PhD Candidate in Sociology
During her short time in Madison, Ruby has made a lasting impact in her department, campus, and broader community. As a critical scholar, her research on race, gender, and education has shaped her ability to offer suggestions to her department which, like other departments, is committing itself to improving the experiences of historically marginalized students. Ruby is also the current president and previous social chair of the Black Graduate and Professional Student Association (BGPSA) at UW–Madison. Through her role as president Ruby worked with BGPSA’s executive board to organize general body meetings and several social and academic events. Ruby’s involvement in the BGPSA is instrumental for building community amongst and improving the retention of Black students. Although she does not consider it a service to speak out against racism or emotionally support a friend, Ruby’s unpaid service is particularly notable. Ruby is a Black woman whose emot
April 27, 2021
With the COVID-19 global pandemic now in its second year, the nature of classroom experiences at UWâMadison continues to evolve.
In the spring semester, most classes were virtual in deference to the COVID-19 pandemic. But some classes with under 50 students continued in person, including many labs requiring hands-on learning. Some classes had a hybrid model with both virtual and in-person students.
However, all those attending in-person were required to wear face masks and physically distance. In addition, access to all campus buildings required faculty, staff and students to display a green badge on their Safer Badgers app, signifying they are in compliance with required campus COVID-19 testing.
March 15, 2021 | By Jori Skalitzky, BSx 22, Life Sciences Communication and Environmental Sciences
It used to be that anyone could easily stop by and check out the leaf-cutter ant colony in the Microbial Science Building’s lobby, but not so much these days. If you miss seeing the ants, be sure to check out the Currie Lab’s Ant Cam! You can view the livestream on Youtube, where it runs every day of the week.
The livestream cycles through a handful of camera angles, showing the ants as they go about their daily duties of maintaining their fungus garden. This involves cutting up leaves and transporting the clippings to the garden area. The ants do not eat the leaves themselves; they “feed” the leaves to the fungus they cultivate, and then, later, they eat the fungus itself. Bacteriology professor Cameron Currie uses this system to study symbiosis.