University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded when Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848, UW–Madison is the official state university of Wisconsin and the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It was the first public university established in Wisconsin and remains the oldest and largest public university in the state. UW–Madison became a land-grant institution in 1866.[9] The 933-acre (378 ha) main campus, located on the shores of Lake Mendota, includes four National Historic Landmarks.[10] The university also owns and operates the 1,200-acre (486 ha) University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum, located 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the main campus, which is also a National Historic Landmark.[11][12]
"University of Wisconsin" redirects here. For the state university system, see University of Wisconsin System. For other uses, see University of Wisconsin (disambiguation).
Former names
University of Wisconsin (1848–1971)
"The divine within the universe, however manifested, is my light" or "God, our light"
July 26, 1848
$4.0 billion (2021)[2]
$4.3 billion (2023)[3]
2,220[4]
24,232[5]
49,886 (fall 2022)[6]
37,235 (fall 2022)[6]
12,651 (fall 2022)[6]
Large city[7], 938 acres (380 ha)
Cardinal and white[8]
UW–Madison is organized into 13 schools and colleges, which enrolled 35,184 undergraduate, 9,993 graduate, 2,046 special, and 2,663 professional students in 2022.[13] Its academic programs include 136 undergraduate majors, 148 master's degree programs, and 120 doctoral programs.[4][14]
Wisconsin is one of the twelve founding members of the Association of American Universities, a selective group of major research universities in North America.[15] It is considered a Public Ivy,[16] and is classified as an R1 University.[17] UW–Madison was also the home of both the prominent "Wisconsin School" of economics and diplomatic history. The National Science Foundation ranked UW–Madison 8th among American universities for research and development expenditures in 2022 with $1.52 billion.[18][19] As of March 2023, 20 Nobel laureates, 41 Pulitzer Prize winners, 2 Fields medalists, and 1 Turing Award recipient have been affiliated with UW–Madison as alumni, faculty, or researchers. It is also a leading producer of Fulbright Scholars and MacArthur Fellows.[20] As of November 2018, 14 CEOs of Fortune 500 companies attended UW–Madison, the most of any university in the nation.[21]
The Wisconsin Badgers compete in 25 intercollegiate sports in the NCAA Division I Big Ten Conference and have won 31 national championships. Wisconsin students and alumni have won 50 Olympic medals (including 13 gold medals).[22]
History[edit]
Beginnings and formative years[edit]
The university had its official beginnings when the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature in its 1838 session passed a law incorporating a "University of the Territory of Wisconsin", and a high-ranking Board of Visitors was appointed. However, this body (the predecessor of the U.W. board of regents) never actually accomplished anything before Wisconsin was incorporated as a state in 1848.[23]
The Wisconsin Constitution provided for "the establishment of a state university, at or near the seat of state government..." and directed by the state legislature to be governed by a board of regents and administered by a Chancellor. On July 26, 1848, Nelson Dewey, Wisconsin's first governor, signed the act that formally created the University of Wisconsin.[24] John H. Lathrop became the university's first chancellor, in the fall of 1849.[25] With John W. Sterling as the university's first professor (mathematics), the first class of 17 students met at Madison Female Academy on February 5, 1849.
John Muir - naturalist, founder of the Sierra Club, instrumental in preserving Yosemite National Park
Frank Lloyd Wright - architect known for designing the Guggenheim Museum and Fallingwater among other works
Charles Lindbergh - aviator and military officer, remembered for the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean
William C. Campbell - biologist and parasitologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2015
Jim Lovell - NASA astronaut, one of the first humans to fly to and orbit the Moon, commanded Apollo 13
Robert M. La Follette - politician and lawyer, Progressive Era leader, former Congressman, Senator, 20th Governor of Wisconsin and Presidential candidate
Gaylord Nelson - environmentalist and politician, founder of Earth Day, 35th Governor of and later United States Senator from Wisconsin
Herb Kohl - businessman and politician, United States Senator from Wisconsin, former owner of the Milwaukee Bucks
Tammy Baldwin - politician and lawyer, United States Senator from Wisconsin, first openly LGBT person elected to the United States Senate
Chuck Robb - former governor and United States Senator from Virginia, co-chair of the 2004 Iraq Intelligence Commission
Joyce Carol Oates - National Book Award-winning author of plays, poetry, short stories, and nonfiction
Greta Van Susteren - commentator, lawyer, and television news anchor for CNN, Fox News, and NBC News
Jeffrey Sprecher - chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, founder and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange
