Skip to main content

December 7, 2023

Top Stories

Top Wisconsin Senate Republican says a deal is near for university pay raises. UW officials disagree

The Associated Press

The leader of the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Senate said Wednesday that lawmakers are nearing a deal that would allow for long-blocked pay raises for Universities of Wisconsin employees to take effect and for funding to be released to pay for construction of a new engineering building.

Research

The forgiving brain

CNN, "Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta"

During the holiday season, we’re often encouraged to make amends and forgive people, but what does it take to really forgive someone? And what happens to your brain and body when you do… or don’t? In this episode, Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks with forgiveness science pioneer, Robert Enright. He’s been studying and writing about forgiveness for decades at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and he says forgiveness is a choice, and that your ability to do it can be strengthened like a muscle. Enright walks us through a range of scenarios, from forgiving small things like being late for a meeting to larg

Studying Wisconsin’s class of 1957

Wisconsin Public Radio

How does late adolescence impact you in your 80s? A decades-long study aims to answer that question after following thousands of students who graduated from Wisconsin high schools in 1957. We hear from Michal Engleman, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and current director of the study, on takeaways from one of the longest longitudinal studies in the country.

‘Plant hardiness’ can help map Wisconsin’s changing climate. Here’s how.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The map is meant for horticulture, not agriculture, said Chris Kucharik, a plant and agrosystem sciences professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, because farmers in the Midwest have largely been planting the same crops for decades.

Since the last map was released in 2012, all of Wisconsin’s hardiness zones have shifted about half a zone warmer, said Laura Jull, associate professor in the plant and agrosystem sciences department at UW-Madison.

Higher Education/System

UW system will launch direct admissions initiative with 2024 senior class

Wisconsin Public Radio

Starting next year, high school students could be accepted into University of Wisconsin schools without even applying.

The Universities of Wisconsin is rolling out its direct admissions initiative to boost enrollment across its campuses. UW system administrators hope to reach first-generation college students and other potential students who might not have considered attending a four-year school.

A Pewaukee student tried writing about sex education for the school magazine. Then the district intervened

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The University of Wisconsin system supports the intent of the bill but fears it may create more administrative oversight than the policy currently in place, which already gives student media independence. UW System vice president Jeff Buhrandt suggested separating K-12 and higher education institutions into two bills.

Campus life

State news

New York, Wisconsin brace for critical redistricting battles

The Hill

Barry Burden, professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that “just about any process is going to result in more competitive maps,” but he suggested that Democrats still face challenges in their effort to gain more control of the state Legislature.

“Although it’s a 50-50 state and Democrats do win lots of statewide races, especially in the last few years, because of the way Democratic voters are concentrated in more urban communities around the state, it’s difficult, I think, even for a neutral process, to produce a map that’s going to result in a 50-50 Legislature,” he said.

Wisconsin won’t ban gender-affirming care for kids; Evers vetoes bill

The Capital Times

The care can also include surgery, although most providers, including UW Health in Madison, do not provide “bottom” surgeries to minors, such as vaginoplasties and phalloplasties. Those procedures are provided only to adults and require extensive psychiatric evaluation before a “letter of readiness” signed by a mental health professional can ensure a patient is considered eligible for such gender-affirming surgeries.

Health

Not getting a COVID-19 vaccine could lead to preterm birth in pregnant women, new study shows

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“All evidence indicates that the vaccine is very safe and effective,” said Jenna Nobles, a demographer and professor of sociology at University of Wisconsin-Madison and study co-author. “In addition, it shows that avoiding the vaccine is what is potentially harmful for the pregnancy. This is an important piece of information for patients to have.”

Athletics

Opinion

Letter | DACA residents contribute to workforce

The Capital Times

The bills would allow DACA recipients to qualify for in-state tuition at schools within the University of Wisconsin System. DACA individuals would be able to train and obtain professional licenses issued by the state. Additionally a biennial tax credit of $250 would be offered to offset the $495 fee that recipients must pay every two years to document their DACA status.

Business/Technology

Home buyers end the mortgage rate wait, will swallow higher prices to make a deal now

Forbes

People are generally staying in their homes longer, says Mark Eppli, director of the Graaskamp Center for Real Estate at the University of Wisconsin. In 1988, for example, “your average time in a house was 10 or 11 years.” Today, he says, it’s 20 years.

“That’s really long; inventory’s going to stay low,” Eppli says. “With high interest rates making housing all the less affordable…it’s going to keep people in their houses even more.”

Quantum computer sets record on path towards error-free calculations

New Scientist

“It’s a big deal to have that many logical qubits. A very remarkable result for any quantum computing platform,” says Mark Saffman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He says the new quantum computer greatly benefits from being made of atoms that are controlled by light because this kind of control is very efficient.

UW Experts in the News

UW-Madison Related