Photo: Taylor Wolfram / UW–Madison
What we did on your summer vacation
From new faces to refreshed places, catch up on the top 10 headlines from a busy summer on campus.
Maybe you’ve been away from campus this summer — taking a trip, stepping back from schoolwork or research, recharging your batteries. Most likely you’ve been changing, growing and having fun these past few months. And — surprise! — so has your campus.
It’s been a busy summer at UW–Madison. But no worries, Badgers: We’re here to bring you up to date on the new faces and refreshed places you’ll see this fall.
Wilcots named interim chancellor
Let’s start at the top. On May 18, Eric Wilcots became interim chancellor of UW–Madison following Jennifer Mnookin’s departure to Columbia University. The longtime UW astronomy professor most recently served as the dean of the College of Letters & Science. “In my nearly 31 years here at UW–Madison, I have come to know just how extraordinary this university is, and I want to begin my service as interim chancellor by simply thanking you for all that you do to build a culture of excellence here,” Wilcots said in his first-day message to the university community.
CAI opens its doors
July 1 was a historic day: UW–Madison officially launched the College of Computing & Artificial Intelligence (CAI), its first new academic division in more than 40 years. Building on the success of the former School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences within the College of Letters & Science, CAI positions UW–Madison to advance research, education, public engagement and thought leadership around computing and artificial intelligence.
Photo: College of Computing & Artificial Intelligence
Eichorst hired to lead Wisconsin Athletics
Shawn Eichorst was selected as UW–Madison’s new athletic director and was welcomed to campus on July 7 by interim Chancellor Wilcots and a crowd of Badger coaches, student-athletes and others. “This is an emotional day for me,” said Eichorst, a native of Lone Rock, Wisconsin, “because this place means so much to me and my family.” A former UW–Madison administrator, Eichorst returns after a successful eight-year run at the University of Texas.
A facility to build champions
The Kellner Family Athletic Center for Badger student-athletes opened next to Camp Randall this summer, with the first phase completed and more work to be done through mid-2027. With a full-sized turf field, it now serves as the football team’s primary indoor practice facility (pictured here). All 23 varsity sports will utilize the center, which will also feature a strength and conditioning center, 305-meter training track, sports medicine center and more.
Photo: Wisconsin Athletics
A new home for L&S
Final construction work continued through the summer on Irving & Dorothy Levy Hall, the new home base for UW–Madison’s College of Letters & Science, located at the corner of West Johnson and North Park streets. The five-level building includes 13 classrooms with capacities ranging from 25 to 400 seats, as well as departmental offices and support areas to replace the aging Humanities Building. The state-of-the-art building is scheduled to be open for the first day of class on Sept 2.
Campus cooling updates
Over much of the summer, a broken chilled water line caused higher-than-normal temperatures and humidity in some UW–Madison campus buildings. The campus remained open and operating, but some buildings were temporarily closed because of the limited availability of air conditioning. Staff, faculty and students were sent regular updates on repairs and, fortunately, all closed buildings reopened Aug. 10.
Photo: Bryce Richter / UW–Madison
UW–Madison’s rarest books accessible again
After an 18-month closure to update its fire-suppression systems, Memorial Library’s ninth-floor Special Collections — containing some 300,000 painstakingly cared-for, invaluable objects (including a first edition of “The Birds of America” by John James Audubon, pictured above) — reopened on Aug. 24. Once again, visitors can access the collection’s holdings by making an online request and coming to view these treasures in the library reading room.
Fresh new features across campus
Students returning to campus this fall will definitely notice some changes — all for the better.
Photo: Taylor Wolfram / UW–Madison
After an introspective look at its galleries, the Chazen Museum of Art has reimagined the visitor experience and created an entirely new approach for displaying its collection that has garnered national headlines. The galleries will open this fall.
Thanks to renovations at the Gordon Dining & Event Center, capacity has been expanded from around 300 to more than 500 seats, the Flamingo Run convenience store was remodeled and several changes have been made to the building’s layout, entrances and traffic flow.
Close by, work on a permanent home for the UW Athletic Hall of Fame display is ongoing and scheduled to be completed in September. The hall’s new open-air location is outside the Kohl Center along Frances Street, providing year-round access for Badger fans.
Steenbock Library started to reopen its first floor in July with a modern look and a new STEM Commons, an event and gathering space for the STEM community. Updates to the building include new study spaces, active learning classrooms, modern amenities, new technology and a fresh look and feel.
Science Hall attracts major gift
The historic landmark known as Science Hall will be renovated starting in 2027, thanks to a lead gift of $85.2 million from alumni and philanthropists John and Tashia Morgridge announced this summer. Located at the heart of campus near Memorial Union, the 139-year-old building will be transformed into a state-of-the-art hub for geography, environmental studies and geospatial science.
Rockin’ out with Phish and AC/DC
See any good concerts this summer? The UW–Madison campus did — with packed shows by Phish at the Kohl Center and AC/DC at Camp Randall (pictured here). Both bands returned to Madison in July after a quarter-century or more away, helping to make 2026 a summer to remember. We hope yours was memorable, too!
Photo: Jeff Miller / UW–Madison
