Karen Oberhauser, UW–Madison Arboretum director (Photo by Bryce Richter / UW–Madison)

Karen Oberhauser, director of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum since October 2017, has announced that she will retire from the Arboretum and the university in late November.

“We are very grateful to Karen for her strong leadership in ecological restoration and habitat preservation at the Arboretum, along with her commitment to fostering biodiversity, science-based inquiry, citizen science and environmental literacy,” says Cynthia Czajkowski, interim vice chancellor for research and graduate education. “Karen’s promotion of partnerships has been instrumental in growing engagement with, and enhancing the relationship between, researchers at UW–Madison and the public, near and far.”

Oberhauser, an internationally renowned conservation biologist and expert on monarch butterflies, was chosen as the Arboretum director in 2017 after a national search. As director, she supported the center’s core mission areas of land care, research and education, with an emphasis on science-based participatory programs and community engagement.

Read the full UW News story, October 25, 2023