Summer is always a special time on our campus, and this year has been no exception. Sailboats on Lake Mendota. Babcock ice cream and conversation at the Terrace. New students and parents attending orientation at SOAR. And Camp Randall rocking with nearly 50,000 AC/DC fans. Who would want to be anywhere else in the world?
Yet the summer of 2026 will also be remembered as a most unusual one: On June 17, a chilled water line broke, and this led to the closure of many buildings across campus. We moved out of Bascom Hall and Ingraham Hall, where the Institute for Regional and International Studies is based, along with our laptops, papers, and plants. Some of us worked from home, while others relocated to the Pyle Center, home to International Faculty and Staff Services, International Student Services, and the Language Program Office. I am grateful for the flexibility and resilience that the International Division staff has shown during the past six weeks, and we are looking forward to returning to our offices on August 10.
Despite this disruption, our remarkable team has had a very productive summer. International Academic Programs supported nearly 1,000 students who studied abroad in more than 50 countries and studied away on programs from California to Washington, DC. We also increased the number of Global Gateway programs from three to five, with students on this fully-funded, faculty-led initiative studying in Chile, Estonia, Ghana, South Korea, and Washington, DC.
I had the pleasure of meeting in Seoul with some of the Global Gateway students, and their enthusiasm was inspiring. They repeatedly used the word impactful to describe this international opportunity, which was their first time for most of them to travel abroad. Students on other Global Gateway programs were equally enthralled, with one writing that what they liked most about the program was “everything—the academics were unmatched … I am beyond grateful to have had that opportunity! It was one of the best risks I’ve ever taken!”
Not only did we send a record number of students abroad on stellar programs this summer, we also hosted nearly 160 students on campus and online in the Wisconsin Intensive Summer Language Institutes (WISLI). There were 14 languages on offer, including Brazilian Portuguese, Filipino, Hindi, and Persian, and language study was combined with professional development events that highlighted the benefits of multilingualism.
In addition, we launched the WISLI Digital Badge in June, the first of several micro-credential programs the International Division is developing with campus partners to recognize student competencies in international education. The WISLI badge serves as a way for students to reflect on their summer language learning, apply it to their professional goals, and communicate their newfound skills on digital platforms like LinkedIn and on their resumes.
Summers make memories, and UW-Madison students, faculty, and staff will long remember the unexpectedly eventful season of 2026.