Not many students are like Abdulai A. Conteh. At least not in Sierra Leone’s Koinadugu District. He’s getting ready for college.
The college try
Isthmus
October 4, 2018
Top Stories
Controversial UW System cash balances both rise and fall
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The University of Wisconsin System is still building cash balances in thousands of fund accounts, and carrying them from year to year.
Research
Magical microbe: A wild yeast sourced from Wisconsin is ushering in a whole new class of beers
Isthmus
Noted: UW-Madison genetics professor Chris Hittinger co-authored the study describing the breakthrough. He continued his wild yeast research in Wisconsin, and a few years later, he and a team of students found Saccharomyces eubayanus in a park near Sheboygan, Wisconsin. It was the first — and so far the only — time the species had been identified in North America. “Because Saccharomyces eubayanus has been so rarely isolated from the wild, this is really a unique opportunity for study,” Hittinger says. “It seems to be very rare.”
The college try: How the Wisconsin Idea reached one of the poorest regions in Sierra Leone
Isthmus
Noted: The main force behind the University of Koinadugu is a man who could have used it decades ago. Alhaji N’Jai managed to go to college in Michigan only after escaping his country’s civil war. Eventually he joined a post-doctorate program at UW-Madison. It was here, on the second floor of the Memorial Union, that he saw a display about the famed Wisconsin Idea.
“Straight then I said to myself ‘this is actually what we need in Sierra Leone,’” N’Jai says.
Geiser’s conservation ethic earns Leopold finalist spot
WI Farmer
The project with the UW-Madison interns, overseen by professor Fred Madison, continued from 2010 to 2015. It examined the links between karst topography, groundwater, and dairy farm practices. As a result of those ventures, Geiser reports that mistakes were uncovered in the existing soil survey data.
Higher Education/System
UW-Milwaukee has reached a balanced budget but at a cost
Daily Cardinal
The university has lost nearly 15 percent of its faculty since Fall 2014. A hiring freeze is in place as the campus did not replace retired faculty but has hired some new faculty members to substitute those who have left.
Campus life
Former Beloit Dean of Students Klawitter takes position in Madison
The Beloit College Round Table
As The Round Table previously reported, Dr. Christina Klawitter’98, who had served as Beloit College’s Dean of Students since 2011, has accepted a position as Associate Dean for Student Academic Affairs for the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
UW-Madison senior sets record in international water-skiing competition
WISC-TV 3
Gabbie Taschwer, a University of Wisconsin–Madison senior, along with two fellow members of the 2018 Water Ski Show Team became the first female trio ever to perform a triple helicopter spin in competition.
ASM approves new window signage bylaw, Babcock legislation put on ice
Badger Herald
Black Lives Matter sign legislation, ’Ice Cream for All’ postponed for rewrite.
National coverage of ice cream debate misses the bigger picture, students say
Daily Cardinal
Conservative UW-Madison Student Council representatives said former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin didn’t speak for them when she published an article on her website earlier this month criticizing the Associated Students of Madison for crafting legislation meant to make Babcock Ice Cream more inclusive.
Crime and safety
Report of man with gun near Memorial Union; nobody hurt, Madison police say
Wisconsin State Journal
A man with a gun was reported near Memorial Union on the UW-Madison campus Wednesday night, prompting a WiscAlert warning to students and staff, but the “all clear” was given about a half-hour later when no man with a gun was found.
UPDATE: Police look for men who caused campus alert
WKOW-TV 27
Madison police hope you can help them find men who caused a WiscAlert to be sent.
Agriculture
Dairy Task Force Sub-Committee Meetings Slated
Agri-View
Task Force Chairman Mark Stephenson of the University of Wisconsin says the meetings will provide an opportunity to discuss in-depth the issues that were identified at the group’s first fall meeting earlier this summer.
Community
Sixties and the city
Isthmus
The treasures in Stuart Levitan’s Madison in the Sixties are not so much buried as strewn. You never know when you’re going to come across a tidbit that amuses, enlightens, or shocks.
Arts & Humanities
Superstars and local luminaries: The Wisconsin Book Festival continues to burst out of its four-day confines
Isthmus
Noted: Among the dozens of authors scheduled to appear are several notable Wisconsin writers. They include journalist Stu Levitan, whose comprehensive narrative history, Madison in the Sixties, will be published in November; Madison Magazine columnist John Roach, whose second book of essays is titled While I Have Your Attention; and UW-Madison literature instructor Heather Swan, who wrote Where Honeybees Thrive: Stories from the Field, a book about the honeybee population that won the 2018 Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award.
A towering legacy
Isthmus
He’s a renowned bassist with a wondrous resume in jazz, classical and rock; venerated UW-Madison professor; healer of racial injustice. Richard Davis has filled many vital roles in his 88 years. They’ll all be celebrated Oct. 11 at Overture’s Capitol Theater at a multimedia event titled Passing the Bass: A Global Tribute to Richard Davis.
Athletics
The Total Reinvention of Gwen Jorgensen
Outside
Gwen Jorgensen felt calm. Happy, even. It was an odd pre-race emotion for the 30-year-old triathlete, especially considering she was minutes away from starting the most important race of her life, at the Rio Olympics.
UW Experts in the News
Small but showy: Ornamental trees can have a big impact in the right spot
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Story includes Sharon Morrisey, the recently retired University of Wisconsin Extension horticulture agent for Milwaukee County, and University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension nursery specialist Laura Jull.
U.S. dairy farmers applaud new trade agreement at World Dairy Expo
NBC News
Quoted: Mark Stephenson, director of dairy policy analysis at University of Wisconsin-Madison, called the agreement a positive step for U.S. farmers, but not groundbreaking.
Sexual Assault And Harassment May Have Lasting Health Repercussions For Women
NPR News
Noted: “If the patient thinks it’s important, it’s important,” says Dr. Valerie Gilchrist, chair of the department of family medicine at the University of Wisconsin who has written about screening for sexual violence in primary care.
Exclusive: we re-ran polls from 1991 on Anita Hill, this time on Christine Blasey Ford
Vox
Noted: After nearly three decades, Americans aren’t taking accusations of sexual misconduct by potential Supreme Court justices more seriously. “The public has not moved on that one in 27 years,” concluded Barry Burden, University of Wisconsin Madison political science professor and Elections Research Center Director.
Johnson Controls Moves Further Into Smart Home Market With New Acquisition Deal
Wisconsin Public Radio
Noted: Economist Hart Posen of the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Madison said Johnson can now speed up its own plans for the consumer market because Lux already has a retail presence Johnson Controls would need time to develop from the ground up.
Obituaries
Robert O’Neil, former U-Va. president and scholar of First Amendment, dies at 83
Washington Post
Robert M. O’Neil, a scholar of First Amendment law who served in the 1980s as president of the University of Wisconsin System and then as president of the University of Virginia, where he was credited with recruiting more minorities to the faculty and student ranks, died Sunday at his home in Washington. He was 83.
UW-Madison Related
The Senate Should Not Confirm Kavanaugh. Signed, 1,000+ Law Professors (and Counting).
New York Times
Several UW law professors have signed the letter.