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Author: gbump

‘Influencing culture’ at UW-Madison

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Madison Catholic Herald

After most recently working as the adult faith and evangelization coordinator for St. Christopher Parish in Verona and Paoli — part of Divine Mercy Pastorate — where she is also currently a parishioner, Swanke has accepted a position at the Lumen Center, an ecumenical think tank on the UW campus. The Lumen Center, an initiative of the Stephen & Laurel Brown Foundation, has a mission to influence the university “at the level of ideas,” Swanke explained.

UW Economics Professor appointed to President’s Council of Economic Advisers

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Badger Herald

Curt and Sue Culver Professor of Economics at the University of Wisconsin Kim Ruhl has been appointed as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers by the Trump administration, according to a UW press release. Ruhl currently serves as the co-director for the Center of Research on the Wisconsin Economy and is an expert in international economics.

Trump Orders Could Drain Millions From Universities, but Few Protest Openly

Posted on
The New York Times

During a Faculty Senate meeting that was streamed online on Monday, Jennifer L. Mnookin, the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, urged professors to “hold off” on optional expenses so the university could help ensure that “you’re making smart choices.”

“The transition has created for us an enormous amount of uncertainty, combined with fast-moving and changing information,” she said. “It’s generated some potentially quite significant threats to important aspects of our mission, as is true for our peer institutions nationally.”

These colleges and universities are the most selective in Wisconsin, new report says

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is the most selective university in Wisconsin, according to a recent analysis from The Business Journals.

The Jan. 17 report used data from the U.S. Department of Education to determine the most selective higher education institutions in the country. Analysts used a weighted formula — based on acceptance and matriculation rates — to determine each ranking.

Trump’s federal aid freeze could hurt Head Start, health centers, more

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The Capital Times

Baldwin toured the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy Monday morning to learn about opioid treatment efforts — programs that could be halted by the president’s funding freeze.

“The work being done here will save lives,” Baldwin said, “and that’s why I’m sending a loud and clear message that the president cannot cut off funding for vital programs like these.”

Tom Still: Federal support for academic R&D helps people, economy in many ways

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Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison is one of the nation’s leading research universities in terms of receiving federal grants — and levering those dollars with private and other external funds that make it possible to move ideas from the lab bench to the marketplace.

It’s not just about Madison, which is the sixth-leading federal R&D campus in the country. Every campus in the Universities of Wisconsin receives some federal R&D dollars, as do major private institutions such as the Medical College of Wisconsin, Marquette University and the Milwaukee School of Engineering.

What would a trade war mean for Wisconsin?

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Wisconsin State Journal

But UW-Madison Donald Hester Professor of Economics Charles Engel told the Wisconsin State Journal “the overall effect on the cost of living would be relatively small” because the price consumers pay doesn’t only cover the cost of the good itself.

“If you think about when you buy a t-shirt, say that’s made in China,” he said. “The actual t-shirt is really a relatively small part of the cost that we pay, and a much bigger part is the cost of the design, which is probably done in the U.S., and then the cost of bringing the shirt from the port to the store where you get it.”

Richard Bruce Bilder

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Wisconsin State Journal

Richard’s career was dedicated to the challenges of international law and the betterment of international relations. He worked in the Office of Legal Advisor at the U.S. State Department, before coming to Madison, where was a Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin for more than 50 years.

Sharon James

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

She left her tenured position to return to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she entered higher education administration, serving as both Assistant and Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs for UW Systems.

UW-Madison legal professor weighs in on Laken Riley Act

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WMTV - Channel 15

The Laken Riley act requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain people who are living in the U.S. without legal permission who have committed crimes or have been accused of committing a crime, according to University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School Clinical Professor of Law John Gross.

UW-Madison pauses some spending amid federal funding uncertainties

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WKOW-TV 27

The university announced a pause on any uncommitted expenditures, including purchases, hiring, and out-of-state travel. In a memo from Provost Charles Isbell and Vice Chancellor Rob Cramer, it was stated that no new obligations on existing federal awards would be created, meaning hiring on federal funds is currently on hold.

Big reveals are unlikely in Trump-ordered Kennedy and MLK document drops, experts say

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NPR

Kathryn McGarr, a professor of history at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, says she doesn’t think there’s much more to learn. “We already know quite a bit about how much the government was surveilling and looking at [MLK] … and how many enemies he had within the government,” she says. “I don’t think that the narrative is going to significantly change, although of course, we could get some more details here and there.”

Can the U.S. head off a potential bird flu pandemic? UW-Madison researchers weigh in

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Wisconsin State Farmer

As the bird flu strain continues to threaten animals and public health, the U.S. government has stepped up its response. But Tom Friedrich, a professor of virology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Veterinary Medicine, isn’t sure the scale and speed of the response are equal to the potential impact of the problem.

Wisconsin literacy center gives community to immigrants and refugees

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Whether the Trump administration will restart the U4U program is an open question, according to Yoshiko Herrera, political scientist professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an expert on Russia.

“I think they wanted to show that they were acting quickly on immigration right from the start. So my sense is that they just are like, ‘OK, we’re pausing everything’,” said Herrerra. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if … in the next couple of weeks, (they) decide that United for Ukraine is OK.”

UW Athletics issues statement regarding mistreatment accusations from former Wisconsin women’s basketball player

Posted on
WKOW – Channel 27

“We are aware of comments shared online by former Badger student-athlete Tessa Towers and will be looking into this matter. We care deeply about the physical and mental well-being of all of the student-athletes on our teams, during and after their time on campus. While we would like to share additional context around Tessa’s comments, federal privacy laws prohibit us from publicly addressing the health-related claims made on Tessa’s social media account.”

UW Madison professor weighs in on Trump’s executive order

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WSAW-TV Wausau

The White House order indicates Medicare and Social Security should not be impacted, but what about Medicaid? Which is health insurance for people who can’t afford it. The political science expert NewsChannel 7 talked with said that could be a different story. “It does apply to grants that go to States and are then administered by the states to individuals, and that’s how Medicaid works,” Howard Schweber, professor emeritus of Political Science at UW-Madison, said.

Donzaleigh Abernathy headlines 2025 MLK Symposium

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Badger Herald

Given her proximity, Abernathy’s speech gave personal insight into King’s impact on her life. “He [King] had like a light bulb on inside of him, and when he walked into the room, everyone turned because you noticed him,” Abernathy said. “He was special. I don’t know any other way to tell you … and as a kid, I loved him.”

What is causing the dramatic ice heaves on Madison’s lakes?

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Wisconsin State Journal

The formations, called ice heaves, often happen in the spring along the shorelines as ice begins to melts and wind pushes it up into solid, jagged waves. But they can also be seen where water levels and temperatures fluctuate, said Hilary Dugan, professor with UW-Madison’s Limnology Department. As water freezes it expands, with sections pushing against one another to create pressure ridges between a few inches to a few feet high, Dugan said.

Here’s what’s at stake in Madison and Wisconsin if federal grants are blocked

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Wisconsin State Journal

The pause in federal funding is “significant and concerning” for UW-Madison, Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin and other leaders said in a statement.

UW-Madison is encouraging most federally funded research to continue, outside of a “small number” of unspecified stop-work orders aimed at a handful of researchers, the statement said.

Madison, state officials still confused by Trump funding pause

Posted on
The Capital Times

UW-Madison’s Office of University Relations created a working group to track and respond to the latest executive orders and congressional activity that affects higher education.

The group includes representatives from across campus, including strategic communication, the provost’s office, legal affairs, research, student affairs, human resources, the international division, enrollment management, campus police and others.

Some missing Madison ballots could have been counted, if clerk’s staff had acted in time

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Wisconsin State Journal

Other provisions may also allow the election commission to require the county to correct its canvass, said Bree Grossi Wilde, executive director of the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Wisconsin law appears to allow for the “ability to make a correction” if the county board of canvassers or the Wisconsin Elections Commission becomes aware of an error, she said.