An Insider’s Tour of UW–Madison

Richter (left) and Schmitt chronicle the magical ice-cream production process at the Babcock Dairy Plant. Bryce Richter

This issue of On Wisconsin serves as your ticket to extraordinary campus places that, normally, only insiders get to see.

“Every Stone Tells a Story” takes you behind the scenes at the UW’s 175-year-old Geology Museum, where the dedicated staffers consider themselves in “the inspiration business.” These folks are world-class storytellers, making age-old stones come to life for 60,000 visitors a year — and here, for the first time, associate publisher John Allen and photographer Jeff Miller shine the spotlight on them. Each landed at the Geology Museum as part of a lifelong love affair with rocks and fossils.

“The VIP Campus Tour” is an all-access pass to the locations where important things happen, including the Badger football locker room, the chancellor’s office, and the plant where Babcock ice cream magically materializes from milk and sugar. Senior writer Preston Schmitt ’14 and photographer Bryce Richter spared no effort to capture these rare glimpses, even if it meant climbing a treacherous ladder to the top of the UW’s iconic Carillon Tower.

Along with such remarkable spaces, our Fall issue has no shortage of amazing UW–Madison alumni. “A Freedom Rider’s Perilous Path” profiles civil rights hero Dion Diamond x’64, who risked everything — his freedom, his life — to challenge discrimination in the 1960s. “Finding a Home in Theater” tells the inspiring tale of John Malpede ’68, who encourages artistic expression among unhoused people.

Is it any surprise that such extraordinary people came out of such an extraordinary place?

Published in the Fall 2024 issue