Category: Alumni News

UW–Madison’s Ledesma is recipient of award from Education Law Association

UW–Madison alumnus Dominic Ledesma is the recipient of the Joseph C. Beckham Award for dissertation of the year from the Education Law Association. Ledesma earned his PhD from the School of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis in 2021. He currently serves as the interim director of the Office of Access, Inclusion, and Compliance for …

UW–Madison alumna Pfeiffer named Wisconsin Superintendent of the Year

UW–Madison alumna Mary Pfeiffer was named Wisconsin Superintendent of the Year by the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators (WASDA) on Monday, Nov. 8. Pfeiffer earned two degrees from the School of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis — a master’s in 1999 and a PhD in 2006. She currently is the superintendent of the Neenah Joint School …

Community Altar Project on display at Overture through Nov. 14 honors loved ones

UW–Madison alumnus Roberto Torres Mata is one of the organizers of the 2021 Día de los Muertos Community Altar Project on display at the Overture Center for the Arts through Sunday, Nov. 14. Torres Mata has been involved with the Community Altar Project since last year, when he was a student in the School of Education’s Art Department. …

UW–Madison connections abound in MOWA glass art exhibition

A number of artists with connections to the UW–Madison Art Department, housed in the School of Education, are part of an exhibition exploring 60 years of Wisconsin glass art at the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend, Wisconsin. The exhibition, titled “The Studio Glass Movement: The Hyde Collection,” coincides with the International Year of Glass …

UW–Madison alumna Gail Bach featured in CowParade NYC

The work of UW–Madison alumna Gail Bach was featured in the global public art exhibit, CowParade NYC 2021, from August through September 2021. Bach earned her bachelor’s degree from the School of Education’s Art Department in 1980.  Bach painted one of 78 cows, which were decorated by artists from all over the United States. Her cow, titled …

‘Learning Laboratory’ in Northern Wisconsin high school works to reduce racial disparities

The Culturally Responsive Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (CRPBIS) research center at UW–Madison has published a study in the leading journal Race, Ethnicity, and Education, titled “Transformative agency for justice: Addressing racialization of school discipline with the Indigenous Learning Laboratory.” The study was co-authored by UW–Madison’s Aydin Bal, a professor in the School of Education’s Department …

New research brief shows how Wisconsin’s technical colleges adapted to COVID-19

By WCER Communications An inaugural research brief from WCER Principal Investigator Xueli Wang’s NSF-funded study of change and innovation in technical education finds institutions in the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) moved rapidly in response to the pandemic, revamping services and instructional practices to holistically serve students and meet their critical needs. These supports include food, …

Daily Mail features stroke research by study team including UW–Madison’s Farrar Edwards

Research by a study team including UW–Madison’s Dorothy Farrar Edwards was featured in a recent Daily Mail article that is headlined, “Stroke victims recover best if rehab starts 2-3 MONTHS after the event.” The study results were released on Monday, Sept. 20, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Farrar Edwards is one of …

On Wisconsin magazine features ‘storybook romance’ of UW–Madison alums Dronzek, Henkes

The life and work of UW–Madison alumni Laura Dronzek and Kevin Henkes was featured recently in the Wisconsin Alumni Association’s On Wisconsin magazine. The article, titled “A Storybook Romance,” describes how Dronzek and Henkes — who both earned degrees from the School of Education’s Art Department — met at UW–Madison, married, and now “make magic together in children’s …

Students, recent graduate, and Dean Hess meet with U.S. Secretary of Education Cardona

Two current students and a recent graduate of an innovative UW–Madison special education teacher preparation program received the unique opportunity to meet and speak with U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona during a campus visit Monday, Sept. 20. “I don’t foresee myself going into politics, so an opportunity like this will probably never come up …