University of Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez has multiple holes to fill on his personnel manifest, but he said Thursday that he?s decided how he?s going to replace his top aide. A week after UW executive associate athletic director Shawn Eichorst left to become athletic director at Miami (Fla.), Alvarez said senior associate AD Sean Frazier will be promoted.
The first Big Ten Conference football game for Nebraska will be under the lights at Camp Randall Stadium. University of Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez said Thursday that UW will host the Cornhuskers in a night game Oct. 1 to be televised by ESPN.
I had the privilege of addressing the Phi Beta Kappa induction dinner in Great Hall at the Memorial Union last weekend, but the speech wasn?t anywhere near as exciting as what happened afterward.
Among those in attendance at the dinner was economics professor emeritus W. Lee Hansen, one of several distinguished Phi Beta Kappa lifetime members who came to applaud the 137 new inductees to the exclusive honor society that recognizes academic and leadership excellence in the liberal arts and sciences. One of the inductees, Steven Olikara, gave a speech on behalf of the new class.
Madison police called to a house left a man who had been drinking with a responsible party Monday night, believing the drinking was over for the night. The man didn?t get a second break when officers were called back to the home about 90 minutes later, police reported.
….UW-Madison and Madison Area Technical College are open, but instructors have been advised not to schedule important tests or deadlines for Good Friday at UW, in case students are not in class, ostensibly for religious reasons.
For years, Katherine Cramer Walsh has had college students come into her office with concerns about grades or assignments. Lately, however, she has found herself being asked to offer romantic advice.
?I?ve had students coming to me in tears, saying, ?I?ve been dating this person for a year and I don?t know if I can do it anymore,?? said Walsh, a UW-Madison political science professor. The problem wasn?t fidelity or commitment ? it was Gov. Scott Walker?s collective bargaining law.
Metro Transit staff will hold a service input session on Tuesday, April 26 from 7 PM – 9 PM at Union South to present and discuss proposed service changes on the University of Wisconsin campus.
MADISON WKOW — A leading Republican lawmaker says there is not enough support among legislators to pass Governor Scott Walker?s proposal to split off Madison from the rest of the UW system, but UW chancellor Biddy Martin remains confident the split will go through.
….Chancellor Martin gave a passionate plea to the Madison Rotary Club (Wednesday). She says UW Madison is one of the top research universities in the world and unique with in the UW system.
Dear Editor: The danger of the New Badger Partnership can be found in the coded language of University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin. The NBP would literally make the UW ?open for business.?
Randy Marnocha, 51, is gradually getting the hang of his demanding role as the associate athletic director for business operations at UW-Madison.
….I initially turned a jaundiced eye toward a story in Tuesday?s paper about the GOALS (Growth, Opportunity, Acceptance, Leadership and Service) student group at Glacial Drumlin School in Cottage Grove, which is trying to help build students? empathy skills by having them complete the sentence ?If you were walking in my shoes, you would know ….?
Quoted: UW-Madison educational psychologist Bradford Brown
Everything you ever wanted to know about fungi, energy conservation, DNA and other far-reaching quests will be given the scholarly touch by UW-Madison scientists at your local library.
“Discover!Thursdays” is a new partnership between Madison Public Library, UW-Extension, UW-Madison and the Wisconsin Alumni Association that aims to educate residents about the research going on at UW-Madison.
A former state legislator who wasn?t given a staff job with the Legislature?s Joint Finance Committee in 2009 filed a lawsuit Tuesday, claiming that she was not hired because she is a Republican.
WASHINGTON — No matter how many subjects they?re acing, most college students these days find economics a grind. Tricky financial calculations influence everything from what school they attend and what major they choose to how quickly they finish their degrees – or whether they graduate at all. Money problems, not bad grades, are the reason cited by most college students who have considered dropping out, an Associated Press-Viacom poll finds.
Jonathan Gold, restaurant critic for LA Weekly, has eaten sea intestine (a Chinese seafood delicacy), numbingly spicy dan dan noodles and fermented, sticky-slimy soybean soup that is so fragrant, ?it takes over your system like an animus spirit.?
….Gold, the first food writer to win a Pulitzer Prize (in 2007), will speak about the concept of authenticity and global food culture in a local context at the Chazen Museum on Thursday, April 28. Gold is hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison?s Center for the Humanities.
Emily Hornblower Earley, age 94, died on April 16, 2011, in the Health Center at Capitol Lakes Retirement Residence. She worked for the University of Wisconsin Institute for Environmental Studies as editor of technical reports until her retirement in 1986. An active conservationist, she was a founder of Environment Wisconsin after Earth Day in 1970. She served for 13 years on the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum Committee.
The proposal to split UW-Madison from the rest of the University of Wisconsin System should be taken out of the budget and the state Legislature should instead work on a separate bill to give all UW System campuses flexibility, said Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater.
Nine Madison area applicants are among 21 finalists in the Wisconsin Governor?s Business Plan Contest, and their business proposals range from a new diabetes treatment to wireless Internet access on buses.
Lawmakers expressed doubt this week that Gov. Scott Walker?s budget proposal to split UW-Madison from the University of Wisconsin System has the support to move forward.
“I think its highly unlikely that the Legislature at this time is ready to grant that authority,” said Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester, co-chair of the state Legislature?s powerful budget committee.
WHITEWATER ? Jeff and Denise Ehren aren?t clear on the exact definition of middle class, but they?re pretty sure their place in it is shaky. They both work full time at UW-Whitewater ? he?s a custodian, she helps run the sports and recreation center ? but those jobs together grossed just under $50,000 last year, they said. They?ve got a mortgage, student loans, credit card debt and a list of side gigs, from bartending to secretarial work.
“I certainly don?t feel middle class,” said Denise Ehren, 34. “Sometimes I think we should just call ourselves poor and be done with it.”
Gov. Scott Walker appeared before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and claimed that his assault on public employees and public school teachers, public services and public education was a ?progressive? policy.
In the classical music world, Jeremy Denk is perhaps as well known for his blog, ?Think Denk: The Glamorous Life and Thoughts of a Concert Pianist,? as his recordings of J.S. Bach and Charles Ives. Denk, 40, will play a recital of two works at the Wisconsin Union Theater on Thursday, April 21: Ives? Piano Sonata No. 1 and the Goldberg Variations by Bach, a set of 30 pieces.
Jim Schuman is leaving his job as the University of Wisconsin men?s golf coach so he can open a golf academy at Hawks Landing. Schuman, 47, coach of the Badgers for the past eight years, also plans to spend time working on his own game so he can qualify for the Champions Tour in three years.
It?s taken a bit longer than planned but a fast-growing Madison-based solar energy company is finally settling into new digs. On Wednesday, Full Spectrum Solar will celebrate its move to 1240 E. Washington Ave., the former Quality Collision auto body repair shop.
….Founded in 2002, Full Spectrum Solar is owned and operated by Madison natives and UW-Madison engineering alumni, brothers Burke and Mark O’Neal.
If you ask for a business card from Masood Akhtar, be prepared to get a handful. Akhtar wears many hats.
Braveheart, the starving, parasite-ridden, sad-eyed, critically ill Kentucky Dumpster dog brought to the UW Veterinary Care Small Animal Hospital in a desperate and highly public voyage of survival, was released to a dog foster home Monday. He took along a new favorite blanket that has his name embroidered on it….The dog also received $18,000 from more than 400 donors toward vet costs.
(This story appeared first in the Sunday edition of the Wisconsin State Journal newspaper.)
UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin looked out at the room of faculty and explained once again why she wants to break the state?s flagship university away from the University of Wisconsin System. But this time, she went off script.
“If you feel like you can?t get behind this, you just need to let me know,” she said at the end of a two-hour Faculty Senate meeting this month. “Because, you know what? I?m tired. If I?m out there completely on my own, I need to know that so that I can make the choices that will be best for the university.”
Kirk Daubenspeck can instantly recall where he took his future wife on their first date in 1998, the day they got married in 2004, even that winter night 14 years ago when his extraordinary efforts on behalf of the University of Wisconsin men?s hockey team put the former standout goaltender in the record books probably forever.
Logic for UW-Madison?s flagship freedom is built on a few realities and implications.
….Quoting a management phrase, “lead, follow or get out of the way.” The Legislature, Regents and System should get out of the way.
We have an affordable, public version of Stanford right here in Wisconsin. Not only is UW-Madison one of the best universities in the world but, similar to Stanford, it serves as a key economic driver for the region.
Dr. James C. Allen, age 82, passed away on Sunday, April 10, 2011, at his home in Madison. He spent his career at the University of Wisconsin Department of Ophthalmology and the Veterans Administration Hospital.
Dianne K. Mitchell, age 55, of DeForest, passed away Friday, April 15, 2011, after struggling for many years with several health issues. She worked for the Chemistry Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for 30 years.
Q Is anything harder than diamond?
A People have made that claim, but the verdict is not in, says Don Stone, a professor of materials science and engineering at UW-Madison. ?Scientists even debate how best to measure extreme hardness,? Stone says.
If you think Gov. Scott Walker is the devil incarnate, read no further. But Wisconsin is on pace to reach the governor?s goal of 250,000 more jobs in the state over the next four years — not that Walker is doing some magic tricks. The gains are most likely the result of the economic recovery that began in 2010.
Billy Collins is one of today?s most popular poets, revered for his ability to evoke humor and heartbreak in verses both subtle and sagacious. Collins served as U.S. poet laureate from 2001 to 2003 and has taught English at Lehman College of the City University of New York for more than 30 years. He?ll speak on Monday night at Union South as part of the Distinguished Lecture Series, which is also part of the UW-Madison student-organized Madison Lit Fest.
Construction cranes towering over the massive UW Hospital complex signal a big step in positioning Madison for a new era of medical research, officials say. Work started this month on the second tower of the Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research, a $600 million, three-tower hub going up next to the hospital.
The institutes will eventually house some 1,700 researchers and lab workers from a variety of fields to study cancer, heart disease, brain disorders and other conditions. Most are moving from aging buildings on the central UW-Madison campus.
Many government managers welcome the chance to shed some union contract obligations they see as too cumbersome or costly, but they also are struggling with how to create an entirely new governance structure.
Quoted: William Powell Jones, UW-Madison associate professor of history
Wisconsin?s new collective bargaining law would take away many of the traditional tasks of public sector unions, so some labor leaders are considering plans to shift more of their focus to the political arena. The law forbids contract negotiations on anything but cost-of-living raises ? eliminating bargaining on base wages, benefits and working conditions.
Rita A. Hallett, age 62, passed away on Thursday, April 14, 2011, at the UW Hospital after a short battle with lymphoma surrounded by her family. She devoted her life to helping others when her career began as a staff nurse for the UW Hospital. Rita?s career continued as she worked for the Visiting Nurses Association, and was the Continuity of Care Coordinator at the UW Hospital.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Dance Department gets talkative this spring with the conversational ?Vis-à-vis,? running through Saturday in Lathrop Hall.
….UW Dance?s colorful spring program charms the audience, with or without words.
Ty Margenthaler could feel his coaching clock ticking. That?s why at age 39 and in his fifth season as an assistant coach for the University of Wisconsin women?s basketball team, he started to get the itch to become a head coach. That urge became a reality Thursday when Margenthaler was named coach at Southeast Missouri State.
Despite a sluggish economy, 87.3 percent of recent Madison Area Technical College graduates are working according to the school?s annual “Graduate Employment Report.” This most recent study also indicates that for the academic year which ended in May of 2010, a whopping 96.2 percent of those surveyed said they were “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with the education they received at MATC.
Students from across Wisconsin are slated to rally Friday in Madison with the hopes of breaking the silence which is too often associated with bullying in schools and universities. Participants from the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus are meeting at Library Mall at 4 p.m. before silently walking down State Street to the Capitol, where a “Break the Silence, Wisconsin” rally will begin at 5 p.m.
Michael Lovell is in line to become the next chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Lovell is the former dean of UW-Milwaukee?s College of Engineering and Applied Science who has served as interim chancellor since October.
The Fukushima Dai-ichi disaster is stimulating debate about nuclear power in Wisconsin, the U.S. and the world. To elevate the quality of that discussion, we offer a short primer on radiation and its impact on health, and our informed opinion on the implications for energy policy.
(Bruce Barrett is an associate professor in the School of Medicine and Public Health and Vohmann is a clinical assistant professor in family medicine.)
….The good news is that you don?t have to attend a workshop in Milwaukee to learn more about white privilege and to start taking positive actions to heal racism. Madison has its own Institute for the Healing of Racism chapter lead by university professor and jazz legend Richard Davis.
MADISON, Wis. — Political experts expect presidential candidates to visit Wisconsin many times during election season. Many consider Wisconsin?s colors to be green and gold, but when it comes to politics, experts say the state is purple and expect that to carry over into the 2012 presidential race. Recent political battles over collective bargaining rights, recalls and the state Supreme Court race show a deeply divided state and have thrust Wisconsin into the national spotlight.
Quoted: Charles Franklin, UW-Madison professor of political science
….”I?m really excited for the buildup and the race to the championship game, to be able to have that to look forward to at the end of the year,” University of Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said.
Before then, some new rivalries will be established, while others will be trashed. The Badgers won?t face Iowa the next two seasons. But neighboring Nebraska could replace UW as the school Hawkeyes fans love to loathe.
It?s enough to make you want to go back to school. The $95 million new Union South, which has its official grand opening on Friday, April 15, at 1308 W. Dayton St., is an eye-popper of a building.
Edwin Lavell Shumpert, age 62, of Madison, died Saturday, March 19, 2011, of heart complications. He moved to Madison in 1976 and worked for UW Food Service, the Salvation Army, and QMI.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is ranked sixth in Playboy?s annual list of the “Top 10 Party Schools.” Wisconsin?s flagship placed third last year. We?d provide you a link to this year?s rankings, but the photos accompanying the text are a bit, um, racy.
….According to a press release, Playboy’s editors compiled the list with “input from students, fans of Playboy’s social media pages, alumni, feedback from Playboy campus representatives at schools across the country, and interviews with countless others.”
Todd Finkelmeyer?s article on professor William Cronon was well done. I conclude Cronon?s concerns are misplaced and overblown, as many of those you quote attest. It?s sad to read he compares a legitimate request through the Freedom of Information Act to McCarthyism. Methinks he?s seeing too many wolves, as his feelings of intimidation demonstrate.
When UW-Madison released some emails of professor William Cronon to the state Republican Party earlier this month following a much-hyped open records request, the university withheld correspondence with students, citing federal privacy laws.
“We are excluding records involving students because they are protected under FERPA,” UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin wrote to the campus community in explaining why some of Cronon?s emails were not given to the state GOP.
Jordan Ellenberg, an associate professor of mathematics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, proposed an interesting way to resolve the state Supreme Court election.
Flip a coin.
No, seriously.
….Union/nonunion state employees receive substantially the same wage/benefit package every two years. The exception are the highly paid UW administrators or faculty members who supposedly require ?catch-up? with peers to dissuade them from leaving.
I exist on a monthly annuity from the Wisconsin Retirement System (covers state employees, K-12 teachers and most municipal employees). Annuitants aren?t exempt from Scott Walker?s cultural and economic blitzkrieg. We know it?s only a matter of time before the GOP stormtroopers target the WRS, raid its coffers and/or privatize it!
Charlene Ann Norton, age 70, of Madison, passed away on Monday, April 11, 2011, at UW Hospital. She retired from UW Hospital after 26 years.
** The new Union South will celebrate its grand opening on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at noon on Friday.
** UW-Madison announced Tuesday how it plans to use $4 million raised through its Madison Initiative for Undergraduates, a program championed by Chancellor Biddy Martin and funded through a supplemental tuition charge.
A national debate is under way over the use of open records laws to seek documents from professors at public institutions of higher education. A Washington Post editorial last week criticized our organization, the Michigan-based Mackinac Center for Public Policy, suggesting that we meant to chill academic freedom through a state Freedom of Information Act request that we filed with three public universities. The evidence shows that the Post has erred, but the general rush to judgment about the use of open records laws with public universities illustrates why defending the laws remains as challenging and important as ever.
Shawn Eichorst is stepping down as executive associate athletic director at the University of Wisconsin to become athletic director at Miami (Fla.), multiple sources have confirmed. A formal announcement is expected later Tuesday.
Eichorst, a Lone Rock native who attended UW-Whitewater and earned his law degree from Marquette, has served as the No. 2 administrator for UW athletic director Barry Alvarez for the past five years.
Think of the new Union South as a $95 million tree fort. When you were a kid, and you either built a clubhouse up in the oak tree in the backyard or dreamed of it, you wanted to pack it with every cool thing imaginable.
?This will be the crime lab where we solve mysteries, this will be the entertainment area where we play video games, then we?ll put the secret trap door exit over here …? A tour of the new Union South at 1308 E. Dayton St., which officially opens to the public on Friday, brings that feeling, writ large.
