About

The Max Kade Institute (MKI) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is part of the College of Letters and Science and governed by an Executive Committee, and with critical support from an active and growing Friends organization. The Institute has an administrative staff which includes a Director, Assistant Director, Librarian, clerical staff and numerous graduate and undergraduate students as well as volunteer help.

Our Institute is named after Dr. h.c. Max Kade (1882-1967). After emigrating from Schwäbisch Hall, Germany to New York City in 1905, he became successful and well known in the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Kade established a foundation in New York to promote scientific and technical progress and to further the peaceful coexistence of nations. He was also committed to advancing German-American relations. The initial grant to found our Max Kade Institute was made by the President of the Max Kade Foundation of New York, the late Dr. Erich Markel, in 1983.

The Institute's mission is twofold: first, scholarly research and documentation; and second, outreach to a broader audience. Ongoing research involves faculty and students from many departments (as well as visiting scholars) examining how German-speaking immigrants and their descendants have both shaped their North American environment and been shaped by it. Outreach efforts center on bringing a better understanding of issues of German-American immigration, history, culture, and language to a general public as well as to school children.

The MKI is housed in the "Keystone House," a historical stone-and-wood dwelling situated at the west edge of the campus. The house was purchased by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation in 1967 and given to the University. The dwelling, originally a private residence built in 1853, has been converted into small meeting rooms, a library and offices without diminishing the charm of the historical structure. The Dane County Historical Society of Wisconsin lists the "Keystone House" on its register of historical homes deserving preservation.

To read more about the Keystone House, click here.