam is to be part of a bigger community, which is why she’s been active in interfaith activities wherever she lives.
In January 2011, the College of Letters & Science – along with the College of Engineering and the Graduate School, started a small campus project with a large mission.
In keeping with the Wisconsin Idea, Audiologists Drs. Melanie Buhr-Lawler and Amy Hartman, along with graduate student Trista Fugate, gave a presentation for the Madison Chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America on April 27, 2011 at the Madison Public Library.
March revealed a madness for more than just basketball around Madison. It was a chance for faculty and staff in the The Cartography Laboratory to share their work with the community. The lab, which is housed in the Department of Geography, received several requests to visit classrooms or host visits from nearby middle schools.
In February 2009, Carole Mottaz and a group of fellow citizens in River Falls — a town in west central Wisconsin — answered the call of a group of local religious leaders. The local leaders were concerned about the growing number of families in the area in need of emergency shelter. At the time, Pierce County lacked an emergency shelter and shelters in neighboring St. Croix County were unable to help all those in need, so Mottaz and friends established Our Neighbors’ Place (ONP) to provide shelter and support services to families in need and help them move toward self-sufficiency.
UW-Madison researchers recently teamed up with state agency professionals to complete a report detailing how Wisconsin can protect more children and families from abuse …
The Institute for Research on Poverty’s Summer Research Workshop, celebrating it’s 20th year this summer, has become a time-honored tradition in the poverty studies community since the meeting’s establishment in 1990.
The UW-Madison Political Science Department, in conjunction with the Division of Continuing Studies, is proud to present a new series of online courses designed to prepare students for careers in politics…
A prize-winning author known for his global research on modern-day slavery will deliver a free public lecture this month at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as part of a daylong symposium on human trafficking.
The UW-Madison Division of Continuing Studies is now offering an evening course in Basic Hindi and Indian Culture this spring.
Professor Harvey Jacobs of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning was an invited participant in several domestic and international conferences in November.
Professor Alfonso Morales (Urban and Regional Planning) was featured in October 21, 2009 edition of Wisconsin Week: ‘Street Markets are this professor’s laboratory.’
The Department of Psychology received the 2009 American Psychological Association’s Departmental Award for Culture of Service in Psychological Science.
Psychology Professor John J. Curtin recently agreed to serve as a member of the Risk, Prevention and Intervention for Additional Study section of the on the National Institute Health.
Political Science Professor Ken Goldstein recently began working with the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute (WPRI) to conduct frequent, detailed polling of Wisconsinites.
Professor Ken Goldstein partnered with Wisconsin Policy Research Institute (WPRI) to conduct frequent polling of Wisconsinites.
These polls will take place every four months and results will be released to media outlets as well as used in research projects involving WPRI and University of Wisconsin faculty and graduate students.
Goldstein has an extensive background in polling and election coverage and has worked on national network coverage of every federal electoin night since 1988. He is also a consultant for the ABC News elections unit and he co-founded the Big Ten Battleground Poll during the 2008 presidential election.
The first poll results will be available in early October and will include questions on education, health care and the Wisconsin gubernatorial race. For more information …
Until recently, disadvantaged dads were conspicuously absent from public discourse about America’s high child poverty rate…
