Quoted: Rashi Mangalick, a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research Group board chairman.
Author: jnweaver
Eco-friendly education (Wisconsin Builder)
The largest school in the University of Wisconsin system has a long history of dedication to sustainable education. The university?s Sustainability Task Force worked this summer on several areas of campus sustainability: energy, materials and consumption, natural and built environments, and transportation.
National Guard?s new mission: Agriculture
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
As part of the unit?s training, Col. Darrel Feucht, who earned an agriculture degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1985, hopes to enlist the help of UW?s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences for a one-week course on farming practices in the U.S. from a century ago.
Senate candidate Ron Johnson maturing quickly
U.S. Senate hopeful Ron Johnson rolled into town last week for a question-and-answer session at the tony Madison Club. With his media team in tow, the latest rock star of the Republican Party made his way to the table at the front of the crowd ? and between the cross hairs.
Quoted: Charles Franklin, UW-Madison professor of political science
Report calls for overhaul of state Department of Commerce
Others active in the six-month effort include Bill McCoshen, who ran the agency for four years under Thompson and now splits his time as lobbyist and director of the nonprofit Competitive Wisconsin business group; Tom Hefty, retired chief executive of Blue Cross Blue Shield United of Wisconsin and conservative economic activist; and business school deans at both Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Curiosities: Is it true that cell phone use can cause health problems?
Wisconsin State Journal
Q: I?ve heard that cell phones produce unhealthy electromagnetic waves that can cause health problems. Is this true?
A: Brain cancer is the major health concern with the electromagnetic radiation from cell phones, but most studies find “nothing definitive,” says Bruce Thomadsen, a professor of medical physics and human oncology at UW-Madison.
Boating accidents killed 16 in state
Wisconsin State Journal
….Data from 10 years? worth of reports compiled by the DNR and reviewed by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism show 189 people have died while boating in Wisconsin, an average of 19 a year. Despite the continued concern over preventable boating accidents and fatalities, Wisconsin lawmakers tried but failed in the last session to pass laws mandating life jackets for children and cracking down on drunken boating, which is No. 5 on the top 10 list of accident causes.
Students learn and grow, grow and learn
Wisconsin State Journal
Talandra Jennings and Infinity Gamble couldn?t contain their excitement as the 11-year-olds showed off the zucchini picked from the East High Youth Farm on a recent morning.
It was the first vegetable harvested from their section of the farm, which consists of a number of gardens in an area next to Kennedy Elementary School. The two girls, who will be sixth graders at O?Keeffe Middle School, are working at the East High Youth Farm, which is a hands-on science and vocational program focused on sustainable agriculture and service learning.
Doug Moe: Humanities architect a hot topic
Wisconsin State Journal
All of a sudden there is a flurry of interest in Harry Weese, who designed the most controversial building in Madison history. Weese, a colorful Chicago architect who designed the George L. Mosse Humanities Building on the UW-Madison campus, and who died in 1998, is the subject of a long profile in the July issue of Chicago magazine.
A new book on Weese and his work, ?The Architecture of Harry Weese,? which includes a photo and text on Humanities, is coming in September. The author, Chicago academic Robert Bruegmann, will speak on changing tastes in architecture at Monona Terrace Oct. 7. His lecture is titled, ?Buildings We Love to Hate.?
The next day in Madison, Bruegmann will speak on campus ? the details are still to be finalized ? more specifically on Weese and the Humanities Building.
UW sophomore gives room and “board” new meaning
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison sophomore John Zdeblick is making waves as a rising star in the world of competitive collegiate wakeboarding.?It hooks you in because it?s so much fun,? said Zdeblick, a member of the UW Water Ski and Wakeboard Team.
Property Trax: UW-Madison prof pans feds? new foreclosure prevention program for unemployed
Wisconsin State Journal
Last week Tuesday in Property Trax, I reported on the federal government?s latest program to stem the rising tide of foreclosures driven by unemployment. And I noted it looked similar in concept to a plan put forward in late 2009 by experts in UW-Madison?s real estate program. Since then, I?ve heard from one of those experts, UW-Madison professor Stephen Malpezzi, a housing economist.
University of Wisconsin cancer researcher quits amid conflict of interest investigation
Wisconsin State Journal
An internationally renowned cancer researcher at UW-Madison abruptly resigned this spring after university officials began investigating a potential conflict of interest involving his outside business interests. The State Journal looks at the case of this prominent doctor and how a 22-year career at UW-Madison came to a surprising end.
On Campus: Largest class graduates from University of Wisconsin-Madison’s PEOPLE program
Wisconsin State Journal
The largest class ever is graduating from UW-Madison?s pre-college program to increase diversity on campus, PEOPLE (Pre-college Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence). Today, 180 high school students will attend a ceremony to mark their completion of the program at the Madison Marriott West in Middleton. Those students are entering their senior year of high school and will work on their applications to attend UW-Madison.
UW football: Strength coach Ben Herbert is one intense dude
Madison.com
I got a chance to sit down this week with Ben Herbert, the strength and conditioning coach for the University of Wisconsin football team, to talk about the eight-week summer workout program that concludes on Friday. If talking to Herbert doesn?t get you ready for football season, I don?t know what will. Some people think he looks a little intimidating, with his shaved head and intense eyes.
Blog: Burish will have Stanley Cup in Madison Aug. 18
Madison.com
If you didn?t get a chance to have a personal moment with the Stanley Cup when it was in Madison earlier this year, Adam Burish will accommodate you. Burish, the former UW men?s hockey captain, helped the Chicago Blackhawks win the Cup earlier this summer. As per tradition, every member of the NHL championship club gets to have the legendary trophy for a day.
UW to survey Merrill on health
Wausau Daily Herald
Researchers from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health will survey randomly selected Merill residents about their health choices next week.
Court: Man can sue over death of unborn child
Quoted: UW Law School professor Peter Carstensen.
Rick Brooks: Practice what we preach on alcohol availability
Wisconsin State Journal
Does Walgreens really need to sell liquor amidst all the products designed to care for the wounds that liquor helped create? No, for many reasons, including the hundreds of people in Wisconsin who are killed and injured every year by people who found it too easy to drink too much.
State ranks high in childhood exposure to secondhand smoke
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Wisconsin ranks fifth nationally in childhood exposure to secondhand smoke, according to a study published in the July Pediatrics. More than one in 10 children in the state regularly breathed in secondhand smoke, compared with about one in 100 in Utah.
In the households of smokers, 39% of children regularly breathe in secondhand smoke. Only West Virginia outranks Wisconsin on that measure. The study surveyed 2,000 households across the state in 2007.
Secondhand smoke is tied to heart disease, asthma and premature birth, said Nathan Jones, a University of Wisconsin-Madison statistician who analyzed the state data.
Don Schoechert: Balance the power in Big Ten divisions
Wisconsin State Journal
The “Big Ten + Two” ? that?s what the name of the league the Wisconsin Badger football team now plays in should be. The addition of Nebraska is solid, but they could have brought in more money and exposure from the East Coast TV market with the likes of Pittsburgh. That would have been a good match-up with Penn State each year.
Serendipitous cosmic ray data gathered
United Press International
A particle observatory at the South Pole has produced a scientific result about a phenomenon the telescope was not even designed to study, researchers say. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, designed to capture evidence of elusive but scientifically important subatomic particles called neutrinos, offered up some unexpected new science about cosmic rays, a University of Wisconsin-Madison release said Tuesday.
NBA star and ex-Badger all about giving back
Madison Times
?It?s always great to be back in Madison,? says former Wisconsin Badger and current NBA star Devin Harris. ?It?s familiarity territory. I really like to look around every time I?m here to see how things have changed ? see the things that are here when I was here and things that they are building up. I think the campus has really taken on a life of it?s own.
Secondhand smoke exposure among highest in nation for state youths
Wisconsin State Journal
Wisconsin?s youth are struggling for breath, as the state was among the top five in the nation with high levels of secondhand smoke exposure for children 17 and younger.
About 10.5 percent of Wisconsin children were regularly exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes in 2007, according to an article published in this month?s health journal Pediatrics.
Racial disparities found throughout organ transplant process
Capital Times
On a Sunday afternoon last year Larry Studesville received the most important phone call of his life. A young man had died in a tragic accident; did Studesville want his kidney?
Studesville, then 62, was at UW Hospital within two hours. “It was another chance at life,” he recalls. A grieving family?s gift helped Studesville, whose own kidneys were failing due to hypertension and diabetes, beat grim odds. But other African-Americans have not been so fortunate.
On Campus: Rural troops dying at higher rate, according to University of Wisconsin study
Wisconsin State Journal
U.S. troops from rural parts of the country are dying at higher rates than urban soldiers in the Iraq War, according to a study by a UW-Madison sociologist.
People from rural areas enlist in the military at higher rates, said Katherine Curtis, assistant professor of sociology, and once there, are killed in disproportionate numbers.
Dane County’s first black DA ready to take the reins
Wisconsin State Journal
When Ismael Ozanne goes to work on Monday, it will be his first as Wisconsin?s first black district attorney.
While that distinction carries historic significance, Ozanne knows that it?s the present that matters, fraught with the same challenges that prosecutors across the state are facing, and some that are particular to Dane County.
On Campus: Rural troops dying at higher rate, according to University of Wisconsin study
Wisconsin State Journal
U.S. troops from rural parts of the country are dying at higher rates than urban soldiers in the Iraq War, according to a study by a UW-Madison sociologist. People from rural areas enlist in the military at higher rates, said Katherine Curtis, assistant professor of sociology, and once there, are killed in disproportionate numbers.
Jeffrey Patterson: Lessons from the Gulf for nuclear reactors
Capital Times
One crucial lesson from the BP oil spill is that measures to speed licensing, cut corners on safety and undermine regulation can lead to tragic consequences. Yet Congress appears on the verge of repeating mistakes that led to the environmental catastrophe in the Gulf. Federal lawmakers are weighing a BP-type deregulation of new nuclear reactors — the one energy source in which damage from a major accident could dwarf harm done by a ruptured offshore oil well.
(Dr. Jeffrey Patterson is president of Physicians for Social Responsibility and a professor in the department of family medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. This column was provided by the American Forum, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational organization.
UW study finds diet, smoking contribute to vision problems
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A diet rich in all the things that are known to be good for your health also can protect against vision-stealing cataracts, according to new research by University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists.
Business school dean to head UW Foundation
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
University of Wisconsin-Madison business school dean Michael M. Knetter has been chosen to head the $2.5 billion University of Wisconsin Foundation.
Obituary: William Sydney Critchley (Madison.com)
William Sydney Critchley, age 61, of Madison, passed away on Tuesday, July 27, 2010. He and Jeanine were married in Madison on Sept. 29, 1990. Bill worked as a locksmith and gunsmith for more than 20 years for Jack?s Lock and Gun and 11 years until his retirement in 1995 as supervisor of the Locksmith Shop at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Panel to review Wisconsin financial aid programs
WKOW-TV 27
MADISON (WKOW) — Wisconsin lawmakers have created a special committee to review the state?s financial aid programs for higher education. The panel, expected to recommend policy changes, is chaired by Representative Joan Ballweg, a Republican of Markesan.
Ballweg has has been involved in financial aid issues in recent years. She says the goal of the review is to improve access to higher education, make sure resources are being used effectively and retain graduates in the state. The review will look at the Wisconsin Covenant program, the tuition reciprocity agreement between Wisconsin and Minnesota, and loan forgiveness programs.
Marching Band may miss Las Vegas game
WKOW-TV 27
MADISON (WKOW) — A fixture of past UW football team trips to play UNLV in Las Vegas may be missing this year – the University of Wisconsin Marching Band. Band director Mike Lekrone told WKOW27 News he?s “pessimistic” about band members traveling to Las Vegas to perform in connection with the Sept. 4 game. Lekrone said sources of funding relied on in the past to support the band?s travel to Las Vegas for UW games may not be available.
Campus Connection: Knetter named new UW Foundation president
Capital Times
Mike Knetter, the dean of UW-Madison?s School of Business, has been named the new president and chief executive officer of the University of Wisconsin Foundation according to a press release.
Knetter will succeed Sandy Wilcox, who is retiring from his position after 22 years as president of the UW Foundation. Knetter has served as head of the business school since July of 2002 and will join the Foundation on Oct. 16.
Assembly District 77: Candidates jockey to be the greenest
Capital Times
In an eight-way race to fill the seat of retiring state Rep. Spencer Black, a majority of the candidates are echoing the progressive, pro-environmental policies that defined Black?s 26 years in office. Politically speaking, it?s a smart move.
Quoted: Political science professor David Canon
Bikers and drivers: Let?s call a truce
Capital Times
….I?ve been biking to work for about seven years now. I?ve been honked at, yelled at, spit on, squeezed to the curb until I?ve lost my balance. I?ve been cut off repeatedly by right turners. Drivers sometimes stop at a stop sign, look straight at me as I pedal their way, then bolt, forcing me into a skid.
Quoted: David Noyce, associate professor of civil and environment engineering, and alumnus Bob Mionske
Altruism blossoms in tamarin monkeys, study shows
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The findings show that altruism blossoms in cultures that divvy up child-care duties, and hint that the human instinct to help others stems from our communal child-care system, said primatologist Charles Snowdon of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, co-author of the study.
UW did the right thing, got the right result
Capital Times
The University of Wisconsin took a tough stand when it decided to end its licensing agreement with Nike, after complaints arose regarding the company?s treatment of displaced workers who had been employed by Honduran factories that make the company?s athletic wear.
But the bold move has proven to have been exactly the right one.
UW study finds diet, smoking contribute to vision problems
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A diet rich in all the things that are known to be good for your health also can protect against vision-stealing cataracts, according to new research by University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists.
UW-Milwaukee student identified as flooding victim
WKOW-TV 27
MILWAUKEE (WISN) — A 19-year-old UW-Milwaukee student missing from Cudahy has been identified as the body pulled from a creek Saturday night. The Milwaukee Dive Rescue Team pulled the body from the Lincoln Creek near 32nd Street and Hampton Avenue around 8 p.m Saturday. Family members said Kyle Pelesnik has been missing since Thursday.
Campus Connection: UW-Madison helps persuade Nike to reverse course
Capital Times
Reacting in part to pressure applied by UW-Madison, athletic apparel giant Nike has agreed “to help improve the lives of workers affected by the Hugger and Vision Tex factory closures in Honduras.”
….”I think this is one of the biggest victories that the student anti-sweatshop movement has had,” says Jane Collins, a UW-Madison professor of community and environmental sociology, and author of the 2003 book “Threads: Gender, Labor and Power in the Global Apparel Industry.”
“This is precedent-setting. Nike does not very often admit that it did something that needed fixing,” adds Collins, who also is a member of the university’s Labor Licensing Policy Committee.
Next ag secretary must be a fighter for farms and food
Capital Times
The death of Rod Nilsestuen, who drowned Wednesday while swimming in Lake Superior, leaves a huge hole in state government.
Of all the tributes to Nilsestuen, I was particularly struck by what Molly Jahn, dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, had to say….
Jahn would be an appealing choice, although she is just back from a stint as deputy undersecretary of research, education and economics in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Biz Beat: Think of UW sheepskin as an “export”
Capital Times
Say what you want about soaring tuition or bloated salaries at the UW, but education is considered one of Madison?s key exports, according to a new national report.
The Brookings Institution in a report released today called “Export Nation: How U.S. Metros Lead National Export Growth and Boost Competitiveness” ranks the economic impact of export activity in the nation?s 100 largest metropolitan areas.
Heartland foundation CEO to step down
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Neil Willenson was 22 years old when he created Camp Heartland, a summer retreat for children with HIV or AIDS or who live with someone who does.That was 17 years ago.
Now called One Heartland, the Milwaukee-based nonprofit agency has become a year-round national organization whose mission is to improve the lives of socially isolated children through a series of camps in three different states.
At the end of September, Willenson, 39, will step down as CEO of the foundation he created. He is a UW-Madison graduate.
Autism in kids more prevalent among wealthier parents, study finds
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Upper class parents are likelier to have children with autism, according to a University of Wisconsin-Madison study. The findings suggest either the genetics or the lifestyles of wealthier people predispose their children to autism.
Researchers have spent decades trying to untangle the factors that cause autism. Since the 1940s, scientists noticed wealthier and more educated families had children with the disorder, said Maureen Durkin, a UW-Madison epidemiologist and lead author of the study.
Regents Praise Retiring UW-Superior Chancellor
WISC-TV 3
MADISON, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin System is bidding farewell to the state?s second longest-serving chancellor. The Board of Regents on Friday praised retiring University of Wisconsin-Superior Chancellor Julius Erlenbach as a champion of the liberal arts who oversaw a building boom on campus.
UW Hospital and Clinics Nationally Ranked for Health Info Technology
NBC-15
MADISON — A national magazine has ranked University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics among the nation?s top hospitals for its use of information technology to make patient care better, safer and more efficient.
UW Hospital was named to the top 25 list for the ?most wired? and ?most wireless? hospitals and health systems in the nation, according to the July issue of Hospitals & Health Networks magazine. Those named to the list are leaders in implementing new technologies and, more importantly, bringing the benefits to patients.
Community remembers 23-year-old who drowned in Lake Monona
WKOW-TV 27
MADISON (WKOW) — The 23-year-old Waunakee man who drowned in Lake Monona early Thursday was a volunteer at the Boys & Girls Club. The Boys & Girls Club?s CEO Michael Johnson said Jawaun McClain was one of the group leaders at the Allied Boys & Girls Club. McClain was a graduate from the University of Wisconsin and was about to attend Law School.
McClain also was a mentor for the PEOPLE Program, worked recently at MSCR and coached a speech team at West High School. He was remembered by dozens of kids that sent letters to his family because of the impact he had on their lives.
UW System Wants Furloughs To End, Raises Restored
WISC-TV 3
MADISON, Wis. — University of Wisconsin System officials said they will push the state to end employee furloughs next year and restore 2 percent raises taken away from faculty and staff.
Michael Morgan, the system?s new chief operating officer, told the Board of Regents Friday the system would not propose a plan to help lagging university salaries catch up to those at rival schools.
Bob Wilson: Choices opened up via college degree are crucial
Capital Times
Dear Editor: Judging whether a college education is a good buy just based on expected lifetime earnings misses quite a few other rewards. A very big one is choice.
UW men’s hockey: Two freshmen sign and Murray decides to return
Madison.com
Near as University of Wisconsin men?s hockey coach Mike Eaves can tell, his roster for next season is set.In addition to the signings Thursday of two freshmen ? defenseman Joe Faust and winger Gavin Hartzog ? junior winger Jordy Murray has told Eaves he intends to return.
Stem cell camp whets appetite of future scientists
Capital Times
The two dozen middle school students were tired and hungry at the end of a long day, but still fully engaged, raising their hands to ask such questions as, ?How do you spell cryopreservation?? and ?What, exactly, is a stem cell?? Renowned UW scientist Jeff Jones, a pioneer in stem cell research, had these kids under his spell.
Court dismisses suit by fiancé of slain UW student
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A court said the fiancé of a slain University of Wisconsin-Madison student cannot recover damages for finding her dead body.
Obituary: David T. Berman
David T. Berman, professor emeritus, age 90, died July 8, 2010, at HospiceCare Inc. in Fitchburg. In 1951 he accepted the offer of a faculty position at the University of Wisconsin and embarked on a long and distinguished career of teaching, research and administration, retiring in 1987. His tenure at the University included service as chairman of the Department of Veterinary Science from 1964-1968 and associate dean of Graduate School Biological Sciences from 1969-1976.
Rod Nilsestuen, state DATCP head, drowns in Lake Superior
Madison.com
Rod Nilsestuen, who has led the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection as its secretary since 2003, drowned Wednesday evening while swimming in Lake Superior off Michigan?s Upper Peninsula.
….Nilsestuen, 62, was president and CEO of the Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives from 1978 until September 2002. He grew up on a dairy farm near Arcadia and earned bachelor?s degrees in political science and sociology from UW-River Falls in 1970 and a law degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1974.
Nearing anniversary of Sterling Hall bombing
WKOW-TV 27
MADISON (WKOW) — Special Agent Kevin Cassidy sat down to answer questions this morning about the FBI?s search for Leo Frederick Burt, as we approach the upcoming anniversary of the Sterling Hall bombing. Authorities have been looking for Burt since shortly after a truck, carrying explosives, exploded near Sterling Hall on the UW campus August 24, 1970.
UW men’s track: Ahmed places fourth in 10,000 at World Junior Championships
Madison.com
MONCTON, New Brunswick ? Mohammed Ahmed, who will be a sophomore this fall at the University of Wisconsin, finished fourth in the 10,000-meter run at the IAAF World Junior Championships on Tuesday. Ahmed, competing for his native Canada, registered his second straight top-10 showing in the event with a time of 29 minutes, 11.75 seconds.
Two other athletes with UW ties will race this week. Incoming freshman Emily Sisson will represent the U.S. in the 5,000 on Wednesday after finishing 10th in the 3,000 on Monday, while incoming freshman Gregory MacNeill is slated to compete for his native Canada in the prelims of the 400-meter relay on Friday.
Driver ID’d in fatal crash after police chase
Wisconsin State Journal
The driver of a car being followed by a police car after a failed traffic stop was killed Wednesday morning when the car crashed at Williamson and Ingersoll streets, UW-Madison police Sgt. Aaron Chapin said.
The driver was identified as Michael J. Benkert, 24, of Waunakee, who was pronounced dead at the scene by the Dane County deputy coroner.
Plain Talk: Only some UW hiring irks Nass
Capital Times
I went searching our archives last week, typing in the search box the names of UW football coach Bret Bielema and state Rep. Steve Nass.
What I hoped to find was a story about Nass, R-town of La Grange, the fearless basher of all things University of Wisconsin, calling on the attorney general to investigate Barry Alvarez?s hiring of Bret Bielema to replace him as the Badgers? football coach. But, as I figured, no story popped up.
Is college still worth it?
Capital Times
Christina Garcia had her heart set on going to the University of Washington in Seattle.
But with annual out-of-state tuition topping $25,000, the recent Cedarburg High School graduate and her family calculated it would cost more than $40,000 per year to go to school at her first college choice. In the end, it only made sense to head to another UW ? the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
….UW-Madison officials say they are committed to making their institution accessible and affordable to all, with Chancellor Biddy Martin playing a leading role in ratcheting up efforts to raise more need-based aid to ensure those who most require financial assistance are being ?held harmless? from tuition increases. And compared to other Big Ten Conference schools, Wisconsin?s flagship remains a steal for in-state students, with only those attending the University of Iowa paying less in resident tuition and fees ($6,824 in 2009-10).