School of Human Ecology
Exterior of Nancy Nicholas Hall in the evening, with lamps and windows glowing.
News & Events

In Photos: Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin’s immersive visit to the School of Human Ecology

, Maddie Kranz
A white woman with curly red hair sits at a table and talks with two colleagues.

Story by Maddie Kranz x’24, UW–Madison student studying Community & Nonprofit Leadership and Art History.

Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin visited the School of Human Ecology on August 24, 2023. All photos by Andy Manis.

When you visit the School of Human Ecology, it’s all about people. And what better way to learn about the school’s research, academic programs, and student experiences than through focused conversations with faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, and staff. For Chancellor Mnookin’s third visit to the school in less than 12 months, she had a chance to talk with some of the people who represent both the present and the future of Human Ecology.

 

Chancellor Mnookin sits at large white table with Dean Shim and five faculty and staff members.

Human Ecology’s new faculty have funded grant proposals, interesting research designs that span disciplines and populations across the world, and high-impact research and outreach efforts aimed at improving societal outcomes, locally and globally.

 

A Black man with a gray beard sits at a table while wearing a light-pink collared shirt and a tan suit jacket.

David J. Pate Jr., Visiting Associate Professor of Consumer Science and Human Development & Family Studies, discusses his work in fatherhood and the impact of social welfare on Black men and their families.

 

A white man wearing a light blue, long sleeved shirt and an Asian woman wearing a collared white shirt sit at a table.

Cliff Robb, Lorna Jorgenson Wendt Professor in Money, Relationships & Equality (MORE) and chair of the Consumer Science department (left) and Jung-hye Shin, chair of the Design Studies department discuss strengths and new opportunities for Human Ecology’s academic programs.

 

An Asian woman wearing a yellow headband talks while seated at a table with colleagues.

MFA student Veronica Yang Pham talks about the takeaways from her time as a student.

In this conversation with Chancellor Mnookin, graduate students highlighted the holistic student support they receive from the School of Human Ecology. When students meet moments of unexpected need, Human Ecology is able to support them because of the discretionary funds that philanthropy makes possible.

 

Undergraduate students told Chancellor Mnookin that when they were accepted to UW–Madison, they were unsure if it was financially feasible. However, through Badger Promise, Bucky’s Tuition Promise, and scholarship opportunities through the School of Human Ecology, the students are making their dreams of higher education a reality and expect to graduate debt-free.

A young woman with curly black hair and light brown glasses talks while seated at a table.

Aakriti Bagchi is a POSSE scholar majoring in Textiles & Fashion Design.

A woman with curly black hair sits at a table and smiles while talking with Chancellor Mnookin.

Mariana Ray-Hernandez, a first-generation student, transferred to UW–Madison from UW–Milwaukee in fall of 2022 and is majoring in Community & Nonprofit Leadership.

A white woman with long blonde hair wearing a black T-shirt talks at a table while others look her way.

Makenna Cox is a senior majoring in Human Development & Family Studies from Hortonville, Wisconsin.

 

Chancellor Mnookin, a white woman with curly red hair, poses with a group of seven women and one man.

Alicia Hazen, Assistant Dean & Career Services Director (far left) and Patrick Jackson, Senior Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Student Services (far right) join Chancellor Mnookin’s conversation with undergraduate students in the Dorothy O’Brien Innovation Lab.

 

Three woman look at a colorful fabric design that is displayed on a large white table.

Chancellor Mnookin gets a sneak-peek of the student-curated exhibition Social Threads: Making, Mending, and Maintaining Community. Graduate student Atefeh Ahmadi (left) explains the process of researching and contextualizing the exhibition’s pieces, using an arpillera as an example. An arpillera is a patchwork textile made predominantly by groups of women as a form of political protest. This Peruvian arpillera, titled Lavamos La Bandera (We Wash the Flag), depicts citizens washing the country’s flag outside of the Government Palace in Lima. This action of political critique occurred each week for five months, until Former President Fujimori resigned. In the context of the Social Threads exhibition, the arpillera serves as an example of using textiles to communicate and commemorate a time of communal activism.

 

Ten women sit around a white, rectangular table in conversation.

Chancellor Mnookin shares lunch with members of Human Ecology’s staff in a round-table conversation about what it means to foster a culture of innovation and the ways the school is poised to lead in the area of human flourishing. The conversation also touched on the value of higher education and what we can do to help ensure that it is accessible to all.