University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Thursday, Marchl 12, 2026
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‘ALL GAS, NO BRAKES’
ARCTIC ASTRONOMY
YouTuber Andrew Callaghan brought the energy of Channel 5 to Madison’s Orpheum Theatre.
This UW observatory in Antarctica looks to identify dormant black holes.
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Zumbrunnen named provost after interim stint By Annika Bereny CAMPUS NEWS EDITOR
Interim Provost John Zumbrunnen has been selected to hold the role of provost permanently, beating out finalists Anna Stenport (the University of Georgia) and Charles Martinez Jr. (the University of Texas-Austin), the University of WisconsinMadison announced Monday. “John Zumbrunnen is an exceptional academic leader and has earned broad trust from our students, faculty and staff through his thoughtful engagement on a wide range of complex issues and for his strong commitments to the Wisconsin Idea, shared governance, student success and excellence in research and teaching,” out-
going Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said in a statement. Zumbrunnen has served as interim provost — the chief academic leader and the second-highest ranking official at UW-Madison — for the past nine months following the departure of Charles Isbell Jr. to become president of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “I am incredibly honored to serve as provost of this amazing university,” Zumbrunnen said in the release. “Even after nearly two decades on campus, I continue to learn about and to stand in awe of all that UW-Madison is and does.” The provost is responsible for creating and implementing the academic vision
of the university, as well as leading the deans of UW-Madison’s various schools and colleges — alongside other leaders from the UW Extension, Libraries and other organizations — in advancing and executing an academic mission and vision for the university. As provost, Zumbrunnen will be navigating what looks to be a tumultuous transitional period at UW-Madison, as the university navigates federal and selfimposed departmental budget cuts as well as the creep of artificial intelligence into higher education. The search for the university’s next chancellor will begin on May 17 of this year when Mnookin officially departs her role for Columbia University.
During his presentation to students, faculty and staff two weeks ago, Zumbrunnen promised to “never be content” as provost and constantly strive to better serve the state and embody the Wisconsin idea. “Those words, to me, suggest that the Wisconsin Idea is not just a principle. It’s not just a pride. It is a challenge to us,” Zumbrunnen said last week in his finalist interview. “It is a challenge to us to do everything we can to have UW-Madison be a force for good in the world that will never be content.” Zumbrunnen said he was “excited to continue the valuable work of the Wisconsin Idea,” in the release.
Academic Staff Assembly calls on UWPD to cancel Flock Safety contract By Cole Zich STAFF WRITER
The University of WisconsinMadison Academic Staff Assembly passed a resolution on Monday calling for UWPD to end their contract with Flock Safety and publish all other contracts with surveillance technology companies, like Motorola Safeties and Rhombus. The resolution also called for the university to align its policies on mass surveillance with City of Madison ordinances which ban surveillance technology that uses artificial intelligence. Because of this ordinance, there are no Flock cameras under Madison Police Department jurisdiction, but there are eight flock cameras on campus. UWPD Chief Brent Plisch argued the cameras are important to maintaining campus safety and said the department has instituted certain safeguards, including limiting access to the data internally and externally, at Monday’s meeting. Faculty and community members still have concerns about Flock’s data sharing, especially as President Donald Trump escalates immigration enforcement. Flock Safety is a private company who contracts with local police departments like UWPD to provide automated license plate readers. Newer functions, such as information sharing across agencies and the use of artificial intelligence to locate and search vehicles beyond the license plate, have been cause for ethics, security, legality and regulation concerns. In Colorado in May 2025, a Flock spokesperson admitted the company shared data from its cameras with Customs and Border Patrol through an undisclosed pilot program. Additionally, in cities like Milwaukee and Menasha, officers have been investigated for using Flock data for
JONATHAN MINTZ/THE DAILY CARDINAL
unauthorized searches, like stalking ex-partners. The resolution also calls for UWPD to clearly display an organizational accountability and reporting structure on its website. UWPD currently has a website aimed at promoting Flock transparency. UWPD Communications Director Marc Lovicott previously told The Daily Cardinal that UWPD policy says data from campus-area Flock cameras is only shared with in-state law enforcement. However, at the time, Lovicott said he couldn’t speak to what state agencies do with
their data. Plisch said the department does not use it as a “proactive tool” for monitoring, although he did mention Flock’s potential usefulness for finding those on a Silver Alert list. Instead, he said the cameras are only used for investigation. He said only nine individuals have internal access to the UWPD’s cameras, and described the paperwork required for an additional individual to review Flock data. Plisch said the department does not allow federal use of the system, and all external users are within the state.
“We have restricted this system to not allow anything affiliated with immigration enforcement,” he said. “Agencies within the state of Wisconsin cannot conduct a search of our data for the investigation of … ICE-led cases.” Plisch said UWPD carefully audits all external requests to determine if other state departments will handle Flock data properly and not abuse it or distribute it to unauthorized federal agencies. He cited the recent case in Milwaukee as an example of the risks associated with not exercising sufficient caution with Flock data.
Academic Staff members, however, said they were still concerned about increased surveillance on campus, despite UWPD’s internal safeguards, especially since ICE has contracts with many Wisconsin sheriffs departments who can access UWPD’s data. “This is just another one of those things that’s a reform. This is gonna make us safer,” Barret Elward, an author of the resolution and Co-President of United Faculty and Academic Staff union, said. “It’s used for that sometimes, but it’s also used as a nationwide network to catch members of our community that may or may not be documented.” The resolution initially included a clause to call for an end to all contracts with surveillance companies on campus, but was amended to only end the contract with Flock and place all other contracts under review. Elward was also concerned by the lack of information on how the data was stored. “If we want these surveillance cameras on campus, they should be run by UWPD and UW-Madison, and the data should stay local,” Elward said. The resolution said Flock has a history of not removing cameras after a contract termination, encouraging the university to remove or disable the cameras themselves if the contract with Flock ends and they fail to comply. The approved resolution will be referred to campus administration, with the final decision on any recommendation being made by the UW-Madison chancellor, the UW System president or the Board of Regents.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”