Greetings from the Center for Campus History, and happy fall! It’s one of our favorite times of the year: finally a little chill in the air, pumpkin spice everything, some spooky vibes and a new season of the Center’s podcast! What more could you ask for? Read on for more on that, along with new archival finds, book recommendations, event info and more.

The University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Rebecca M. Blank Center For Campus History is an ongoing effort to expand and enrich UW-Madison’s historical narrative by centering the voices, experiences, and struggles of marginalized groups. 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 centerforcampushistory@wisc.edu.

Knock, knock! Who’s that at the door of your dorm room, pricey rental apartment or Greek house? It's a fresh new season of Reorientation, the narrative history podcast from the CCH! And this season we’re digging into campus housing. 

Why is finding a decent place to live in Madison such a struggle? Why has housing been such a persistent challenge decade after decade? How did it get that way? And what should be the university’s role in making it better. From the birth of urban planning in the late 1800s to the post-WWII college enrollment boom, midcentury land grabs to modern high-rises, hosts Kacie Lucchini Butcher and Alexandra Pasqualone explore the history of campus housing at UW–Madison.

Find all six episodes of Season 2 and subscribe on our website! (And for instructors out there, each episode comes paired with a complete teaching guide.)

It’s tough to say what the strangest thing we’ve come across in our work in the archives is, but a letter enclosed with bullets and shell casings has to be near the top of the list!

In 1959, a Madison landlord wrote a letter to UW Dean of Men Theodore Zillman complaining about four students renting an apartment on Dayton Street near campus. Not only had they moved out without paying rent they owed, the letter said, but also left quite a collection of property damage, including burns on the furniture and floorboards and bullet holes in the walls. 

As an illustration, the letter came with several bullets presumably pulled from the plaster. The landlord was seeking help from the dean to track down the delinquents, but whether they were ever forced to make good on that back rent and repairs is unclear. 

Want to know more about the relationship between private landlords and the university? Well we have a podcast for you! 

One of the most rewarding parts of the Center’s work is getting to be in community with students and alumni. Director Kacie Lucchini Butcher and Assistant Director Taylor Bailey were happy to get decked out in red and white earlier this month to be a part of Multicultural Homecoming! And even though the Badgers on the field at Camp Randall came up short, the Badgers hanging out at the event more than made up for it!

You have just a couple weeks left to finish your copy of James, this year’s UW Go Big Read selection! That’s when National Book Award-winning author Percival Everett will be on campus for the GBR keynote conversation about his visionary retelling of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Find out more about the book and event here.

Go Big Read: An Evening with Percival Everett

Tuesday, November 4, 2025, 7:00 – 8:30 P.M.

Union South — Varsity Hall, Section II and III

(Free and open to the public. No tickets required.)

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, both Kacie and CCH Assistant Director Taylor Bailey are reflecting on the work of genre-busting R&B artist D’Angelo, who died this month at 51. As a singer, multi-instrumentalist and producer, D’Angelo helped pioneer the neo-soul, mixing classic R&B sounds with hip-hop. Kacie recommends 2000’s Voodoo, while Taylor goes for his 1995 debut album Brown Sugar. 

Read more about D’Angelo’s life and music here.