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Latest From Dean Wilcots

June 13, 2024

Dean Summer Update

Dean alumni & friends,

I am thrilled to announce a groundbreaking moment for the College of Letters & Science! Last month officially marked the beginning of construction for Irving & Dorothy Levy Hall, a transformative new facility that will revolutionize the way we teach and study the humanities and qualitative social sciences at UW–Madison.

We hope generations of students and staff will find the building to be a real spark for both learning and creative energy.

Marv & Jeff Levy

While many universities are scaling back humanities programs, we’re making a bold investment in these crucial fields. We recognize the enduring value of the humanities in fostering critical thinking, effective communication and a deep understanding of the human experience. Once completed, Levy Hall will embody our commitment to ensuring that these essential areas of study continue to thrive.

Nearly every UW–Madison student, regardless of their major, will benefit from Levy Hall. The facility will house 1,100 seats in 13 modern, flexible classrooms designed to enhance student engagement and collaboration. Gone will be the days of static lectures — and getting lost roaming the labyrinth-like halls of the old Humanities building. Levy Hall will foster dynamic learning environments that encourage lively discussions and interdisciplinary exploration, along with an abundance of natural light, a rooftop garden and commons to support the well-being of Levy Hall visitors.

But Levy Hall is about more than just classrooms. It’s a powerful statement about the future of L&S. This state-of-the-art facility will be a major draw for top faculty and students. A world-class learning environment fosters a world-class education, and Levy Hall will position us to attract the brightest minds in the humanities and social sciences.

This ambitious project wouldn’t be possible without the extraordinary generosity of alumni Marv and Jeff Levy, whose vision and commitment to the humanities are truly inspiring. We are also deeply grateful to the late Chancellor Rebecca Blank for her leadership in launching this initiative. Her dedication to L&S leaves a lasting legacy. And our sincere thanks to Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin for her ardent support and for helping shepherd the process.

This project is also a testament to the vital role of state investment in public education. We are thankful for the support of Gov. Tony Evers and the Wisconsin State Legislature. Additionally, we extend our sincere appreciation to the UW Foundation for their tireless work in securing private funding for Levy Hall and to the many alumni and friends of the College who joined the Levy family in supporting this project.

The groundbreaking for Levy Hall marks a pivotal moment in UW–Madison’s history. This state-of-the-art facility will position the College at the forefront of humanities scholarship and education for generations to come. We look forward to sharing updates on the construction progress as we approach our anticipated opening in the summer of 2026.

Please check out the Irving & Dorothy Levy Hall webpage for more information and opportunities to be part of the Levy Hall story.

Thank you for all you do to support L&S, and On, Wisconsin!

Eric M. Wilcots, Dean
Mary C. Jacoby Professor of Astronomy
College of Letters & Science
University of Wisconsin-Madison

March 20, 2024

Dean Spring Update

Dear alumni & friends,

Greetings from Madison! We’ve just about hit the halfway point of the spring semester, and our students are pushing through with mid-term exams and projects before departing Madison for a well-earned spring break. And, believe me, it isn’t just the students who are looking forward to spring break. It’s hard to believe that in just two short months we’ll be celebrating commencement with the class of 2024. Over the past four years, our graduating seniors have completed a remarkable journey of intellectual and personal growth that has prepared them to become tomorrow’s leaders. As they reach the end of their L&S careers, I congratulate them on their accomplishments and wish them all the best as they move into the next phase of their lives and into alumnihood.

As Dean of the College of Letters & Science, I take very seriously our commitment that the College not simply provide students with the skills they need to enter the workforce, but with the knowledge and experiences they’ll need to emerge as leaders in their communities and in their professions. Part of that commitment is an obligation to provide our students with the experiences they need to lead in a world that is increasingly diverse, multi-cultural and interconnected. And I strongly believe that the liberal arts education L&S provides — an education that is founded on both curiosity and respect for varied opinions and perspectives — is the best preparation that any future leader can receive.

We know that our commitment to curiosity and respect for varied opinions and perspectives is important because our alumni and industry partners tell us how central those skills are to their success. I’ll share a brief anecdote: I recently met with an alumnus who serves as a judge in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area, and he spoke with me about the experiences of Indigenous Americans that he’s facing in his courtroom. Being a history department graduate, he reached out to our faculty experts to seek their knowledge and perspective so that he could better serve the community’s needs. That’s how training is impacting our world and helping L&S develop the next generation of leaders, whose curiosity leads them to ask deep questions about the world around them and to expand their capacity for understanding.

We also have overwhelming evidence from industry leaders that building diverse teams leads to better outcomes. The employers I’ve met with repeatedly tell me that they want workers who have the cultural competency and human-centered skills like resiliency and flexibility to succeed in an increasingly global marketplace. Industry leaders like Deloitte Consulting regularly partner with our career center, SuccessWorks, to offer microcredentials and other programs that focus on developing students’ human-centered skills and their capacity for understanding and navigating today’s diverse marketplace. I am thrilled with this partnership and am looking forward to other opportunities to expand the impact of SuccessWorks on students and their employers.

I’m proud of what we’re accomplishing in L&S, and I hope you are, too. Thank you for your continued support, and On, Wisconsin!

Eric M. Wilcots, Dean
Mary C. Jacoby Professor of Astronomy
College of Letters & Science
University of Wisconsin-Madison

December 20, 2023

Dean Winter Update 2023

Dear alumni & friends,

Greetings from Madison, where colder temperatures have officially settled in and our faculty, staff and students are winding up another fall semester before taking a brief reprieve during winter break.

As we close out the year, I want to share an update on exciting developments in the Letters & Science research enterprise. We have been and continue to be a research powerhouse — our faculty, staff and students do remarkable work, and L&S generates nearly $130 million in externally funded research every year.

With that said, we are at a moment that demands a shift in our approach. Driven in part by shifting priorities of federal funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes for Health, we must see to it that our scholarship — our deep commitment to advancing knowledge — has a powerful impact locally and across the state, nation and world. We also recognize that advancing knowledge to help address the most challenging problems facing us requires new approaches to research. Therefore, we must focus our efforts on building deep and meaningful collaborations and partnerships not just with other scholars across L&S and the University, but also in industry and our communities.

Collaboration between public and private industries forms a central component of this new approach, and L&S researchers are quickly adapting to this new environment. For UW–Madison, industry-sponsored research expenditures increased 28% from 2021 to 2022, and our overall ranking moved up six spots during that time. This is terrific progress, and we are already laying the foundation for more industry partnerships in the years ahead.

As just one example, amongst our most prominent collaborators is Mark Saffman, the Johannes Rydberg Professor of Physics and director of The Wisconsin Quantum Institute, who has joined the Chicago Quantum Exchange collaboration. He also helps lead Q-NEXT, a Department of Energy-funded project centered on advancing quantum computing discoveries.

Saffman’s work with the Chicago Quantum Exchange has ambitious goals: to advance quantum computing breakthroughs that will impact everything from medical imaging and technology to developing more secure methods for processing and sharing information. Importantly, Saffman and the Exchange are also tasked with fostering an environment that will engage private industries, support startups and help power the 21st-century careers that will leverage these new technologies. This is a powerful example of how curiosity-driven research, in this case the desire to understand the fundamental nature of physics, can and should lead to a remarkable impact on society.

Of course, L&S has always prioritized the concept that the research we pursue here in Madison should support communities throughout the state and the nation. That’s what the Wisconsin Idea is all about. And in so many ways our evolving approach to research today is a deep recommitment to the Wisconsin Idea. That idea, born right here in Letters & Science, has guided our teaching and research endeavors for more than a century. It is why we are so well positioned to navigate this sea change in the funding landscape and to set the standard for how these types of research collaborations can succeed.
L&S is prepared to meet these challenges because of the incredible support of our alumni and friends. Your gifts to the L&S Annual Fund allow us to continue our pursuit of research and teaching excellence by providing critical funds that support our faculty, staff and students.

Thank you for your continued support of L&S, and On, Wisconsin!

Eric M. Wilcots, Dean
Mary C. Jacoby Professor of Astronomy
College of Letters & Science
University of Wisconsin-Madison

November 21, 2023

A message of gratitude from Dean Wilcots

Dear alumni & friends,

As we head into the final weeks of 2023, I wanted to extend my gratitude to the Letters & Science community for your support this year. You make a difference in the lives of students each and every day by being tireless advocates for our liberal arts mission.

Our ability to invest in educational resources and research projects would not be possible without our incredible alumni, friends, parents, donors, faculty and staff. Whether you've supported L&S philanthropically, mentored a current student or recent grad, or simply bragged to colleagues and friends about the College's world-class education – thank you!

Please take a few moments to hear from our students how your support has made their Wisconsin Experience possible. Their passion and creativity are fueled by your generosity, and I am tremendously grateful for the impact you’ve made on their lives.
From all of us in L&S, thank you, and On, Wisconsin!

Eric M. Wilcots, Dean
Mary C. Jacoby Professor of Astronomy
College of Letters & Science
University of Wisconsin-Madison

September 20, 2023

Dean Fall Update 2023

Dear alumni & friends,

I am always energized by the start of the academic year. There is something special about the return of students and faculty and the remarkable traditions of gathering at the Terrace or enjoying a beautiful fall Saturday afternoon at Camp Randall. Just a few weeks ago we welcomed the Class of 2027 to campus, and I encouraged our new L&S students – nearly 5,500 strong – to seek connections and new experiences with their peers, and to take advantage of the amazing opportunities available in L&S.

As you may know, I had the privilege of serving as the interim provost this summer, working with Chancellor Mnookin and her leadership team. I am thrilled to welcome Charles Lee Isbell Jr. to campus as our new provost. Charles is a national leader in computer science and artificial intelligence — both of which students can explore right here in L&S — and he previously led the Georgia Institute of Technology’s College of Computing. I look forward to working with him in the coming years to advance the mission of Letters & Science and of public higher education here in Wisconsin.

Speaking of our mission, I am incredibly proud of the progress we’ve made to improve our students' learning experience. Last spring, we officially broke ground on our new home for the School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences, and this fall we’ll take the first steps towards constructing Irving & Dorothy Levy Hall, our new humanities building. Both facilities place student learning at the center of their design, with state-of-the-art classrooms and informal spaces that will foster the types of casual scholarly conversations that make the college experience so rewarding. We’ve also expanded the Teaching & Learning Administration office which supports L&S departments, faculty, staff and instructors as they create the student-centered educational practices that advance our pursuit of teaching and learning excellence. So much of the great work for which we are very proud is a result of your support. Thank you!

Finally, I hope you’ll join me this year as we celebrate UW–Madison’s 175th anniversary. Throughout this academic year, the UW will celebrate the ideas that changed the world, many of which started right here in Letters & Science, from developing the framework for Social Security to discovering Homo naledi, a new species of hominid.

Help us celebrate this incredible milestone by supporting the College of Letters & Science today at supportuw.org/giveto/LSFall23. Your gift will ensure that L&S maintains its tradition of educational and research excellence for the next 175 years.

Thank you, and On, Wisconsin!

Eric M. Wilcots, Dean
Mary C. Jacoby Professor of Astronomy
College of Letters & Science
University of Wisconsin-Madison

June 15, 2023

Dean Summer Update 2023

Dear alumni & friends,

One of the most rewarding aspects of my job as dean of the College of Letters & Science has been being “on the road,” meeting with our alumni and friends and sharing with them our initiatives to enhance the L&S student experience and our world-class research enterprise. I am also tremendously grateful for the talented team that accompanies me on these trips. Our development directors are as equally passionate about the L&S mission as I am, and it is a joy to work with them.

Wherever I go, I hear from our alumni how L&S shaped their lives. Alumni in Minneapolis shared stories of lifelong friendships made in Madison and of the importance of their alumni networks for opening doors of opportunity years and decades later. Our Washington, D.C., community talked about the transformational experiences they had in L&S and about the foundational skills they learned in their courses – skills that have allowed them to start their own businesses or to advocate for a better and more just world.

From Manhattan skyscrapers to Santa Barbara ranches, Letters & Science alumni are everywhere, and they are fired up about supporting the mission of our great college.

On each trip, I meet alumni and friends who want to give back and who understand the importance of supporting our students in whatever way they can, whether that’s by connecting our undergraduates with mentors, advocating for L&S or making sure our students have financial support so they can graduate on time. Many of our alumni are especially concerned about the increasing cost of tuition and students’ ability to access the resources they need to enter the workforce after graduation.

They are also amazed at the pioneering research that takes place in L&S, like our Origins of Life project. I spoke with the Valley of the Sun alumni chapter in Phoenix about this interdisciplinary project that brings together botany, chemistry, astronomy, geoscience and anthropology in order to understand the very beginning of our universe and of life on Earth. This is the type of research that simply was not possible a few decades ago but that is happening right here, right now in Letters & Science thanks to the support of our alumni and their belief in our mission.

Alumni remind my team and me what is special about L&S and provide a perspective and insight that really helps us be better. On a recent trip to California, I met with an alum who wanted to support serendipity – who wanted to encourage those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that might forever shape a student’s life. As I reflected on that idea, I found it inspiring; I, too, appreciate how serendipity has played a role in my own career. And my message to our graduating students this spring urged them to be open to the possibility and opportunity that comes with serendipity.

Help us continue to build on our tradition of excellence by joining your fellow L&S alumni at supportuw.org/giveto/LSSummer23, where you can inspire the next generation of Letters & Science students.

Thank you, and On, Wisconsin!

Eric M. Wilcots, Dean
Mary C. Jacoby Professor of Astronomy
College of Letters & Science
University of Wisconsin-Madison

March 27, 2023

Dean Spring Update 2023

Dear alumni & friends,

Greetings from Madison! We have reached the midway point of the spring semester, an especially busy time in Letters & Science. Admissions decisions are rolling out, and our advisors and academic affairs staff are hard at work preparing for our incoming fall class. And our graduating seniors are accepting job offers, as they embark on the first steps of their careers.

If you missed last month’s news, UW–Madison announced that Letters & Science has three of the top five fastest-growing majors on campus: data science (housed in the Department of Statistics), computer sciences and psychology. Why are these three majors in such high demand? As statistics department chair Yazhen Wang notes, “Our world increasingly depends on data and computing to produce knowledge and to make decisions.” Understanding how to analyze and assess that data, as computer sciences chair Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau writes, will be critical “for every student looking to gain the skills needed to succeed in the digital age.” Meanwhile, communications manager Mary Anderson notes that psychology teaches human-centered skills that are “needed to flourish in a variety of careers from health care to law, business, teaching, conservation and so much more.”

What is L&S doing to meet this growing demand for liberal arts degrees? First, we are hiring new faculty to ensure our students have the classes they need to succeed and to graduate on time. In the past year alone, we’ve added eight new faculty and instructors in statistics, five new faculty in computer sciences and eight new faculty in psychology, in addition to new faculty, instructors, teaching assistants and advisors throughout the college.

Second, we’re assessing the importance of a liberal arts degree in the 21st century by asking what it means to be critical consumers and creators of data, information and knowledge. Last fall, I launched the Liberal Arts 2030 initiative to help answer that question as part of a formal review of the L&S undergraduate curriculum. My hope is that this new curriculum will launch in 2025 and will include new degree requirements for all L&S students that help them successfully and ethically navigate a world transformed by the availability of tremendous amounts of data.

Finally, our career services center, SuccessWorks, continues to create industry partnerships that place our undergraduates in direct contact with some of the nation’s leading employers. Recently, 50 L&S students were invited to participate in consulting firm Deloitte’s Future of Work Institute, where they learned from industry experts how to navigate and lead in today’s workforce. In addition to expanding their professional networks, students explored ways to foster meaningful team dynamics that support employee well-being and work-life balance.

We could not complete this import work without the support of our incredible L&S community. If you’re able, please consider supporting Letters & Science today by visiting supportuw.org/giveto/LSSpring23.

Thank you, and On, Wisconsin!

Eric M. Wilcots, Dean
Mary C. Jacoby Professor of Astronomy
College of Letters & Science
University of Wisconsin-Madison

December 27, 2022

Celebrating 2022 with Dean Eric Wilcots, College of Letters & Science

Dear Friends of L&S,

As 2022 comes to a close, I invite you to watch my year-end message, highlighting some of the many ways we’ve been able to advance the College’s key priorities this year, most notably in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as enhancing the student experience and strengthening our research endeavors.

The role of alumni in our success cannot be overstated. You help make what’s next possible, and we are so grateful. Help our students, faculty and staff make the discoveries that will change our world. Click the image above or WATCH HERE.

On, Wisconsin!

Eric M. Wilcots, Dean
Mary C. Jacoby Professor of Astronomy
College of Letters & Science
University of Wisconsin-Madison

December 14, 2022

Dean Winter Update 2022

Dear alumni & friends,

It is approaching winter in Madison and while the days may be shorter and a bit colder, campus still hums with the energy of our students, faculty and staff as they pursue the discoveries and innovations that push our mission forward.

As we approach the year’s end, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on one of our top priorities for Letters & Science: enhancing our research excellence. In my last update, I noted that Letters & Science ranks second only to the medical school in terms of research dollars awarded at UW-Madison. Our history of research excellence—from breakthroughs in climate change research to developing public policy that improves millions of lives around the world—is an immense point of pride and one that should make all L&S alumni proud. You can read about some of this research in Fueling Discovery, our annual publication in the Wisconsin State Journal where faculty and students share the impact of their extraordinary discoveries. Visit go.wisc.edu/fuelingdiscovery22 to learn more about their amazing work.

How will we meet tomorrow’s challenges? How can we build upon our history of excellence and broaden the impact of our research enterprise? First, by supporting our world-class faculty, staff and students in the work they do. Second, by expanding our existing networks and establishing new connections with industry partners. Building stronger associations with industry will not only accelerate our ability to win patents and create shelf-ready products, but will also generate additional research dollars that, in turn, allow researchers to pursue projects that may not have immediate impact but ask fundamental questions about science that can lead to extraordinary discoveries.

Chemist Ive Hermans understands the critical importance of forming partnerships with industry. Hermans has partnered with companies, including ExxonMobil, Dow and PPG, to create less hazardous, more sustainable methods to produce catalysts—substances that boost chemical reactions but are not consumed in the process—that are used throughout the plastics and petrochemical industries. “We urgently need more collaborations between academia and industry, so that we can make the carbon industry more sustainable,” says Hermans, the John and Dorothy Vozza Professor of Chemistry, Evan P. and Marion Helfaer Professor of Chemistry, and an H.I. Romnes Faculty Fellow. Hermans has leveraged this support into new projects, including his work with the Chemical Upcycling of Waste Plastics consortium which seeks to expand industry’s capacity for more sustainable plastics recycling technologies.

The second way to expand our research profile is by seeking support from private institutions. Many of these organizations are mission driven and seek projects that will have broad societal impact. And that’s where Letters & Science has an advantage that most other colleges do not: our belief in the Wisconsin Idea and that the work we do here should positively affect people’s lives beyond the classroom.

Baby’s First Years project, directed by Katherine Magnuson, is an outstanding example of how philanthropic support can change lives. Magnuson, a Vilas Distinguished Professor of Social Work who researches poverty and childhood development, launched the nation’s first study to assess how poverty reduction impacts the cognitive and emotional development of infants and toddlers. Baby’s First Years provides monthly direct cash benefits to low-income families, a means of poverty reduction that could only occur through private institutional support. The impact is profound. “We’ve seen huge findings since we began collecting data in 2018,” says Magnuson. “Mothers are more likely to engage their children in activities that are enriching such as reading books and playing games.” What started as a $6 million project in Omaha has grown into a $17 million study supporting families in New Orleans, Minneapolis and New York City. The study’s initial success has also brought in new partners, including the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

In the year ahead, Letters & Science will continue to expand our research enterprise through strategic partnerships with industry and private leaders who share our values and our belief in pursuing research that benefits our communities, our environment and our society. Individual philanthropy is also critically important as it gives us the flexibility to strategically invest in promising new areas of research and scholarship that affect lives across the state, the nation and the world.

Thank you, and On, Wisconsin!

Eric M. Wilcots, Dean
Mary C. Jacoby Professor of Astronomy
College of Letters & Science
University of Wisconsin-Madison

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