On November 28, the man, 20, and two other men disrupted a student organization meeting in the Humanities building, making racist and profane comments and threatening people in multiple rooms, according to UW-Madison Police spokesperson Marc Lovicott. The man was originally arrested Dec. 1.
Author: gbump
Wisconsin constitutional amendments defeated. Here’s what it means.
“I think constitutional amendments are something you see when we have control of the governor’s office and the Legislature in different political parties, because it’s a way for the Legislature to put things before the voters without having the governor’s approval or signature,” said Bryna Godar, staff attorney at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s State Democracy Research Initiative.
UW Board of Regents will consider faculty layoffs for first time as UW-Milwaukee advances plan
The final decision is up to the UW Board of Regents. This will be the first time the Regents will consider using a decade-old policy that allows universities to lay off faculty members whose program has been eliminated or because of financial difficulty, a policy made possible by the elimination of tenure protections from state law.
Wisconsin project digs through records and dirt to find MIA soldiers
Eighty years later, Stevens was finally buried in Florida National Cemetery. His daughter attended the service in March, along with Ryan Wubben and other members of a University of Wisconsin-Madison group who helped find Stevens’ remains.
“It’s an interesting feeling that the success of your project results in a funeral,” said Wubben, the field physician for the University of Wisconsin Missing in Action Recovery and Identification Project.
UW leader previews budget asks: More money for student aid, salaries
Weeks before a deadline to submit budget requests to Gov. Tony Evers, Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman provided a glimpse of his ambitions for increased state funding of higher education.
‘A long time coming’: Ho-Chunk flag to permanently fly outside City-County Building
Talks are underway with the Ho-Chunk Nation to schedule the official flag-raising.
“I’m sure the Indigenous student groups from UW-Madison will be a big part of the ceremony as they were a big part of helping me shape these inclusive measures,” Rose said.
Wisconsin athletic director’s new contract adds bonuses, changes buyout
The $7.75 million from base salary and an additional compensation agreement isn’t the only money Chris McIntosh will make over a new five-year contract as University of Wisconsin athletic director.
Will these UW system branch campuses be next on the chopping block?
UW-Stevens Point leadership is warning that its two branch campuses in Marshfield and Wausau can’t survive unless enrollment increases.
June Blanchard
June went on to become a Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin, where she taught and advocated for women’s rights for over two decades until her retirement.
Making friends as an adult can be hard. Here’s how some Madisonians do it
Strong social connectedness is a “protective factor” against depression and promotes stress resilience, said Shilagh Mirgain, UW Health distinguished psychologist. That makes it almost imperative to make friends, she said. She also said the health impacts of loneliness are as bad as smoking a dozen cigarettes a day. Friends help the immune system function more effectively and encourage a stable mood.
William R. Risley
In 1986 he accepted a dual appointment at the University of WisconsinMadison in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and the Department of Liberal Studies, Division of University Outreach. A consummate teacher-scholar, Professor Risley loved teaching undergraduate and graduate students, who appreciated his extensive knowledge, warmth and wit. While directing the University’s Spanish and Portuguese outreach programs, he enjoyed offering adult continuing education classes in the evenings and developing courses in new areas, especially in Latin American literature. He retired from the profession in 2011.
Beaver Dam woman was the first to get life-changing operation pioneered at UW Health
A Beaver Dam woman has two UW Health doctors to thank for creating a procedure that turned her life around 15 years ago this month.
OUR VIEW: How to pay UW athletes: Give coaches less
Just look at all the big bucks being showered on Badgers coaches and administrators. It’s time to share more of the university’s haul from highly lucrative TV contracts with the players who make it possible.
UW system, once again, will push Legislature to fund tuition waivers for low-income students
The Universities of Wisconsin will ask, for a third consecutive biennium, for the state Legislature to fund the tuition waiver program the system cites as the reason for a boost in freshman enrollment last fall.
Here’s what it takes to feed Wisconsin football a single meal at UW-Platteville
A long line of University of Wisconsin football players formed at the Mongolian Grill station Tuesday awaiting their freshly-made lunch, but the Badgers were still on the field when UW-Platteville’s diligent dining staff started preparation for this large meal.
UW-Milwaukee Faculty Senate rebuffs plan to lay off branch campus professors
In a largely symbolic gesture, UW-Milwaukee faculty have voted against a plan that would lay off three dozen faculty from the Waukesha and Washington County branch campuses.
UW Health doctors use AI to take notes, cut screen time at visits
A group of doctors at UW Health are trying out a tool that uses artificial intelligence to take notes on their visits, allowing them to focus more on patients and less on screens. Proponents say the approach could not only improve patient experience but also reduce burnout among overworked physicians.
UW President Jay Rothman optimistic tide will turn for state universities
Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman says he’s hopeful a college tuition promise program, direct admissions and increased state support will reverse an ongoing decline in college participation in the state.
Mini Marathon will close some Madison roads, detour buses on Saturday
The event starts at the Memorial Union on campus, with the half marathon stepping off at 7 a.m. and the 5K at 7:15 a.m. The route for the first is roughly around Lake Wingra and through the University of Wisconsin Arboretum. Among the streets it includes are Langdon and Regent.
Health systems are using AI. UW Health wants to help them do it ethically.
This summer, UW Health and Verona-based Epic Systems organized a summit in Washington, D.C., with health care leaders, federal officials, academics, insurance industry leaders and tech companies to discuss how AI is being used and next steps for the technology.
Madison expands air quality monitors to pinpoint causes of pollution
When Tracey Holloway studied Madison’s air quality last year under a contract for Madison Gas and Electric, she walked away surprised that “transportation and coal-fired power plants weren’t a bigger part of the pie.”
Holloway is a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of energy analysis and policy, and a science advisor to Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway. The mayor announced the installation of the new monitors on July 22.
Both Trump and Harris are missing many moderate voters, poll says
Allison Prasch, a political rhetoric scholar from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, thinks Walz’s approach to policy might be refreshing for voters turned off by the extremes.
“Walz has an ability to speak to voters in such a way that it brings the focus back to what we might call kitchen table issues — cost of child care, grocery budget, thinking about health care — and I think that that has a way of connecting with voters who understandably are exhausted by this looming, never-ending cycle of existential crisis,” Prasch said.
Universities of Wisconsin graduates stay in state, according to ‘Facts and Trends’
Almost 90% of Wisconsin residents with a bachelor’s degree from the Universities of Wisconsin were still living in the state five years after graduation.
Will Tim Walz help Kamala Harris’ bid for the White House?
“I think Democrats have had a messaging problem,” said UW-Madison political rhetoric scholar Allison Prasch. “There is this narrative that ‘we know what’s best for you,’ and if you vote for (former President) Donald Trump, you’re stupid or you don’t pay attention. And that’s just incorrect, and the more that you communicate that to voters, the more they won’t want to listen to you.”
How to lower or eliminate your risk of knee arthritis, according to a new study
This finding is an exciting discovery, said Dr. Kathryn Miller, an associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison.
“We’ve always had this idea that muscle mass matters and helps protect joints,” said Miller, who was not involved with the study. “Now here is one study that starts to build on the idea that muscle mass is important to function and also to possibly decrease the risk of developing osteoarthritis.”
Latino authors break through in children’s lit
The proportion of children’s and young adult books written by an author with Latino heritage grew from 6.3% in 2018 to 11.8% last year, according to data from the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at University of Wisconsin’s School of Education.
Ina Jaffe, stalwart NPR correspondent, dies at 75
She began acting in high school and continued her involvement in the theater at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where she received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1972.
Considering the patient’s perspective in inducible laryngeal obstruction care
Susan L. Thibeault from the Division of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, is an additional research author.
My Week at the Buzzy Meditation Retreat That Promises Bliss on Demand
Richard J. Davidson, founder and director of the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, notes that even modest amounts of meditation—under 10 hours of practice in beginners—can change brain plasticity. But he cautions against commercializing the jhanas prematurely. “People saying this benefits them is all well and good, but without real scientific evidence, we have no idea,” he says. “Anyone trying to monetize this should raise red flags.”
Federal government funds Wisconsin rural residency program, negotiates lower drug prices
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is awarding $11 million to 15 organizations, including the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to establish new medical residency programs in rural areas.
Study: More frequent extreme heat is a threat to dialysis patients
“People who are on dialysis, unfortunately, have very high mortality to begin with,” said Dr. Matthew Blum, a nephrologist at UW Health and lead author of the study. “An 18 percent jump (in risk of death) just because of the weather is a pretty profound risk for people.”
Ad running in Wisconsin gives new name to weather events worsened by climate change: ‘unnatural disasters’
“The idea that we’re breaking heat records, having record floods — this is all consistent with what scientists have been projecting for decades. But the terminology is still what we used in the 1900s: ‘natural disasters,'” said Tracey Holloway, a professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and a member of Science Moms. “We’re building terminology that captures the reality of what’s happening.”
Wisconsin Democrats praise selection of Tim Walz as Kamala Harris’ running mate
Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said Walz was “mostly likely to have a positive electoral impact in Wisconsin” out of the final handful of candidates Harris had considered. He said Walz “conveys more of a working-class background” that could appeal to rural voters around the Midwest.
“He is best positioned to relate to Wisconsin voters and will be a familiar figure to people who live in northwest Wisconsin and are within the Twin Cities media market,” said Burden, who is also director of UW’s Elections Research Center.
Can chief heat officers protect the US from extreme heat?
“There’s very little authority behind these positions,” said Richard C. Keller, a historian of medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who wrote a book about extreme heat in Europe. “They can issue recommendations, they can help establish policy, but they’re going to have a very hard time enforcing those policies.”
Tom Still: Competitive federal grants aren’t target of Aug. 13 constitutional referendums
One such proposal will come from the WiSys, a nonprofit supporting organization of the Universities of Wisconsin. It is the technology transfer office for 11 public universities, meaning it protects the intellectual property of academic inventors and aims to move such discoveries into the marketplace. The WiSys proposal, which got a Phase 1 nod from NSF, seeks to make Wisconsin a global leader in sustainable agriculture and involves about 30 partners.
2 former Badgers on Olympic team ‘adding fuel to my fire’ for current Wisconsin volleyball stars
What struck University of Wisconsin volleyball coach Kelly Sheffield about his trip to the 2024 Paris Olympics was how emotional it was and the pride spectators had for their countries.
Wisconsin volleyball rivalry match heading to Kohl Center as part of 18 national TV matches
The sport’s emergence and continued growth has led to another match moving to the home of Wisconsin basketball and men’s hockey. The Badgers will play their I-94 rivalry match against Marquette at 7 p.m. Sept. 17.
UW Madison professor says Americans in Russia run risks of being held hostage
WRN’s Bob Hague spoke with University of Wisconsin Political Science Professor Yoshiko Herrera about the risks for Americans in Russia, and the complex negotiations leading the release of American and European hostages in exchange for Russian criminals.
How female politicians’ first names can work for and against them, according to science
The science comes together in a “balancing act for women,” according to Dr. Stav Atir, assistant professor in the Management and Human Resources Department at the University of Wisconsin School of Business, who has studied how gender affects the way we talk about professionals.
Atir was lead author of a study that found people were more than twice as likely to describe a male professional by surname in “high-status” fields, including politics. In the medical field, other research indicates that female physicians are more than twice as likely to be called by their first names instead of “doctor,” compared with their male counterparts.
‘Astonishing’ Antarctica heat wave sends temperatures 50 degrees above normal
It’s possible more heat waves like this will happen in future winters, which could leave the icy continent less fortified for its hottest season – summer – and more vulnerable to melting during subsequent heat waves, said David Mikolajczyk, a research meteorologist with the Antarctic Meteorological Research and Data Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Ina Jaffe, Dogged and Award-Winning NPR Reporter, Dies at 75
She attended the University of Wisconsin, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, and DePaul University, where she earned a master’s degree in the subject.
How to watch the Perseid meteor shower in Wisconsin
The Perseid meteor shower is active from about the end of July to the end of August, said James Lattis, director of the UW-Madison Space Place. Wisconsinites have the best chance of seeing the meteor shower Aug. 12-13. The moon sets just after midnight, leaving the skies dark.
UW system gets $5 million grant to revive tuition waiver program
The Universities of Wisconsin’s tuition-waiver program that erases any remaining tuition fees for lower-income students has been revived after receiving millions in grant funding.
Here’s what you need to know about Universities of Wisconsin’s Direct Admissions program
The Universities of Wisconsin’s Direct Admissions program is now live and in the inboxes — and soon, in mailboxes — of tens of thousands of high school seniors.
What’s causing the abundance of earwigs in Madison?
But the bug can be indicative of a larger pest problem and can often have a foul odor, according to the Dane County UW-Extension.
“I am getting a number of submitted photos of plants with holes in the leaves and no obvious culprit,” said Lisa Johnson, horticulture research specialist with the UW-Extension. “These are likely to be earwigs or slugs. Populations of both are high this year due to excess moisture.”
Stephen D. Caldwell
While a student in economics at the UW-Madison he began working in 1971 for the UW Department of ADP, which later became DoIT. He started as a computer operator, then advanced to programmer and analyst for the Registrar. His last position was with the UW Mail Team as senior analyst for all email iterations.
New student housing opens in Greenbush neighborhood near UW-Madison campus
A new housing complex near UW-Madison is ready for students to move in later this month.
Opinion | A fond farewell to the Shell
The Shell, formerly the Camp Randall Memorial Sports Center, has been a part of my life since my freshman year at the UW in 1958. The building was only 2 years old when every Friday we ROTC cadets went through our “drill and ceremonies,” learning how to march in formation, do about-faces, stand at ease and all the other basics of a well-tuned Army platoon, while getting prepared to become second lieutenants four years later.
Dale Kooyenga and Jason Fields: Madison plus Milwaukee equals promising tech hub
Madison serves as the innovator — home to UW-Madison, where research is king. The school ranks eighth in the nation for research expenditures among public and private universities. According to the National Science Foundation, UW invests more than $1.5 billion annually. UW also ranks high in patents granted – 12th in the nation in 2023. Additionally, the city’s startup scene is consistently ranked among the top 150 globally.
UW-River Falls Chancellor Maria Gallo is retiring
UW-River Falls Chancellor Maria Gallo will retire from the university in the coming weeks, continuing a trend of turnover in Universities of Wisconsin top leadership.
UW-Milwaukee continuing its tuition promise for low-income students
“The Milwaukee Tuition Promise” will impact incoming students during the Fall 2025 school year. The program ensures that eligible students can meet the full cost of tuition for up to four years.
Wisconsin women’s basketball releases much-anticipated non-conference schedule
The Badgers open up their season with an exhibition game vs UW-Stevens Point on Oct 29. The Pointers were 15-10 in the 2023-24 season. UW opens the regular season with two home games at the Kohl Center. First the Badgers will welcome Wright State on Nov 5 before going head-to-head with Georgetown on Nov 10.
Artificial intelligence task force releases action plan for state labor force
“Very often these tools can invent false facts,” said UW-Madison Assistant Professor Annette Zimmermann. “That’s very misleading and very dangerous, particularly in professions that impact a lot of people.”
Zimmermann researches the ethical implications of AI at UW. She says it’s crucial to give workers a seat at the table when making decisions about how to use AI.
Wisconsin’s NHL leading scorer excited for next chapter after ending playing career
There was no given sign Joe Pavelski should retire. The Plover native and former University of Wisconsin standout had just finished his 17th season in the NHL, capped by a second straight Western Conference finals appearance with the Dallas Stars.
2 new cities picked for future Big Ten basketball tournaments
An expanded Big Ten Conference led the conference to visit a new city for its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, and University of Wisconsin basketball teams hope to visit as part of a new format.
How Casey Rabach found his way to an on-field coaching role with Wisconsin football
AJ Blazek and Casey Rabach were conference rivals during their playing days. Now the two are, as Blazek phrased it, tag team partners for the University of Wisconsin football team tasked with revitalizing an offensive line.
How an obscure federal law could be used to ban abortion nationwide
In 1996, Congress added language to include the distribution of child pornography over the internet, not just the mail. This section is important to pay attention to, said Howard Schweber, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“Let us assume, in the moment that Donald Trump wins reelection … a Trump Justice Department could choose to enforce the law and make it an actual crime to post on the internet any information about abortion,” Schweber said.
The history of Madison’s lakes — and the scientific findings that have emerged from them
In 1895, UW–Madison professor Edward Birge set out to answer a question he had about zooplankton in Lake Mendota after reading a French scientific paper, and his research marked the beginning of limnology in North America. Since then, UW–Madison scientists have arguably made Madison’s lakes the most-studied lakes in the world.
Ripon College Introduces Free Tuition for Wisconsin Families Earning under $75,000
The Ripon Commitment, which was unveiled Wednesday, is a two-part financial aid program for students who are Wisconsin residents.
Mars Wrigley, other candymakers attend popular UW-Madison sweets class
The vacuum provides cool air to help the chocolate set as creamy layers are added to create the sweet treat, said Rich Hartel, a food science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Hartel runs the university’s Candy School — also known as the Confectionery Technology Course — which started in 1963 and has become so popular that it has a waitlist of people who want to attend.