Among other actions Wednesday, the Joint Finance Committee approved $86.2 million in bonding to renovate and expand UW-Madison’s outdated chemistry building.
State could lease buildings outside Dane County under GOP plan
Wisconsin State Journal
Author: gbump
SOS: Hospital bill hard to swallow
Wisconsin State Journal
Story of a man whose partial bridge got painfully lodged in his lower gum. He went to UW Hospital emergency room for relief. As he waited to be seen, the hardware dislodged and he left. He later received a $143 bill, and contacted the newspaper to express his dismay. UW Hospital spokesperson Lisa Brunette quickly responded that “under the circumstances,” the man’s co-pay of $75 would be written off “as a goodwill gesture.”
Madison-based scientists aim to bring home MIAs the military missed
Wisconsin State Journal
A group of Madison-based scientists is forming a team to find the remains of long-lost World War II veterans and bring them home for proper burial. If private fundraising goals are met, the Missing In Action Recovery and Identification Project would meld the skills of UW-Madison scholars of history, genetic analysis and archeology.
Police say scammers apparently targeting UW-Madison students with bogus tax bill threat
Madison.com
The Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that a detective took a report Friday of a man with an accent who called a UW student and claimed to be a representative of the Sheriff’s Office. The student said her caller ID showed the Sheriff’s Office reception number, which can be done by a method called “spoofing.”
Son of Scott Walker’s former campaign chairman appointed to UW Board of Regents
Madison.com
Michael M. Grebe, son of Michael W. Grebe, president and chief executive of the Bradley Foundation, was appointed Friday to the Board of Regents.
Meningitis vaccine can save lives — Meredith Leigh
Wisconsin State Journal
Letter to the editor from mother of Henry Mackaman, a 21-year-old UW-Madison student who died two years ago of meningitis strain B. “At the time, there was no available vaccine in the United State for this particular strain. Recently, the Food and Drug Administration approved two vaccines to help protect against Type B meningitis. However, not many parents and students know about them. Colleges are treating the new Type B vaccines in different ways. Some, like UW-Madison, make the vaccines available to those who ask. I commend UW-Madison for doing this, and I encourage other colleges in Wisconsin and elsewhere to follow that lead.”
Health tech leaders tout Madison
Wisconsin State Journal
Mark Gehring, a serial entrepreneur who is co-founder and chief strategy officer of HealthMyne, a Madison startup with technology to better analyze tumor images, said investors have come to realize Madison has unique health IT expertise — in large part because of the monumental growth of Epic Systems Corp., the Verona electronic health records giant, as well as longtime expertise from UW-Madison.
Badgers football: Conference foes as non-conference opponents possible in future schedules
Madison.com
Athletic Director Barry Alvarez is considering a novel scheduling option whereby Big Ten schools could elect to play conference members that aren’t part of their assigned nine-game lineup.
After 100 years, more is being discovered about UW mastodon
Wisconsin State Journal
To honor the centennial of the Boaz mastodon, which went on display in 1915, Carrie Eaton, curator of collections at the museum, began researching the elephant-like creature, looking for more information about one of Wisconsin’s most famous fossils.
Langdon Street closing for Memorial Union restoration
Madison.com
Langdon Street on the UW-Madison campus will be closed beginning Tuesday so restoration work on the Memorial Union can continue.
UW Colleges to shrink administration to deal with $6.7 million cut
Madison.com
The University of Wisconsin’s network of two-year colleges plans to slash its administrative ranks — in the process cutting nearly 10 percent of its overall workforce — in response to Gov. Scott Walker’s historic $300 million proposed cut to the University of Wisconsin System.
Lawmakers reject Scott Walker plan to ax for-profit college board
Wisconsin State Journal
Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to do away with a small state agency that approves and regulates for-profit colleges was voted down Thursday night by the Legislature’s budget committee, likely meaning the Educational Approval Board will continue unchanged after being on the guillotine since late January.
Badgers football: Season opener vs. Alabama set for prime time on ABC
Madison.com
Tbe game against Alabama on Sept. 5 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, will kick off at 7 p.m. on ABC (Ch. 27 in Madison).
Platz, William Thomas
Madison.com
Platz mentored students at UW Law School Legal Defense Project.
Two Madison companies land investments
Wisconsin State Journal
NeuWave Medical, a company founded in 2008 based on UW-Madison research, has raised $25.3 million, according to papers filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. NeuWave has more than 75 employees, with nearly 50 of them in Madison.
Badgers football: Recruiting coordinator Ben Strickland to be Florida Atlantic defensive backs coach
Madison.com
University of Wisconsin football recruiting coordinator Ben Strickland will be Florida Atlantic’s next defensive backs coach.
Tickets for Brett Favre Legends game at Camp Randall range from $34 to $55
Madison.com
Brett Favre’s Legends Game on July 19 at the Wisconsin Badgers’ home turf will feature former Packers Mark Chmura and Andre Rison and NFL players Donovan McNabb and Wisconsin great Ron Dayne in a flag football game between Packers old-timers and former gridiron greats from all over the league. Tickets, which go on sale June 3, will range from $34 to $55, with part of the proceeds going to the Favre 4 Hope Foundation. Tickets will also be sold in a family four pack for $112, which includes four tickets for seating in the $34 price level. Current UW-Madison students will be able to purchase two tickets at $13 each, also seating in the $34 price level.
Board approves state worker health care cuts
Wisconsin State Journal
State workers’ main out-of-pocket health care costs will double next year, after the Group Insurance Board approved changes Tuesday to save $85 million over two years. The cuts, to begin Jan. 1, were requested in Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed budget and are designed to avoid a “Cadillac” tax on rich benefit programs from the Affordable Care Act.
Wisconsin Democrats reintroduce student loan refinancing bill
Capital Times
The bill would create a Wisconsin Student Loan Refinancing Authority, modeled after the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority. The authority would be charged with creating a system to buy federal and private loans and refinance them at a lower rate.
Study: Drinking questions from doctor don’t help those most in need of help
Madison.com
Alcohol consumption questions have become commonplace in the repertoire of a doctor’s assessment of a patient in Wisconsin, but the brief dialog isn’t prompting those most in need to seek treatment, a study shows. The study, performed by UW-Madison assistant professor of social work Joseph Glass, said the process known as screening and brief intervention helps people with milder drinking problems but not those who need counseling or treatment.
Madison Sports Hall of Fame: Ex-Badgers and NHL star Barry Richter leads 2015 class
Madison.com
Former University of Wisconsin and professional hockey player Barry Richter will join his father, Pat, as a Madison Sports Hall of Fame inductee when the 2015 class is honored June 3 at Monona Terrace.
Badgers men’s hockey: Denver, North Dakota and the Boston schools on non-conference schedule
Madison.com
UW will have series with three decades-old Western Collegiate Hockey Association rivals — Denver, North Dakota and Northern Michigan — while playing single games with longtime East Coast opponents Boston College and Boston University.
Center for Media and Democracy sues Scott Walker for ‘Wisconsin Idea’ records
Capital Times
The group filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Dane County Circuit Court. It was the first to report in February that Walker’s budget would have deleted the core philosophy of the “Wisconsin Idea” from the UW’s statutory mission statement.
State worker health costs could double under proposed budget cuts
Wisconsin State Journal
State workers and their family members would see their main out-of-pocket health care costs double next year under proposed budget cuts officials will take up Tuesday. The state Department of Employee Trust Fund’s Group Insurance Board is expected to vote on the proposal, which would satisfy requested cuts to worker benefits in Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed budget.
On Campus: UW fraud hotline goes live; UW-Madison to lay off 70
Madison.com
Higher ed beat column on fraud line (“UW System will pay $35,000 a year to a Georgia company, The Network Inc., for the next five years to field calls and Web submissions about possible violations.”) and UW–Madison budget cuts (“An updated tally of jobs lost at UW-Madison due to Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed historic $300 million cut to the UW System stands at 434, according to figures released by the university. Of them, 84 percent will come from open jobs that won’t be filled.”)
Cork, Genevieve S. “Gen” (Otis) (Weitzel)
Madison.com
“Gen” worked for the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a lab assistant for over 15 years, until her retirement
UW-Madison grads shine through gloomy skies, budget concerns
Wisconsin State Journal
Coverage of the commencement ceremony.
Youtube : Katie Couric delivers the charge to the graduates at UW-Madison’s 2015 Spring Commencement
Video of the keynote address from Saturday’s commencement.
UW-Madison graduates celebrate commencement in a big way on social media
Capital Times
Roundup of commencement social media.
Tenure allows faculty to be risk-takers — Andrew Bent
Wisconsin State Journal
Tenure gives proven, productive faculty members (the only ones who are awarded tenure) the confidence to stick out our necks and take risks. There are rewards for success and penalties for failure in the academic world, but most faculty would dial back on pursuit of risky ideas if not for tenure.
Most of Watertown hospital to be sold to for-profit chain
The Watertown Regional Medical Center has been affiliated with UW Health and “intends to continue to collaborate with UW Health on local specialty care services where it makes sense,” but would be sold to a for-profit hospital chain in Tennessee under an agreement announced Thursday that requires states approval.
Kevin Conroy: Why Exact Sciences wants to move Downtown
Madison.com
Column by Exact Sciences CEO. Excerpt: “The cornerstone of Madison’s growth is the intellectual capital that fuels our region. This includes a world-class university, which raises more than $1 billion annually in scientific research funding. We believe by having a strong presence just a mile or so from UW-Madison, we can play an important role in encouraging more university inventions to turn into new companies, creating family-supporting jobs and accelerating the growth of our economy.”
Q&A: Karen Brown takes a stand on handicapped parking on UW-Madison campus
Madison.com
Article about Karen Brown, 63, a Ph.D. student in cognitive ethology, who is challenging UW-Madison’s policy on handicapped parking.
Stone, June B.
Madison.com
June was the assistant to the associate chair of the English department at UW-Madison for many years, retiring in 1996.
Debt service, utilities taking on a larger share of UW System’s funding under Walker budget
Capital Times
When the University of Wisconsin System gets its funding from the state, it comes as a pool of money that gets divided up for campus use. Not all of the money gets put directly toward the cost of teaching, however. Before it moves on to the campuses, some of the pot has to cover the System’s debt service and the cost of utilities. (Graphics showing how funding is spent.)
Finals insult: Students up late studying; laptop stolen when they went to bed
Madison.com
Two UW-Madison students who stayed up late Thursday night studying for final exams got a wake up call when they went to bed: A stranger had entered their apartment and stole a laptop computer right before their eyes.
Scot Ross and Robert Hiltonsmith: Higher ed cost shift sabotaging state’s growth
Capital Times
Column from detailing a report by progressive groups One Wisconsin Institute and Demos titled “Wisconsin’s Great Cost Shift: How Higher Education Cuts Undermine the State’s Future Middle Class.”
Plain Talk: Scott Walker and Robin Vos don’t know what made UW great
Capital Times
Opinion column critical of Gov. Walker’ and Assembly Speaker Vos’ disposition toward UW.
‘Iris’ chronicles life and style of a UW student turned fashion icon
Capital Times
Iris Apfel’s long career began at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she was an art education student with a taste for jazz.
Survey: UW alums have started hundreds of Wisconsin companies
The Wisconsin Alumni Association surveyed its members recently and found that about 90 percent of the more than 2,400 respondents had formed companies, with over 800 of those firms located in Wisconsin.
Badgers football: Start times set for Purdue, Illinois, Maryland games
Madison.com
The Badgers’ homecoming game against Purdue on Oct. 17 will kick off at 11 a.m., while games at Illinois on Oct. 24 and at Maryland on Nov. 7 will begin at 2:30 p.m.
Madison black youth and allies use poetry, music and photography to protest
Capital Times
Noted: A’tira Banks, a poet and a Madison East High School alum set to graduate from the First Wave program (through OMAI, the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives) at UW-Madison is interviewed.
Badgers men’s basketball: UW will play at Syracuse in Big Ten/ACC Challenge
Madison.com
Matchups for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge were announced Wednesday, and the Badgers will play Syracuse at the Carrier Dome on Dec. 2. Times and television information will be released at a later date.
Campus Inn ready to reopen as Graduate Madison
Madison.com
After being closed for three months of renovation, the 72-room hotel at 601 Langdon St., known the last 12 years as Campus Inn, is scheduled to reopen Thursday as Graduate Madison.
UW professors honored with Vilas awards
Madison.com
Close to two dozen UW-Madison faculty members have been awarded with research and distinguished achievement professorships supported by the William F. Vilas estate.
MATC officials spar with staff hoping to thwart plan to close, sell downtown campus
Madison.com
A group of faculty and staff at Madison Area Technical College wasted no time organizing to thwart his proposal to sell the college’s downtown campus and invest in South Madison to serve the city’s neediest residents, MATC president Jack Daniels told college trustees last month.
Traffic could be a nightmare on UW campus; commencement Saturday, move-out this week
The annual mass migration of students leaving campus comes to a head on Saturday, the same day graduation ceremonies will be held at Camp Randall Stadium.
Philip Bochsler named director of UW veterinary lab
Madison.com
Bochsler, the chief of pathology at UW-Madison’s Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, has been named the new director of the facility and will assume the duties July 6.
Republican lawmakers blunt Scott Walker’s proposed cut for public radio, television board
Wisconsin State Journal
The Joint Finance Committee voted 12-4 to reduce Walker’s proposed cut to the Educational Communications Board. The state agency works with the University of Wisconsin System to operate Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Television, among other duties.
Second class: Madison’s adjunct professors lack wages, job security of their full-time peers
Capital Times
Story regarding status adjunct instructors at MATC, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Edgewood College.
Dozens gather for Tony Robinson vigil on campus
Wisconsin State Journal
Several dozen people gathered for an evening vigil at Pres House campus ministry on the UW-Madison campus. The vigil started with music and candlelight outside before students slowly filed into the sanctuary.
Weiner, Thomas E.
Madison.com
Thomas was a microbiologist at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene.
MATC leaving downtown a bad move, neighborhood group says
Capital Times
Capitol Neighborhoods Inc. on Monday released a statement saying the move violates a standing commitment to downtown made when Madison College built its Truax Campus in the 1980s.
Mayor, community groups release video on officer-involved shootings
Wisconsin State Journal
The 14-minute video was produced by members of organizations for black and Latino UW-Madison law students.
UW-Madison’s police expected to have body cameras by fall
Madison.com
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s police officers are expected to be wearing body cameras this fall, but the police chief first wants to get public input on how officers should use them.
Feiereisen, William J. “Bill” : Madisondotcom
Madison.com
Bill was a professor of Mechanical Engineering until his retirement in 1994.
Dictionary of Regional American English funded through summer 2016
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Facing a severe financial crisis, the half-century-old Dictionary of American Regional English, one of University of Wisconsin-Madison’s most renowned humanities projects, has received an influx of donations in the past month and a half — roughly $60,000.
Task force to examine use of force by all Dane County police
Wisconsin State Journal
The Special Community/Police Task Force will be co-chaired by the Rev. Everett Mitchell of Christ the Solid Rock Baptist Church and UW-Madison Police Chief Susan Riseling. (Mitchell is also director of community relations for UW–Madison)
UW-Madison could not sell University Ridge Golf Course for revenue until 2021
Capital Times
University Ridge, a top-ranked public golf course at County Road PD and County Road M in the city of Madison, was developed and given to the university by the University of Wisconsin Foundation in 1991, university officials reported in response to a records request … the terms of this gift contain an automatic reversion provision that returns the property to the Foundation if sold within 30 years of the gift, Lisa Hull, a special assistant to the vice chancellor in the Office of University Relations, said in an email.
Records reveal state budget office’s rationale for cutting Wisconsin Idea
Madison.com
Walker’s office and his Department of Administration released the documents Friday in response to a State Journal records request made three months ago. They include previously released emails from UW officials asking the budget office as early as Jan. 20 — two weeks before Walker introduced his 2015-17 budget — and again on Jan. 29 to restore the Wisconsin Idea language.