Student News & Profiles

La Follette School Director Susan Yackee invites current students and alumni to dig into the results of the first La Follette Policy Poll and share their analyses of public opinion in the Badger State. Read more...

A three-year program, the master of urban planning and public affairs double degree consists of 72 credits. Some students enter the program concurrently, while others add one degree after beginning the other. Read more...

La Follette School graduate student Nova Tebbe calls herself a climate newcomer. Yet, in early November, she joined 300 people who walked out of the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (or COP26) to protest the lack of significant commitment to combat climate change. Read more...

Earning a master’s degree in public affairs (MPA) from the La Follette School gives students more than an academic credential. It provides a real-world policy toolkit they can use on-the-job, even before graduation. Read more...

Like the Bard himself, Ethan Dickler was inspired by a muse of fire when he sat down to write a paper for Policy Making Process (PA 874). Read more...

This year, several projects for the Workshop course focused on issues related to equity and serving under-resourced communities. One group of students collaborated with Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers (SSCHC), a federally qualified community health center serving primarily low-income patients on the south side of Milwaukee. SSCHC has long recognized that socio-economic factors—such as income, education, employment, public safety, and housing—all contribute to quality and length of life. Read more...

Sixty-four students who received undergraduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in May also earned a Certificate in Public Policy from the La Follette School of Public Affairs. Read more...

State agencies and nonprofit organizations are among the many partners seeking assistance from La Follette School students during their capstone course, Workshop in Public Affairs (PA 869). In spring, End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF) asked how the state might improve access to Emergency Assistance grants for survivors of domestic violence. Read more...

La Follette School students collaborated with two community groups – Movin’ Out and Legal Interventions for Transforming (LIFT) Dane – as part of their culminating Workshop in Public Affairs (PA 869) projects during the Spring 2020 semester. Read more...

Many families working to move out of poverty and toward self-sufficiency face benefit cliffs – when increases in income do not compensate for losses in benefits from state and federal programs. Read more...

La Follette School students conducted research and analysis on behalf of two international organizations as part of their culminating Workshop in Public Affairs (PA 869) projects during the Spring 2020 semester. Read more...

Mitch McFarlane, a student in the Master of Public Affairs (MPA) Program, will lead La Follette School Student Association (LSSA) for 2020-21. Graduate students elected McFarlane as vice president for the 2019-20 academic year and as president in spring 2020. Read more...

Two La Follette School students, Laura Downer and Jacob Pankratz, won election to Associated Students of Madison (ASM), the official student government of the University of Wisconsin–Madison in March. Downer, ASM’s current Student Council chair, and Pankratz will serve as graduate student representatives for the 2020-21 academic year. Read more...

The Nature Conservancy selected La Follette School student Emily H. Capodarco for its Wisconsin Board of Trustees. Capodarco is serving in an advisory (non-voting) capacity as part of the organization’s student trustee program, which aims to develop the next generation of nonprofit board members and leaders. Read more...

Lauren Jorgensen, a second-year student at the La Follette School, reached the final stage of competition for a Rhodes Scholarship, the oldest and most celebrated college award for international study. Jorgensen and two other UW–Madison students were among the finalists for the coveted awards. Read more...

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review recently published an op-ed by La Follette School student Charles Pratt about payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs). Pratt, an officer with the City of Madison Police Department, wrote the op-ed for the State and Local Government Finance (PA 891) course. Read more...

La Follette School student Maureen Purcell is one of 30 women selected for Emerge Wisconsin’s Class of 2020. Emerge Wisconsin is an affiliate of Emerge, which has trained more than 4,000 women across the country to run for public office since 2002. Read more...

La Follette School student Sally Rohrer began a five-month appointment to the Madison City Council in November. The council unanimously approved her to represent the 8th District, replacing former Alder Avra Reddy, who resigned for family reasons. Read more...

The Wisconsin Ideas Conference is back for its third year, bringing students interested in government and public policy a unique opportunity to publish and refine their ideas, participate in lively discussions with academics and professionals, and earn scholarships. Read more...

First-year student Muhammad Shayan intends to return to Pakistan to put his education into practice. “I realized that, long-term, public policy was the way I could best address social issues." Read more...

Graduating and continuing students in the La Follette School’s Accelerated Program gathered Monday, May 6 to welcome incoming students and share advice and wisdom for a successful transition into the master’s degree program. Ben McBride, Jonny Vannucci, and Sally Rohrer helped plan this first-time event. Read more...

Master of Public Affairs (MPA) candidate Mikhaila Calice shared her perspective on addressing climate change during the Fastest Path to Zero Summit in April at the University of Michigan. Summit participants included high-level clean energy and climate leaders, policymakers, news reporters, and faculty from Michigan’s energy policy and engineering programs. Read more...

First-year student Michael Caniglia presented a paper he wrote for the La Follette School’s Policymaking Process course (PA 874) during a conference in Washington, DC, March 29 and 30. Read more...

The Wisconsin Policy Forum recently published a paper on tax incremental financing (TIF) by La Follette School student Rachel Ramthun. She is the Todd A. Berry Graduate Research Fellow for the Policy Forum. Read more...

La Follette School student Erik Gartland and alumnus Brett Halverson (MPA ’14) were accepted into the New Leaders Council (NLC) fellowship program for spring 2019. Read more...

The Wisconsin Ideas Conference is back for its second year, bringing students interested in government and public policy a unique opportunity to publish and refine their ideas, participate in lively discussions, and earn scholarships. Applications for the conference, April 12–14 at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, are due Saturday, January 26 at 11:59 p.m. (CST). Read more...

As a former high school teacher, La Follette School student Elizabeth Janeczko brings a unique perspective to her writing for Madison Commons, an online source for news and information about Madison’s neighborhoods. Read more...

First-year student Laura Bunn received a Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship to study Portuguese during the 2018–19 academic year at UW–Madison. Bunn, who is in the La Follette School's Accelerated Program, expects to receive her bachelor’s degree in international studies, journalism, and Spanish in May. Read more...

Walking across the country seemed like a romantic idea at the time. Read more...

Master of international public affairs (MIPA) student Jamey Kane received a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship for the 2018-19 academic year. He will use the fellowship to study Turkish at UW–Madison. Read more...

Instead of making flashcards of political theories for my Policy Making Process midterm, I spent an hour listening to Sarah Stillman describe how she investigates stories of immigrants whose experiences can only leave deep questions about the efficacy of the policies that shape them. Certainly, her stories must have resonated with my classmates who soon were tested on how well they understood the ways that narratives shape policy discussion and implementation. Read more...

La Follette School student Jennifer Johnson spoke with Guatemalan students about educational opportunities in Madison on July 19 during the EducationUSA Alumni Fair. Read more...

Before entering the La Follette School, Emily Frank served as a legal advocate for people facing issues with their food stamps and public assistance in New York City. Read more...

La Follette School student Abby Swetz presented her one-person play, An UnCommon Core, at the 2018 Fresh Fruit Festival MainStage in New York in July. The hour-long play recounts one heartbreaking year in her middle-school teaching career. Read more...

La Follette School student Signe Janoska-Bedi contributed to a June 2018 paper about military and commercial pilots published by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Janoska-Bedi spent the spring 2018 semester in Washington, DC, as a GAO intern. Read more...

The Georgetown Public Policy Review recently published a paper written by La Follette School student Sam Alhadeff. He wrote the paper, Reforming the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), for the Introduction to Policy Analysis course (PA 873) taught by Professor Dave Weimer. Read more...

In addition to their passion for public policy and governance, La Follette School students bring wide-ranging talents to the University of Wisconsin–Madison. One student, Atiya Rose Siddiqi, recently became a published author. Read more...

La Follette School student Britt Cudaback is one of four candidates seeking to represent District 6 on the Dane County Board of Supervisors. Read more...

Two La Follette School students gained wide-ranging experience during summer fellowships with the Chicago Mayor’s Office from June through August 2017. Read more...

In the current issue of Our Lives, former teacher – and first-year La Follette School student – Abby Swetz reflects on the triumphs and travails of the classroom and why she left teaching to pursue her master’s degree in public affairs. Read more...

While in Madison for the Cap Times’ Idea Fest, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar discussed the current political climate with 16 La Follette School students. Klobuchar expressed concern about several issues, while at the same time expressing optimism because of the people she meets across the country. Read more...

Cassie Frankel, a second-year student at the La Follette School of Public Affairs received a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship for the 2017–18 academic year. Frankel will use the fellowship to study Arabic through UW–Madison’s Center for European Studies. Read more...

Two weeks before receiving her master's degree in public affairs (MPA), Karina Virrueta was honored with the 2017 Excellence in Engaged Scholarship Graduate Student award from the Morgridge Center for Public Service at UW–Madison. Associate Director Hilary Shager nominated Virrueta for her dedication to community-based learning and research. Read more...

La Follette School student Drew Buys attended the Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., along with 800 experts and officials from more than 45 countries and international organizations during spring break. Read more...

Rob Meyer’s commitment to improving K-12 students’ academic success spans three decades. As an educator and researcher, he has shared his passion with students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and school leaders across the country. Read more...

La Follette School student Beth Miller is a finalist for the prestigious Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program, which places recent graduates with federal agencies for two-year assignments. Read more...

Since 2005, almost 40 students have benefitted from Mark Stone’s generous donations to the La Follette School of Public Affairs. Stone, who lives in Illinois, has given several gifts to the La Follette School over the past 10 years to help graduate students gain the skills needed to improve the lives of people in the United States through public service. Read more...

Ken Smith considered the Habitat III conference in Ecuador a possible once-in-a-lifetime experience. The conference – formally known as the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development – is held only once every 20 years. Read more...

La Follette School student Andrew Merluzzi has been selected for the 2017 Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship Program sponsored by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Read more...

Seven La Follette School students learned the intricacies of federal program evaluation and auditing at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) this summer. They also experienced the tight group of La Follette School alumni in and around the nation’s capital – known as the DC Bobs. Read more...

Workshop reports by the La Follette School of Public Affairs’ Class of 2016 shed light on some of the most challenging local, national, and international policy issues. One report – about the potential for long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) to mitigate the negative effects of unintended pregnancies – has received national media attention. Read more...

Students in a La Follette School of Public Affairs’ class had their research paper presented to the prestigious National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Washington, DC. Read more...

Second-year students at the La Follette School of Public Affairs will present practice versions of their culminating projects for the Workshop in Public Affairs and the Workshop in International Public Affairs – the capstone courses for the School’s two master’s degree programs – Friday, April 29. Read more...

Three students at the La Follette School of Public Affairs conducted field research overseas during spring break as part of their Master of International Public Affairs capstone project. Read more...

Two University of Wisconsin-Madison students, including one from the La Follette School of Public Affairs, were selected as a team finalist in the 2016 Policy Solutions Challenge USA competition. Read more...

More than 40 prospective students participating in the La Follette School of Public Affairs’ Visit Day on Monday, March 28 learned the numerous advantages of attending the comparatively small program on the world-class University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. Read more...

First-year La Follette students met with alumni and other public policy professionals. Read more...

La Follette School students can apply the skills they learn in the classroom to real-world work they carry out as project assistants. While PAs often do research and other tasks for La Follette School faculty, some PAships are outside the school. Read more...

More than 50 La Follette School students celebrated graduation May 17 with a ceremony in the Assembly Chamber at the Wisconsin Capitol. Read more...

The Wisconsin District Attorneys Association presented a plaque to La Follette School student Scott Wood April 10 to recognize his contributions to the interests of justice and public safety in Wisconsin. Read more...

A belief in the power of policymakers to create public policy that helps people led Ellen Hildebrand to a career in urban planning and housing policy. Read more...

Student Sara Eskrich won a seat on the Madison Common Council in the April 7 election. Read more...

Student Xin Nong spent a weekend in Indianapolis considering different ways a fictitious U.S. city could adjust health-care services, treatment and finance options to improve quality of care, lower costs and reduce disparities in health-care outcomes. Read more...

Second-year student Scott Wood presented his analysis of Wisconsin assistant district attorney staffing to the executive board of the Wisconsin District Attorneys Association and Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel, who attended the February board meeting. Read more...

Aaron Dumas, a La Follette School student and project assistant for the Evidence Based Health Policy Project , organized a major statewide conference on opioid abuse with the project in mid-February. Read more...

La Follette School students got a firsthand view of how two nonpartisan legislative service agencies function when they visited the Legislative Fiscal Bureau and the Legislative Audit Bureau on February 6. Read more...

More than 20 students gathered for a welcome-back social event in the Rathskeller of Memorial Union on January 22. The La Follette School Student Association organized the event, which had a good mix of first- and second-year students. Read more...

Two dozen La Follette School students descended on Chicago November 6 for a whirlwind career exploration visit, the second such event sponsored by the school in the past year. Read more...