Heritage Hall renovation, AI innovations, industry-sponsored focus among year’s notable headlines Menomonie, Wis. – It was a year of big things at University of Wisconsin-Stout, from breaking ground for the biggest construction project in university history  to posting some of the most notable enrollment growth in the Universities of Wisconsin to being chosen as Large Business of the Year . In 2025, Wisconsin’s Polytechnic University also earned big accolades, such as being

Future teachers organize on-campus competition for high schoolers By Tom Giffey, UW-Stout Menomonie, Wis. – While the 2026 DECA District I Career Development Conference was held just over a week ago, students in University of Wisconsin-Stout’s marketing and business education program are already planning next year’s event. For 54 years, UW-Stout has hosted the conference, which prepares high school marketing students for future careers by challenging them to apply critical th

Five inspiring STEM graduates share experiences in Q&As Menomonie, Wis. – Among the class of nearly 400 undergraduate students who crossed the commencement stage at University of Wisconsin-Stout’s Dec. 20 ceremony, five College of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Management  students were recognized by faculty and staff as inspiring graduates whose stories represent what it is to be Stout Proud. They shared their university experiences, setbacks and successes

Inspiring graduates from College of Arts & Human Sciences share experiences in Q&As Menomonie, Wis. – Among the class of nearly 400 undergraduate students who crossed the commencement stage at University of Wisconsin-Stout’s most recent ceremony on Dec. 20, five College of Arts and Human Sciences  students were recognized by faculty and staff as inspiring graduates whose stories represent what it is to be Stout Proud.  These graduates shared their university experiences, setb

Four inspiring graduate students share their experiences in Q&As  Menomonie, Wis. – Among the class of nearly 130 Graduate Studies  students who crossed the commencement stage at University of Wisconsin-Stout’s Dec. 20 ceremony, four were recognized by faculty and staff as inspiring graduates whose stories represent what it is to be Stout Proud.  The graduates shared their university experiences, setbacks and successes in UW-Stout’s Inspiring Graduate Q&A series :  Hanahh Egg

AI-Assisted Film and Video Production class to open summer 2026 By Abby Goers, UW-Stout Menomonie, Wis. – A new Artificial Intelligence (AI) Assisted Film and Video Production course will launch at University of Wisconsin-Stout in summer 2026. The course, possibly a first-of-its-kind in the Universities of Wisconsin, was developed by a video production  faculty trio – Keif Oss, Jonny Wheeler and  Co O’Neill . Students in the course will produce a short narrative film, using A

Like her artwork, educator’s dissertation explores using AI to supplement student creativity By Tom Giffey, UW-Stout Menomonie, Wis. – For more than 125 years, University of Wisconsin-Stout’s stately Bowman Hall and its distinctive clock tower have served as landmarks for the campus and the community. This holiday season, they provided artistic inspiration for a doctoral student who designed an annual greeting card sent by UW-Stout Chancellor Katherine Frank  to hundreds of r

Students’ products inspired by Crate & Barrel, Room & Board, more; share final project experience in photo essay By Abby Goers, UW-Stout Menomonie, Wis. – The warm, sweet, earthy smell of fresh sawdust, the roaring sound of bandsaws and ventilation hoses, and the shush-shush-shush rhythm of sandpaper on wood grain greet you as you walk down the long ramp tucked away on the first floor of the Applied Arts Building.   Tie your hair back and put on your safety glasses, because y

Student team builds functional nonstandard pallet stacker to be implemented, replicated in company’s facilities By Abby Goers, UW-Stout Menomonie, Wis. – A team of engineering students at University of Wisconsin-Stout designed an innovative nonstandard pallet stacker for Arcadia-based Ashley Furniture , which plans to quickly implement the machine in its facilities.   Within their Senior Design Experience II capstone course, the team was tasked with building a machine that co

Experiments spark curiosity, students share processes in photo essay By Abby Goers, UW-Stout Menomonie, Wis. – The first snowfall of the season blankets the grass and clings to pine boughs. Walking through campus, winter arrives early as the ground turns white. But inside a Jarvis Hall Science Wing chemistry lab, liquids turn vivid pinks and deep blues in beakers — a stark contrast to the scene outside. Clear flames ignite compounds and burn a sun-kissed orange hue. And the f

Students share messages of community, kindness, belonging with graduates at Dec. 20 ceremony By Abby Goers, UW-Stout Menomonie, Wis. – Two alumni guest speakers and three students addressed 527 of their peers as they celebrated graduation from University of Wisconsin-Stout – Wisconsin’s Polytechnic University  – on Dec. 20. During two ceremonies in Johnson Fieldhouse, the alumni speakers encouraged graduates to embrace the unknown and be proud of their Stout journeys as they

Packaging professor and student identify sustainable insulation option By Tom Giffey, UW-Stout Menomonie, Wis. – Faculty-student research conducted this fall in University of Wisconsin-Stout packaging labs is poised to help a Wisconsin business deliver its tasty but temperature-sensitive goods coast to coast. Associate Professor Xiaojing “Kate” Liu  of UW-Stout’s packaging program worked with Madison-based Tricky Foods to test the insulating abilities of two eco-friendly pac

Student design team reimagines pantry space to ensure peers have comfortable, warm experience By Abby Goers, UW-Stout Menomonie, Wis. – Two interior design  students at University of Wisconsin-Stout are working to ensure their peers have a more efficient, comfortable and warm experience at Helping Hand Food+ Pantry , the university’s student pantry   Emma Walstra and Klaire Johnson  – project co-leads who form the EWKJ Interiors team – reimagined the pantry space to create a

Chancellor, students, alumni to speak in two ceremonies at Johnson Fieldhouse By Abby Goers, UW-Stout Menomonie, Wis. – Fall commencement will be held for 527 graduates on Saturday, Dec. 20, at University of Wisconsin-Stout.    A total of 399 undergraduate and 128 graduate students will receive degrees. Two ceremonies will be held at Johnson Fieldhouse: 10 a.m., College of Arts & Human Sciences  and College of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics & Management 2 p.m.,

Logterman’s design inspired by adventures with family dog By Abby Goers, UW-Stout Menomonie, Wis. – With a design inspired by her adventures with her black lab, Max, UW-Stout studio art major Jaelyn Logterman  won the 2026 Wisconsin State Park and Forest vehicle admission pass design contest , recently announced by the state’s Department of Natural Resources. “It is a privilege to know that my artwork will be displayed on a great deal of vehicles across Wisconsin,” Logterman

PC game’s win highlights UW-Stout’s globally ranked program By Tom Giffey, UW-Stout Menomonie, Wis. – The creators of a computer game about a doomed submarine had a real-life sinking feeling last May as the date of the Stout Game Expo (SGX) approached. After months of work on the claustrophobic, cooperative game Dread Not , the team of 15 University of Wisconsin-Stout students were facing problems with their code which had broken an otherwise polished game. It was a stressful

Students design custom controllers for unique racing games, puzzles, AR experiences By Abbey Goers, UW-Stout An Aesop’s fables-inspired racing game, a haunted hotel and a futuristic repair shop are all on the menu for players at the Stout Game Expo , western Wisconsin’s largest game developers’ event, featuring the creative works of about 250 University of Wisconsin-Stout students. SGX is from 6 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 10, in the Memorial Student Center Great Hall. Come

University lauded by Military Times for services to vets, their families By Tom Giffey, UW-Stout Menomonie, Wis. – University of Wisconsin-Stout can add another medal to its collection, having been named to the 2025 Best for Vets Colleges list  by Military Times for its commitment to serving veterans and their families. UW-Stout was honored on the annual list, announced on Nov. 17 by Military Times, ranking first in Wisconsin among traditional and online universities. UW-Stou

Construction, interior design, technology education majors build garden products for senior living home residents By Abby Goers, UW-Stout Menomonie, Wis. – In a cross-disciplinary collaboration, four groups of students in Lecturer James Bunkelman ’s Light Construction Methods class are designing and building two raised garden beds, one raised tool bench and one raised tool holder for a senior living home.   The project is part of a service-learning activity, as their final pr

Gina Norling has left her mark on projects to create world’s fastest machines By Tom Giffey, UW-Stout Menomonie, Wis. –Thanks to the legendary Seymour Cray and his eponymous company, supercomputing has deep roots in the Upper Midwest. UW-Stout alum Gina Norling is ensuring those roots continue to flourish as she manages teams that are engineering the fastest supercomputers on Earth. As senior engineering program manager for Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Norling oversaw the comp