In this video from UW-Madison, scientist Tom Brock talks about the importance of basic research and how he discovered life in an unexpected place.
UW-Madison scientist Tom Brock on the importance of basic research
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
February 15, 2021
Research
Wisconsin Labs Use Genomic Sequencing To Track Spread, ‘Architecture’ Of New Coronavirus Strains
Wisconsin Public Radio
Quoted: Two researchers at UW-Madison began sequencing SARS-CoV-2 samples in February 2020. Virology professor Tom Friedrich and pathology professor Madison Dave O’Connor have a background in HIV research, and began sequencing SARS-CoV-2 samples from around Dane County as soon as local spread began.
“The sort of architecture of how the virus looks at the genetic level is a little different,” O’Connor said. “But the basic principles are the same as for HIV, and flu and other viruses.”
UW-Madison sued for allegedly hiding critical comments from its social media accounts
Wisconsin State Journal
AUW-Madison alumna alleges that the university scrubbed her critical comments about the university’s animal research practices from its social media accounts in a violation of her First Amendment rights. The Animal Legal Defense Fund sued UW-Madison last week on behalf of the former student, Madeline Krasno, who previously worked in a university research lab as an undergraduate animal caretaker.
Higher Education/System
Journal Times editorial: UW System initiative a pipeline for the future
The Journal Times
It’s a challenging time for colleges and universities, and for the students who want to attend those institutions to prepare for life in a rapidly changing world.
“Especially now, with COVID, we are seeing that (high school) seniors especially are having a difficult time getting prepared for college,” UW-System President Tommy Thompson said at a Feb. 3 press conference announcing plans for a new precollege pipeline initiative.
UW Badger Precollege programs prepare young students for higher ed
FOX6
A new college program at the University of Wisconsin is challenging curiosity and preparing students for the future; aimed at giving young students exposure and pushing them to their potential during the coronavirus pandemic.
University Merger Talks On The Rise
Forbes
Noted: Also last week, Tommy Thompson, the interim president of the University of Wisconsin (UW) system, floated the idea that the University’s 13 branch campuses be consolidated with the 16 technical schools in the Wisconsin Technical College System.
In 2018, the UW System went through a restructuring proposal that aligned 13 two-year UW Colleges campuses with its comprehensive universities. These schools are now called branch campuses. They offer two-year degrees aimed largely at students who may eventually want to transfer to a four-year university to earn a degree.
What’s the Best Business School? For This Year’s M.B.A. Rankings, It’s Not Who You Think.
The Wall Street Journal
Noted: The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s business school jumped 27 spots this year to No. 19 in the Economist’s ranking, which could put the program on the radar of prospective students, said Assistant Dean Blair Sanford.
“To be top 20 in a respected ranking, that has some extra clout for us,” she said.
UW-Platteville to build $3.4 million solar project; will be largest state-owned solar array
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Platteville has received approval to build what will be Wisconsin’s largest state-owned solar array.
UW System looking at consolidation between UW branch campuses, technical colleges
Wisconsin State Journal
“Tommy’s perfect for this job,” he said. “He’s an interim so he’s got nothing to lose. But he also doesn’t see himself as a caretaker there to keep the plants watered. He’s got the prestige and political ability to make changes. He’ll make decisions for the good of the System that a new president may be unwilling to do.”
Hundreds of acceptance letters mistakenly sent by UW-Oshkosh
WKOW-TV 27
Four hundred of those letters went out last weekend, according to WBAY-TV.UW-Oshkosh says most of the letters went to students with incomplete applications. The school says the mistake was due to a glitch with a software update.
UW System to get $69 million for renovation projects throughout state
Daily Cardinal
The State of Wisconsin Building Commission approved a $69 million package for UW-System building renovation projects, including $12.2 million in funding for UW-Madison building projects Gov. Tony Evers announced Thursday.
State news
Wisconsin Assembly Minority Leader right on relationship between mask mandates and COVID-19 cases
PolitiFact
Quoted: When studying the impact of mask mandates, it’s important to consider whether people follow them and if they’re enforced, said Ajay Sethi, an epidemiologist and associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He said it can be difficult to assess mandates individually when they’re issued with other public health guidelines, but he believes the Kansas study offered compelling data on the matter.
“You could argue that with or without a mandate, people might wear a mask because that’s what they do and the mandate is just confirming what they do,” he said. “At the end of the day, an entire county had fewer cases.”
Economist Says Wisconsin Should Increase Minimum Wage To At Least $10
Wisconsin Public Radio
Quoted: The rate has stayed consistent in the state with the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Workers earning minimum wage who work 2,000 hours a year — 40 hours for 50 weeks — make about $14,500 before taxes and work expenses.
“That’s just about enough to keep one single person out of poverty,” said economist Tim Smeeding, a professor of public affairs and economics at the La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Experts Highlight Issues Ahead For Next State Superintendent
Wisconsin Public Radio
Quoted: Erica Turner, a University of Wisconsin-Madison education professor who specializes in equity issues, said the incoming superintendent will face steeper-than-usual challenges. Education funding in Wisconsin, as in many states, hadn’t fully recovered from the recession more than a decade ago by the time the pandemic began. With some state revenue sources having taken a hit, and the unexpected costs of managing a pandemic, Turner said the new superintendent will likely have to contend with more limited funding.
“This is an equity issue because it has been the case, and it’s likely to continue to be, that a lot of the cuts will come from equalization aid — efforts to make school funding more equitable,” she said. “For educational equity, you need someone who can be an effective advocate around the budget, and then also will have to prioritize that what cuts happen, and how they happen, happen in an equitable way.”
Spending in Wisconsin’s fall legislative races skyrocketed to nearly double the levels of 4 years ago
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Quoted: Barry Burden, director of UW-Madison’s Elections Research Center, said the fall spending levels appears to be a case of politics in Wisconsin “moving in line with some surprising national trends.”
He said both the presidential campaigns and congressional campaigns around the country more than doubled their spending from 2016, and the jump may be the biggest step increase ever between two consecutive presidential election cycles.
Bice: Supreme Court didn’t release study showing Black men 28% more likely to do prison time in Wisconsin
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Quoted: “Overall, when I read the study, I think I’m looking at clear documentation of racial disparities in sentencing in the in/out decision,” said Pamela Oliver, an emerita sociology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Oliver said disparities in sentencing usually show up with a judge’s ruling on whether to lock someone up — which she called the “in/out decision” — not in the length of the sentence. She said that was the finding of the 2007 Wisconsin Sentencing Commission report, which was removed from the state website several years ago.
State approves over $12 million in UW-Madison maintenance, repairs
Capital Times
Included is $12.2 million in minor facilities renewal projects at UW-Madison. The university plans to replace outdated fire alarm and smoke detection systems and steam distribution pits, according to the Board of Regents’ capital planning and budget committee meeting materials.
Community
What Does Leading for Racial Justice Look Like?
Education Week
On Feb. 10, I had the pleasure of talking with Jennifer Cheatham from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and John Diamond from the University of Wisconsin-Madison on our Education Week show A Seat at the Table. When participants register to view the live or on-demand show, they are able to input one question they would like me to ask our guests, and the questions they offered focused on many different facets of racial equity.
Arts & Humanities
Q&A: Dantiel Moniz feeds the inner fires of girls and women with ‘Milk Blood Heat’
Capital Times
Even though she is teaching at University of Wisconsin-Madison this semester, the author of “Milk Blood Heat” has managed to keep warm.
Health
Racial disparities found in COVID-19 vaccination in Wisconsin, as elsewhere
Wisconsin State Journal
Meanwhile, UW Health early this week canceled more than 2,400 vaccination appointments set for this week after it received about half the vaccine supply expected from the state, said Dr. Matt Anderson, senior medical director of primary care. The appointments have been rescheduled for the next couple of weeks, he said.
Athletics
The remarkable story of how brain surgery saved Tony Granato’s life 25 years ago and his improbable return to the ice sin Badgers Hockey
Wisconsin State Journal
Tony Granato years later tried to tell his wife, Linda, that she didn’t know when he decided he was going to try to resume his hockey playing career after brain surgery.She knew. Looking back, it was pretty obvious.
Badgers fans on Twitter furious after Wisconsin blows 14-point lead in loss to Michigan Wolverines
Wisconsin State Journal
Here’s what fans were saying after the Badgers squandered a 14-point lead to drop to 9-6 in conference play.
UW Experts in the News
Sun Prairie seeking to ensure diverse student bodies ahead of new high school’s opening
Wisconsin State Journal
Walter Stern, a UW-Madison assistant professor of educational policy studies and history, said “some research has found diverse schools to be academically beneficial” but warned of potential negative unintended consequences to desegregation efforts of the past, such as poorer students and students of color having to travel long distances to desegregated schools outside of their neighborhoods — schools that can have few nonwhite staff.
Obituaries
Obituary: Richard G. Jacobus, banker and philanthropist, was well connected in the Milwaukee business and arts communities
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Noted: He graduated from Wauwatosa High School in 1947 and went on to receive an undergraduate degree in 1951 and MBA in 1959 from the University of Wisconsin. While attending the university, he met Carolyn Royer and they married in 1952
Rachel Brenner
Wisconsin State Journal
She joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin in 1992, serving as a faculty member until her death. In addition to her active roles in the Department of Hebrew and Semitic Studies and the Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies, she was involved in numerous associations.
Phillip Levy
Wisconsin State Journal
He and his team finished the interior of Olin House (Chancellor’s residence) in the Fall of 2008.
UW-Madison Related
UW-Madison graduate student now latest Jeopardy! champion
NBC-15
Lance St. Laurent competed on America’s Favorite Quiz Show on Friday, Feb. 12., achieving a life-long dream and defeating a four-time champion in the process.