
An elm tree, fondly known on the UW–Madison campus as Elmer, has a rich past with the Department of Biochemistry and surrounding departments in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS), such as the Department of Horticulture. Elmer graced the courtyard at the center of the Hector F. DeLuca Biochemical Sciences Complex for more than 100 years.
Over the course of that century, thousands of students gazed up at the old elm or enjoyed breaks in the shade it provided. Many staff members and scientists with labs or offices overlooking Elmer spent decades watching the seasons through the tree — leaves falling in autumn, snow coating its sturdy branches in winter, new buds awakening in spring. They watched birds come and go, including famed campus hawks, and some students say finches, perched among Elmer’s limbs, watched them work.
Sadly, Elmer fell ill with Dutch elm disease and, after several attempts to save him, Elmer was harvested in 2018. Now, Elmer’s legacy as a campus landmark and legend continues in new forms.
Connecting Paths

In the H.F. DeLuca Biochemical Sciences Building atrium, an art installation is displayed. The installation, named “Connecting Paths” in English and “Hogiwe Hirokirere Hii” in Ho-Chunk, recognizes the Ho-Chunk history of this land — and local artist Chloris Lowe’s heritage — as well as the more recent history of the courtyard, which has served as a place of meeting for generations of students, educators, researchers, and visitors.
The tree once acted not only as a meeting place and landmark but as a constant, connecting generations of students and researchers with Elmer at the center of a shared, place-based experience. Connecting Paths both recognizes and reconceptualizes what Elmer stood for overlooking the site where Elmer once stood.
You can learn more about Connecting Paths and the history of Elmer in the video below.
Video created by Paul Escalante.
In the west atrium of H.F. DeLuca Biochemistry Labs, a cross section of Elmer is displayed. The cross section shows the large and complex structure of the tree. A ring analysis is currently underway.

This furniture currently lives in the Biochemistry Chair's office and was created from the recovered wood from Elmer.
