Category: alumni

Seminar Alumni Receive Distinguished Teaching Awards

Four Wisconsin Idea Seminar participants have received Distinguished Teaching Awards this year, an honor that recognizes their teaching and celebrates their hard work. William Brockliss, WIS’13, is an associate professor of classical and ancient near eastern studies. Kathleen Culver, WIS’12, is an associate professor of journalism and mass communication. Erica Halverson, WIS’07, is a professor …

Know Your Madisonian: Bringing indigenous perspective to UW-Madison campus

As an American Indian curriculum consultant at UW–Madison’s School of Education, Omar Poler helps integrate concepts of Native history, culture and tribal sovereignty into the curriculum. Poler is a member of the Mole Lake Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and leverages his training in library science to support tribal archivists across Wisconsin. Most recently he …

Seminar Collaborator Elected as Council Chair of Dairy Innovation Hub

Mitch Breunig, third-generation farmer and UW–Madison alumnus, was elected as chair of the Dairy Innovation Hub advisory council. In this new position, Breunig will work to assemble the council, set agendas, and provide guidance to the Dairy Innovation Hub’s faculty director: UW–Madison dairy scientist and WIS’13 alumna Heather White. In 2018, the Wisconsin Idea Seminar visited …

Seminar Alumni Show Art at 2020 Faculty Exhibition

Beginning on February 1 and extending until May 10, the Faculty Exhibition 2020 will be on display in the Pleasant T. Rowland Galleries and throughout the Chazen Art Museum. Wisconsin Idea Seminar participant Tomiko Jones (WIS ’19) is showing three tricolor gum prints over cyanotype, inspired by a collection of Japanese ukiyo-e prints in the Van …

Celebrating Rural Wisconsin Life through Food

Luke Zahm, owner and chef of Driftless Cafe and television host of Wisconsin Foodie, welcomed 2019 Wisconsin Idea Seminar participants to his restaurant last May. A UW–Madison ‘03 grad and La Farge local, Luke was able to share perspective on food and how his identity as a chef is deeply rooted in and shaped by …

UW alum Jennings calls for protection of wild rice beds

Sierra features Dylan Jennings, a UW–Madison alumnus and elected tribal council member for the Bad River Band of Lakes Superior Ojibwe, and powerful spokesperson for water and land stewardship in northern Wisconsin. Dylan says, “The Bad River in northern Wisconsin has a unique and nationally recognized watershed and estuary,” he said. “It’s also one of the only …