Skip to main content

Author: jplucas

Robert Anthony Alesch

Posted on
Madison.com

Robert Anthony Alesch, age 86, passed away peacefully at Agrace HospiceCare on Monday, Feb. 17, 2014. He was born June 7, 1927, in Rockford, Ill., the son of Anthony and Bertha (Berry) Alesch. He started a long career for the State of Wisconsin in 1951, culminating as the personnel administrator for the University of Wisconsin System. His most notable accomplishment as personnel administrator was serving as a committee member to craft the current Wisconsin Public Employee Retirement System, which has served to benefit thousands of public servants.

Hawks: Scientists Return to Explore a Second Fossil Chamber

Posted on
National Geographic

It has been a long three months since we camped out at the site of the Rising Star caves outside Johannesburg, and the summer growth has erased the signs of our presence. There?s no evidence of the Science Tent, and the paths we wore through the chunks of dolomite are now under grasses and red wildflowers.

The open-source seed movement in Wisconsin

Posted on
Isthmus

Farmers have traditionally gathered and saved seeds from one growing season to plant in the next. But this age-old tradition is being threatened by corporations that are increasingly restricting access to seeds through patents.

Kristof: Professors, We Need You!

Posted on
New York Times

Some of the smartest thinkers on problems at home and around the world are university professors, but most of them just don?t matter in today?s great debates.

Time to Vet Prospective Colleges

Posted on
Wall Street Journal

Noted: If given advance notice, many admissions offices will help arrange for a prospective student to sit in on a class, or for a family to have lunch in a dining hall, says Adele Brumfield, director of admissions and recruitment at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. If you have the opportunity to do so, Mr. Barry says to ask yourself, “Are the students paying attention? Or is there a dead look in their eyes?” You might also ask if advance plans are required to eat in a dining hall.

Contradictions in Cold War-era higher education

Posted on
Oxford University Press

This week, managing editor Troy Reeves wears his Badgers pride proudly in an interview with historian Matthew Levin. Levin, who received his PhD in History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is the author of Cold War University: Madison and the New Left in the Sixties (UW Press, 2013). Cold War University offers a long view of the 1960s, charting the UW-Madison?s transition from a center for military research to a hotbed of dissent, to unpack what Levin calls ?the contradictions of cold war era higher education.?

Badgers in Sochi

Posted on
The Badger Herald

The University of Wisconsin has a long tradition of sending current and former athletes to compete in the Olympics and this year?s games in Sochi will be no different.

?Severe? Antarctic weather tests for solar panels

Posted on
Energy Live News

Scientists say tests to put extra strong solar panels in the Antarctic have been successful.University of Wisconsin researchers simulated freezing weather conditions to put ?double glass? solar PV panels through their paces, including sub-zero temperatures for lengthy periods of time.

Six Badgers prepare for combine

Posted on
ESPN Wisconsin

MADISON – The University of Wisconsin may lack a first-round talent among their former players getting ready for the 2014 NFL Draft. But what they don?t lack is overall depth in the class.

The Lost Boys and Girls of Children?s Literature

Posted on
Wall Street Journal

Books can open up new worlds, and introduce readers to fresh voices. But a new survey conducted by the Cooperative Children?s Book Center, a study and research library of the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, suggests that when it comes to kids books written right here in the states, the publishing industry doesn?t always give diverse authors and themes much of a chance.

UW Band to perform at Waterloo High School

Posted on
Waterloo Courier

The University of Wisconsin Varsity Band is making a return appearance to the Waterloo High School gym. After a four-year absence, the band members that march at football games in Madison will perform in a concert at the school at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 17.

Audit critical of UW payroll and benefits system

Posted on
Wisconsin Radio Network

A new state audit shows there are still concerns about the security of the University of Wisconsin?s payroll and benefits system. The report from the Legislative Audit Bureau says the system implemented in 2011 remains at risk for security breaches, which could result in unauthorized payments being made.

Shutske Tapped as Interim UW-Extension Provost

Posted on
Wisconsin Ag Connection

The agricultural and natural resources director for the Cooperative Extension Division of the UW-Extension system has been selected as the program?s new interim provost and vice chancellor. John Shutske will begin his new duties on February 17. He also serves as the associate dean for extension and outreach at the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

Great Lakes Water Levels Are in Unusual Decline

Posted on
LiveScience.com

The Great Lakes share a surprising connection with Wisconsin?s small lakes and aquifers ? their water levels all rise and fall on a 13-year cycle, according to a new study. But that cycle is now mysteriously out of whack, researchers have found.

While You Were Sleeping

Posted on
MilwaukeeMag.com

By following 1,500 subjects for 25 years, a landmark study at the University of Wisconsin helped reinvent sleep science and proved that sleep apnea causes more than snoring. Scientists now link the sleep disruption to health risks ranging from high blood pressure and stroke to cardiovascular disease and early death. Is your aging brain a risk too?