Menomonie, Wis. – It was a year of big things at University of Wisconsin-Stout, from breaking ground for the biggest construction project in university history to posting some of the most notable enrollment growth in the Universities of Wisconsin to being chosen as Large Business of the Year.
In 2025, Wisconsin’s Polytechnic University also earned big accolades, such as being named one of America’s Best Colleges by Money Magazine for the second year in a row and made big waves by continuing to break down barriers and redefine higher education for the 21st century.
These milestones are just some of the university’s Stout Story highlights as it looks back at 2025.
Reinvigorating renovations
The university began its fall 2025 semester with a groundbreaking for the long-awaited $144.3 million Heritage Hall renovation project, which will transform the half-century-old building into a cutting-edge educational hub to help meet Wisconsin’s workforce needs. The project, which is expected to be finished in 2028, will be paid for with funding from the state as well as $13.5 million donated by university supporters, industry partners and alumni.
“The renovation of Heritage Hall is a direct reflection of our mission as Wisconsin’s Polytechnic University: to provide career-focused, applied learning and research, and industry collaboration that meets the evolving needs of the state’s workforce and communities,” Chancellor Katherine Frank said.
The campus also looked forward to another major project, a $31.7 million revitalization of the Recreation Complex. Funded through the 2025-27 state budget as well as a record-setting $5 million gift, the renovations are expected to begin this year. And in October, UW-Stout celebrated the opening of a $1 million Esports Arena, a new high-tech home for the championship-caliber esports team.
Advances in AI
Artificial intelligence isn’t a stand-alone subject at UW-Stout — it’s been integrated across all programs, a 360-degree approach to create tomorrow’s AI-ready workforce.
“Equipping students from every major with AI skills is not only important but necessary,” said engineering and technology Assistant Professor Yuan Xing, who is working with applied social science Professor Tina Lee on a cross-disciplinary program focused on an AI-enhanced farming robot.
The university’s AI Fellows and AI Innovation Committee, led by faculty and staff, ensure AI is embedded into learning, operations and innovation, while directing AI integration, governance, ethics and literacy. Among the many examples of faculty engagement with AI include employing machine learning in engineering and manufacturing processes as well as comparing human and AI-generated written communication.
Assistant Professor Cami Banger, program director of business information technology and digital marketing technology, created a business technology class with AI “baked in,” while Professor Betsy Pudliner used AI-driven prompts to transform hospitality industry experiences into interactive online course content.
Meanwhile, a $647,000 grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation will allow UW-Stout’s Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Artificial Intelligence – CAM-AI – to provide advanced manufacturing and AI support to small- and medium-sized manufacturers.
Upgrading STEMM spaces
The completion of a two-year, $7.4 million renovation project ensured that labs in the Jarvis Hall Technology Wing provide the technology, accessibility and visibility necessary for students to succeed in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics & Management.
Some of the new equipment in labs in both Jarvis and Fryklund halls — including production-level 3D printers, a fully-integrated automated manufacturing system and more — was funded through a $3.1 million donation from the Ronald and Joyce Wanek Foundation. The gift was the result of an ongoing partnership between UW-Stout and the Wanek family and their business, Ashley Furniture Industries, based in Arcadia.
Such campus labs create space for innovation, such as work by Associate Professor Kevin MacDonald, director of the B.S. construction management program, and his students to create innovative low-carbon concrete using blast-furnace slag, which was tested in April in a campus project.
Labs also provide workspaces for students like mechanical engineering senior Heidi Benningfield, who received more than tuition and an internship through the U.S. military’s SMART Scholarship program. After graduation, she’s guaranteed a job with the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command in Huntsville, Alabama.
Other students brought research on optimizing plant growth through the use of robotics to the national stage, while a faculty-student collaboration created software for making better 3D models of priceless objects in museums from Minneapolis to Amsterdam.
Degree and university programs honored
UW-Stout and its programs continued to rake in top rankings in 2025. Princeton Review listed UW-Stout’s undergraduate game design programs, which include the B.F.A. game design and development and B.S. computer science – game design concentration, No. 5 in the Midwest and No. 24 worldwide.
UW-Stout’s Bachelor of Science in cybersecurity was named a Top 25 Best Value Cybersecurity Degree Bachelor’s Program in the U.S. by Programs.com, the only Wisconsin program on the list. And U.S. News and World Report said UW-Stout had some of the Best Online Programs in the nation, including the M.S. manufacturing engineering online (Top 20 in the Midwest), the M.S. education online (Top 45 in the Midwest), and the B.S. management and leadership online (Top 15 in the Midwest).
University programs also garnered state and national honors, with the Grow, Persist, Succeed on-campus job program earning an Academic Staff Excellence Award from the Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents and the Stout Vocational Rehabilitation Institute receiving the annual W.F. Faulkes Award from the National Rehabilitation Association for its nearly 60 years of helping tens of thousands of Americans with disabilities.
High-ranking services for veterans
For veterans and active military students, UW-Stout was named to the 2025 Best for Vets Colleges list by Military Times for its commitment to serving veterans and their families, ranking first in Wisconsin among traditional and online universities.
The university was also honored as a Military Friendly® School. Its silver designation marked the 16th consecutive year the university was named a Military Friendly® School for its efforts to offer service and support to meet the needs of military students. It was also named a 2025-26 Military Spouse Friendly School.
Army ROTC Northwoods Battalion students learn leadership theory, time management skills, basic soldier skills, map reading and other skills from experienced Army leaders. UW-Stout has a long-standing agreement with the Air Force ROTC program at University of St. Thomas, in St. Paul – a unique agreement among Wisconsin universities – that allows students to enroll in Air Force ROTC classes while completing their degrees.
Top design awards
While UW-Stout’s School of Art & Design celebrated its 60th anniversary, students from across degree programs celebrated top wins in state, national and international competitions. Interior design senior Khendra Thompson rose to the challenge at the 12th Annual Steelcase NEXT Student Design Competition and won with her design of a 16,000-square-foot workplace spread across two floors in a Chicago office building, beating four other finalists from a field that began with 1,600 students from across the continent.
To address the concern of microplastics in food and water, Master of Fine Arts in design student Ashley Jandro created a social awareness campaign called “MicroWhat?,” for which she received a Student – Integrated Consumer Campaign Silver Pin at the Minnesota AdFed awards, sponsored by the Advertising Federation of Minnesota.
A team of four packaging students won first place among university teams from around the globe in the 2025 International Molded Fiber Association Student Competition. They created a sustainable packaging solution for a waffle iron, previously packaged in polystyrene, and replaced the components with molded fiber.
The claustrophobic, cooperative game Dread Not, in which players try to survive a sinking submarine, won the award for Best Student Entry at M+DEV, the largest game industry conference in the Midwest. Dread Not was developed by a team of 15 game design students.
With a design inspired by her adventures with her black lab, Max, studio art major Jaelyn Logterman won the 2026 Wisconsin State Park and Forest vehicle admission pass design contest, announced by the state’s Department of Natural Resources.
Students lending a Helping Hand
Two interior design students are working to ensure their peers have a more efficient, comfortable and warm experience at Helping Hand Food+ Pantry, the university’s student pantry. Emma Walstra and Klaire Johnson, project co-leads, reimagined the pantry space to create an “atmosphere that reflects the care UW-Stout places in serving its students.”
In a cross-disciplinary collaboration, four groups of students in a Light Construction Methods class built two raised garden beds, one raised tool bench and one raised tool holder for The Neighbors of Dunn County, a senior living home. The project was part of a service-learning activity and was launched last summer during a new STEAM camp for high school students.
A team of animation and digital media students collaborated with Dunn County Humane Society to develop a public service announcement as part of the Animation Production junior capstone class. Their 72-second 2D animated film, “Stray,” was created to help advocate for pet adoption. The informative short features Bow, a stray orange tabby cat rescued during Wisconsin’s bitter winter.
Industry-sponsored projects are standard practice
Arcadia-based Ashley Furniture sponsored multiple engineering student projects in 2025. A team of students, including Inspiring Graduates Luke Mertens and Zachary Morgan, designed an innovative nonstandard pallet stacker. Ashley Manufacturing Engineer Erik Kramer, the team’s project manager, said, “The UW-Stout team built a better system, a better product for us. Now, with the team’s documentation, our automation team can replicate their functional design to build six
more stackers for our facilities.”
Students also developed toolless bed connections for Ashley and worked in eight cross-disciplinary groups to research market trends, ideate preliminary designs, test materials and build professional prototypes. The class traveled to Ashley for a tour of the facility and to present their prototypes to the R&D team.
Packaging faculty and student research is poised to help Madison-based Tricky Foods deliver its tasty but temperature-sensitive charcuterie boards coast to coast. Associate Professor Kate Liu of UW-Stout’s packaging program worked with Tricky Foods to test the insulating abilities of two eco-friendly packaging options – one made of cornstarch, the other of recycled paper.
Three industrial and product design students were awarded a cash prize by Room & Board in exchange for the rights to produce their designs if they choose. The senior’ project focused on storage solutions for media, dining, living, entry, bathroom and kitchen systems.
Blue Devil athletes excelling
The UW-Stout Blue Devil women’s basketball team’s Cinderella run to the Final Four last March marked the team’s best-ever performance in the NCAA Division III National Tournament. They completed their historic season with a 23-8 record, going 10-4 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletics Conference. Senior Raegen Sorensen became UW-Stout’s all-time leading scorer with 1,754 career points.
Gymnast Jamie Beatty delivered a historic performance at the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association National Championships, capturing national titles in both the all-around and the uneven bars and being named WIAC Newcomer of the Year.
The inaugural women’s flag football team hoisted the Midwest College Women’s Flag Football League Championship trophy at the Minnesota Vikings’ TCO Performance Center in April. UW-Stout was a founding member of the collegiate league, which was kickstarted with support from the Vikings.
Women’s golf took the WIAC conference championship, where they triumphed by a near-record margin. Sophomore Julia Imai and junior Brin Neumann placed first and second individually.
Blue Devils football made history at Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium, earning the program’s first-ever postseason victory with a 31-23 win over Washington University in the Culver’s Isthmus Bowl. UW-Stout finishes the season 6-5 for their second straight winning season.
BONUS: Officer Harvey, a therapy dog in training, joined UW-Stout’s University Police as its newest member in March. Once Harvey is fully trained, he will serve University Police by assisting people experiencing mental health crises as well as victims of crime and will help the department bridge the gap with members of the community, said University Police Chief Gregory Kalosis.
UW-Stout, a member of the Universities of Wisconsin, is Wisconsin’s Polytechnic University, with a focus on applied learning, collaboration with business and industry, and career outcomes. Learn more via the FOCUS2030 strategic plan.
