This weekâ??s University of Wisconsin-Madison student exodus might cause less of a mess than past years as students living in campus housing will be encouraged to recycle items that previously flooded dorm dumpsters.
Students moving out of dormitories on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus this week will be able to recycle many of the things from their dorm rooms that used to end up in the landfill.
University of Wisconsin faculty and staff would be allowed to form unions under a proposal passed by a legislative committee today.
The proposal would affect more than 17,000 UW employees who currently do not have the right to unionize. The legislation must also pass the state Assembly and Senate.
A new report Monday said the state government’s three-year budget deficit is slightly worse than the $6.5â??billion estimated by Gov. Jim Doyle last week.
Gov. Doyle’s decision to cut state job cuts and mandate furloughs is a sensible way to face reality, the Eau Claire Leader Telegram says.
Rep. Tom Petri’s legislation to help protect students from credit card traps deserves passage and signing into law, says the Oshkosh Northwestern.
Road construction will shut down several streets on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus for three weeks beginning May 18, as the second phase of the reconstruction of the Gorham Street/University Avenue/Campus Drive corridor begins.
The first phase of the project, reconstructing Gorham and University from State Street to Park Street, will continue as well, so motorists should use caution on these main arterials heading into campus.
Eleven weeks after Congress settled on a stimulus package that provided $135 billion to limit layoffs in state governments, many states are finding that the funds are not enough and are moving to lay off thousands of public employees.
Two weeks ago the state of Washington settled on a budget that will mean 1,000 layoffs at public colleges and several times that many in elementary and high schools.
UW-Madison announced last week that the U.S. Department of Energy has granted it three years of money for 10 studies. UW won more grants than any other college or university.
The Madison campus, which is home to a small nuclear research reactor, will study ways to make next-generation nuclear plants more efficient by allowing higher temperature operation. Two of the grants will focus on computer modeling of nuclear reactor behavior.
The campus also will study nuclear fuels and fuel coatings, waste separation technology and improved ways to cool reactors.
University of Wisconsin-Madison officials are asking motorists to avoid the southeast campus area this weekend as commencement ceremonies at the Kohl Center, students moving out of dorms and construction on University Avenue could create major traffic problems.
In an early indication that the economic downturn may not have disrupted studentsâ?? college choices as much as schools had feared, more than a dozen top colleges said last week that accepted applicants had committed themselves to attending next fall at about the same rate as last year.
Among the private colleges reporting little variation in their admissions yields were Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Wesleyan, Smith, Kenyon and Whitman. Among public colleges, the Universities of Virginia and Wisconsin reported similar results.
Fewer employers are pursuing graduates from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and other universities, underscoring an increasingly competitive job market for new college grads, according to a new analysis by Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
U.S. Bank is targeting the UW-Madison campus community with a new full-service office scheduled to open in early summer at 389 East Campus Mall in the University Square building.
They landed in Calcutta at midnight and what Rick Brooks remembers is the piles of rags. They were everywhere. He saw them on sidewalks driving from the airport and he saw them again from his hotel window. Rags, and more rags.
“They were all people,” Brooks was saying Friday.
He was 13 years old, and it changed his life.
Brooks, 60, is an outreach program manager in UW-Madison’s Division of Continuing Studies. He is also, I think it’s fair to say, a kind of consummate Madisonian.
Fed up with disturbances, fights and repeated citations for serving underage drinkers, Madison may not renew the liquor license at the popular Kollege Klub bar near UW-Madison.
Founded at 714 State St. in 1953 and moved to its present location at 529 N. Lake St. in 1972, the bar has been ranked by Playboy magazine as one of the best campus party spots in the nation.
UW-Madison is canceling study abroad programs to Mexico in which students are scheduled to depart before June 1 because of concerns over swine flu.
Chancellor Biddy Martin based the decision on recommendations of the universityâ??s International Emergency Response Committee.
MADISON (WKOW)– Nearly 7,000 UW students have or are about to begin the end of the year move out.
To help with clean up and dumping of old furniture, the UW-Madison Division of Facilities Planning and Management (We Conserve program) has partnered with St. Vincent de Paul, and the Division of Housing. They have designated four locations where people can recycle metal and carpeting and donate reusable items.
Q: Every year as the weather gets nice, I drive by Henry Mall on University Avenue and itâ??s getting torn up. And then by the end of the summer, itâ??s all put together and landscaped beautifully. The cycle goes on the next year. Is there a reason they tear up this area on campus year after year?
A: Itâ??s true. For the past several summers, the university has been working on a campus utility project beneath Henry Mall to extend steam, chilled water, electricity and more through the area, said John Harrod, University of Wisconsin-Madison physical plant director.
UW-Madison will get roughly $5 million over three years from the U.S. Department of Energy to study new nuclear energy technology under the Nuclear Energy University Program.
With ten proposals funded, UW-Madison received the most grants of any college or university.
The Daily Cardinal has a couple interesting stories related to the UW Athletic Board up on its website today (May 8). One is headlined “Athletic Board e-mails expose deep divisions” and the other “Lance Smith case stirs controversy among board members.” The student newspaper obtained university e-mails through the state’s open records law.
Expect ruffled feathers when college freshmen return to the nest for summer break.
After several months flying around on their own, they may bristle over rules, obligations and even questions, such as “Where are you going?” and “When are you going to quit sleeping all day?”
Quoted: Patti Lux-Weber, coordinator of the UW-Madison Parent Program, and student Julie Bohl, a senior who works in the program.
UW-Whitewater earned one of 13 at-large bids to the NCAA Division III baseball tournament, and was one of five state teams to make the 54-team field that was announced Monday morning.
The Warhawks will be joined by UW-Stevens Point, which earned the WIACâ??s automatic berth with a championship game victory over host Whitewater on Saturday, its fifth straight league title.
Picture this: A university with fewer and fewer quality faculty, students with dwindling access to desperately needed advising and career services, and an ever narrowing of what has historically been a vibrant and dynamic student body. This is the future of the University of Wisconsin-Madison if the Madison Undergraduate Initiative developed and championed by Chancellor Biddy Martin is not supported.
Critics of the initiative appear to be unaware of or insensitive to the critical challenges our university community faces — challenges Martin readily grasped during her short time working and living among us.
Dear Editor:
In response to “UW-Madison chancellor’s proposed tuition hike elicits little pushback,” a major reason for the widespread campus support for the Madison Initiative — approved Friday by the Board of Regents — is that it will have concrete benefits for the educational experience of undergraduates.
The story in political science, where I am the current chair, has been a simple one over the past 10 years: a larger number of students combined with a smaller number of faculty. Over this decade, our faculty decreased by 20 percent while the number of majors increased by over 85 percent. Compared to our peer institutions such as Michigan, Ohio State, and Minnesota, we serve far more majors with fewer faculty.
It was once a place where John Muir likely stood, gazing across the landscape. Skiers used to fly down its slope. Generations of students would gather here to listen to lectures.
But this knob of land overlooking Lake Mendota on the UW-Madison campus no longer is a welcoming spot. Neglected for decades, it is covered by deteriorating concrete, aging benches and an obsolete reservoir.
Now, a $167,000 gift will allow university officials to restore Muir Knoll, perched on Observatory Drive, to a place where people will want to study, reflect and share stories.
Quoted: Barry Orton, professor of telecommunications at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
They’re playing in rain-sodden fields near the University of Wisconsin-Madison Natatorium, not in the airspace next to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
And instead of zipping loop-de-loops on bewitched broomsticks, they trot doggedly with kitchen brooms between their legs.
But the nine UW-Madison students – all women – are shouting to each other about quaffles, bludgers and golden snitches, and, despite a steady rain, are clearly delighting in a vigorous game of Quidditch. Yes, Quidditch.
The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents on Friday approved a plan to raise tuition at the flagship campus at Madison by substantial amounts, but to designate those funds for spending — such as additional faculty slots — that directly improves undergraduate education.
For the past several summers, the university has been working on a campus utility project beneath Henry Mall to extend steam, chilled water, electricity and more through the area, said John Harrod, University of Wisconsin-Madison physical plant director.
At first, Nehemiah Edwards wasn’t buying it.
Sitting in a room of eighth-graders five years ago, the middle schooler was told the sky is the limit for his education and success – he could be whatever he wanted to be, live wherever he wanted to live and have complete control over his destiny.
“They had big plans for us,” said Edwards, who was extremely skeptical during his first encounter with Dream Chasing, a program that takes the dreams of children and places them within reach.
“I didn’t know what to make of the program, but I decided to stick with it,” Edwards said. “I dreamed of going to college, but I didn’t think I was going to get there. As we got further with the program and hearing them talk, I started to believe it.”
In less than a month, he will graduate from Rufus King International Baccalaureate High School with honors and is heading to the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the fall, where he will study computer engineering.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison and two other universities are working on a study of how organic and conventional farming practices affect cows’ health.
Mentions that the University of Wisconsin-Madison implemented a Bait Bike program in 2008, and saw a 30 percent decrease in bike thefts from the year earlier.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin won approval Friday for the first big proposal of her tenure, the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates, which means students will start paying higher tuition in the fall to fund increased financial aid and improved undergraduate education.
Quoted: Charles Franklin, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor.
Thirty-five University of Wisconsin-Madison students expecting to travel to Mexico this month to begin studies won’t be heading south of the border after the university canceled those programs due to the swine flu outbreak.
Chancellor Biddy Martin issued instructions last week to cancel student programs in Mexico that were scheduled to depart before June 1.
The decision to speak out against the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates has taken its toll on UW-Madison assistant professor Sara Goldrick-Rab.
Goldrick-Rab, an expert in educational policy studies, was a key part of my story which ran earlier this week headlined “UW-Madison chancellor’s proposed tuition hike elicits little push-back.”
In her blog on Monday, Goldrick-Rab wrote an entry titled “I (Finally) Figured Out Why I Want Tenure.” It’s a must-read.
Among the names that have surfaced as prospects for the U.S. Supreme Court spot that will open with the retirement of Justice David Souter are several individuals with ties to Wisconsin. We’re particularly pleased, for instance, that Kimberle Crenshaw has been boomed by Princeton Professor Melissa Harris-Lacewell as President Barack Obama’s first high court pick.
Crenshaw, a University of California-Los Angeles School of Law professor who also teaches courses on civil rights, race and justice, and constitutional law at Columbia Law School, earned a master of law degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1985.
MISSOULA, Mont. — Former Wisconsin standout Freddie Owens has been named an assistant basketball coach at the University of Montana.
Madison (WKOW) — Public Health of Madison and Dane County has confirmed there are now 5 cases of H1N1 or “swine flu” in the county.
All five cases are children.
MADISON (WKOW) — In a statement on Wednesday, Representative Steve Nass requested that the Board of Regents delay the approval of a $1,000 tuition surcharge on UW-Madison resident students.
According to Nass’ statement, Nass believes UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin has worked to educate faculty, students and administrators on the goals of the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates. However, Nass feels that that plan is being moved forward without reasonable time for analysis of its specific details.
To shake, or not to shake?
Thatâ??s the question for officials on college campuses who are planning graduation ceremonies amidst concerns over swine flu.
UW-Oshkosh administrators have decided to forego the tradition of shaking hands with students when giving out diplomas at graduation on May 16.
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) will allow Pfizer Inc. to use some of its patented human embryonic stem cell lines for the development of new drug therapies.
WARF, the private, nonprofit patenting and licensing arm of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, announced the signing of the licensing agreement Tuesday. Janet Kelly, a spokesperson for WARF, said financial terms of the deal were confidential.
A 26-year-old Monona man was arrested early Wednesday morning after he allegedly entered unlocked University of Wisconsin-Madison Witte Hall dorm rooms where female students were sleeping.
Simvong Inthavong was taken into custody by UW-Madison police and tentatively charged with eight counts of disorderly conduct and five counts of criminal trespass.
Road construction starting later this month will make the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus a maze, but at least crews will be waiting until the spring semester is over before making travel difficult.
“In many ways it’s a perfect storm of construction activity,” said Rob Kennedy, senior transportation planner on campus. “We want people to be aware of the challenges they will face around campus this summer so they can take alternate routes.”
….Two Metro bus routes on campus, 80 and 85, are being affected by construction, but alternate routes have not been determined yet.
Copies of Michael Pollanâ??s book â??In Defense of Food: An Eaterâ??s Manifestoâ? will likely swarm the UW-Madison campus this fall.
The book was chosen for the universityâ??s first common reading program, Go Big Read. Chancellor Biddy Martin created the program to engage students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members in a shared reading experience.
A committee chose the book from nearly 400 nominated titles.
Last month, Kihra Hankins’ two frantic calls to 911 were made public, more than a year after she found the bloody bodies of her boyfriend, her brother and a family friend in her Albany, N.Y., home.
They are chilling recordings — and not just because of death’s details. The 22-year-old’s pleas for help dragged on for more than four minutes. She had to give her address three times. She had to give her name three times, too. Five times she described the horrifying scene. Repeatedly, she said the victims were motionless and bleeding from the head.
University of Wisconsin-Madison staffers will be screaming for Babcock Hall ice cream inside instead of outside Wednesday afternoon, thanks to Mother Nature.
With the threat of rain, the annual employee appreciation ice cream social will begin at 1 p.m. in the lobby of Birge Hall, just south of Bascom Hill.
The number of confirmed swine flu cases in Wisconsin increased from three to five Tuesday and the state public health officer said it likely will rise higher, even as some schools closed because of the outbreak prepared to reopen Wednesday.
Most of the 119 probable swine flu cases in Wisconsin will likely be confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the coming days, Dr. Seth Foldy told the state Assembly’s Public Health Committee.
Quoted: Dr. Dennis Maki, UW-Madison professor of medicine
Quoted: John Witte, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor who has studied charter and voucher schools extensively.
The University of Wisconsin celebrated the talents of its student-athletes Monday night, but not in the customary manner.
For more than a dozen years, the UW Athletic Department held a banquet at the end of the school year to honor the academic achievements of its athletes.
In an attempt to jazz things up this year, the event was re-named The Buckinghams, moved to the Capitol Theater at the Overture Center and modeled after the Academy Awards, including a red carpet. All that were missing were long-winded acceptance speeches.
â??This is very cool,â? senior Joe Krabbenhoft, a member of the menâ??s basketball team, said after earning an unsung hero award. â??You feel like youâ??re at the Oscars or something.”
Ron King loved the Crazylegs Classic so much that he was buried wearing a T-shirt from the event and one of his trademark red bandanas.
King, in return, was so loved that a group of his family and friends continues to participate in the University of Wisconsinâ??s annual 8-kilometer run with T-shirts bearing his name, publicizing the fight against the disease that killed the onetime state Department of Justice employee just over three years ago.
A 20-year-old Van Dyne man allegedly was mugged by three men early Sunday morning while walking near State and Langdon streets, Madison police reported.
The victim was taken to a local hospital with head cuts and facial bruising.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health has received a $6.9 million grant to create an Alzheimer’s disease research center, Gov. Jim Doyle announced.
Some of the best balance sheets in the country are right here in the heartland.
The global economy is struggling to shed debt, but farmers are in a much better position, said Nathan Henderson, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Feeling that one is being treated unfairly is a sure guarantee of unhappiness and can quickly put a person into a sour mood.
But researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Harvard find that it can also be hazardous to your health.
One in seven children in Wisconsin and nearly 11% of the state’s population – more than a half-million people – lived in poverty in 2007, according to a University of Wisconsin-Madison report released Monday
Library Mall is going to the dogs, and stressed-out students will be glad for it.
The Pet Therapy study break on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus will be on Wednesday from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Library Mall at the western end of State Street, with staff from University Health Services bringing their dogs to the mall so students can pet and play with the puppies.
The “counseling canines” are intended to reduce the stress that students can feel heading into final exams.
Last school year, UW-Whitewater was home to a championship football team.
This year? Paintball.
Major League Baseball Commissioner Allan H. â??Budâ? Selig will deliver the commencement address at four UW-Madison undergraduate ceremonies on Saturday, May 16, and Sunday, May 17, at the Kohl Center.
Selig, former owner and president of the Milwaukee Brewers, graduated from UW-Madison in 1956 with a degree in political science and American history.
When it comes to restorations that impress, fancy buildings or miraculous rehabilitations often do the trick. But sometimes it’s something as familiar as a gas station.
….Another public building honored was the John Olin House at 130 N. Prospect Ave., the chancellor’s residence for the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
These days when Morgan and Marcus Paige want to play a little one-on-one they head over to the Cedar Rapids YMCA. Someday they may be able to take their duels to the Kohl Center.
Morgan Paige plans on spending a lot of time at the Kohl Center beginning in the 2010-11 school year, as the 5-10 junior guard from Marion (Iowa) High School has become the first player to commit to the University of Wisconsin womenâ??s basketball program for that class.
