Post-doctoral fellowship is revolutionizing research at UW, according to experts.
Feminist Biology Initiative introduces gender-fair research to biology
Badger Herald
November 10, 2023
Research
Grass and Shrub Fires More Destructive Than Forest Fires in U.S.
New York Times
Volker Radeloff, a professor of forest ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who led the new study, pointed to both the Marshall fire and the recent Lahaina fire in Hawaii as two extreme examples of the risks wildfire can pose outside of forests. Both started with burning grasses and grew into devastating urban infernos.
Wildfires Threaten More Homes and People in the U.S. Than Ever Before
Scientific American
Forest fires are well known for their ferocity. They accounted for just 33 percent of houses destroyed by wildfires in the early 2000s, however, the study authors found after analyzing the locations of homes within wildfire perimeters since the 1990s. In contrast, 64 percent of such houses were destroyed by grassland or shrubland fires. This is because even though forest fires are particularly destructive to buildings, much more of the area burned in the U.S. is made up of grasslands and shrublands, says the study’s first author Volker Radeloff, an ecologist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. “We had a hunch,” he says, “but the actual numbers surprised us.”
UW-Madison team works to identify lost service members from Wisconsin and beyond
Wisconsin Public Radio
Every county in Wisconsin has at least one service member missing in action since Pearl Harbor. A team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is working to identify them and others at sites around the world.
Graduate and undergraduate students, professors and others at the university make up the team working on the Missing in Action Recovering and Identification Project, or UW MIA RIP. They all volunteer their time to travel to sites around the globe to find and repatriate the remains of soldiers lost in war.
Wisconsin veterans with PTSD could seek psilocybin treatment under a bipartisan bill
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder could have access to medicinal psilocybin treatment under a bipartisan bill.
The proposal would create a pilot program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison run in collaboration with the university’s Transdisciplinary Center for Research in Psychoactive Substances and its School of Pharmacy. Veterans age 21 and older suffering from treatment-resistant PTSD would be eligible to participate as long as they are not currently serving as law enforcement officers.
Bipartisan plan OKs studying the use of psychedelic mushrooms to treat veterans with PTSD
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison would launch a study of the effects of psychoactive mushrooms on Wisconsin veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder under a bipartisan bill that circulated Thursday.
Childhood trauma linked to faster aging in adults, UW study finds
The Capital Times
New findings led by a University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher have revealed an important potential accelerator of aging: deprivation in early childhood.
Higher Education/System
UW will no longer hear student feedback before increasing program-specific tuition
Daily Cardinal
The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents unanimously voted to end a policy requiring universities to consult with students before setting university and program-specific tuition adjustments during a Thursday meeting at UW-Madison.
UW professors, students attempt to rebuild after budget cuts gut campuses
Daily Cardinal
Layoffs and budget cuts have taken a decidedly serious toll for some students, staff and professors at the University of Wisconsin System campuses. “My fellow student was telling us about how sometimes her professor would tear up” in front of the class, said Chris Parish, a UW-Oshkosh junior. They’d say “‘I just need a minute because it can just be so overwhelming.’”
Universities of Wisconsin enrollment up for the first time at 4-year schools since 2014
Wisconsin Public Radio
For the first time since 2014, enrollment at the Universities of Wisconsin grew over the previous year, climbing by more than 1,700 students, according to the official 10-day enrollment figures announced this week.
UW removes student consultation requirement from tuition-setting process
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The University of Wisconsin system is ending a policy requiring schools to consult with students when seeking to raise tuition for specific programs.
The Regents unanimously approved the policy change at a board meeting Thursday.
UW-Parkside will slash 50 jobs to balance its budget
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The University of Wisconsin-Parkside projects cutting about 9.5% of its workforce positions over the next year, joining the ranks of two other public universities making significant cuts to balance their budgets.
Campus life
Honoring our Veterans: UW-Madison to hold event Friday
NBC-15
The University Veteran Services and Wisconsin Union teams at the University of Wisconsin–Madison invite the public to recognize veterans and service members during the free Veterans Day Recognition Breakfast on Friday, Nov. 10 at 9 a.m. in the Main Lounge at Memorial Union.
Nature and democracy: Former Hawaii Supreme Court Justice speaks at UW-Madison – The Daily Cardinal
Daily Cardinal
Former Hawaii Supreme Court Associate Justice Michael Wilson spoke about the importance of prioritizing sustainability in government and policy.
The journey of a carrot: UW-Madison’s food acquisition process, from soil to plate
Daily Cardinal
The university’s supply of scooped hard-pack ice cream is made at Babcock using milk from the Babcock Hall Dairy Plant and from Middleton-based Foremost Farms, a dairy co-op, as necessary, Brinkmeier said. “When we look at our dairy category, just about every item is from the state of Wisconsin,” Testory said.
State news
Wisconsin Assembly delays vote on $2 billion tax cut headed for a veto by Gov. Tony Evers
CBS Minnesota
Evers had called on the Legislature to pass a package that included $365 million in new child care funding; a $65 million boost in University of Wisconsin funding; $200 million to pay for a new engineering building at UW-Madison; $243 million to create a new 12-week family medical leave program for Wisconsin workers and millions more for workforce education and grant programs.
Answering common questions about Wisconsin’s eviction process and tenant rights
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
If a tenant were to receive a second five-day eviction notice for nonpayment of rent within the same leasing year, then a landlord can give a no-cure notice, but the resident must be given 14 days to vacate, according to Sophie Crispin, director of the Eviction Defense Clinic at the University of Wisconsin Law School.
Crime and safety
Madison Police Department investigation of reported racially-motivated incident ongoing
Badger Herald
UW Hillel offers support to students impacted by ‘violent antisemitic incident.’
Madison Police investigate rock thrown at students after pro-Israel vigil
Daily Cardinal
The incident occurred after a Nov. 7 vigil commemorating one month since the Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 terrorist attacks against Israel.
UW-Madison students report rock thrown at them after pro-Israel vigil, police say
TMJ4
A group of UW-Madison students reported a rock being thrown at them following a vigil to support Israel on Tuesday.
According to the Madison Police Department (MPD), the students say the rock was thrown at them from a State Street building after the vigil. The group also reported being harassed with “profane and hateful language.”
Reports: Rock thrown, slurs leveled at vigil to support Israel at UW-Madison
Wisconsin State Journal
Madison police are investigating reports that a person who attended what UW-Madison called a candlelight vigil to support Israel Tuesday night was hit with a rock and that others at the vigil were subjected to ethnic slurs.
Health
UW Health nurses in union to report patient safety concerns to DHS amid fight over working conditions
WISC-TV 3
After years of demands from the nurses’ union at UW Health to improve working conditions, the SEIU announced Thursday that the union will now be taking their concerns to the Department of Health Services.
UW Health: Union’s claims about turnover are inaccurate ahead of looming patient concern submission
WKOW-TV 27
UW Health released a statement Thursday saying that a union’s recent threat stems from frustration with a previous agreement made to stop a strike. The union has since responded, stating some of UW Health’s statement is also inaccurate.
UW Health nurses reporting safety concerns to state amid labor dispute
Wisconsin Public Radio
Nurses at UW Health submitted paperwork Thursday urging Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services to investigate concerns about patient safety.
It’s the latest escalation amid an ongoing labor dispute with the health care system, as nurses who are pushing for collective bargaining power raise alarms about the effects of under-staffing, employee turnover and worker burnout.
Athletics
Wisconsin men’s hockey’s long-sought change for Kohl Center rink is about to happen
Wisconsin State Journal
Wisconsin is planning to rework the Kohl Center rink from 97 feet wide to the NHL standard of 85 feet in an upcoming offseason. Whether it happens in 2024 or 2025 hasn’t been determined.
Opinion
Guest column: First Amendment discourses must supersede ideology
Badger Herald
In the 2011 decision Snyder v. Phelps, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that hateful speech, on its own, is protected under the First Amendment. The Snyder ruling, however, does not extend to speech that involves illegal action. For example, hateful speech that incites violence, communicates true threats or rises to the level of a hate crime is unprotected.
My dad fought fascism in World War II. We’re battling book bans, racial hatred.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
When he turned 18, he traveled to Wisconsin, enrolling at the University of Wisconsin-Madison because east coast universities had strict quotas on enrolling Jewish students. In Madison, he became acquainted with several students who volunteered to fight for democracy in Spain. So, it was no surprise that he would enlist in the war against the white supremist Nazi regime.