I am always energized by the beginning of the academic year, when we welcome back our returning students along with more than 10,000 new Badgers — and, this year, a strong cohort of nearly 100 new faculty members across campus. This is a season of renewal and a chance to recommit to what makes the UW one of the country’s finest institutions: an unrivaled student experience; life-changing research that inspires the imagination; and a deep commitment to the Wisconsin Idea.

Even though I have been on campus for 31 years, I continue to be impressed by our extraordinary breadth and what that means for the impact we have on the world and the experience we provide our students. Only six other public universities in the country — and no private schools — bring together, on one contiguous campus, agriculture, medicine, veterinary medicine, engineering, law, and the full sweep of the liberal arts and sciences.

And not one of those has a Fifth Quarter.

To me, the scope of what we do is part of the magic of UW–Madison. Our breadth opens up a whole new world of possibilities for our students and expands what we’re capable of doing. Just a few highlights:

• Researchers across astronomy, biology, chemistry, geoscience, and physics recently discovered a “Mega-Earth” more than twice the size of our own.
• Our faculty won five Department of Energy Genesis Mission grants (more than any other public university in the nation, tying with Stanford University) to deploy AI and advanced computing to power us toward a number of priorities in critical and emerging fields.
• And one professor turned campus into a movie set to make a new feature-length film.

These efforts aren’t just vital for discovery and innovation — they’re also part of providing unrivaled opportunities for our students. Nearly 40 percent of our undergraduates participate in faculty research, compared with a national average of 28 percent.

This year alone, we launched new majors in aerospace engineering and public policy, inaugurated our new College of Computing & Artificial Intelligence, and opened Irving & Dorothy Levy Hall, a world-class home for a set of departments that reflects our deep commitment to disciplines that explore what it means to be human in a moment so focused on technology.

Up next is the grand opening of the spectacular new Kellner Family Athletic Center to support our amazing student-athletes.

There are more doors of opportunity on this campus than any student could possibly open, but our job is to make sure that they know the doors are there and encourage them to walk through a few they maybe hadn’t planned to.

To be sure, there are challenges ahead. But Badgers are innovative, creative, resilient, and, yes, a bit fun-loving. After all, when you say Wisconsin, you’ve said it all.

In the meantime, I hope you’ll get in touch! I’d love to hear what surprised you about UW–Madison.

On, Wisconsin!

Eric Wilcots
Interim Chancellor