Volume 15, Number 5
- Student research shines across disciplines at symposiumUWM is a top-tier research university, and that’s thanks in large part to our talented student researchers. In April, they were able to show off their accomplishments at the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, which featured …
- Panther Tracks podcast offers a global perspective for Milwaukee listenersUWM’s “campus bubble” can seem like its own little world at times, but the events and stories that happen on campus and in Milwaukee can reverberate around the globe. Just ask the Panther Tracks podcast …
- UWM fashions strategies for artificial intelligence in the classroomCollege-level writing requires students to do much more than put words on a page. In English 101, they learn and practice rhetoric — the art of effective communication. Crafting convincing arguments, tailoring messages for a …
- Philosophy students explore a new way of thinking with Indigenous philosophy courseYou’ve studied the teachings of Socrates and Plato. You’ve read from the works of Confucius and Siddartha Gautama. You’ve discussed the thoughts of Kant, Marx, and Heidegger. But have you heard of the great thinker …
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Alumni Accomplishments
Benjamin Wendorf (‘10, MA; ’16, PhD African & African Diaspora Studies) delivered an invited presentation at Yale University’s African Lecture Series on Feb. 12 entitled, “Ruling the Road in the Gold Coast.” Wendorf is a professor of history at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Scott Niederjohn (‘03, PhD Economics) was named as the dean of Concordia University’s Batterman School of Business. He takes over on May 1 and will oversee the strategic direction of the School while fostering partnerships with industry leaders and enhancing and expanding opportunities for students. Niederjohn is currently the founding director of the Concordia Free Enterprise Center.
Audrey Posten (‘13, BA History and Journalism, Advertising, & Media Studies) is the new co-editor of The Guttenberg Press, a weekly newspaper covering municipalities in Clayton County, Iowa. Posten currently works for the Times-Register, which is owned by the same parent company that owns The Guttenberg Press. Posten has been with her current paper since 2013 and will continue to cover local news in her new position.
Laurels & Accolades
Professor Kennan Ferguson (Political Science) was selected as a Distinguished Scholar Fulbright for Charles University in Prague, the Czech Republic, to be taken in the spring of 2026. Ferguson is the first faculty member from UWM to be named as a Distinguished Scholar. The awards “are viewed as the most prestigious appointments in the Fulbright Scholar Program,” according to Fulbright.
Professor Jeffrey Sommers (African & African Diaspora Studies and Global Studies) will spend three months this summer at Babes-Bolyai University (Romania) on a U.S. State Department Fulbright award.
Professor Daniel Agterberg (Physics) has been awarded funding from the Simons Foundation to participate in the Simons Collaboration on New Frontiers in Superconductivity. Agterberg’s research focuses on correlated quantum materials with an emphasis on superconductivity and magnetism.
Professor Chia Youyee Vang (History), who is also the UWM Vice Chancellor for Community Empowerment and Institutional Inclusivity, is included in a new book of Wisconsin Idols: 100 Heroes who Changed the State, the World, and Me by Dean Robbins. The book highlights influential Wisconsinites throughout history. Vang is the final entry included in the work. The book was published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press.
Faculty and students from the Department of Communication presented their research at the Central States Communication Association Convention in April. Undergraduate students Justin Gottfredsen and Evelyn Rojas were selected to present their research. Several UWM attendees are receiving awards for research, including graduate students Alima Abdul-Karimu, Emmanuel Appiah, Alexandra Parr Balaram, Cassandra D. Hightower, Ousman Mbaye, Candice Ruh, Xiola Schneiderman, and Sarra Ben Slama, as well as Associate Professor Xiaoxia Cao, teaching faculty Kim Marie Omachinski, Professor Sarah E. Riforgiate, and Associate Professor Erin Ruppel.
Three undergraduate students in UWM’s Chinese program received top awards at the 2025 Midwest College Chinese Speech Contest, hosted by North Central College in April. Awardees include Genevieve Dwyer (1st Place, Third-Year Non-Heritage Category); Hidayah Osman (2nd Place, Fourth-Year Heritage Category); and Celinia He (3rd Place, Third-Year Heritage Category). All three students were mentored by teaching faculty Lu Yin (Ancient & Modern Languages, Literatures, & Cultures). The students competed among approximately 60 students from eight colleges across the Midwest. Contestants were judged on a three-minute Chinese speech and a three-minute performance related to Chinese culture.
In the Media and around the Community
Spectrum News asked Distinguished Professor Kathleen Dolan (Political Science) her opinion on what Judge Susan Crawford’s win of Wisconsin’s State Supreme Court race meant about prevailing attitudes towards national politics.
Associate professor Sara Benesh (Political Science) spoke to Courthouse News about the harms that could follow if state supreme courts are viewed as partisans entities.
After the publication of his 13th book of poetry, Wisconsin Public Radio and Milwaukee Magazine featured Distinguished Professor emeritus John Koethe (Philosophy) to talk about his work. DailyNous.com also published an entry that featured a selection of Koethe’s work.
Milwaukee has been in the national media spotlight a lot lately, thanks to the State Supreme Court race. Assistant Professor Michael Mirer (Communication) spoke about the lasting effects on the state’s image on Spectrum News.
Irna Phillips is hailed as the creator of the soap opera genre. When WBEZ Radio looked back on her life, they asked Professor Elana Levine (English), a soap opera expert, for commentary.
Professor Rebecca Neumann (Economics) offered her predictions on the impacts of President Trump’s tariffs in Urban Milwaukee and on CBS 58 News.
The Shepherd Express reported on a new study co-authored by Professor Joel Rast (Urban Studies) that examines environmental equity in Milwaukee.
It’s a long road from conceiving a drug to seeing it on pharmacy shelves. Distinguished Professor emeritus Jim Cook (Chemistry & Biochemistry) discussed the process in MKE Startup News.
WORT Radio spoke to Wisconsin Poet Laureate and Associate Professor emerita Brenda Cárdenas (English) about her new position and the plans she has to advance the arts in Wisconsin.
Chemical and Engineering News reported on the Hello Tomorrow Global Summit in Paris, France, that showcased dozens of technological and engineering start-ups, including Professor emerita Carol Hirschmugl’s (Physics) company COnovate, which manufactures eCOphite material that can replace graphite in lithium ion batteries.
WORT Radio spoke with Professor Rachel Buff (History) about the government’s recent focus on birthright citizenship.
Decades after Oklahoma City bombing, senior teaching faculty Jay Williamson (Ancient & Modern Languages, Literatures, & Cultures) recounted his experience on the day of the attack in USA Today article.
Children and young teens are particularly vulnerable to manipulation by AI chatbots, Clinical Professor Stacey Nye (Psychology) told CBS 58 News.
Undergraduate student Nicholas Nelson (Physics) discussed his astrophysics research, funded by the Northwester Mutual Data Science Institute, during a virtual speaker series hosted by NMDSI on May 1.
Milwaukee Magazine profiled Susan Kerns (‘13, PhD English) for her new role as the executive director of Milwaukee Film.
Associate Professor Julie Bowles (Geosciences) discussed her research on underwater volcanoes on WUWM Radio.
Professor emeritus Michael Mikós (Ancient & Modern Languages, Literatures, & Cultures) presented his membership lecture “Integrated philology as seen from across the ocean,” at the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences in Cracow (Poland) in March. He also saw the publication of his work “From Chaos to Order” (in the series “Masters’ Prelections”) (Białystok University Press).
ScienceNews.org consulted Associate Professor Ashley Lemke (Anthropology) to explain more about a recent discovery involving the hunting habitats of prehistoric ancestors of humans.
The Milwaukee Business Journal featured UWM’s new Chemistry Building and its expanded capabilities in a recent article.
Professor Anne Bonds (Geography) presented the annual Gould lecture at Colgate University and talked about her ongoing project, “Infrastructures of Exclusion: Real estate, Resistance and Racial Regimes of Property in the Urban North” in April.
Professor Jeffrey Sommers (African & African Diaspora Studies and Global Studies) delivered an invited presentation at Saint Johns on the Lake entitled, “Trump Tariffs: Epochal Shift in the US/Global Order,” in April.
People in Print
Distinguished Professor emerita Merry Wiesner-Hanks (History). 2025. Catherine of Siena’s American Daughters. History Today, 75(4). Online.
Graduate student Chan-Song Kim (Political Science) and Gi-Woo Roh. 2025. The More The Worse: Effects of Childcare Burdens on Parents’ Pro-Environmental Attitudes. Social Science Quarterly. Online first.
Assistant Professor Polymnia Georgiou (Psychology), Abagail F. Postle, Ta-Chung M. Mou, et al. 2025. Estradiol, via estrogen receptor β signaling, mediates stress-susceptibility in the male brain. Molecular Psychiatry. Online first.