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Author: jnweaver

On Campus: Second Chadima report completed, but not yet released

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Wisconsin State Journal

A team of investigators has completed a second report outlining allegations of misconduct against a former senior athletic official, but the university is not releasing it in order to give John Chadima time to respond, according to a university news release. Chadima resigned on Jan. 6 after a student employee accused the senior associate athletic director of sexually assaulting him at a pre-Rose Bowl party. Since then, two more allegations have come out, but the university has released little information about them.

Campus Connection: Second report examining Chadima allegations is complete

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Capital Times

The University of Wisconsin-Madison announced Monday that interim Chancellor David Ward has received the second report into allegations of misconduct against former senior associate athletic director John Chadima. In a press release Monday, Ward states the ?university will publicly release the second report as soon as it?s legally permissible to do so. Because the allegations arise out of Mr. Chadima?s employment at the university, the university is legally obligated to provide a notification to him that the report will be publicly released.”

Relatives of UW-Madison student give scammers more than $4,000, police say

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Wisconsin State Journal

Relatives of a UW-Madison student who had previously studied abroad wired more than $4,000 to Peru after callers said the student needed the money to be bailed out of jail and pay a fine, Madison police said. According to police: Relatives who live in St. Paul, Minn., received a phone call on Feb. 27 from a female who sounded like the 22-year-old student. UW-Madison spokesman John Lucas said the student had not studied in Peru through a university program. Lucas said the university was looking into the incident.

Police identify men involved in stabbing incident

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Daily Cardinal

Madison police identified two suspects, one of whom is a UW-Madison student, whose fight with each other resulted in one man stabbing the other with a knife. The Madison Police Department received a call Sunday at 5:22 p.m. and responded to a Brian House apartment complex at 201 Langdon St. At 6:30 p.m., six police cars were at the scene, and the apartment?s backyard was taped off.

?Family friendly? brewpub opens in Columbus

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Wisconsin State Journal

COLUMBUS ? Beer hasn?t been commercially brewed here since Kurth?s Brewery closed in 1949. But a Columbus couple have changed that with the opening late last year of Hydro Street Brewing Co. & Eatery in downtown Columbus at 152 W. James St. Aaron and Sandye Adams, former researchers at UW-Madison, drained their savings, maxed out their credit cards and pestered family and friends to help them raise $86,000 to renovate a former clothing store into a business that likely will be a draw for local residents and the antiques shoppers who flood the city of 5,036 to visit the many shops.

Real-life lesson in clock management begins for Bielema the groom

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Wisconsin State Journal

Bret Bielema?s learning curve on the job has been famously steep, and public, but he?s about to discover how easy it?s all been. Being the University of Wisconsin football coach, walking in the footsteps of a Hall of Famer, trying to please millions of know-it-alls is second-grade math compared to the role he?s about to take on. When Bielema marries Jen Hielsberg on Saturday in Madison, he will officially begin the process of true enlightenment.

Obituary: Gilbert “Gib” Schmolesky

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Madison.com

STOUGHTON – Gilbert ?Gib? Schmolesky, age 87, passed away on Friday, March 9, 2012, in Stoughton. He worked as an entomologist for the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) for more than 25 years.

Grass Roots: ‘Censored Art Show’ rises in protest of canceled exhibit

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Capital Times

I?m not sure anyone who watched the massive protests unfold at the Capitol a year ago in response to Gov. Scott Walker?s political agenda figured the people who marched, sang and slept their way into history there would knuckle under when a GOP legislator forced the sponsors to pull the plug on a planned exhibit of art from the protests. They didn?t. The exhibit ?Art in Protest,? planned for UW-Madison?s Pyle Center later this month, morphed into a protest itself. It opened as ?Censored Art Show? Friday at the Goodman Community Center on Madison?s east side.

In bizarre twist, some Wisconsin Catholic dioceses may soon have to pay for contraception

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Wisconsin State Journal

In August, when the new federal mandate that insurance plans offer free contraceptive services kicks in, it will save women in Wisconsin hundreds and perhaps thousands of dollars. But it also adds fuel to a long-simmering debate over religious freedom in the state. And the effect on Catholics in Wisconsin could be surprising….Among those applauding the new requirement is Grace Colas, a UW-Madison junior who co-chairs the campus chapter of Advocates for Choice, an affiliate of Planned Parenthood. She pays about $45 every three months for birth control under her insurance plan. Colas, 20, welcomes the mandate but said more should be done to help poor women pay for contraception.

“I think it’s important to remember that this is a matter of making basic health care accessible,” she said.

?Uncivil Disobedience? reading offers first-hand accounts of Sterling Hall bombing

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Wisconsin State Journal

?They were hell-bent on tearing down an institution.?
?I felt the ground shake. I had no idea what was going on.?
?As we approached University, we began to see debris.?

The stories of those affected when a bomb exploded outside of Sterling Hall on Aug. 24, 1970, killing one person and injuring three others, provide the basis for ?Uncivil Disobedience,? a play-in-progress by Mike Lawler and shared with the public Friday evening as a staged reading at the Overture Center.

Executive Q&A: When chance came, Bachmann took reins of family business

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Wisconsin State Journal

In the 1960s, Allan Bachmann had no interest in the family construction business. He was going to join other college students in rebelling against authority. That all changed the summer that Bachmann?s father announced he was selling the operation.

Q: I know Bachmann has also been a leader in historical preservation. What makes that work difficult?
A: Bachmann’s latest significant historical restoration project was Olin House, the (UW-Madison) chancellor’s residence.

Ryan needed convincing that these Badgers were the real deal

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Madison.com

In what has become a tradition, University of Wisconsin men?s basketball coach Bo Ryan sat in the Kohl Center media room Sunday evening and talked about another trip to the NCAA tournament for the Badgers. There were times this season when a 14th consecutive invitation, tied for the fourth-longest active streak in the country, was far from a sure thing.

UW men’s hockey: Badgers can’t finish the deal in Denver

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Madison.com

DENVER — Faced with the ultimate, absolute, do-or-die scenario, members of the University of Wisconsin men?s hockey team took their last competitive breaths Sunday night. The Badgers saw their season come to a bitter end with a 3-2 overtime loss to Denver in the decisive game of a best-of-three Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoff series at Magness Arena.

Eyeworthy: ‘Ossuary,’ A project by Laurie Beth Clark

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Wisconsin State Journal

?Ossuary,? pronounced ?osh-oo-er-ee,? is a noun meaning repository of bones. It?s also the title of a project by UW-Madison art professor Laurie Beth Clark on view in the Garfield Gallery at the Chazen Museum of Art. Clark invited hundreds of artists to create bones or an artwork that is inspired by, uses, or plays with the idea of bones. The result is a collection of intriguing, unexpected and varied works.

Grass Roots: Free little libraries make a big impression around the world

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Capital Times

I ran into Rick Brooks recently and, not surprisingly, talk soon turned to Little Free Library — the project he co-founded that places small boxes offering free books in places where people will find them….?We?re now in 34 states and 17 countries,? says Brooks, an outreach manager with UW-Madison?s Division of Continuing Studies who, with a handful of other volunteers, runs Little Free Library.

Stage presence: Director Manon van de Water says Children’s theater holds value for all ages

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Wisconsin State Journal

People know me as: Manon van de Water. I?m the director of the Theatre for Youth Program at UW-Madison, so I do everything that has to do with theatre and drama and young people. I teach prospective teachers about how they can incorporate theater and drama activities into their daily teaching to enhance understanding and engage their students in a different way.

Campus Blood Drive Held In Memory Of Pedestrian Hit By Bus

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WISC-TV 3

University of Wisconsin-Madison colleagues participated in the campus? annual blood drive Thursday to honor the memory of Maureen Grant, the victim of a bus-pedestrian crash in Madison last June. Blood drives are an annual event for the staff at UW-Madison?s Memorial Library. But the drive on Thursday was to remember one of their own. Grant, a UW Libraries employee of 26 years, died after being struck by a bus while walking across University Avenue in June 2011. “Maureen was a regular blood donor,” said UW-Madison Libraries Interim Director Ed Van Gemert.” She gave blood not only at the university drives, but also in her hometown in New Glarus.”

Obituary: Allen V. Worth

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Madison.com

MADISON – Allen V. Worth, age 91, died on Wednesday, March 7, 2012, at his home. In 1955 Allen joined the UW as an electrician. In his 30 year career he was the primary electrician for the Athletic Department, overseeing the events at the Field House, stadium and around campus.

Campus Connection: Regents OK second phase of upgrades for Camp Randall and McClain Center

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Capital Times

The UW System?s Board of Regents on Thursday gave UW-Madison the green light to move ahead with the second phase of its $76.8 million Student Athlete Performance Center project. This phase — which will cost nearly $35 million — will focus on upgrades to the McClain Center, the university?s 90-yard-long indoor practice facility that also houses locker rooms as well as strength training and conditioning space. The UW athletic department will remodel the lower level of the center to house new UW football locker suites, including 125 lockers. The area also will include multimedia instructional space, steam and shower rooms, a locker suite for the football coaches and equipment areas.

UW women’s basketball: Future Badger Bauman honored

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Madison.com

University of Wisconsin women?s basketball recruit Nicole Bauman of New Berlin Eisenhower has been named the state Gatorade Player of the Year. Bauman, a 5-foot-10 guard, was selected for her combination of athletic and academic achievement, personal character, sportsmanship and community leadership.

UW men’s hockey: Schultz named defensive player of the year

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Madison.com

Justin Schultz, the standout junior defenseman for the University of Wisconsin men?s hockey team, continued an impressive tradition Thursday. He was named defensive player of the year in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association for the second consecutive season, an honor determined by vote of the 12 league coaches.

Campus Connection: Want to send your kid to college? ‘Save your brains out’

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Capital Times

A presentation to the UW System?s Board of Regents Thursday afternoon on financial aid and student costs was not only informative, but a little scary for anyone hoping to someday help send kids to college. ?Save your brains out,? Susan Fischer, director of financial aid at UW-Madison, said afterward when asked for any tips she?d offer to parents. ?I?m not going to say how or where, because I?m not a financial advisor. But start saving now.?

27 Dartmouth Students Face Hazing Charges (WMUR 9 New Hampshire)

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HANOVER, N.H. — Twenty-seven members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity face charges in the campus judicial system Wednesday after Dartmouth College officials said disturbing details of hazing incidents surfaced last January. Dartmouth officials said a former fraternity member made public — through the school newspaper — hazing incidents that happened last fall. The charges from the school aren?t criminal, but officials said if the students are found guilty, they could be suspended or expelled.

Totally un-reel: Film is going digital

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Wisconsin State Journal

For a smaller, independently run arthouse, spending between $70,000 and $120,000 to convert to digital is a huge expense to shoulder, but might be unavoidable if 35mm prints can?t be found anymore. Also hurt are places like the UW-Cinematheque, the free on-campus film series that specializes in foreign and classic films often on loan from studios and private collections. The Cinematheque theater at Vilas Hall shows only 35mm film, as do the Marquee Theater in Union South and the Chazen Museum of Art?s screening room. But that may have to change down the road if studios stop making their movies available on film.

…UW professor emeritus David Bordwell said he was caught off guard by how swift and total digital?s rise to dominance came, and decided to chronicle the changeover through a series of detailed blog entries on his website, davidbordwell.net.

UW women’s basketball: Learning experience for Kelsey

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Madison.com

Back in her Stanford days, both as a player and an assistant coach, the goals were always clear-cut to Bobbie Kelsey ? get to the Final Four and win a national championship. Lofty goals, but not unreasonable considering the Cardinal made it to the Final Four in seven of her nine seasons there and won one NCAA title. Now in her role as University of Wisconsin women?s basketball coach, setting goals is a little more complicated.

Wilson’s dynamite audition heightens NFL draft stock

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Madison.com

The one thing former University of Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson can?t change about himself prior to the NFL draft is his height. Or can he? Wilson measured at 5-foot-11 at UW?s pro timing day on Wednesday, or 3/8 of an inch taller than he measured at the combine and Senior Bowl. Maybe it was his longer hair style, but it was an indication of how well things went for Wilson in front of a large contingent of NFL coaches and personnel executives.

On Campus: UW-Madison to launch new Office of Sustainability

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Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison will launch a new office Friday to coordinate all campus efforts on sustainability. The Office of Sustainability kick-off will begin at 1 p.m. at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery with remarks by Provost Paul DeLuca and Vice Chancellor for Administration Darrell Bazzell.

Obituary: Phyllis Ruth (Pinkerton) Pratt

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Madison.com

MONONA – Phyllis Ruth (Pinkerton) Pratt, age 86, of Queens Village, New York, and formerly of Madison, passed away on Tuesday, March 6, 2012, at the Heritage Monona Senior Assisted Living Campus after a short stay. She graduated from UW-Madison, where she majored in music and piano. She started her career by doing research work for the UW School of Music by writing down the music tunes which were known throughout Wisconsin, and also playing piano in the traveling all-girls dance band, lead by Peggy King.

Chris Rickert: Most UW-Madison professors must love something more than money

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Wisconsin State Journal

….In choosing low-paying career paths ? social services and journalism ? I aimed for a full life, if not necessarily a full-bank-account life, and I?m happy I did. So I?m puzzled by these cries coming from that expanse of state-owned land on the shores of Lake Mendota that the quality of UW-Madison is in jeopardy because its miserly professorial salaries are not enough to keep and recruit the best faculty. I had always assumed that college professors, like me, saw money-making as a fairly low priority.

Judge makes the right decision on voter ID law

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

It?s entirely possible that the temporary injunction against Wisconsin?s voter ID law issued Tuesday won?t stand. The decision has obvious flaws. And, no, Dane County Circuit Judge David Flanagan should not have signed a petition to recall Gov. Scott Walker. Nevertheless, Flanagan raised enough issues in his 11-page decision to call Wisconsin?s version of voter ID into question and to warrant this action. We think that?s good news for the state?s voters, especially the 220,000 who, according to one expert quoted by the judge, don?t have the proper ID to vote.

UW football: Quarterback recruit Houston to undergo shoulder surgery

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Madison.com

Incoming freshman quarterback Bart Houston will undergo surgery on his right (throwing) shoulder that will probably limit his participation in the University of Wisconsin football team?s fall camp. UW coach Bret Bielema first mentioned the surgery in Oshkosh on Monday night during a Mendota Gridiron Club meeting. He did not say how much of camp Houston would miss.

More stations, longer hours begin in April for Madison’s B-cycle program

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Wisconsin State Journal

The Madison B-cycle bike sharing program will return on April 1 with more stations, longer hours, and a cheaper price tag, officials said Tuesday. The program ? bicycles from Trek Bicycle Corp. are offered for rent at stations around the city ? debuted in May 2011 with six stations on the isthmus and grew to 27 stations by the time the first season ended on Dec. 15. In the first year, B-cycle members rode nearly 39,600 miles, with the station at UW-Madison?s Memorial Union getting the most use.

Obama strategists to meet with UW students

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WKOW-TV 27

University of Wisconsin students will have the chance to meet with strategists with President Barack Obama?s campaign in Madison on Wednesday. The hosts of this summit are former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs and Obama?s national field director Jeremy Bird. The summit is to mobilize young people to support President Obama; it?s part of Obama?s re-election effort.

Obama Strategists To Meet With UW Students

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WISC-TV 3

Strategists with President Barack Obama?s campaign plan to meet with University of Wisconsin students in Madison on Wednesday. Former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs and Obama?s national field director Jeremy Bird were to host the student summit. It is part of Obama?s re-election effort to mobilize young people to support him. College-age voters were a big reason for Obama?s victory in 2008.

30 percent of state kids live in low-income working households

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Wisconsin State Journal

Fully 30 percent of Wisconsin?s children now live in working but low-income households, which overall make up a quarter of the state?s working families and half of its non-white families, a new report from the Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS) says. Wisconsin also is near the bottom of states for minority-family income, which is higher in 41 states, the study said. The COWS study argued that recent policy changes were making things even worse for low-income working residents, defined as those earning two times the poverty line.

Judge grants temporary injunction barring enforcement of voter ID law in April election

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Wisconsin State Journal

A Dane County judge on Tuesday barred the enforcement of the state photo ID law at polling places during the general election on April 3, calling it an “extremely broad and largely needless” impairment of the right to vote.

Circuit Judge David Flanagan said the Milwaukee Branch of the NAACP and Voces de la Frontera had demonstrated that their lawsuit against Gov. Scott Walker and the state Government Accountability Board would probably succeed on its merits and had demonstrated the likelihood of irreparable harm if the photo ID law is allowed to stand. Flanagan cited testimony by UW-Madison professor Ken Mayer, who found that as of 2002 there were 221,975 constitutionally qualified voters who do not have a driver’s license or a photo identification card.

Can Virent’s technology move from the lab to the gas pump?

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Capital Times

Locked behind a set of double doors in a sparkling clean warehouse on the city?s far east side is a miniature refinery. The tangle of silver metal tubes and columns resembles the huge oil refineries along the Gulf Coast ? although at 20 feet tall and 40 feet long, it?s just a fraction of the size. But instead of using crude oil as the main ingredient, the refinery at Virent Inc. uses sugar water. Through a patented catalytic process called aqueous phase reforming, the sugar molecules are converted into a product with the same chemical makeup as gasoline. Science fiction? Not at all.

….”I think we’re at a point where these advanced biofuels are nearing commercialization and Virent is right in the front row,” says Gary Radloff, director of Midwest energy policy analysis for the Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative at the UW-Madison. Virent officials remain cautious, however, about tooting their own horn.

Lawsuit may determine status of course syllabi at UW schools as public or exempt

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A pending lawsuit against the University of Wisconsin System may determine whether professors must disclose their course syllabi under the state?s Open Records Law or whether the material is exempt under copyright law. The National Council on Teacher Quality sued the UW System earlier this year for refusing to hand over syllabi for UW?s schools of education.

Quoted: Sara Goldrick-Rab, an associate professor in the School of Education, and Donald Downs, professor of political science and an expert on academic freedom.

Obituary: David Wallin

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Madison.com

David Wallin, age 61, of Belleville, passed away on Friday, March 2, 2012, at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison. In 1974, David started work at the University of Wisconsin Physical Plant, where he was a motor vehicle operator for Campus Services until retiring in January of 2008.

Body pulled from river in Stevens Point ID’d as missing student from Fitchburg

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Wisconsin State Journal

Police believe a missing Fitchburg man whose body was found in the Wisconsin River Monday afternoon became disoriented after drinking and wandered into the river. “We believe he mistook the ice for a field or something, wandered in and fell through,” said Stevens Point Sgt. Dan Wheeler. Eric Duffey, a UW-Stevens Point student, disappeared early Saturday after celebrating his 21st birthday in Stevens Point.

Obituary: Paul Clark Schroeder

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Madison.com

MADISON – Paul Clark Schroeder, age 76, of Madison, passed away on Saturday, March 3, 2012, at UW Hospital in Madison. Paul worked for the UW-Madison, as an Information Technology Manager for 35 years.

Biz Beat: More Wisconsinites working two jobs to make ends meet

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Capital Times

While Wisconsin?s unemployment rate is below the national rate, many in the Badger State are now working two jobs just to make ends meet. Minorities are especially struggling in the current economy, according to a report titled ?Wisconsin Jobs and Low-Income Working Families? from the Center on Wisconsin Strategy, a liberal UW-Madison think tank….?One in four families, half of minority families and three in 10 children now live in families with low incomes — and our commitment to these families is shrinking even as their needs are rising,? says COWS associate director Laura Dresser in a statement.

UW men’s basketball: Taylor named first-team All-Big Ten by coaches

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Madison.com

When University of Wisconsin men?s basketball coach Bo Ryan was asked about Jordan Taylor recently, he encouraged people to look beyond the numbers when measuring the point guard?s senior season. Ryan?s coaching colleagues in the Big Ten Conference thought enough of Taylor to name him first-team All-Big Ten. But it wasn?t a clean sweep for Taylor, who was named to the media?s second team.

Big housing, retail project eyed for South Park Street

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Wisconsin State Journal

In another sign of rebirth for a worn Downtown gateway, a developer is proposing a five-story housing and retail project for the 500 block of South Park Street. The proposal by the Gallina Cos., called the Ideal, would be the first big, non-student housing project on South Park Street in many years and continues a revitalization from Regent Street to the Beltline.

Body pulled from river in Stevens Point ID’d as missing student

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Wisconsin State Journal

Emergency personnel say a coroner?s office has identified a body removed from the Wisconsin River as a college student from Fitchburg who went missing over the weekend. Stevens Point Sgt. Dan Wheeler says officials removed the body of 21-year-old Eric Duffey Monday afternoon. The coroner?s office made a positive identification after meeting with Duffey?s family.

Police recover body from river in Stevens Point

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Wisconsin State Journal

Emergency personnel say they?ve removed a body from the Wisconsin River they believe could be a missing college student. Stevens Point Sgt. Dan Wheeler says officials removed a body around 1:10 p.m. Monday. The coroner?s office has not made a positive ID, but they believe the body is 21-year-old Eric Duffey.

Update: Police searching river for missing UWSP student (stevenspointjournal.com)

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Authorities have turned their search for a missing student to the Wisconsin River this morning, using a boat to break the ice and searching along the shore near the Clark Street bridge. It is a grim turn in the search for Eric Duffey, a 21-year-old University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point student who was last seen at about 1:15 a.m. Saturday leaving Joe?s Bar in downtown Stevens Point. Duffey has been missing for more than 55 hours, including three nights of cold weather.

Police Search For Missing UW-Stevens Point Student

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WISC-TV 3

STEVENS POINT, Wis — Police in Stevens Point are conducting an extensive search using volunteers and tracking dogs for a missing University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point student. Eric Duffey, 21, is a Fitchburg native and a Verona Area High School graduate. Police said Duffey was last seen about 1:15 a.m. Saturday leaving Joe?s Bar in Stevens Point. He was believed to be heading home.

Obituary: Gerald W. “Jerry” McGee

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Madison.com

MADISON – Gerald W. ?Jerry? McGee died March 1, 2012, at Meriter Hospital from complications following surgery. He served as a program manager in the Ag Journalism Department until his retirement in 1998.

Posted in Uncategorized

Outdoors: Madison celebrates Aldo Leopold

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Madison.com

The first weekend in March is officially designated as Aldo Leopold Weekend and to celebrate it, readings, film screenings and workshops are being held throughout Wisconsin and many other states. One of the six events in Wisconsin Saturday, March 3, 2012 was ?Madison Reads Leopold? held at the UW-Madison Arboretum Visitor Center. Forty-one conservationists read aloud from A Sand County Almanac, as members of the public listened to the writings that formed the late Aldo Leopold?s land ethic.