Mitch Keller

Mitch Keller

@mitchkeller.phd

I teach math, advise math majors, and do program assessment for UW-Madison. Baker. Global traveler. Photographer. North Dakota native. ⚡️ @mitchkeller.photos

648 followers259 following708 posts

Doing some arithmetic here on National Coming Out Day, and apparently 2026 – 2001 = 25, which means that today marks 25 years since I first told a friend that I’m gay. Total accident that it happened on NCOD, which I don’t even think I knew was a thing until he pointed it out in his email reply. 🏳️‍🌈

Mitch Keller reposted

North Dakota State making the playoff without upgrading anything whatsoever and Sacramento State being the worst team in FBS while thinking money solves everything would say confusing things about society

Mitch Keller reposted

Yesterday the Trump admin proposed a fee of up to $100,000 that universities would have to pay for any foreign student doing post-grad Optional Practical Training, a program that lets some grads work for up to three years. For @immcouncil.org's blog I wrote about what this means.

americanimmigrationcouncil.orgTrump Administration Proposes $70,000 Fee on International Students Seeking Post-Graduate Employment - American Immigration CouncilThe Trump administration's proposed OPT fees could deter international students, raise tuition costs and weaken the U.S. STEM workforce.

Mitch Keller reposted

Replying to @ewhowe.com

Human mathematicians are left to sort out this mess. So it’s like someone dropping a burning bag of shit on your doorstep, telling you there’s a silver dollar inside, and wondering why you’re not happy.

Wrapped up a short trip to DC with a visit to the Embassy of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to the United States so I could apply for my Luxembourg passport and ID card.

And while awaiting takeoff of my flight from DCA to MSN, I got an email from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada informing me that part 1 of my adoptee citizenship application has been approved. (My paternal grandfather was born in Winnipeg, and dad got his certificate last month.)

Mitch Keller reposted

Surprised not to see anything about this in my feed this morning from the LawSky folks I follow. I’m sure CA1 won’t stay the PI, but this feels like wildcard territory at SCOTUS. Hopefully @chrisgeidner.bsky.social gives this some attention at @lawdorknews.bsky.social today.

insidehighered.comJudge Blocks Controversial International Student RestrictionsA Massachusetts judge issued the injunction hours before the regulation was set to take effect. Institutions worried it would harm international students.

Mitch Keller reposted

1.2 million foreign students represents just 6% of the 19.4 million students studying as of 2025. But even that is too high, as the 1.2 million number includes ~300,000 people on post-graduate Optional Practical Training (OPT), meaning foreign students are sub-5%.

steven monacelli@stevanzetti.bsky.social

Monty Bennett, Republican megadonor and publisher of the "nonpartisan" Dallas Express, weighs in on Bo French's most recent provocation, appearing to endorse rhetoric that other Republican politicians in Texas have described as racist.

Say what you want about Wisconsin electing Supreme Court justices in April elections, but one thing this state unequivocally got right: it is constitutionally impossible for more than one of the seven seats on the Supreme Court to be up in any given year.

Taniel@taniel.bsky.social

a Sunday reminder for Washingtonians out there Washington is the only state where a MAJORITY of the state Supreme Court is on the ballot, all at once a very rare situation no party label on the ballot but candidates are still aligned with parties! important to learn: boltsmag.org/your-state-b...

The one that didn’t need a fifth down to beat Mizzou remains the only legitimate national champion from 1990. But man, that display from the Jackets tonight was an embarrassment.

Jason Kirk@jasonkirk.fyi

Having now won games in each other's stadiums, Colorado and Georgia Tech are no closer to resolving which school won 1990

Academics, to "celebrate" the start of a new semester, post a WayBack Machine snapshot of your workplace from when you were applying to college (or a later milestone if you missed the dawn of dot edu) #WayBackCollegeChallenge

Academics, to "celebrate" the start of a new semester, post a WayBack Machine snapshot of your workplace from when you were applying to college (or a later milestone if you missed the dawn of dot edu) #WayBackCollegeChallenge (CC: @professorbrendan.bsky.social)

Mitch Keller reposted

Folks, stop whining about Wisconsin polling being off. The gold standard, Marquette Law, had Hong’s support dead on in this July 29 release. If you look at it closely, what’s obvious now is that this was her ceiling, and what was obvious even then— most of the electorate was figuring out what to do.

Mitch Keller reposted

A reminder, as polls open in Wisconsin: Wisconsin has same-day voter registration. So, if you haven’t registered or need to re-register, you can do so at your polling place (with ID and proof of residence) TODAY. Every state should do this. It’s great that Wisconsin does this. Go vote.

Yes, I did a thing with my hair (or lack thereof) about a month ago. I like it. That’s not the point here. Today I visited the grave of my great great great grandfather Nicholas Steffen in Platteville, WI.

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great grandpa was born in Iowa and had a family tree going back a couple more gens, but it lacked any location info. I discovered the Luxembourg aspect on FamilySearch. Mathew decided, after moving to Iowa, that it was shameful to be foreign-born; his death certificate lists WI as his birthplace!

The paper in my hand is my Luxembourgish nationality certificate, which arrived yesterday! Now I need to get an appointment at the embassy in DC or the consulate in NYC so I can get my passport!

Yes, I did a thing with my hair (or lack thereof) about a month ago. I like it. That’s not the point here. Today I visited the grave of my great great great grandfather Nicholas Steffen in Platteville, WI.

Nicholas was born in Hollenfels, Luxembourg, in 1819. In 1857, he moved with his wife Annie and 3 children to Platteville. He lived there until his death in 1909. His son Mathias was one of the children born in Luxembourg and sailed with the family from Antwerp to New York aboard the David Hoadley.

Mathias (by then Mathew) settled in NW Iowa, where my great grandfather was born. Mathias and his wife both died in Sioux City and they’re buried half an hour from the house I owned there. My great grandfather moved to ND, and that’s where the family stayed. Prior to March 2026, we knew

This is really, really fucked up from our Madison PD, who I learned tonight from a friend don’t wear body cameras. The videos are in the article in @chrisgeidner.bsky.social’s skeet in reply to the one I quoted. They are more disturbing than I imagined after reading the article.

Chris Geidner@chrisgeidner.bsky.social

On Madison police shooting that killed a man today, here is no-video coverage: www.wpr.org/news/man-sho...

TFW four months after discovering your great great grandfather was born in Luxembourg, you are able to look yourself up in the national registry and confirm that your Luxembourgish nationality is now officially recognized and you can get your second passport. 🇱🇺 🦁

‘Kavanaugh presenting a “living Constitution” argument for ending birthright citizenship is either an effort that highlights limitations of his reasoning skills or a troll. It’s hard to see it any other way.’

Chris Geidner@chrisgeidner.bsky.social

NEW: The six opinions in the birthright citizenship ruling have a lot to teach us about the U.S. today. The 5-4 decision was the least the court could do to keep the United States of America on a constitutional path. Tonight, at Law Dork:

I have Josiah (Jed) Bartlet and Leo Thomas McGarry. Jed doesn’t really have a silly nickname, although sometimes I do call him my chonky boy. Leo has this very squeaky meow, so he often gets called Squeaky. If Lord John Marbury made an appearance, he would undoubtedly call him Gerald.

vashíto@vashperado.bsky.social

wait what's your pet's name and what is your silly little nickname for them??

Mitch Keller reposted

Watching a series of former Confederate states rush to eliminate any vestige of black representation in the House pretty much answers the question whether the Voting Rights Act was still necessary.

I got about 3/4 of the way through episode 1 on my jog this morning, and this is shaping up to be a fascinating season of Slow Burn.

Slate@slate.com

What happens when a "debate me" college dweeb is given all the power in the world? In Slow Burn: Becoming Justice Gorsuch, we trace the rise of Neil Gorsuch and how the mild-mannered Westerner has become the court’s most unexpected wild card. Listen now: swap.fm/l/slowburn

#PreTeXtGang win during the Canvas outage: I had been embedding worksheets and annotated notes in Canvas (Thanks @oscarlevin.com !) from GitHub-pages deployed stuff. Just had to email students direct links to the entire thing. Quickly built and deployed exam questions that had been posted as SCORM.

Oh, hey, it’s @uwmadisonmath.bsky.social’s @jsellenberg.bsky.social getting elected to AAAS!

UW–Madison@uwmadison.bsky.social

Congratulations to educational theorist Michael W. Apple, chemist Helen E. Blackwell, communication researcher Dominique Brossard, mathematician Jordan Ellenberg and geographer Holly Gibbs — UW–Madison's newly elected members of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences!

Mitch Keller reposted

Well, well, well... the deadline for compliance with the new Title II accessibility guidelines has been extended by a year (or two, depending on the size of your organization)

Mitch Keller reposted

Blue Hour View from the Citadella In honor of Hungary 🇭🇺 voting to stand for freedom and democracy yesterday, here’s a shot from my recent trip. Pentax K-3 iii smc Pentax-DA 18–270mm at 88mm stitched to a panorama in Lightroom Classic

Spent five nights in Budapest during Spring Break, leaving on April 2nd. Hungary is a wonderful country, and as a mathematician, I have had more opportunities than most Americans to get to know Hungarians. (My academic brother is Hungarian and my office neighbor at UW is as well.)

I am so happy for Hungary today! Orban did a lot of damage in 16 years. It will take time to restore a free press and to tear down the corruption he entrenched. But today Hungarians cast their ballots to turn things around! I wish them well, and hope we can start undoing our own damage in November.

That last sentence! (Read the whole piece, please.)

Mark Joseph Stern@mjsdc.bsky.social

I think this could go either way, and it's profoundly alarming that it may come down to a single vote. The legal arguments against late-arriving ballots make no sense; the policy arguments are rooted in concern about voter fraud that does not exist. I fear for the midterms. slate.com/news-and-pol...

Always read Chris’s reporting, but today make sure you make it to the end for the courthouse mystery!

Chris Geidner@chrisgeidner.bsky.social

NEW: Judge moves, cautiously, toward civil contempt in case over treatment of trans people in prison. “Once I issue an order, it’s my intent to enforce it,“ Judge Lamberth told the government. And: Facing the Trump administration's ridiculousness. Until the elevator door closes. Law Dork: