28th Annual Student Research Forum, Spring 2026

This year’s keynote speaker is Bench Ansfield, Assistant Professor of History at Temple University and author of Born in Flames: The Business of Arson and the Remaking of the American City (W. W. Norton, 2025). They are a historian of racial capitalism, the carceral state, and twentieth-century U.S. cities. They hold a Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale University. Prior to joining the faculty at Temple, they were an ACLS and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Dartmouth Society of Fellows and an American Democracy Fellow at Harvard’s Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History.

The title of their keynote presentation is:

“Racial Capitalism in the Burning Years”

Alumni Panel Information and Panelist Bios

This year’s event also includes a juried senior capstone and graduate student poster session following a buffet lunch, a moderated USP alumni panel where students can hear from and connect with practitioners working in Milwaukee across a variety of fields in the public and private sector, an awards ceremony, and a reception following the keynote presentation.

Event Details: Date: Friday, May 8, 2026 Time: 11:30 – 4:30 PM Location: UWM Student Union Alumni Fireside Lounge (2200 E. Kenwood Blvd., Milwaukee, WI, 53211)

Program:

• • 11:15–11:30 AM: Registration

• • 11:30–12:00 PM: Buffet Lunch

• • 12:00–1:30 PM: Juried Poster Session

• • 1:30–2:30 PM: Alumni Panel

• • 2:30-2:45 PM: Coffee Break and Networking

• • 2:45–3:00 PM: Awards Ceremony

• • 3:00–4:00 PM: Keynote Speaker Presentation

• • 4:00–4:30 PM: Reception