News Library

Biographical Files

Biographical files are not made for every staff and faculty member on campus. Some professors and administrators at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a very few prominent alumni, and some well-known speakers have files. In order for any of these people to get a file, they first have to make the news.

To see whether or not there is a file on a person in this library, search the People/biographical files database. If there is a file, the database will find information about that file. If there is no file, the database will indicate that there are no matches.

Some of these files have curriculum vitaes or biographical information, but not all of them do, nor are all of the vitaes current. If you are looking for specific information about a person and you cannot find it, check with the department or that person for that information.

For professors and administrators, first look in the People/biographical files database under the person's name. If no file is found, that means that there is no file about that person, but that does not necessarily mean that there is no information in the library about that person. If we have news stories about a professor, we will make a file about him/her. Many times, people may be quoted as professors who are not actually serving in the position of professor (like teaching assistants or lecturers). Only highly ranked administrators, like the chancellor or deans, have files. A file for the department or another subject file might contain information about a professor or administrator.

For researchers and scientists, look in the research files or the department with which they are associated. If you are not sure about what type of research the person does, try looking in the Expert's database. You can look people up by subject in this tool.

For staff members, look in the file of the department where the staff person works. There is also a "Staff - Deaths" file.

For visiting professors or scholars, see Visiting Professors, Visiting Artists or any of the residency files, like Artist-in-Residence or Science Writer-in-Residence. Unless the professor is a prominent visiting professor (e.g. Stephen Ambrose), he/she will not have a file. Some articles might also be filed under the department or another subject heading.

For guest speakers and lecturers, check under a related subject or series name in the lectures files. Some extremely well-known speakers have their own file. For example, most of the Chazen Fellows and some of the Distinguished Lecturers have their own files.

If you are looking for information about a student or former student, try one of the following places:

  1. Any of the folders under the Students heading (for instance, "Students - Outstanding")
  2. A department with which the student is associated
  3. An activity with which the student is associated
  4. The headings Graduate Research or Undergraduate Research
  5. The folders under the Research heading
  6. The Alumni file

If you are having difficulties finding a file, look in a directory to see if you are spelling the person's name correctly or to see if the person is affiliated with this campus.

Check the inactive files. The library holds files in two places: active and inactive. Active files (present employees to those who left 5 years ago or are of historical significance) are lined up against the eastern wall. Inactive files (those who left 5 - 15 years ago or are deceased) are next to the copier. Any faculty member who left more than 15 years ago may have a folder in the Archives and Records Management Services. Exceptions to these rules are: if the faculty member is still making news; is of historical significance to the university or made an important contribution to the university, state, nation or world. For example, we keep files for some of the university's former leaders, well-known former faculty and some extremely prominent alumni.

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