Featured Alumni
Vel Phillips
First in Fighting for Social Justice The first woman and first African American to ascend to major political posts in Wisconsin, Vel Phillips LLB1951 says that she found her gender presented more roadblocks than her race. “But... Read more »
Virgil Abloh
Designer and Creator In 2008, the Wisconsin Alumni Association rolled out The Red Shirt™, a T-shirt designed to support UW–Madison’s Great People Scholarship. WAA has introduced a new design each year, and in 2015, it... Read more »
Vitamin D Molecule
UW researchers have made many discoveries with long-lasting importance and far-reaching effects. But perhaps the work with the broadest implications was the discovery of vitamin A — made by Elmer McCollum and Marguerite Widman Davis... Read more »
Vitamin D Researchers
Vitamin Pioneers A succession of 20th-century Wisconsin scientists made a lasting influence on our daily diets — and just how the foods we eat contribute to human health. In the early part of the century,... Read more »
Volleyball
By the time women’s volleyball became a Big Ten sport in 1985, the Badger team was already a decade old. Volleyball was one of the 12 original women’s sports when the UW launched a women’s... Read more »
W Crest
One of the UW’s most mysterious symbols is the W crest, which first appeared as an architectural embellishment on the Wisconsin Field House. No one knows who created the crest or why. State architect Arthur... Read more »
Walter Mirisch
The Magnificent Mirisch I think from the time I was very young and saw my first film, I thought, what a wonderful way that might be to spend one’s life. But like most young people,... Read more »
Washburn Observatory
The observatory that gives Observatory Hill and Observatory Drive their names was also the first building given to the UW by private donation. A gift from former Wisconsin governor (and cofounder of General Mills) Cadwallader... Read more »
WHA
Trailblazing Radio Station The world comes to us as we listen to the latest news or music in our homes, while driving, or on our mobile devices. Radio, that marvelous medium, came into our lives... Read more »
William Stewart
It Started with a Canadian International students have been part of the University of Wisconsin since its founding. William Stewart from Ancaster, Canada West (now Ontario), was among the 20 men who attended the first... Read more »
William Young
Proponent of International Education During his distinguished career in academia, William Young PhD 1941 came to be noticeably indispensable. After receiving his doctorate and teaching elsewhere for a bit, he returned to the UW and... Read more »
Winterama
Wisconsin’s Winter Carnival Winter at the University of Wisconsin is different for every Badger. On campus, it can mean hooking up with Hoofers for a ski or snowboarding trip, or slowly shuffling along the icy sidewalks... Read more »
Wiscetiquette
A Newbie’s Guide to Badger Social Life Students didn’t always arrive on campus clad in T-shirts and jeans, experienced in dating, and armed with smartphones and Snapchat. In a simpler, less politically correct time starched... Read more »
Wisconsin vs. Chicago, 1930
Early Badger Football Bright colors and an energetic cheerleader graced the cover of the official program on October 11, 1930, when the Wisconsin Badgers faced the University of Chicago for a Big Ten football game. Chicago and the Big... Read more »
Yeshey Zimba
Shaping Bhutan’s Future Yeshey Zimba BA1975, MA1976 tells a self-deprecating story about his struggles to pass a public-policy class during his days at UW–Madison in the mid-1970s. While studying for a master’s degree in economics,... Read more »