Category: News

Spring commencement 2020: A virtual party heard round the world

Camp Randall wasn’t in the cards for commencement this spring, but University of Wisconsin–Madison graduates did get “Camp Patterson” — bestselling author James Patterson’s kitchen, impressively festooned with all manner of Bucky paraphernalia.  “And I thought my dad had a lot of Badger stuff!” marveled graduate Amelia Gonzales, a Patterson super-fan who had been eagerly …

Lessons from Kathmandu

Inside a restaurant at the foothills of the Himalayas, Elizabeth Sumiec danced to music with her new friends and her host family. A few days prior, those same people had been strangers, and she knew little about the place they lived. In the short time in between, Sumiec bonded with her Nepalese host family without …

Supporting individuals impacted by bias during the COVID-19 pandemic

Dear UW–Madison Students, Faculty, and Staff, The past months have been incredibly challenging. The COVID-19 pandemic has created ruptures within communities—through the need to physically distance, the death of loved ones, and a rise in xenophobic and discriminatory incidents during this time. Regretfully, UW–Madison and the surrounding community have not been insulated from such occurrences, …

WISLI to offer virtual language instruction in summer 2020

The Wisconsin Intensive Summer Language Institutes (WISLI) will offer virtual language instruction in summer 2020. The announcement comes as the University of Wisconsin–Madison made the decision that face-to-face instruction will not be offered on campus in consideration of the safety of participants during the COVID-19 pandemic. “This is a significant shift for WISLI, but familiar …

A message to our partners

The COVID-19 pandemic has created incredible challenges for higher education institutions around the world, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison has not been immune to those challenges. However, as we deal with the impact that this crisis has had on the lives of our students and colleagues, our thoughts are also on our partners around the …

Message from Dean Podestá on summer 2020 international programming

In consideration of the health and safety of UW–Madison students, Guido Podestá, vice provost and dean of the International Division, has instructed that all IAP study abroad programs and IIP international internships planned for summer 2020 be cancelled. This includes programs offered in collaboration with CALS, WSB, and CoE, as well as Wisconsin in Washington. …

Stephenson and Shutske: Six possible impacts of COVID-19 on farming

The World Health Organization now considers the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) to be a pandemic. The rapidly evolving situation is raising questions throughout the U.S. The stock market has taken a hit in recent weeks creating wild volatility and there are growing concerns about the virus and our reaction to it causing a significant downturn in …

Message from Dean Podestá on COVID-19 and spring 2020 study abroad

Following today’s announcement by Chancellor Blank regarding campus operations and activities, as well as the World Health Organization’s declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic, the International Division is taking immediate steps to secure the well-being of UW–Madison students and staff, with particular attention to those students who are currently participating in study abroad programs. …

Anthropology professor Karen Strier recognized as prominent primate conservationist in Brazil

Karen Strier, a Vilas research professor of anthropology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, has been featured in the Women in Conservation series by National Geographic Brazil. For 38 years, Strier has maintained a long-term study site on a protected reserve in southeastern Brazil near the city of Caratinga, in the state of Minas Gerais, where she studies a species of …

UW–Madison ranked 1st in producing Peace Corps volunteers

The Peace Corps has announced that for the fourth year in a row, the University of Wisconsin–Madison is No. 1 on the agency’s list of top volunteer-producing colleges and universities in 2020. There are 79 Badgers currently volunteering around the world. Since the agency’s founding in 1961, around 3,369 alumni from the University of Wisconsin–Madison …