Learning about the state we serve
Morgan Jerald, assistant professor of psychology, discusses cultivating curiosity and the value of interdisciplinary collaboration in this L&S faculty interview. Dr. Jerald’s research, rooted in Black feminist scholarship, examines the influence of the media and other sociocultural factors on Black women’s gender beliefs, health, and sexual well-being.
On the last day of the 2025 Wisconsin Idea Seminar, Angela Johnson, teaching faculty in the Art Department, mentioned her upcoming trip to Nepal to Jay Stokes, King-Morgridge Scholars Program manager in the International Division. Johnson would be leading two bookmaking workshops in Kathmandu with Edgewood College’s Artistic Heritage in Nepal Program. It just so …
Forty years ago, in 1985, the Wisconsin Idea Seminar emerged out of the commitment to introduce new faculty and staff to the people and places of Wisconsin. Since then, more than 1,300 University of Wisconsin–Madison employees have made the five-day journey through the state.
EPIC-N recognized Andrea Hicks with the 2025 Faculty of the Year award! Since 2017, Andrea has collaborated with seven Wisconsin communities through UniverCity Alliance. Andrea Hicks participated in the 2017 Wisconsin Idea Seminar.
If, on a hungry afternoon, you’ve been eager to discover a forgotten protein bar tucked in your backpack, only to find it’s become hard and unappetizing after weeks of neglect, food scientist Audrey Girard’s research is for you. Girard recently led a study into chemical changes that occur in protein bars over time, making them …
For decades, Andy Diercks, a fourth-generation potato farmer from Coloma, Wisconsin, has worked closely with vegetable researchers at UW–Madison to improve crops, resulting in healthier yields — and robust friendships. “The research team — they’re just really good people,” says Diercks. Related: Watch Diercks discuss innovations that have benefited his farm with UW–Madison Extension specialist …
After learning how to create a warp with cattails, the Wisconsin Idea Seminar participants began to weave, methodically crossing cattail fibers to create a small mat, talking and meditating on the meaning of their project.
Faisal Abdu’Allah, a professor and the Chazen Family Distinguished Chair in Art at UW–Madison, is a printmaker and a trained barber whose artworks explore race, culture and identity. His most recent work is a 7-foot limestone statue of himself that he designed and was created using a robotic tool and the skills of a master …
Rosy-Lane Holsteins, a 900-cow dairy farm in Watertown, is owned by UW alumni Lloyd and Daphne Holterman and their partners Tim Strobel and Jordan Matthews. They have hosted the Wisconsin Idea Seminar twice since 1993, most recently in 2019. On April 22, the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, established under the leadership of dairy farmers, announced …
Marianne Fairbanks, textile artist and assistant professor of Design Studies at UW–Madison’s School of Human Ecology, has been sharing her book weaving tutorial videos with not only her students but with the general public. What started as a training video for the two courses she is teaching this spring is now available to everyone. Fairbanks …