Learning about the state we serve
Edward Xiong, designer of the 2025 Wisconsin Idea Seminar journey book cover, and three other UW-Madison undergraduates studying textiles and fashion design in the School of Human Ecology traveled to Vietnam for six weeks over the summer for the inaugural 2025 Hmong Design Studies Internship led by Design Studies Professor Jennifer Angus. Students collaborated with …
The Morgridge Center for Public Service is celebrating their 30th anniversary this year! As they commemorate their three decades of connecting campus with community through service, community-based learning and research, they have produced a physical and online magazine featuring stories of leaders, students, and community partners who have been a part of the center’s history …
The SoulFolk Collective is a multidisciplinary research lab led by Jessica Stovall, an assistant professor in the Department of African American Studies, that engages in scholarly inquiry to amplify the voices, stories, and lived realities of Black communities in Wisconsin. The SoulFolk’s current work includes the Black Madison Archive project, an interactive map and oral …
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 …
Kevin Masarik is a groundwater education specialist with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He has assisted tens of thousands of well owners through locally organized well water testing programs. The benefits of these programs are twofold: individual well owners have a better understanding of how to manage …
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 …