University of Wisconsin–Madison

Category: School News

Equipping dance artists for the future

By Kari Dickinson As the Dance Department celebrates its centennial, it is also looking to the future with the launch of a new Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Dance program. The first students will arrive in fall 2026. This fully funded, two-year degree gives outstanding artists opportunities to push the boundaries of their creative …

Dancing for (over) a century

By Kari Dickinson More than 100 years ago, Margaret H’Doubler taught the first dance courses on the UW–Madison campus. At the time, the idea that dance was suitable for academic study was nothing short of radical. From those first improvisational classes in 1917 grew the nation’s first dance major, formally approved on June 8, 1926. …

UW–Madison research develops new framework to strengthen instruction for multilingual learners

By Karen Rivedal, Office of Research and Scholarship As multilingual learners make up a growing share of U.S. classrooms, educators face increasing pressure to support students who are learning academic content and the language of instruction at the same time. In response, a recent working paper from the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER), part …

WIDA’s Next Chapter: A Q&A with Executive Director Jenni Torres

By Hannah Haynes, WIDA Communications  Jenni Torres has built her life on a simple but powerful belief: Language is a bridge. As the new executive director of WIDA, she brings that conviction to the forefront of a national and global effort to engage, equip, and inspire the educators who impact the lives of multilingual learners. …

School of Education’s Conroy chosen for Distinguished Teaching Award

School of Education faculty member Colleen Conroy, an assistant professor in the Department of Theatre and Drama, is among 13 UW–Madison faculty members selected this year as recipients for Distinguished Teaching Awards, an honor established in 1953 to recognize some of the university’s finest educators.  Conroy is being honored with the Chancellor’s Inclusive Excellence Teaching …

UW–Madison No. 8 in U.S. News’ Best Online Master’s in Education Programs ranking

The UW–Madison School of Education is home to some of the best online graduate degree programs in the nation according to rankings published today by U.S. News & World Report. The publication ranked UW–Madison No. 8 in overall Best Online Master’s in Education Programs and No. 2 in the category of Best Online Master’s in Educational Administration and …

ScholarGPS names four UW–Madison-connected educators among world’s leading scholars in Curriculum and Teaching

Four scholars with ties to the UW–Madison School of Education have been ranked among the top 0.5% in Curriculum and Teaching by Scholar GPS. The honorees include Michael W. Apple, John Bascom Professor Emeritus of Curriculum and Instruction; Gloria Ladson-Billings, professor emerita and former Kellner Family Distinguished Chair in Urban Education; and Thomas S. Popkewitz, …

Three School of Education faculty named to National Academy of Education

By Laurel White  Three faculty from the School of Education have been elected to the National Academy of Education in recognition of their significant contributions to education research and policy. Richard Halverson, Stacey Lee, and David Shaffer were among just 19 scholars nationwide to be selected for the honor this year.  The National Academy of Education advances high-quality …

How to keep kids winter-tained: Seven children’s books for cold days

By John Allen — originally published Dec. 1 in Badger Insider At the end of the year, the days get shorter, the temperature drops, and parents need ways to keep their cooped-up kids entertained. If you want to give kids something to read, Tessa Michaelson Schmidt ’00, MA’05 is the perfect person to talk to. As the …

UW–Madison faculty bring immersive dance-theatre collaboration to ART House 360

Two faculty members from the UW–Madison School of Education are collaborating on a new immersive performance opening this February at ART House 360 in Verona, Wisconsin. “A Love Letter,” a co-production of Theatre LILA and Barrio Dance, is co-created by Jessica Lanius and AJ Juarez. The experimental dance-theatre work blends visceral movement, poetic storytelling, and live music to explore the …