The University of Wisconsin-Madison named Chris McIntosh its new director of athletics on Wednesday, replacing the retiring Barry Alvarez.
Deputy Athletic Director Named New Head Of UW-Madison Athletics
Wisconsin Public Radio
June 3, 2021
Top Stories
5 things to know about new University of Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Wisconsin Badgers have officially named Chris McIntosh as successor to Barry Alvarez as University of Wisconsin athletic director. Here’s what to know about the new hire.
It’s official: Chris McIntosh promoted to Wisconsin athletic director
Wisconsin State Journal
The UW System Board of Regents on Wednesday morning approved a contract with McIntosh, 44, a former Badgers football player who will be only the third UW athletic director in 32 years.
Research
UW-Madison botanist launches cotton seeds to International Space Station
NBC-15
University of Wisconsin-Madison botanist Simon Gilroy is set to launch cotton seeds to the International Space Station for experiments designed to improve cotton plants grown on Earth.
SpaceX rocket to fly UW-Madison cotton seeds to Space Station
Wisconsin State Journal
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket scheduled to blast off Thursday from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center will carry 48 seeds from the UW-Madison botanist’s lab to the International Space Station, where astronauts will attempt to grow them in a system developed in Madison.
Higher Education/System
GOP Proposals Would Prohibit COVID-19 Vaccine Passports, Employer Requirements
Wisconsin Public Radio
Wisconsin employers couldn’t require employees to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, and so-called vaccine passports would be prohibited under GOP-backed bills that received a public hearing at the state Capitol Wednesday.
Another proposal would prevent the University of Wisconsin System from requiring COVID-19 vaccines or testing.
Campus life
Free from masks and COVID-19 limits, Dane County resumes most activity
Wisconsin State Journal
Dane County residents could cast aside their face masks and gather without limits Wednesday after nearly 15 months of COVID-19 restrictions. But experts said that while the pandemic has clearly eased up here and around the country, the threat is not over. “The ‘officially over’ likely will be when the world sees a decline like the U.S. has seen,” said Dr. Nasia Safdar, medical director for infection control at UW Health. “That isn’t likely anytime soon.”
Agriculture
Farmers’ share of average food dollar could increase
WAOW
Quoted: “The denominator part, or the biggest piece of that, was really that imports declined,” said Mark Stephenson Director of Dairy Policy Analysis at UW Madison.
While it’s too soon to tell now, experts believe that increase could widen because of the pandemic.
“We had restaurants and other institutional portions of sales just decline precipitously during much of 2020,” Stephenson said.
Arts & Humanities
Filmmaker Marquise Mays’ “The Heartland” examines the unrequited love between Black kids and the city of Milwaukee
Madison365
It was during his time as an undergrad at UW-Madison that Mays found his niche: Documentaries.
Health
More forgetful lately? Blame the pandemic
WTMJ
If you’re feeling more forgetful lately, you’re not alone. There’s growing research that shows that the pandemic has impacted our memory.
Memory development expert at UW-Madison Haley Vlack explains how pandemic stress and social isolation have negatively impacted our memory and how we can get it back.
“It turns out the pandemic is pretty much the perfect storm for forgetting. Many of the experiences that we’ve been going through over the past year, cause forgetting. For example, loosing our normal routine,” said Vlack. “Many of us have been multi-tasking. We’ve been challenged with care-taking and work all at the same time. We’ve been socially isolated.”
Dane County Drops Public Health Orders
WORT FM
Across the state, local public health agencies are dropping their public health orders and mask mandates. The moves come as vaccination rates across the state climb, and as hospitalizations steadily decline.
But, just because public health orders have been dropped doesn’t mean we’re entirely in the clear.
For more, our producer Jonah Chester spoke with Ajay Sethi, an Associate Professor of Population Health Sciences at UW-Madison.
Memorial Day Will Likely Mark Covid-19 Pandemic Milestone – WSJ
Wall Street Journal
“Our outlook continues to improve, but there are still too many people yet to be vaccinated to feel completely safe as a whole,” said Ajay Sethi, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Dr. Sethi said he wouldn’t be surprised to see an increase in cases within communities with low vaccination rates, but he didn’t expect the kind of surge the country saw last summer.
UW Health donates $100,000 to support Madison’s Black Business Hub
NBC-15
UW Health has donated $100,000 to the new Black Business Hub in Madison to invest in minority-owned businesses, the Urban League of Greater Madison announced Tuesday.
UW program to provide up to $2 million in funding to support Black mothers, infants
NBC-15
The Wisconsin Partnership Program at the UW School of Medicine and Public will provide up to $2 million to improve Black maternal and infant health through a new grant program.
Athletics
Aaron Rodgers trade possibilities: How Packers QB fits on all 31 teams
USA Today
17. Seattle Seahawks: Wilson also seems to be part of an unwinding football marriage, though he’s probably destined for at least one more year in the Emerald City. But even if the Seahawks could put together the framework of a Wilson-for-Rodgers scenario – and the cap ramifications alone aren’t insignificant – Wilson has the power to put the kibosh on it. And though Wilson played at the University of Wisconsin in 2011, Green Bay doesn’t seem all that conducive to his entrepreneurial aspirations or his wife’s musical career.
Wisconsin promotes Chris McIntosh to replace Alvarez as AD
AP
Blank said it was important to find someone ready to step right into this job, which made McIntosh’s experience at Wisconsin an asset. She noted how McIntosh helped Wisconsin deal with the COVID-19 crisis.
These two golf junkies landed the best summer internship (maybe) ever
Golfweek
Stricker, the oldest daughter of U.S. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker and occasional caddie Nicki, graduated last month from the University of Wisconsin where she played on the women’s golf team and was named a Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree.
Wisconsin names Chris McIntosh as new athletic director, succeeding Barry Alvarez
Fansided
With Barry Alvarez retiring from his post, it made all the sense in the world for a former Wisconsin football player in Chris McIntosh to succeed him as athletic director.
Report: Former Badger Chris McIntosh picked to follow Barry Alvarez as next UW athletic director
WISC-TV 3
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is making a move for continuity in the athletic department by naming Chris McIntosh as its next Athletic Director, according to multiple media outlets.
McIntosh named Wisconsin director of athletics
WKOW-TV 27
Former Wisconsin Badger offensive lineman Chris McIntosh was officially named the next director of athletics on Wednesday.
Chris McIntosh promoted as Badgers athletic director
NBC-15
“Chris is a natural leader who loves the Badgers and cares about our student-athletes,” Chancellor Rebecca Blank said. “He is uniquely positioned to continue our proud traditions of success on and off the field and doing things ‘the right way.’ Chris will build upon those traditions and has a strong vision for leading the program during a time of change in college athletics.”
New Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh promises different style for different times
Wisconsin State Journal
The walkway to the main entrance of University of Wisconsin athletic department offices at Camp Randall Stadium passes between statues that could be intimidating to someone in the position Chris McIntosh is about to fill.
How Chris McIntosh went from a player unsure of his future with the Badgers to Wisconsin’s AD
Wisconsin State Journal
It was the summer of 1996, Chris McIntosh’s second training camp with the University of Wisconsin football team, and he was starting to doubt whether he had what it took to play for the Badgers.
Business/Technology
Dane Co. makes a pro-environment case to keep working from home
NBC-15
Quoted: Gregory Nemet, a UW-Madison professor studying innovation in climate change, said “staying home and not moving around” are not the ways to see a continued decline in emissions. The key, he said, is in applying clean technologies and digitalizing activities.
“I don’t expect that we would get the type of reduction that we saw this past year,” Nemet said, looking into next year. “But the flexibility that’s been shown and the ability to work remotely is likely to give us some improvement in the right direction.”
UW Experts in the News
As vaccine makers seek full FDA approval, how will it impact hesitancy?
NBC-15
Dr. Bill Hartman is the principal investigator for UW-Health’s vaccine trials. He says full approval requires the vaccine makers to provide much more data than what was considered for the EUA.
Experts explain correlation between vaccine status and political ideology
NBC-15
“There’s certainly a correlation with how people voted in 2020 and whether they’re getting vaccinated or want to get vaccinated, and you can see it in the Wisconsin map,” says UW political scientist Barry Burden.