I was walking down University Avenue last week and could not help but catch my breath at how the UW–Madison skyline has changed since I walked to my first J201 class (Introduction to Mass Communication) with Professor Jim Hoyt in fall 1986. That class was in the Chemistry Building, which is just one of a host of revamps and new constructions on campus. We’re alive with cranes, dump trucks and traffic diversions, oh my!

Sadly, Vilas Hall is not on track for a full rebuild, but that would never stop our plucky little School of Journalism and Mass Communication. We have been hard at work updating our spaces within Vilas to provide our students with the best possible learning environments.

This past year, SJMC earned an Instructional Lab Modernization (ILM) grant from the College of Letters & Science to completely overhaul two lab spaces on the second floor to improve accessibility, increase usage and meet students’ needs for forward-looking instruction. These spaces had remained mostly unchanged for more than 30 years, with some furnishings dating to the opening of Vilas Hall in 1972. With the ILM grant, we updated two lab spaces to better accommodate the collaboration, inclusion and meaningful instructor-student interaction that are hallmarks of our program. And with other grant and philanthropic support, we transformed a little-used meeting space into an adaptable classroom for instruction across our curriculum.

Now we hope to receive additional ILM funding to update three remaining lab spaces, ensuring that as many classes as possible have access to the most up-to-date learning spaces. Philanthropy from our alumni and friends has been a key part of our efforts, and we are deeply grateful to all those who have made these improvements possible.

Our Board of Visitors got a sneak peak at the new spaces this fall and heartily applauded SJMC’s efforts to modernize all that we can within Vilas Hall. Finally, everyone who has joked for some 50 years that we had two elevator shafts on our north side but only one with a functioning car will be delighted to know UW–Madison is finally fixing this oddity. In a few short years, our students will have an accessible entrance and two elevators to get to classroom spaces that now match our cutting-edge and innovative curriculum.

On, Wisconsin!

This fall, students gained real-world experience in non-profit marketing while working with the Milwaukee Diaper Mission. Students revamped MDM's website and developed an integrated social media plan as well as email marketing, SEO and content strategies.

This October, Steve Raymer (BA’67, MA’71) delivered the archive of his life’s work to the Wisconsin Historical Society, including over 2,000 digital files, nearly 200 archival color prints and over 7,000 color transparencies from his career as a photojournalist for National Geographic.

This year's Fill the Hill was a record-breaking success with $16,880 raised from 128 gifts for SJMC students. Thank you for making Fill the Hill 2024 so successful! We are beyond grateful for your support!

This summer, SJMC junior James Hanson launched Saveory, a restaurant deal-finder app. Hanson was inspired by ideas generated in his J202 lab during their final project. Since its launch, the app has gained traction on campus with over 50 participating businesses and over 500 downloads.

Danny Parker (PhD'24), assistant professor at Cornell University’s Department of Communication, shares her experience as an SJMC graduate student, her favorite memories and the skills that prepared her for a successful career in academia.

Alec Luhn (BA'10) recently won the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Award for Excellence in Science Communications as well as the 2024 American Association for the Advancement of Science Kavli Science Journalism Award, the oldest science journalism award in the U.S.

We are so proud of what our alumni go on to accomplish once they leave Vilas, and we want to brag about it to current students and visitors. Please submit this form to be highlighted on one of the screens in our 5th-floor lobby.