The UW System’s 12 other branch campuses face a similar storm of challenges: rising costs, repeated budget cuts and a tuition freeze for 12 of the past 14 years.
March 2, 2020
Top Stories
UW-Madison suspends programs in Italy amid elevated COVID-19 coronavirus warnings
UW–Madison has suspended all university-sponsored student programs in Italy following elevated warnings from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and State Department in response to the global spread of the new COVID-19 coronavirus.
Research
Marmoset Stem Cells Could Be New Way To Study Parkinson’s
“We know now how to insert a single mutation, a point mutation, into the marmoset stem cell,” says Marina Emborg, professor of medical physics and leader of University of Wisconsin–Madison scientists who conducted the study. “This is an exquisite model of Parkinson’s. For testing therapies, this is the perfect platform.”
Home, Health Go Hand In Hand, According To Policy Group’s Report
There’s also injury from electrocution when there are code violations,” said Dr. Geoffrey Swain, a retired family physician who worked on the research report funded by the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health and the Joseph and Vera Zilber Charitable Foundation.
Q&A: Professor Stephanie Diem researches nuclear fusion ‘to help save the world’
Stephanie Diem, an associate professor in the department of engineering physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has worked on nuclear fusion for more than two decades since she came to the UW as a freshman.
Tom Still: Can Wisconsin help combat coronavirus?
At UW-Madison, scientists are working to build non-human primate models to test medical countermeasures such as vaccines and therapeutics. David O’Connor from the School of Medicine and Public Health and Thomas Friedrich from the School of Veterinary Medicine are a big part of that team, which is hoping to work with others around the world.
Campus life
UW in Florence students given option to return home amid coronavirus surge
Amid coronavirus outbreaks in Italy, CET Academic Programs has offered two options to current UW-Madison students in Florence: depart home to the U.S. for three weeks, study remotely and return before March 23 or remain in Florence and continue attending classes in person.
Annual student art show opens in Memorial Union, lighting up second-floor gallery space
The 92nd annual student art show is now up and running at the Memorial Union, highlighting sculptures, neon installations and paintings created and curated by University of Wisconsin-Madison students.
Know Your Madisonian: Bringing indigenous perspective to UW-Madison campus
Omer Poler has spent most of the past decade as an outreach specialist for the UW-Madison Information School, supporting tribal librarians, archivists and museum curators across the state.
UW-Madison College Democrats endorse undergraduate students Max Prestigiacomo, Elena Haasl for upcoming local elections
This past Thursday, College Democrats of UW-Madison elected to endorse student candidates Max Prestigiacomo and Elena Haasl for the upcoming April 7 elections for District 8 Alder and District 5 County Board of Supervisors respectively.
UW-Madison suspends study abroad program in Italy, sending 170 students back home
University of Wisconsin – Madison has suspended its student programming in Italy following elevated concerns about the coronavirus.
Agriculture
Cranberries, Wisconsin’s Most Profitable Fruit, Face An Uncertain Future
“When you change the conditions and those winters become more extreme, the plant is disoriented,” said Amaya Atucha, fruit crop specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Potato Farmers Grapple With Climate Change’s Impact On Nitrogen Management
Nitrogen management is a huge struggle for potato farmers, said Chris Kucharik, chair of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Agronomy Department.
Dairy State: Cheese Producers Wrestle With Climate Change Amid Already Struggling Industry
While it depends on the style of cheese, Mark Johnson, assistant director of the Center for Dairy Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison says it averages to about 10 pounds of milk for 1 pound of cheese.
Community
UW Health goes bowling to support colon cancer research
UW Health kicked off National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month with its 19th Annual Bowlin’ for Colons fundraiser at multiple bowling alleys around Dane County on Sunday.
Health
How daily life will change as coronavirus outbreak enters new phase
Quoted: “An outbreak is not going to happen simultaneously, everywhere,” said Dr. Jonathan Temte, who studies vaccinations and immunization policy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
University of Wisconsin child abuse doctor leaves a trail of accusations of bullying from colleagues, parents
Brenna Siebold had just returned home from teaching third grade at Mount Horeb Intermediate Center. Her 9-month-old son, home with his sitter, was acting sluggish. She took Leo’s temperature: 103 degrees.
Athletics
Ticket usage increases for Badgers football in 2019, but number of no-shows stays above average
More spectators used their University of Wisconsin football tickets for games at Camp Randall Stadium in 2019 than the year before.
Business/Technology
Business schools scramble as demand grows for online MBAs
Yet the tuition fee of $74,520 for the 54 credit hours required to complete the course is comparable with that for a residential MBA at a school such as the University of Wisconsin-Madison or Texas A&M.
UW Experts in the News
Israel is voting — for the third time in a year. That’s polarizing voters even more.
In the upcoming days, Israelis will probably be barraged with divisive campaign rhetoric, which our research suggests increases partisan polarization. However, if the election delivers another divided result, right- and left-wing politicians may wish to overcome the deadlock and form a unity government. Doing so, politicians may be able to mitigate some of the animosity caused by recurring exposure to electoral competition over the past year. But the tone of the campaign suggests that this is unlikely.
Lotem Bassan-Nygate is a PhD student in the department of political science at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Twitter: @BassanNygate
Chagai M. Weiss is a PhD candidate in the department of political science at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and a research affiliate of the Elections Research Center. Twitter: @chagai_weiss
Will US troops leave Afghanistan?
One possibility is that Trump will end up asking the Taliban for deeper concessions to reassure voters. But the big question is whether Trump’s hawkish reputation is enough to offset public skepticism about a peace deal with the Taliban.
Jessica L.P. Weeks is associate professor of political science and Trice faculty scholar at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
How to talk to your kids about the Molson Coors shooting
Quoted: For children younger than 7, it might be possible to avoid the subject, said Karyn Riddle, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor who examines how exposure to violence in the media affects children.
“News stories like this can be very frightening,” Riddle said. “Young kids this age, they’re not as likely to learn about it secondhand on the playground from other kids. Parents might want to shield them from a story like this altogether.”
Super Tuesday is upon us: Very soon, Democrats must unite or surrender to authoritarianism
Quoted: Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “What benefit you see is probably because once you are on the rolls you are visible to canvassers and campaigns, making it possible for them to reach out to you,” he says. “Registering people to vote is not a silver bullet.”
As Wisconsin Lakes Warm, Walleye Are Feeling The Heat
When it comes to climate change there’s a lot of talk of species moving north as temperatures change — but don’t expect a lockstep northward march of species, said Jack Williams, a University of Wisconsin-Madison expert on ecological responses to climate change.
Scientists Grapple with US Restrictions on Fetal Tissue Research
Fetal tissue used for research is primarily obtained from elective abortions, which women can consent to donate after deciding to terminate a pregnancy. This is because there are some major limitations to tissue obtained through other means, such as miscarriages, according to Anita Bhattacharyya, a stem cell scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Waisman Center.
Obituaries
Collins, Daniel C.
He worked most recently at the Do-It Tech Store on the UW campus before retiring in 2017.
Strupp, Aurelia Way “Rhea”
Rhea lived and worked in Madison for 32 years, first at the Preschool Lab on the UW-Madison Campus and later in other organizations related to the care and education of children.
UW-Madison Related
The Tuskegee weathermen: Black weather forecasters who paved the way for future scientists
Anderson earned his PhD at MIT and went on to teach at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was the chair of the meteorology department. The American Meteorological Society has named an award for Anderson, recognizing work promoting diversity in the atmospheric sciences.
Molson Coors Victims Remembered As Loving Sons, Husbands, Fathers
Wetselaar began working at Molson Coors in 2018, according to his LinkedIn page. Before working at the brewery, Wetselaar worked on nuclear submarines as a member of the U.S. Navy. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2009 with a political science degree.
Democracy Works: The Promise And Peril of Early Voting
Smith is Professor and Chair of Political Science at the University of Florida and President of ElectionSmith, Inc. He is a nationally-recognized expert on direct democracy, campaign finance, and voting rights in the American states. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and his B.A. in History from Penn State.