1. UW-River Falls faculty member, students lauded for research efforts

    Photo of WiSys President Arjun Sanga presenting Grace Lewis, assistant professor of animal and food science at UW-River Falls, with the Carl E. Gulbrandson Innovator of the Year Award during a ceremony Thursday at UW-Superior. The award honors the research efforts of Lewis and five of her students. Contributed photo.

    WiSys award recognizes work to develop multiple food products A University of Wisconsin-River Falls faculty member and five of her students are being recognized for their creative, award-winning research that has led to a pending patent for a tasty food product they created. Grace Lewis, assistant professor of animal and food science, and students Yihong […]

  2. UW-River Falls adds community and environmental planning degree

    Photo of former UW-River Falls student CJ Sycks speaks with an onlooker during an event in 2022 at the university at which conservation and environmental planning students solicited ideas about planning issues facing the city of River Falls. The Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents has approved starting a new undergraduate community and environmental planning degree at UW-River Falls that will develop skills specific to urban planning. UWRF file photo.

    Program to begin this fall will teach skills needed for high-demand careers Students seeking to design communities now and into the future will have the opportunity to learn those important, in-demand skills at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls following the addition of an undergraduate community and environmental planning degree at the university. The Universities of Wisconsin […]

  3. UWRF’s Humane Handling Institute secures $1 million gift from Rosen Family Foundation, Inc.

    Photo of Kurt Vogel, UW-River Falls professor of animal welfare and behavior and director of the Humane Handling Institute, speaks with meat industry employees during a training session on effective and humane restraint and stunning of animals at the university’s Mann Valley Farm in November 2023. The Rosen Family Foundation, Inc. has given a $1 million gift to support the Humane Handling Institute. UWRF photo.

    Investment endorses institute’s innovative, impactful animal welfare initiatives The Rosen Family Foundation, Inc. has announced a $1 million gift in support of the internationally recognized Humane Handling Institute at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. The transformational gift to the UW-River Falls Foundation establishes the largest program endowment in the university’s history: The Rosen Family Humane […]

  4. UWRF alum/New Richmond teacher named Wisconsin Teacher of the Year

    Photo of New Richmond High School agriscience teacher Rachel Sauvola shoveling corn from a gravity box as she instructs students, from left, Michael Mast, Jazzmira Traynor and Melany Rodriquez how to remove corn to be fed to animals at the school-operated farm that Sauvola began and oversees. Sauvola, a 1999 UW-River Falls graduate, was recently recognized for her teaching expertise by being named a 2025 Wisconsin Teacher of the Year. UWRF photo.

    Educator noted for her inspired education methods, development of school farm Whether developing a new program to produce beef for school lunch or training agriculture teachers across the nation to better instruct their students, Rachel Sauvola comes up with innovative ways to convey knowledge, a process she credits in part to her time as a […]

  5. UW-River Falls program engages youth in water science, stewardship

    Photo of local high schoolers learning about water science with university faculty and students.

    Offering 22 miles of world-class trout fishing and other recreational activities, the beloved Kinnickinnic River runs through the city of River Falls and the UW-River Falls campus. The community and the campus are invested in its health. So, it was no surprise the Youth Water Stewards pilot program, funded by the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin, […]

  6. Leaving a legacy: New scholarship at UW-River Falls will assist aspiring teachers

    Photo of Ann and Manley Olson

    Scholarship named for two Hudson sisters who had longtime careers as educators The University of Wisconsin-River Falls has received funding for a new endowed scholarship designed to benefit students from Hudson with a love of education. The Blanche Hansen Nygard and Meta Hansen Elementary Education Scholarship will provide $1,200 annually to an elementary education major […]

  7. Big cheese: Successful cheddar production means UW-River Falls dairy plant is up and running

    Photo of Brianna Crotteau, project coordinator at the Wuethrich Family/Grassland Dairy Center of Excellence at UW-River Falls, handing Sam Galgowski, a cheesemaker at the dairy plant, a plastic container that Galgowski filled with cheese during production on Tuesday. The cheddar cheese produced was the first produced at the dairy plant that will serve as a production site and a training location for students and dairy industry employees. UWRF/Pat Deninger photo.

    New, much-anticipated $9 million facility will serve as site to train students, dairy industry employees River Falls, Wis. – With one slice, then another and another, Sam Galgowski cut a large block of cheddar cheese at the bottom of a metal vat into smaller chunks. Galgowski – cheesemaker at the Wuethrich Family/Grassland Dairy Center of Excellence at […]

  8. Planting a tradition: UW-River Falls team wins National Forage Bowl Competition

    Photo of a team of UW-River Falls students and their coach who recently placed first in the National Forage Bowl Competition in Mobile, Ala. Left to right are Tucker Lundquist, Hannah Schull, Coach Yoana Newman, Ryan Bottema and Jace Heiman. UW-River Falls teams have won the last four Forage Bowl competitions they have competed in. Contributed photo.

    Victory marks fourth successive win, showcases strength of crop science, horticulture programs When it comes to all things big and small in forage production and management, University of Wisconsin-River Falls students definitely know their subject well. A team of four UW-River Falls students placed first in the National Forage Bowl Competition, an event in conjunction with […]

  9. UW-River Falls Institute Helps Students Hit the Ground Running

    Photo of El Bartho (right) and Myah Eliason documenting curly leaf pondweed, an invasive aquatic species.

    For UW-Stout senior El Bartho, interning at the UW-River Falls Ecological Restoration Institute (ERI) was the perfect way to determine what she wants to do after graduation. The Environmental Science major interned as a conservation technician in summer 2023, working on a pilot project with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) St. Croix Wetland […]

  10. UW-River Falls to host Science Olympiad competition on Jan. 20

    Photo: About 900 students from Wisconsin, Minnesota and other Midwestern states will compete in the Science Olympiad event at UW-River Falls on Saturday, Jan. 20. The event is affiliated with the national Science Olympiad organization and is designed to increase interest in science and recognize scientific achievement. UWRF file photo.

    Event to include about 900 high schoolers from across the Midwest When about 900 high school students on 58 teams from Wisconsin, Minnesota and elsewhere across the Midwest convene at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls on Saturday, Jan. 20, they will exhibit their knowledge of and affinity for all things science. Those students will take […]