Skip to main content

Author: gbump

Stuck for years without funding, Wisconsin’s state climatology office is now ‘open for business’

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

As part of a $9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wisconsin’s state climatology office will get $1.25 million over four years to reinvent itself. The goal is to raise the profile of the office and make it the go-to spot when people want weather and climate information, said Steve Vavrus, who became the state climatologist this year and heads up the office. Vavrus, also a senior scientist at UW’s Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research, had worked with the office frequently in past years.

UW Choral Union benefitted students — Paula Gottlieb

Wisconsin State Journal

Why would anyone want to end what is a success story for the Wisconsin Idea? The school of music says that this decision is necessary to promote the interests of students, but its interests and the interests of community members are not mutually exclusive.

Tax cuts and a UW squeeze: A look at the proposed GOP-backed Wisconsin state budget

The Associated Press

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN: The University of Wisconsin System’s budget would be cut by $32 million, leaving UW nearly half a billion dollars short of funding it requested. Republicans cut the amount they say would be spent on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, over objections from UW leaders who say they may have to raise tuition and cut programs in response. The budget also does not include funding for UW’s top priority building project, $197 million to demolish and build a new College of Engineering building on the Madison campus. Republican leaders say there are ongoing discussions about funding that project.

Opinion | Robin Vos is embarrassed to be a UW grad? It’s the opposite

The Capital Times

No, Robin, I think it’s the other way around. I suspect that thousands of my fellow UW grads are embarrassed that our alma mater saw fit to grant you a degree. After four years of college, you’d think a little bit of human compassion would have rubbed off on even the most narrow-minded student at UW-Whitewater.

Med schools still aren’t teaching enough on LGBTQ health care

NBC News

Other med schools that have also established substantial training efforts on such subjects include Louisiana State University, the University of Mississippi at Jackson, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Vanderbilt University, the University of Pennsylvania and Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles.

Poem: Conditions for Retention

The New York Times

Anne Boyer is a poet and an essayist. Her memoir about cancer and care, “The Undying,” won a 2020 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction. Jennifer Nelson is the author of three books of poems: “Aim at the Centaur Stealing Your Wife” (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2015), “Civilization Makes Me Lonely” (Ahsahta Press, 2017) and most recently “Harm Eden” (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2021). They are also an assistant professor of early modern art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the author of two art history books,

Unpaid internships have long been criticized. Why are they still around?

The Washington Post

Matthew Hora, founding director of the Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that he “wholeheartedly” endorses a ban on unpaid internships and associated training programs, but he isn’t optimistic that they are going away anytime soon. Some disciplines, like social work, make them mandatory for graduation; employers in some fields, such as the arts, have limited resources; and others, he said, pointing to government, seem to “ignore the unethical nature of free labor.

A linguist on why talking can sound like singing

Popular Science

To put this practice into context, I spoke to two experts: Langston Wilkins, expert in hip-hop and assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and Dan Charnas, historian of hip-hop and associate arts professor at New York University. Both confirmed that the use of repetition to add musicality to spoken vocal samples is a common practice in hip-hop, but neither was familiar with Deutsch’s framing of the phenomenon as an auditory illusion.

Growers say they’re more often turning to irrigation to avoid stress on fruit and vegetable crops

Wisconsin Public Radio

Wisconsin hasn’t seen a clear trend of more drought conditions, according to Steve Vavrus, director of the Wisconsin State Climatology Office and a climate scientist with UW-Madison.

“In fact, if you look at the past 20 years or so since 2000, we had more drought episodes in the first half of that period than the last half,” Vavrus said.

Why Does GOP Hate Engineers?

Urban Milwaukee

Republicans on the committee voted down the long-anticipated and much-needed new engineering building on the UW Madison campus. Not so long ago that would have been a slam dunk Republican priority.

To fight berry-busting fruit flies, researchers focus on sterilizing the bugs

The Associated Press

Lyric Bartholomay, a professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies integrated pest management and public health entomology who was not part of the study, said “increasingly tailored genetic approaches” will be necessary in the future to protect crops and people from pests, especially as insecticide resistance increases.

How The Varsity Collective kicked Wisconsin’s NIL era into high gear

Wisconsin State Journal

The Varsity Collective is separate from UW but has worked with UW athletic director Chris McIntosh and others in the athletic department to ensure its program is aligned with the university’s NIL guidelines. The collective signed a deal in 2022 with Opendorse, the NIL platform UW uses with its athletes, to create the infrastructure for connecting athletes with NIL opportunities.

UW System funding discussed during Senate committee hearing

WKOW-TV 27

“The public funding for our four-year university system is currently ranked 42nd out of 50 states in the nation,” Rothman told the committee. “I’m going to say that again, 42nd out of 50 states in the nation. I’ve lived in this state my entire life. That is a very different complexion than what I grew up with in this state. That is disturbing to me.”

The Disinformation Game

Clean Wisconsin

Don’t believe everything you read on Facebook. Everybody knows that, but somehow misinformation still spreads like wildfire on social media, especially when it comes to climate change and clean energy like wind and solar. A sea of misinformation is getting in the way of badly-needed clean energy projects.Where are the false claims coming from, and why do people believe them? In this episode, what you can do to battle back – and recognize when disinformation is working on you. Host: Amy BarrilleauxGuest: Dr. Sedona Chinn, assistant professor of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

This Job Will Pay You To Eat Cheese & Pizza

Delish

Before you dust off your resume, it is worth noting that the job is based in Madison, Wisconsin. But if you think you’re up for the job, you can apply directly to the position by visiting the University of Wisconsin-Madison website. Best of luck!

How to tell good advice from not-so-good advice

Vox

Humankind has long sought crowd-sourced answers to problems. From the 300-year history of the advice column to the plethora of advisers at our employ — spiritual, political, financial, emotional, professional, legal — people are inclined to make better choices when those actions have been guided by another. “We all have biases,” says Lyn Van Swol, a professor of communication science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, “and if you can meld your perspective with another good source of information, you’re starting to cancel out some of your biases.”

Speaker Robin Vos says he’s ’embarrassed’ to be a UW System alumnus because of campus diversity programs

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Wisconsin’s top state legislative Republican continued his attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at the state’s public universities, calling the programming “the single most important issue” and claiming he was embarrassed to be a University of Wisconsin System alumnus because of it.

Spirituality, Global Warming, and Grief: How Clergy Can Help Tackle Climate Anxiety

Mother Jones

Because no one was providing that, she created the Loka Initiative at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Healthy Minds in 2019. While not specifically focused on climate emotions, the initiative trains evangelical leaders on climate science and also has organized a global event of Indigenous elders and environmental experts.

As Americans, we can handle the truth — Dave Topp

Wisconsin State Journal

Letter to the editor: I had the privilege attending two classes as a senior auditor at UW-Madison, from which I graduated many years ago. One was African American history, the second American Indian history. Both would probably be considered “woke” —  whatever that means? Certain people would be uncomfortable with the material covered in these courses.

Diversity enriches lives of UW students — Ali Bram

Wisconsin State Journal

Letter to the editor: One of the finest aspects of UW-Madison is its diversity, equity and inclusion. All are now under attack by GOP legislators who seek to defund efforts for these worthy goals toward enriching lives and fostering understanding.

WPR names Sarah Ashworth as new director

The Capital Times

Ashworth, who was raised in Minnesota and received a journalism degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia, comes to WPR with a 25-year career in media. That includes roles as a director, producer, reporter and editor at Minnesota Public Radio, New Hampshire Public Radio, Vermont Public and Mizzou’s NPR station KBIA.

Unofficial pay-to-join Facebook groups target anxious freshmen

Inside Higher Ed

“UW-Madison is aware of non-sanctioned Facebook groups, such as the one you flagged,” a spokesperson wrote in an email. “When these come to our attention, we first attempt to message the group moderator, and then file terms of service complaints to ensure that the groups are clearly marked as unaffiliated and do not use university logos or marks. In general, we suggest that students and parents follow official UW-Madison Facebook accounts for the most accurate and up to date information.”

Opinion | UW Health should commit to reducing disparities by making Juneteenth a holiday

The Capital Times

Studies have pointed to the critical importance of developing a diverse health care workforce that reflects the patient population and can deliver culturally competent care to help reduce disparities. That’s why the Dane County NAACP is calling on UW Health, the largest medical provider in our area, to show leadership on this issue by declaring Juneteenth — Freedom Day — a paid holiday for all employees.