Although campus activity slowed with many students home for winter break, news did not stop at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Between a conservative law firm filing a complaint on race-based scholarships at UW and a string of burglaries at the UW Law school, here’s what you may have missed while off-campus.
Conservative law firm alleges UW-Madison has illegal race-based scholarships
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty is alleging that UW-Madison is committing a Title IV violation and infringing on the 14th Amendment through scholarship programs that exclude white students, according to a complaint they filed with the U.S. Department of Education on behalf of the Young America’s Foundation club.
This complaint follows a March 2025 Trump Administration investigation into UW-Madison and 44 other universities’ ‘race-based practices’ like scholarships.
According to the Department of Education, educational institutions “must cease using race preferences and stereotypes” as a factor in admissions and scholarships after the 2023 Supreme Court decision found affirmative action illegal. The department has pulled federal funding from universities that do not comply with the administration’s investigations and demands.
On Feb. 14. 2025, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) sent out a “Dear Colleague Letter” to universities receiving federal funding. OCR has started investigations into these institutions who they said are not complying with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (1964), which “prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in education programs and activities receiving federal funding”
WILL used this decree to bring forth a complaint against UW-Madison, arguing the university holds 22 race-based scholarships that violate the letter.
WILL Vice President Dan Lennington has told Wisconsin Public Radio WILL is “calling for a new and expanded investigation into all the discriminatory practices at UW-Madison.”
UW in national top 5 for research expenditures
UW-Madison reached the top 5 universities in the nation for research expenditures, spending a record high $1.93 billion on research activities. The last time the university was in the top 5 was 2014, more than a decade ago.
UW-Madison reached rankings as high as 6th and 8th in previous years, but in 2025 the university increased expenditures by 11.6%, and its federal expenditures specifically by 13.9%.
“This year’s results are made possible by the extraordinary work happening in labs and in the field by so many dedicated faculty members, researchers, postdocs and grad students,” Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said. “They are embracing creativity, driving innovation and advancing knowledge for the public good.”
This year’s ranking only includes data from after June 2024, however. This means the ranking did not take 2025 funding cuts into consideration, a change that may impact UW-Madison’s standing in next year’s rankings.
Law School faces multiple burglaries
UW-Madison’s Law Building has been broken into four times in the past few months now, with the most recent break-in happening Jan. 4. All the burglaries happened after hours, with items being stolen from both locked and unlocked lockers.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department is now urging students to take items home with them and keep an eye out for suspicious activity.
UW eyes finish line on new campus buildings
Three new structures are coming to the UW-Madison campus in 2026-27. Both Irving and Dorothy Levy Hall and The Kellner Family Athletic Center are expected to be open for the 2026 fall semester, and the Lakeshore Nature Preserve Frautschi Center is expected to open in late 2027.
Irving and Dorothy Levy Hall will be the new home for humanities, made up of 13 classrooms, a rooftop garden and a new home for eight different humanities departments. This comes after Wisconsin lawmakers allocated $5 billion to demolish the old humanities building and relocate its departments and programs.
The Kellner Family Athletic Center, located next to Camp Randall and the Field House, will contain a 120-yard turf field, strength and conditioning center, 305-meter training track, dining hall, sports medicine center, locker rooms, coaching offices, team meeting rooms and well-being spaces for student-athletes..
Lastly, the Lakeshore Nature Preserve Frautschi Center, located at the entrance of Picnic Point, will be the first net-positive energy building on UW’s campus, meaning it will generate more power than it uses. It will also prioritize using recycled and upcycled materials as well as sustainable electrical systems.
Andrew Brunner, a spokesperson for the campus Division of Facilities Planning & Management, told the Cap Times, “The center will include interpretive exhibits, a multipurpose space for classes and community events, and consolidated offices and working spaces for the staff, researchers, classes and volunteers.”
Brunner said the preserve will also include cultural history honoring the Ho-Chunk Nation.
All of this construction will come with travel issues for students, warns UW Transportation Services. The department urges students to “use designated pedestrian and accessible detours, watch for construction vehicles and obey flagger signals, and do not walk in roadways or cross in the middle of the road.”
