Featured Alumni
Ben Relles
YouTube In his role as the head of comedy at YouTube, Ben Relles BA1997 oversees development of new content from YouTube’s top comedy talent. While he was still a UW senior, Relles started his first... Read more »
Biomedical Breakthroughs
In November 1998, the journal Science published a paper on one of the most important medical discoveries of our time: led by UW–Madison professor James Thomson, a team of scientists had successfully isolated human embryonic stem cells. The news established... Read more »
Brent McCown
Cranberry Leaders It’s no wonder that cranberries are Wisconsin’s official state fruit. The state’s growers produce some five million 100-pound barrels of a bright red berries each year, accounting for nearly 60 percent of the... Read more »
Brewster Shaw
Space Shuttle Astronaut If Brewster Shaw BS1968, MS1969 had his way, everyone would get the chance to soar thousands of miles above Earth as he did. The former astronaut completed three space-shuttle missions — twice... Read more »
Broadway Deity
From his appearance in a campus production of Peter Pan to his Tony-winning role on Broadway, André De Shields BA1970 has always strode the stage like a Colossus.... Read more »
Bucky Badger
The Bucky Badger icon we recognize today — in motion with puffed-up chest and serious snarl — was created by California artist Art Evans in 1940, and spruced up by the UW in 2003.... Read more »
Bucky Pushup
One More Rep “TOUCHDOWN WISCONSIN!” What happens next? Badger fans know the drill: Bucky is hoisted into the air on a large plank for another display of impressive upper-body strength as he does one push-up... Read more »
Bucky Wagon
A 1932 American LaFrance fire engine painted Badger red with UW symbols, the Bucky Wagon has been part of the campus scene since 1971, when Jay ’49, MBA’50 and Norma Shotwell ’48 Normington donated it... Read more »
Building a Building Legacy
Elzie Higginbottom BS1965 sprinted his way to a UW education, and he used what he learned to run a business in real estate.... Read more »
Camp Randall Memorial Arch
Erected in 1911, the Camp Randall Memorial Arch is a reminder that the site on which the UW–Madison football stadium stands was, during the Civil War, Wisconsin’s largest army post. The structure was designed in... Read more »
Campus Kitchens
By Popular Demand There was little to be outraged about when the new Gordon Dining and Event Center opened in the fall of 2012, replacing the decades-old Ed’s Express and Pop’s Club that made up... Read more »
Cane Toss
To UW law students, Homecoming means one thing: the annual cane toss. Before kickoff of the Homecoming football game, third-years march down the field at Camp Randall Stadium, wearing bowler hats and carrying canes. When... Read more »
Carillon Tower
If people had stuck to the original plan, there would never have been a Carillon Tower. The Class of 1917 wanted to replace the dome on Bascom Hall, which had burned in 1916, and then... Read more »
Carl Djerassi
Modern-Day Renaissance Man ACT I Carl Djerassi PhD1945’s story opens dramatically. Born to Jewish parents in Vienna, he split his childhood between his mother’s Austria and his father’s Bulgaria. When the Nazis annexed Austria to... Read more »
Carol Bartz
Learning from Failure Carol Bartz BA1971 lives her business career by what she calls the three Fs: Fail. Fast. Forward. “Accept failure and learn from it,” Bartz told graduates at UW–Madison’s 2012 commencement. “Failure, especially... Read more »
Caroline Savage
Diplomacy Expert Caroline Savage MA2002, MA2004 has played a challenging role behind the scenes as a top leader in Russian, Eurasian, and African diplomacy. At age 32, she spent a year coordinating policy development relating... Read more »
Casey Rotter
Children’s Champion Casey Rotter 2005 was committed to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) as a campus member of the UW UNICEF Club. But it was a conversation with a UW Sudanese student that sealed... Read more »
Charles Robb
U.S. Senator In 1961, before anti-Vietnam War fervor seared Madison, Charles Robb BA 1961 was often seen walking down Langdon Street in his ROTC drill uniform on his way to his Chi Phi fraternity. He... Read more »
Charles Van Hise
Out of the Classroom, into the Community Just as Wisconsin was written all over Charles Van Hise BS1879, BS1880, MS1882, PhD1892, his legacy is written all across Wisconsin. He was the son of a Rock... Read more »
Charles Wedemeyer
Distance-Learning Visionary The notion that students must sit in a physical classroom to gain new knowledge seems quaint in the days of high-speed Wi-Fi connections and the steady flow of information that pops up on... Read more »
Commencement
The First Alumni Tradition Halloween isn’t the only Badger tradition that has funny costumes. Commencement is the time when Badgers don their caps and gowns and join the community of more than 400,000 living alumni... Read more »
Cranberry Scoop
Brent McCown and the HyRed Cranberry Thanks to a boggy landscape and university ingenuity, Wisconsin is the leading state when it comes to the production of cranberries. About 60 percent of America’s cranberry harvest comes... Read more »
Crew Practice
On misty mornings when the lake is clear of ice, the UW’s rowing teams can be found sculling their way across the surface of Lake Mendota, a coach often motoring along beside them, shouting instructions... Read more »
Curiosity Rover
Martian Footprint Adam Steltzner PhD1999 has eclectic interests. The lead engineer on NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover, he’s also an avid rock-’n’-roll drummer. This sculptural tribute combines the different sides of Steltzner’s personality, linking drumsticks with... Read more »
Dairy Barn
Built in 1898, the Dairy Barn is more than just UW–Madison’s “cow palace.” It’s a monument to scientific progress in the field of agriculture. The barn’s silo is one of the first in America designed... Read more »