Noted: UW-Madison professor Awad Hanna, chairman of the Construction Engineering and Management Program in the College of Engineering, comments.
Lawmakers eye end to state’s prevailing wage laws
Wisconsin State Journal
Author: gbump
Board overseeing Wisconsin’s for-profit schools fights for its life
Capital Times
The proposal to eliminate the Educational Approval Board is part of Walker’s proposed 2015-17 budget. Since its unveiling in February, the board’s Executive Secretary David Dies has been trying to persuade state lawmakers to reject the idea.
Badgers men’s basketball: Family revels in Sam Dekker’s success
Madison.com
A rematch with Kentucky in a national semifinal — the Badgers 35-3 and Wildcats 38-0 will meet Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis — wouldn’t have been possible without a brilliant performance from Dekker during UW’s 85-78 victory over Arizona in the West regional final.
Prof who got UW’s Ray Cross to put his job on the line says he meant to help him
Capital Times
English professor Richard Grusin says he never expected UW System President Ray Cross to give him such a straight answer when he asked Cross in a public forum this week whether he would resign if he doesn’t manage to ease the pain of Scott Walker’s budget on the university.
Badgers men’s basketball: The ordinary fan is going to have a tough time getting Final Four tickets
Madison.com
If you’re not a University of Wisconsin men’s basketball donor or season-ticket holder, UW doesn’t have a ticket for you for Saturday night’s NCAA Final Four semifinal rematch with Kentucky in Indianapolis.
Q&A: Nate Moll owns the ‘thumbs of @UWMadison’
Madison.com
UW–Madison Social Media Specialist Nate Moll talked to the Cap Times about how he got his job as the “thumbs of UW-Madison” and how he tries to bring “inspired goofiness” to his work.
Chris Rickert: UW’s Ray Cross a scapegoat for faculty’s refusal to face reality
Madison.com
I don’t usually feel bad for highly placed, well-paid officials, but I felt bad for System President Ray Cross when a UW-Milwaukee English professor was able to extract the resignation promise during his Wednesday Q & A.
UW-Madison professor gets corny with new seed variety called ‘Who Gets Kissed?’
UW-Madison agronomy professor Bill Tracy and his graduate students created a new variety of sweet corn — a non-hybrid with ears that don’t all look the same, as most farmers and gardeners these days have come to expect.
Thomas J. Givnish: Great universities and great communities build each other over generations
Capital Times
Column by Givnish, the Henry Allan Gleason professor of botany and environmental studies.
Badgers men’s basketball: Josh Gasser makes big impact doing little things to send UW back to Final Four
Madison.com
(Gasser’s) defense on Arizona’s 3-point threat Gabe York he hit just two and forward Stanley Johnson and his grab of a baseball pass inbounds toss that glanced off York will be among a whole host of things others will remember from the Port Washington native’s work in another West regional final set in the hostile environment of Pac-12 Conference country.
Union construction to cause early Terrace closure
Daily Cardinal
Moving from its first to second phase, the Memorial Union Reinvestment project will focus on exterior changes, like reviving Alumni Park and “overhauling” the Terrace, causing it to close from the beginning of September until summer 2016, Marketing & Communications Coordinator for the Memorial Union Reinvestment Anna Johnson said.
UW research will target how toxins affect the human body
Badger Herald
A $6 million grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency will fund a Human Models for Analysis of Pathways Center at University of Wisconsin, to analyze how these chemical materials are affecting human physiology, according to a UW statement.
Badger fans jubilant after team advances to NCAA Elite Eight
WKOW-TV 27
Badger fans who gathered at Union South to watch Thursday night’s game against North Carolina rose to their feet and cheered as the final seconds ticked off the clock and Wisconsin punched its ticket to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament.
Part of Union Terrace to close for renovation
WISC-TV 3
Anna Johnson, marketing and communications coordinator for the Memorial Union reinvestment project, told News 3 that the west end of the terrace adjacent to the remodeled theater will remain open during the project, and the new terrace area will open early in the summer of 2016.
Madison startup wants to help millennials unplug — starting with summer camp
Capital Times
A native of New Berlin and a University of Wisconsin-Madison grad, Bown came up with the idea for Unplugged Events last summer during an outdoor-based leadership training session in California’s redwood forest.
UW-Madison students impart fears of proposed budget to state Legislature
Daily Cardinal
In their matching gray #SaveOurUW T-shirts, members of the Associated Students of Madison traveled to the Joint Finance Committee hearing Thursday to vocalize their concerns over Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed state budget.
A college application-turned-film festival winner
Wisconsin State Journal
2015 Wisconsin Film Festival preview. Screenings will be held at various campus locations April 9-15.
UW education expert urges caution regarding recent remedial courses bill
Badger Herald
The state Assembly on Tuesday passed a bill that would order the UW System Board of Regents to require all Wisconsin students taking a UW System placement test in English or mathematics to disclose their high school. The bill is waiting for approval from the state Senate. … But James Wollack, director of UW-Madison’s Office of Testing and Evaluation Services, said problems with remedial courses might not exist.
Terese Berceau to UW professors: Time to start getting involved in lobbying Legislature
Madison.com
Like it or not, professors have been thrown into the “deep end of the pool” of politics, state Rep. Terese Berceau told a group of academics at UW-Madison Wednesday.
UW-Madison vaccine protects monkeys from Ebola
Madison.com
The vaccine was created in the lab of campus virologist Yoshihiro Kawaoka. It protected monkeys from Ebola virus infection in experiments conducted at a high-level containment facility in Montana, Kawaoka reported in the journal Science.
UW-Madison Ebola virus vaccine protects monkeys
NBC-15
A group led by a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor developed an Ebola whole virus vaccine that has been shown to effectively protect monkeys exposed to the virus, according to a release from UW-Madison.
Badgers men’s basketball: Sam Dekker’s double-double sparks UW past North Carolina and into Elite Eight
Madison.com
Junior forward Sam Dekker finished with a career-high 23 points and a season-high 10 rebounds, but he got plenty of help in the Badgers’ 79-72 victory over North Carolina in an NCAA tournament West regional semifinal on Thursday night at Staples Center.
Ambassador Tom Loftus: Evangelist behind the Wisconsin Idea would question public authority for UW
Capital Times
Former Regent and Ambassador Loftus letter to the editor: Speaker Robin Vos and other legislators are right to question handing over control of the University of Wisconsin System to a quasi-public authority as called for in the proposed state budget. The danger is all too real that such a move would undermine the Wisconsin Idea by reducing public input into the university and the number of Wisconsin students who could attend. And that would fly in the face of the university’s underpinnings as developed by UW’s fifth president, John Bascom, the true founder of the Wisconsin Idea.
Daniel S. Greenspan: Public authority status a great opportunity for UW
Capital Times
Letter to the editor from faculty member Daniel Greenspan: I strongly believe that the possible granting of public authority status to the University of Wisconsin System is an important opportunity.
State workers should pay more for health care, consultant says
Wisconsin State Journal
State employees should pay more of their health care costs, but shifting from a competitive HMO model to self-insurance isn’t feasible next year, according to a consultant hired by the state.
Ray Cross says he’ll resign if UW budget cuts, loss of shared governance maintained by Legislature
Madison.com
Cross, facing withering criticism, told a UW-Milwaukee gathering of employees and students that he’d resign if he can’t substantially reduce the $300 million cut and preserve cherished employee protections including shared governance, tenure and academic freedom. He stood by his answer later, saying in an interview that “I don’t believe any higher education leader wants to be any part of an institution that doesn’t have tenure or shared governance.”
Andy Baggot: Athletic trainers the unsung heroes at UW
Madison.com
If we’re putting together a list of the most underpaid employees at the University of Wisconsin Athletic Department, mine would start in sports medicine where so many unsung do their thing.
HJ Heinz buying Oscar Mayer-parent Kraft Foods in deal to create food giant
Noted: This type of merger is not a big surprise, said Hart Posen, associate professor of management at the UW-Madison School of Business. “It reflects, in part, the need for bigger scale in this industry,” he said.
Richter, Earl F.
Madison.com
Richter joined the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation WARF, now Covance, on Sept. 1, 1949, as a chemist, and enjoyed a highly successful career in chemistry and leadership.
Fleming, Rosemary V.
Madison.com
Rosemary was the tour coordinator at the UW-Madison Arboretum from 1965 to 1980.
On Campus: UW-Superior to offer buyouts to older employees
Wisconsin State Journal
The smallest four-year campus among 13 in the University of Wisconsin System has offered buyouts to older employees, becoming the second university to do so in the face of Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to cut funding to the universities by $300 million the next two years, the steepest drop in history
Badgers men’s basketball: Strength coach Erik Helland provides strong behind-the-scenes support
Madison.com
Working in concert with athletic trainer Henry Perez-Guerra, (Eric) Helland leaves no stone unturned to get the Badgers ready for each practice and each game.
Despite loss of middle class families, Walker administration says state ‘heading in the right direction’
UW-Madison economist Laura Dresser said income growth in the state for decades has been concentrated among the top 1 percent. She said that would explain the decline in the percentage of families considered “middle class” by federal standards, even if incomes have risen recently.
UW Writers’ Institute gives pro and newbie writers the chance to connect
Capital Times
The 2015 UW-Madison Writers’ Institute intends to show aspiring writers that there are many more out there, all grappling with the same things.
Andy Baggot: UW’s run of success in men’s basketball, football is unparalleled nationally
Madison.com
The 13-year streak of simultaneous NCAA (men’s basketball) tournament and (football) bowl assignments for the Badgers is the longest current run of its kind among Division I programs.
UW-Madison faculty lobbying group to host public forum on Walker budget
Capital Times
PROFS, a lobbying organization for UW-Madison faculty, will zero in on Scott Walker’s game-changing budget plans for the UW System at a free public forum Wednesday.
UW education analyst: Will UW officials’ lack of transparency cost them?
Capital Times
Why hasn’t there been more transparency by University of Wisconsin officials in the planning of a proposed public authority model? asks Noel Radomski, an education policy analyst at UW-Madison.
Sex assault, drinking push colleges to moment of reckoning
Madison.com
On college campuses nationwide, the intertwined problems of sexual assault and alcohol are under intense scrutiny as students increasingly speak up and the federal government cracks down. Pushed to a collective moment of reckoning, colleges and universities are trying a slew of solutions focused on education, environment and enforcement.
Former UW student gets jail, probation, for sex extortion scheme
Wisconsin State Journal
A former UW-Madison student received a suspended prison sentence Friday for trying to coerce women into having sex with him by threatening to post their nude pictures and contact information on the Internet.
Paulson, John A.
Madison.com
He worked as head of the Planning and Construction Department at the University of Wisconsin in Madison for over 40 years.
Robert Wolfe: Millennials and boomers need better public transit
Capital Times
Column by Robert Wolfe, a UW-Madison sophomore and WISPIRG campaign coordinator.
UW-Madison, Coastal Carolina engage in the most polite Twitter trash session ever
Capital Times
A Storify compilation of the tweets from Friday morning.
Tom Still: Keeping the pipeline filled with engineers essential for Wisconsin business
At the UW-Madison College of Engineering, the state’s largest engineering school, the past few years have seen a dramatic rise in the number of engineering students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. There were about 4,850 students enrolled in the fall of 2014, which exceeded what the college predicted for the fall of 2015.
Targeting frats an academic witch hunt — Gary L. Kriewald
Madison.com
They’d gladly boot every fraternity off campus tomorrow if they thought they could get away with it. But for now they are content to pick them off one by one.
Research reversal shows oversight flaws — Dr. Sujatha Ramakrishna
Madison.com
UW-Madison’s complete turnaround on monkey maternal deprivation experiments highlights the lack of ethical oversight on this issue.
Chris Rickert: All the news fit to irritate ruling anti-intellectual Republicans
Wisconsin State Journal
I and the writers of a couple of rather unkind letters to the editor had the same reaction to a recent bit of news out of UW-Madison concerning music preferences among man’s and woman’s second-best friend:
Badgers men’s basketball: ‘Dream job’ has Kat Vosters blazing trails as UW’s director of basketball operations
Madison.com
Kat Vosters grew up in Wisconsin, graduated from the University of Wisconsin, has been a Badgers fan since basically birth and even used to have a little Badgers cheerleading costume when she was a kid.
Wisconsin makes Elite 8 in NCAA academic bracket
Madison.com
A bracket-style look at the relative academic progress and graduation rates of the 68 teams in the 2015 NCAA men’s basketball tournament provides a glimpse at how well schools are supporting their athletes in their pursuit of a college education off the basketball court.
UW System won’t cover full tuition for Course Options next school year
Madison.com
Cash-strapped Wisconsin school districts next year will have to cover costs of high school courses that earn students college credit after the University of Wisconsin System decided it could not continue to pay for them.
Thousands heading to UW campus for … science?
Madison.com
Thousands of young people are heading to the UW-Madison campus this weekend, but not for the state high school basketball tournament.
Talking hurricanes with Kerry Emanuel at UW
Madison.com
Kerry Emanuel, professor of atmospheric science at MIT, will deliver the sixth Len Robock Annual Lecture on March 24 at 7 p.m., in the DeLuca Forum in the Discovery Building. The lecture is free and open to the public.
No surprise: Walker picks Wisconsin to win tournament
Madison.com
In what could be the safest political move of his career, Gov. Scott Walker is picking the Wisconsin Badgers to win it all in the NCAA basketball tournament.
Republican budget committee members announce new UW plan
Madison.com
The co-chair and another Republican member of the Legislature’s powerful budget committee panel said Wednesday that they don’t support giving the University of Wisconsin more independence from state oversight, in another sign of dwindling support for Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to do just that.
UW fraternity chapter terminated after alleged hazing
Madison.com
The Chi Phi fraternity chapter at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has been terminated as a student organization after a university investigation found the organization hazed members.
Investigation: UW-Madison frat made pledges sleep in attic, wear pillowcases over heads, eat discarded food
Madison.com
UW-Madison said Wednesday that it shut down a fraternity for the first time since 2006 after learning of a hazing weekend in December that included a freshman pledge suffering a concussion when an older member hit his head accidentally as the freshman lay in a closed crate meant to simulate a grave, a university official said.
UW monkey research of questionable value — Melissa Tedrowe
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison’s decision to halt plans to remove newborn monkeys from their mothers as part of a controversial experiment is a step in the right direction. However, the 40 monkeys involved will still face tremendous suffering and distress for their short lives before being killed for questionable human benefit.
Badgers men’s basketball: Bo Ryan a finalist for Naismith Coach of the Year award
Madison.com
Ryan, who has led the University of Wisconsin to Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, is among a group of finalists that includes Kentucky’s John Calipari, Villanova’s Jay Wright and Virginia’s Tony Bennett, a former assistant of Ryan’s at UW.
Assembly OKs bill to track UW students in remedial classes
Madison.com
The state Assembly has passed a Republican bill that would require the University of Wisconsin System to complete a report tracking the origin high schools of students taking remedial courses.
Cat music research isn’t frivolous — Charles Snowdon
Wisconsin State Journal
As the lead author on a recent study on music for cats, I’d like to address concerns expressed by some readers in the State Journal.
Plain Talk: GOP should stop playing numbers game with UW cut
Capital Times
When does a 13 percent cut in the University of Wisconsin System’s budget become a “modest” 2.5 percent? When this cabal of truth-challenged Republicans running Wisconsin government says it is.