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Tuition Hike Raises Questions About Higher Education Mission

WUWM

Thursday, the UW System Board of Regents will consider yet another boost in tuition. System President Kevin Reilly is proposing a 5.5 percent hike, meaning students would pay between $300 and $400 more a year to attend a UW school. Reilly says the increase is needed to preserve educational quality in the face of deep cuts in state funding. As WUWM?s Erin Toner reports, the financial crunch is raising questions about the fundamental mission of higher education.

On Campus: Bid Biddy ‘bye

Wisconsin State Journal

Bid UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin goodbye with Bucky, brats, and her namesake ice cream, Strawbiddy Swirl. A farewell barbecue will be held on Bascom Hill Wednesday, beginning at 11 a.m.

Chris Taylor wins 48th Assembly District race

Wisconsin State Journal

Chris Taylor almost assuredly will be the new state representative for the 48th Assembly District. Taylor, 43, came out on top of a six-way primary election Tuesday to replace former state Rep. Joe Parisi, who was elected Dane County executive in April. Taylor has a bachelor?s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a law degree from UW-Madison.

Should parents lose custody of super obese kids?

Madison.com

Should parents of extremely obese children lose custody for not controlling their kids? weight? A provocative commentary in one of the nation?s most distinguished medical journals argues yes, and its authors are joining a quiet chorus of advocates who say the government should be allowed to intervene in extreme cases. A 2009 opinion article in Pediatrics made similar arguments. Its authors said temporary removal from the home would be warranted “when all reasonable alternative options have been exhausted.” That piece discussed a 440-pound 16-year-old girl who developed breathing problems from excess weight and nearly died at a University of Wisconsin hospital.

Biddy Martin proposes using tuition hike for financial aid

Wisconsin State Journal

In one of her final acts as UW-Madison chancellor, Biddy Martin wants to set aside $2.3 million so that low- and middle-income students won?t have to pay a proposed 5.5 percent tuition increase. Martin sent a letter to the Board of Regents and UW System President Kevin Reilly on Friday seeking approval to use money from a 2011-12 tuition hike so that families with annual household incomes of less than $80,000 won?t have to pay the increase. Reilly responded Tuesday, letting Martin know the UW regents won?t set tuition and vote on the operating budget until Thursday and it would be ?inappropriate to pre-empt that action.?

Should Pell Grants Be Better Targeted?

Chronicle of Higher Education

As policymakers debate options about how to deal with a likely shortfall in funding for Pell grants?the federal government?s primary vehicle for aid to low-income and working-class students?a new research paper from the University of Wisconsin suggests that scarce Pell dollars should be targeted to the neediest Pell students.

Inca Paradox: Maybe the pre-Columbian civilization did have writing

Quoted: The Spaniards, who were no slouches themselves in the bureaucracy department?Pizarro?s landing party included 12 notaries?observed that the Incas were remarkably skilled with numbers. For many years during the 16th century, says Frank Salomon, a professor of anthropology at the University of Wisconsin, Inca khipucamayocs and Spanish accountants would square off in court during lawsuits, with the khipu numbers usually deemed more accurate.

Belief in cold remedies may be enough to help

Reuters

(Reuters Life!) – People who believe a cold remedy will work may indeed feel better sooner — even if they don?t get the real treatment, according to a U.S. study.

“These findings support the general idea that beliefs and feelings about treatments may be important and perhaps should be taken into consideration when making medical decisions,” wrote lead researcher Bruce Barrett, of the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

Speaker debunks achievement gap theories (Riverside, Calif. Press-Enterprise)

The achievement gap between middle-class white students and poor black or Latino students isn?t just academic, a speaker said Tuesday at a Summer Institute put on by the University of Redlands? Center for Educational Justice.

“We need to change the discourse from achievement gap to what I call educational debt,” said Gloria Ladson-Billings, a professor in educational policy studies at the University of Wisconsin and a former president of the American Educational Research Association.

Guarding Privacy May Not Always Protect Adolescent Patients

New York Times

Quoted: ?In the vast majority of cases when we?re working with a student who has some sort of medical or mental health news, they want their parents involved and we are able to communicate freely,? said Dr. Sarah Van Orman, executive director of University Health Services at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and vice president of the board of directors of the American College Health Association.

Redistricting legal challenges face tough road

Wisconsin Radio Network

In most legal challenges to redistricting, UW-Madison political scientist Charles Franklin says the courts focus on two primary factors when determining maps; whether districts are equally divided among the state?s population and if minorities have proper representation. So far, he says the GOP-drawn maps appear to meet those conditions.

Fairbanks boasts rising opera star in ?The Elixir of Love? production (Fairbanks News-Miner)

Jamie-Rose Guarrine as has been working consistently since graduating with a doctorate in musical arts in performance from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She said earning the doctorate may not have been the most traditional method of going into opera (many singers attend conservatories, like Julliard in New York City) but that hard work is what is important.

Study: Ocean Less Able to Mitigate Climate Change

Voice of America

The ocean?s capacity to take up the carbon humans put in the atmosphere is waning, according to a new study reported in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Previous studies, with often contradictory results, show that the amount of atmospheric carbon absorbed by the oceans varies from year to year. University of Wisconsin oceanic sciences Professor Galen McKinley says her work – in collaboration with colleagues at the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University and the Universite Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris – examines extended data analysis over time.

The Unemployment Factor – Room for Debate

New York Times

The past two years of data suggest exploding mortgage payments are not the cause of the foreclosure crisis. Prime mortgages account for the majority of mortgage defaults. Instead, there are two ?triggers? that cause foreclosures. [A column by Morris A. Davis, business professor and academic director of the Graaskamp Center for Real Estate at UW-Madison.]

Ocean carbon sinks feeling the heat

CNN.com

The ability of oceans to soak up atmospheric carbon dioxide is being hampered by climate change, according to a new scientific study.

A fresh analysis of existing observational data taken from locations across the North Atlantic Ocean recorded over a period of almost three decades (1981-2009) has revealed that global warming is having a negative impact on one of nature?s most important carbon sinks.

“Warming in the past four to five years has started to reduce the amount of carbon that large areas of the (North Atlantic) Ocean is picking up,” said Galen McKinley, lead author and assistant professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The Common Cold and the Placebo Effect

Wall Street Journal

A study of more than 700 patients found cold sufferers who get a pill, regardless of what it contains, have less severe symptoms and recover a bit sooner than patients who don?t take pills.

The placebo effect was most pronounced among people who believed in echinacea?s healing properties.

The findings by researchers at the University of Wisconsin, Madison will be published in the July/August edition of the Annals of Family Medicine. The study was primarily funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Kahn helped build one of Wisconsin’s largest law firms

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

To his three daughters and friends, Milwaukee lawyer Gerald Kahn was a man who didn?t take himself seriously. A philanthropist, he gave generously of his time and money to various efforts, including the Mosse-Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where was the founding president. He also helped Children?s Hospital of Wisconsin, the Jewish Federation and the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., his daughters said.

Republicans Release Redistricting Maps For State

WISC-TV 3

Quoted: “I think the question will be what challenge could be posed,” University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist Charles Franklin said. “Redistricting is in one sense easy to get equal populations and relatively easy to draw it, so they provide minority representation. But beyond that, it?s easy to move the lines for partisan reasons, and generally partisan reasons are not subject to challenge in court where the population and minority representation.”

What’s Next for NASA?

NBC-15

MADISON– As the shuttle shot into space for the final time Friday, some called it the end of an era. ” The space shuttle has not only been the mainstay of putting humans into orbit, but also has defined the type of things that we can put into orbit,” said Jim Lattis, the director of the U-W Space Place.

Grisly labels not so scary for cigarette sales (AP)

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Quoted: Aside from the potential to get people to quit smoking? or prevent them from starting __ the labels also could have a huge marketing effect for cigarette makers by making their brand names less important, said Deborah Mitchell, executive director of the Center for Brand and Product Management at the University of Wisconsin.

4 Ways Colleges Can Take Their Social Media Presence to the Next Level (Mashable)

Noted: At UW-Madison, outgoing Chancellor Biddy Martin tweets to more than 5,000 followers about campus events and meetings, frequently responding to questions and comments from her community. Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee tweets to more than 18,000 followers about faculty and student accomplishments, university news and his perspective on happenings in the world.

Freeing the Unjustly Imprisoned: Innocence Project Affiliates Flourish, Many Tied to Universities (Diverse)

In 1998, Anthony Porter was literally a dead man walking. He had been convicted of a 1982 double murder and was on Illinois? death row. Both the Illinois and U.S. supreme courts had turned away his appeals for a new trial, and he came within 48 hours of execution. However, in 1999, he was found innocent after the actual killer gave a videotaped confession to two journalism students of the Innocence Project (IP), which has a strong claim to be the most successful example of student activism since the Civil Rights Movement. 

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Default worries UW economist

Wisconsin Radio Network

Congressional leaders are set to meet with President Obama today to discuss raising the debt ceiling and reducing the deficit. University of Wisconsin Economics Professor Andrew Reschovsky has been following the debate closely ? and says the economic impact may yet be avoided.

State blocks plans to apply for federal health grants

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

University Health Services at the University of Wisconsin-Madison planned to apply for a federal grant worth roughly $23 million over five years for the remainder of the state. It operates a clearinghouse that provides training and technical assistance to community groups, coalitions and local public health departments.

Wisconsin has its place in final frontier

Wisconsin State Journal

From experiments involving potatoes and sea urchin eggs to elements of the Hubble Telescope and tweeting, NASA space shuttles have carried and had connections to many UW-Madison scientists and Wisconsin residents during its 30-year history. Here are some of the highlights.

Former UW-Madison student indicted on child porn allegation

Wisconsin State Journal

A federal grand jury has indicted a former University of Wisconsin-Madison student on one count of sharing child pornography computer files. According to court documents, an FBI agent in Los Angeles logged onto a file-sharing site in August 2010 and downloaded nearly 160 images linked to a computer in 23-year-old Matthew Hendrickson?s UW-Madison dorm room.

Study: Financial aid most helpful to students unlikely to succeed without it

Wisconsin State Journal

A first-of-its-kind study found that financial aid may be most helpful to the Wisconsin college students who are the least likely to otherwise succeed. For the last three years, UW-Madison professors Sara Goldrick-Rab and Douglas Harris followed a group of students who received grant money from the Fund for Wisconsin Scholars program. The program was created through a $175 million donation by John and Tashia Morgridge, providing a $3,500-a-year grant to some first-time, full-time students enrolled in the University of Wisconsin System. Goldrick-Rab and Harris tracked data from the 600 students who received Morgridge grants, plus 900 eligible non-recipients. In initial results, they found that the most disadvantaged group of students were more likely to stay in college if they received the Morgridge grant, compared to those who did not.

Madison surgeon’s letter bashes author of study linking spinal fusion product with infertility

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Orthopedic surgeon Eugene Carragee spent four months in Iraq in 2005, as a doctor with the U.S. Army Reserves.

The physician returned to Iraq in late 2007, but his deployment was cut short by an attempted suicide bomb attack in January 2008. He was awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for his injuries and heroic actions.

Now Carragee?s military record is being used in an attempt to discredit his research indicating that the Medtronic spine surgery product known as Infuse may increase the risk of a complication that causes sterility in men. That research countered earlier papers by doctors with financial ties to Medtronic – including University of Wisconsin-Madison orthopedic surgeon Thomas Zdeblick – that failed to link Infuse to the male sterility complication.