During more than 60 years of existence, Bucky Badger has put smiles on the faces of thousands of University of Wisconsin-Madison fans at athletic contests, hospitals, parades, weddings and many other types of events. The man who created the beloved figure responsible for so many photos and happy moments passed away Sunday. William Sachse, a 1950 UW graduate who created the original Buckingham U. Badger, died at age 85 after a brief illness...

If William "Bill" Sachse hadn't returned from the Navy and enrolled at UW-Madison, a burrowing antisocial badger may still pass for a mascot at Camp Randall Stadium, avoiding fans and inspiring no one. Because of Sachse, the animal got replaced with Bucky Badger, a human version who since 1949 has roamed the sideline and become synonymous with Wisconsin sports, jumping around and pumping out touchdown pushups...

It's not often that UW-River Falls is given $1 million. In fact, in the school's 138-year history, it's only happened three times -- but never by a living person. That changed last month when John Bryant Walker donated the seven-figure sum...The announcement of Walker's gift came last month as the university and its foundation publicized a "first-ever comprehensive fundraising campaign"...

Convicted Sterling Hall bomber Karl Armstrong was arrested last week in Chicago after state troopers found more than $800,000 cash in heat-sealed bags stashed inside of a motor home that Armstrong was driving, according to a document filed Monday in court...

One of the men convicted in the deadly 1970 bombing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison was arrested last week after authorities found $800,000 cash in the motor home he was driving...

University alumni groups have always eagerly welcomed new grads to their loyal ranks. But as a stagnant economy and state funding cutbacks up the ante for private fundraising to boost financial aid, development offices and foundations for public institutions are taking a page from private schools that long have connected with potential donors before they even graduate. The University of Wisconsin-Madison solicits pledges from seniors while they're still immersed in the college experience and before they start paying back their loans. This was the second year for UW-Madison's IGave Campaign for graduating seniors...

Former Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz was the keynote speaker at her alma mater, the University of Wisconsin-Madison yesterday. She spoke about what it was like to earn a computer science degree as a woman back in the 1970s, and offered a lot of advice about failure. A few highlights: Everyone has failures; take advantage of them...

Can something as simple as a candy dish start a civil ripple effect that brings people together despite their differences of opinion, improves how they connect and communicate with one another and, maybe, begins to change an entire culture? It is just one strategy and hope of CivilityWorks, a self-described "ad hoc organization on the UW Oshkosh campus dedicated to enriching the lives of others through civil engagement"...

UW-Madison Dean of Students Lori Berquam described an early-morning shooting near campus on the eve of graduation last weekend as "unsettling." She said she spoke to a number of students at graduation who were nearby at the time of the shooting on the 600 block of University Avenue...

How much is too much when it comes to compensating the head of a public university? The Chronicle of Higher Education released an analysis of what public college presidents -- or in the case of a UW-Madison, chancellors -- made during the 2011 fiscal year...That's a topic those on the UW-Madison campus will be paying much closer attention to in September. That's when Reilly plans to name a search and screen committee to find a replacement for interim Chancellor David Ward, who took over for Martin after she left in June 2011 for Amherst College...

Two University of Wisconsin-Madison professors have received a $1.39 million grant to develop video games that emphasize kindness and compassion instead of violence and aggression. The $1.39 million grant from the Bill&Melinda Gates Foundation will allow Richard Davidson and Kurt Squire to design and rigorously test two educational games to help eighth graders develop empathy, cooperation, mental focus and self-regulation, according to a news release from UW...

Three University of Wisconsin-Whitewater faculty members won prestigious Fulbright Scholar awards for 2012-2013, the most in campus history. James Jaffe, professor of history in the College of Letter and Sciences, won a Fulbright Distinguished Chair award, one of only 40 in the country. Carol Scovotti, associate professor of marketing, and Helena Addae, associate professor of management, won awards from the core Fulbright Scholar Program, which sends 800 U.S. professors and professionals abroad each year. Scovotti and Addae are faculty members in the College of Business and Economics...

...Others, like recent University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate Alex Slezewski, participated in the election because of its historic importance. But Slezewski, like many university officials and county clerks statewide, worries he may be one of the few students who bother to vote absentee in this election...UW System students graduated or finished their semester during the past two weeks. Because of a new 28-day residency requirement approved by Republican lawmakers and Walker last year, many students moving or returning home after May 15 will not be able to participate in the state recall unless they vote absentee...

As college graduates across Milwaukee celebrated the latest step in their academic careers last weekend, some folks at Milwaukee Area Technical College felt compelled to defend themselves. Again. MATC -- where most degrees are earned in two years rather than four -- graduated its latest class Friday, and many students and faculty realize their school's reputation isn't as prestigious as that of other institutions of higher learning in the city...