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Budget deal keeps Madison campus in UW System

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Madison.com

The University of Wisconsin?s flagship Madison campus would receive more flexibility in how it operates but it would also remain part of the university system under changes to Gov. Scott Walker?s budget approved by a legislative committee Friday. Funding to all campuses would be cut 11 percent, the same level Walker proposed. The Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee voted along party lines 12-4 to reject Walker?s proposal to break Madison off from the 13-campus system before completing work on the budget shortly after midnight early Saturday morning. While Madison would remain in the system, it and all the campuses would have more flexibility in how they spend state money and make decisions related to personnel and other areas.

Andy Baggot: Donna Freitag hopes to help others with breast cancer

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Madison.com

Donna Freitag has breast cancer. Eight days ago, the former assistant women?s basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin underwent the second of six rounds of chemotherapy. The toll of the treatments is predictably heavy, from the nausea and body aches to the loss of appetite, hair and energy. Freitag desperately wants to take part in the 14th annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Saturday in Madison. But even though she maintains it will be a “game-time decision” to walk the course with dozens of family members and friends, she knows her body and must cater to its delicate whims.

Ex-Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger dies

Posted on
Madison.com

The only career foreign service officer to rise to the position of secretary of state, Lawrence Eagleburger died Saturday at age 80. Over 27 years in the foreign service, he served in the Nixon administration as executive assistant to Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, as President Jimmy Carter?s ambassador to Yugoslavia, and as an assistant secretary of state and then undersecretary of state in the first Reagan administration. Born Aug. 1, 1930, in Milwaukee, Eagleburger graduated from the University of Wisconsin.

Joint Finance Committee finishes work on budget

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Wisconsin State Journal

The Legislature?s powerful budget committee has finished its work on Gov. Scott Walker?s two-year spending plan. The budget now heads to the full Legislature, where debates in the state Assembly and Senate are expected to begin in about a week. The GOP-controlled Joint Finance Committee finished soon after midnight Saturday morning. The budget balances a projected $3 billion budget hole. It does not raise taxes overall, but makes sharp cuts to public schools and the University of Wisconsin.

Doug Moe: Despite difficulty, Mount Kilimanjaro climb was ‘so worth it’

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Wisconsin State Journal

They flew into Africa at night, so Chris Dodgion and Barb Zarebczan did not see Mount Kilimanjaro ? described by Ernest Hemingway in a classic short story as “wide as all the world, great, high, and unbelievably white in the sun” ? until the next day. Only one in their party, Itoro Elijah, had landed in the daylight, and the mountain made its impact. She called it amazing. Dodgion, 31, and Zarebczan, 29, are residents in general surgery at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. In late February, they were part of a group of nine people ? two other UW surgery residents, a UW nurse practitioner, and some friends and parents ? who went to Africa intent on climbing to the 19,340-foot summit of Kilimanjaro.

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UW-Madison independence idea officially dead, legislators float alternative

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Wisconsin State Journal

Legislators officially killed plans Friday to turn UW-Madison into an independent authority, opting instead to give more flexibility to every campus in the University of Wisconsin System. The new plan would give all of the state universities and two-year colleges greater freedom over personnel and property decisions and provide university leaders a block grant that would allow the individual schools to keep money saved through cost-saving measures. The proposal unveiled Friday would also create a panel of experts to study ways to add even more flexibility to the university system.

Divorce can hurt kids’ math scores, friendships

Posted on
USA Today

Young children of divorce are not only more likely to suffer from anxiety, loneliness, low self-esteem and sadness, they experience long-lasting setbacks in interpersonal skills and math test scores, new research suggests. Children do not fall behind their peers in these areas during the potentially disruptive period before their parents divorce, the study revealed. Instead, it?s after the split that kids seem to have the most trouble coping. “Somewhat surprisingly, children of divorce do not experience detrimental setbacks in the pre-divorce period,” noted study author Hyun Sik Kim, a doctoral candidate in the department of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

UW-Madison to stay in system, budget panel says

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Wrapping up its work Friday amid more protests, the Legislature?s budget committee voted to cut taxes for manufacturers, keep the state?s flagship university as part of the University of Wisconsin System and open up a possible Milwaukee-style school voucher program in Green Bay.

What?s Next for Wisconsin?

Posted on
Inside Higher Education

The state has also been home to a highly charged fight — now reaching its climax — over whether to grant autonomy and administrative flexibility to the University of Wisconsin at Madison. The debate has been closely watched in other states where college officials and lawmakers are questioning assumptions about the relationship between state governments and their public institutions of higher education, particularly flagships, as public funding continues to dry up.

Eagleburger was Wisconsinite who held host of diplomatic posts

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Before he advised Presidents Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, before he flew to China and Yugoslavia on diplomatic troubleshooting missions and later helped orchestrate the first Persian Gulf War, Lawrence Eagleburger was a staunch member of the Young Republicans at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Divorce can hurt kids’ math scores, friendships

Posted on
USA Today

Young children of divorce are not only more likely to suffer from anxiety, loneliness, low self-esteem and sadness, they experience long-lasting setbacks in interpersonal skills and math test scores, new research from the University o0f Wisconsin-Madison suggests.

Committee ends work on the two-year budget

Posted on
Wisconsin Radio Network

The University of Wisconsin-Madison campus remains part of the entire UW System, under the budget passed through the Joint Finance Committee early this morning. Amid several disruptions by protesters, the Republican-controlled panel continued its work, opting against consideration of Governor Scott Walker?s proposal to split the system and give the flagship campus individual authority.

Budget deal keeps Madison campus in UW System (AP)

Posted on
BusinessWeek

The University of Wisconsin?s flagship Madison campus would receive more flexibility in how it operates but it would also remain part of the university system under changes to Gov. Scott Walker?s budget approved by a legislative committee Friday. Funding to all campuses would be cut 11 percent, the same level Walker proposed.

UW discussion needs to be thoughtful, deliberative

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

As the Wisconsin Idea has long been a model for public higher education in this country, it is a propitious time to at once reaffirm and replenish our public commitment. Just over a half-century ago, Helen C. White reaffirmed Wisconsin?s motto of public higher education, calling again for a “continual and fearless sifting and winnowing in the pursuit of truth.”

Now is the time to reaffirm that creed, seize the moment and re-imagine public higher education both in Wisconsin and across our nation. [A column by Geoffrey Mamerow, a doctoral student in higher education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and Clifton Conrad is professor of higher education at UW-Madison.]

Researchers map likely future contact with wolves

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

As Wisconsin?s wolf population has grown, so have conflicts with humans. But where will the future problems occur? And if we know those locations, how might landowners and others be able to respond?

To help pinpoint future problem areas, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Department of Natural Resources have created a new tool to manage wolf-human conflicts.

Freedom for all

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Now that an ill-conceived plan to cleave the Madison campus from the rest of the University of Wisconsin System is dead, state lawmakers need to take a deep breath and carefully consider the best options for UW. Unfortunately, there still seems to be a rush to make changes as part of the state budget.

A better idea: Consider these matters as a separate bill.

Views: When Systems Evolve

Posted on
Inside Higher Education

Recent events in Wisconsin draw into sharp relief the dilemmas faced by systems — particularly where land grant institutions are involved. While independence for the University of Wisconsin at Madison is now unlikely, a key fact has been overlooked. Whether the current structures in Wisconsin and elsewhere are ideal or seriously flawed, they have not been historically set in stone, and in fact reflect significant changes in mission and governance in most states.

Health Officials: Cell Phones Might Pose Cancer Risk

Posted on
WISC-TV 3

Quoted: Local researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison said that the findings make sense since cell phone radio waves are proven to increase brain activity. But are cell phone users buying it? “It?s radio signals, it?s all radio,” said cell phone user Dave Scalia. “We get radio signals all the time. So there?s actually no proof of (health risks). Until there?s definitive proof, I?m not going to really care about it.”

Bear Down, Bear Jew! (Jewish United Fund)

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There?s a new Bear in town?and he?s Jewish! Gabe Carimi, former co-captain and star offensive lineman of the Big Ten champion Wisconsin Badgers was the Chicago Bears? number one draft pick in 2011. At 6 foot 7 and 327 pounds, Carimi has already been appropriately nicknamed the ?Bear Jew? after the character from the movie Inglourious Basterds; his other nickname is the ?Jewish Hammer.?

Tom Still column: More students taking the start-up path (Sheboygan Press)

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Noted: At the UW-Madison alone, more than 1,300 students were involved in entrepreneurship courses across the 42,000-student campus during the 2009-2010 academic year, according to a report to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. About 1,000 students took part in entrepreneurship events, such as the “100-Hour Challenge” and business plan competitions. One such competition is the G. Steven Burrill contest, which attracted 22 teams and 45 students in 2011 alone.

Mapping the state?s wolf risk

Posted on
Wisconsin Radio Network

New research shows wolf attacks on livestock in Wisconsin are highly localized, and may be predictable. Adrian Treves of UW Madison has worked with UW and Department of Natural Resources researchers on ways to reduce the wolf threat to both people and animals.

Gas giveaway incentives may boost tourism

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: Deborah Mitchell is with the Center for Brand and Product Management at the Wisconsin School of Business, at the UW-Madison. She says the gas card promotion works because it tackles travelers’ fears over high gas prices head on.

Research yields map of Wis. wolf attacks

Posted on
United Press International

Attacks on livestock, a major facet of conflict between wolves and people, are localized and may be predictable, researchers in Wisconsin say.

“It?s just hard to live alongside large carnivores. They damage crops, they kill livestock and pets, they threaten people?s safety,” University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Adrian Treves said.

Divorce Plagues Kids’ Social, Academic Lives for Years (Fox News)

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Young kids whose parents divorce struggle with math, social skills and emotions such as anxiety and depression for at least two years after the split, a new study finds.

The research is the first long-term study to break down the effects of divorce by the predivorce, during-divorce and postdivorce phases. Surprisingly, said study researcher Hyun Sik Kim, a doctoral candidate at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, parents? predivorce marital problems didn?t influence their kids? social and school success. But once divorce proceedings began, children fell behind and failed to catch up for at least two years.

Children of divorce score worse in math, social skills

Posted on
Reuters

Children of divorced parents often fall behind their classmates in math and social skills and are more likely to suffer anxiety, stress and low self-esteem, according to a new study. Researcher Hyun Sik Kim, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the study showed that the detrimental effects on the children do not start until after the parents begin divorce proceedings.

Multilingual former spelling champ helps groom state’s best spellers

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

Jeff Kirsch knows what it?s like to stand on stage at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and for the last few years he has helped teens from Wisconsin, Minnesota and Colorado make it there. This year, Kirsch, director of the Spanish and Portuguese Independent Learning program in the UW-Madison division of continuing studies, is coaching two students and is spending this week in Washington, D.C., cheering them on. In addition to coaching Waunakee?s Parker Dietry this spring, Kirsch has spent about six months tutoring David Phan, a third-time contestant in the national bee from Boulder, Colo.

Walker’s priorities largely remain in budget (AP)

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

Gov. Scott Walker?s priorities of balancing Wisconsin?s budget without raising taxes while also buying down the state?s debt remain largely intact under the two-year state spending plan expected to be forwarded to the full Legislature by the end of the week. Republicans who control the Joint Finance Committee have agreed with Walker?s general approach to eliminating the state?s $3 billion budget shortfall. Republicans have signed off on a roughly $800 million cut in aid to public schools and are expected to approve a $250 million cut to the University of Wisconsin System later this week.

Alvarez: Ohio State’s troubles bad for Big Ten brand

Posted on
Madison.com

As tempting as it might be, University of Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez doesn?t view the ongoing ethical storm atop the Big Ten Conference summit as a good thing. Allegations of major rules violations at Ohio State led to the resignation of football coach Jim Tressel earlier this week. The NCAA is investigating the flagship school of the league a year after another premier program, Michigan, was placed on NCAA probation for the first time in school history. “You never want to see that, particularly with one of your brand schools,” Alvarez said Wednesday. “I don?t feel good about it for our league.”

For-profit colleges may face aid cuts

Posted on
USA Today

The Obama administration is set to release a controversial rule Thursday that will cut federal aid to for-profit colleges if students in particular programs graduate with too much debt and worthless degrees. Under the plan, schools will be required to demonstrate that short-term vocational programs, such as those offering certificates in the culinary arts, automotive technology or medical support, prepare students for “gainful employment in a recognized occupation.”

Teri Balser: Balser cites her reasons for leaving

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

My imminent departure, coinciding with that of Jeremi Suri, has been noted in the media. While it?s true that UW-Madison loses faculty members because we lack domestic partner benefits and our current fiscal inflexibility limits our ability to offer salaries at a level standard for exceptional research faculty elsewhere ? I am not one of these. My leaving is neither politically nor financially motivated…The University of Florida position will allow me to have a direct impact on education in the agricultural and life sciences. The equivalent position simply doesn?t exist here. My leaving is a reflection of the next step in my career more than an expression of dissatisfaction with UW System or the Madison campus.