Greetings from the Center for Campus History! Summer may be winding down, but honestly, we’re excited to get things rolling for the new semester, our first since becoming a permanent center on campus!

Our August newsletter has updates on Center research, events, archival finds, new book and podcast recommendations, and more!

The University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Rebecca M. Blank Center For Campus History is an ongoing university effort to uncover and give voice to those who experienced, challenged, and overcame prejudice on campus. As always, if you have a story to share, an event you think should be researched, or a person you think has been overlooked, please email us at publichistoryproject@wisc.edu.

Any Oppenheimer (2023) fans on the mailing list? This month we have a strange but fascinating find from the UW Archives that sheds light on one of the university’s connections to the Manhattan Project and the development of the atomic bomb. 

This power switch reportedly controlled detonations for bomb tests at Los Alamos, New Mexico. It was kept by Julian Mack, a UW–Madison physics professor who worked on the Manhattan Project taking high-speed photographs of the massive explosions. Mack gave the switch to E.B. Fred, the university president at the time, who had it mounted for display on his desk. 

(We’re still working on finding some UW-related Barbie history in the archives. Stay tuned!)

We’re having a party! Join us in commemorating our official opening as the Center for Campus History at our inaugural reception with refreshments, celebration and community.

Find out more here.

Wednesday, October 11, 2023 from 5-7PM

Pyle Center Alumni Lounge

Open to the public with RSVP

Each month, we like to share one of the many (many… many… ) books that have helped the Center’s research or piqued our interest. 

This month we want to highlight Lost Children Archive, the UW–Madison Center for the Humanities 2023-24 selection for the Great World Texts in Wisconsin program, which engages high school students and teachers across the state. 

The imaginative novel from Valeria Luiselli follows a family on a summer roadtrip across the US as their fraying personal bonds collide with an immigration crisis at the southwestern border.

We get asked a lot of questions about UW history. Each month we’ll answer one in the newsletter.

This month: What is UW's oldest tradition?

The answer: As far as we can tell, the oldest tradition is Founder's Day, marking the anniversary of the university’s first class being held on February 5, 1849. The first celebrations began in the early 1900s and over the decades it has morphed from a campus event into primarily a celebration among alumni groups who gather with their fellow Badgers across the country. As the university celebrates its 175th anniversary this year, there is plenty to be learned about traditions that have come and gone over the ages. 

Have a question? Let us know! Email us at centerforcampushistory@wisc.edu. 

Each month Center Director Kacie Lucchini Butcher will share a book, podcast, movie, quote, or something else she thinks has been adding to the CCH. We're calling it "From The Desk of KLB".

This month From The Desk of KLB, the Behind the Bastards podcast.

The show bills itself as a deep dive that goes “past the Cliffs Notes of the worst humans in history and exposes the bizarre realities of their lives,” from Hitler’s love of YA fiction to Saddam Hussein's side gig writing trashy romance novels.