Noted: The UNL team, as well as researchers from other institutions, has made discoveries that could lead to faster, smaller and smarter electronic devices. The team is part of a larger research effort led by Chang-Beom Eom, professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Author: jplucas
Meet the GOP’s Newest Rising Star (NationalJournal.com)
National Journal
?If you had suggested that about Scott Walker 10 days [ago] it would have seemed incomprehensible,?? Byron Shafer, political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told National Journal. ?Stay tuned and ask me again in another 10 days.”
Workers’ Rights Battle Goes National at Pivotal Time for Labor
Bloomberg News
Quoted: It?s difficult to predict how much the proposed change in collective-bargaining rules would save local governments and schools because not all entities will apply the changes in the same way, said Andrew Reschovsky, a professor of public affairs and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Wis. Budget Plan May Tilt Political Playing Field (AP)
National Public Radio
Quoted: Combined with proposals to require voters to show identification, end election-day voter registration and redraw legislative boundaries, Wisconsin Republicans could solidify their power if the anti-union bill passes, said David Canon, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist.
University of Wisconsin leaders oppose splitting UW-Madison from system (Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune)
University of Wisconsin System administrators and chancellors are frustrated with a proposal to remove the system?s flagship school, UW-Madison, from the system.
FluGen obtains $7.8 million in new financing
Wisconsin State Journal
FluGen, of Madison, has received $7.8 million to begin human clinical trials, probably this fall, of its product: a painless, microneedle skin patch the size of a poker chip that will be used to deliver vaccines against influenza and other illnesses. Its technology is licensed through the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.
On Campus: Another UW-Madison teaching assistant “teach-out”
Wisconsin State Journal
The UW-Madison Teaching Assistants? Association called for “teach-out” Tuesday to protest Walker?s bill. The teach-out means that teaching assistants will gather at the Capitol, but it?s not a strike.
Union supporters from other states pour in to help Capitol protesters
Wisconsin State Journal
Scores of union members from other states joined the pro-labor rallies Monday at the state Capitol, saying they fear for their own collective bargaining rights because of what?s happening here. Among the more renowned protesters was Jeff Skiles, the “Miracle on the Hudson River” co-pilot who was hailed as a hero in 2009 for helping safely land a US Airways plane in New York. “Gov. Walker?s plan goes too far to promote an extreme right-wing agenda of what America should look like,” he said at a press conference. Skiles, who lives in the city of Oregon near Madison, said he has been protesting at the Capitol numerous hours daily since Friday. His daughter, Kelly, a UW-Madison student, and his son, Matt, an Oregon High School junior, have slept some nights at the Capitol.”I have never been more proud of them,” Skiles said.
Hundreds of law enforcement officers called to Madison
Hundreds of law enforcement officers from across Wisconsin are being sent to Madison to assist with security at the State Capitol. A central command center has been set up away from the Capitol, manned by Capitol Police, Madison Police, UW-Madison Police, the Dane County Sheriff?s Office, the Rock County Sheriff?s Office, the State Patrol, the Dane County Communications Center (911), and the Wisconsin DNR. Protest parades and demonstrations planned on Tuesday include rallies major rallies at noon and 5 p.m. by organized labor groups. And the United Council of UW Students is calling for a student walkout at noon Tuesday with students to gather at the Library Mall.
On Campus: Fledgling faculty unions would dissolve under Walker’s bill
Wisconsin State Journal
Gov. Scott Walker?s budget repair bill would effectively end all fledgling efforts to form faculty unions on University of Wisconsin System campuses. Faculty were just granted the right to collectively bargain two years ago. His bill calls for a repeal of that law. That differs from many other state workers, whose rights would be severely curtailed, but not completely revoked.
UW Health investigates doctors who wrote sick notes for protesters
Wisconsin State Journal
UW Health is investigating reports of doctors writing sick notes last weekend to excuse Capitol protesters from work, and the Wisconsin Medical Society has criticized the doctors? actions. “These charges are very serious,” a statement by UW Health said. “These UW Health physicians were acting on their own and without the knowledge or approval of UW Health.”
Baggot: Worst brings out best in former UW teammates
Madison.com
Kirk Daubenspeck, a second-team All-America goaltender in 1997, suffered a severe brain injury Feb. 16 when his car collided with a semi in heavy fog near Dodgeville. Daubenspeck is in critical but stable condition at UW Hospital. He?s in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator. Jamie Spencer and Mark Strobel were senior co-captains for UW when Daubenspeck was a sophomore in 1994-95. Tim Krug was a co-captain with Daubenspeck when the two were seniors in 1996-97. The three close friends ? all from the Twin Cities area ? have taken turns in a prayerful, round-the-clock vigil at Daubenspeck?s bedside. They have comforted his wife Peggy and the couple?s young son Axel.
Wis. budget plan may tilt political playing field
Madison.com
Quoted: David Canon, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist.
On Campus: UW-Madison chancellor takes to Twitter to answer questions about possible split from UW System
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin took to Twitter Monday night to answer questions about her mission for more freedom from state regulations – known as the New Badger Partnership – and the possibility of UW-Madison splitting from the rest of the UW System. Here are some selected questions and answers, in 140 characters or less.
UW charges for Badgers spring game
Madison.com
The University of Wisconsin-Madison athletic department, in a departure from tradition, will charge fans to attend the Badgers? spring game at Camp Randall Stadium. UW athletic director Barry Alvarez says the $5 admission will benefit the School of Nursing?s building project. The Badgers typically draw about 20,000 fans to the spring games. This year the game is scheduled for April 23.
Schools tout efforts to keep tuition in check
USA Today
A cynic might think the schools are angling to stay below the Education Department?s radar. As part of an ongoing plan to help keep spiraling tuition charges in check, the department will annually publish online, starting in July, a list of schools with the highest percentage increases in tuition and fees in a three-year period, along with the 5% of colleges reporting the highest overall sticker prices.
In Wisconsin, union-busting as GOP strategy
USA Today
The standoff between Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker and the Democratic senators that caused a massing of protesters in the state capital isnt just about the bargaining rights of public employees.
(Mentions UW-Madison and the impact of the voter ID bill on students.)
Economy shuffles Princeton Review’s Best Value Colleges
USA Today
The economy may be bouncing back, but college-bound students in search of an affordable education face a bumpy ride. Federal stimulus money, which helped many public universities hold tuition down, is about to dry up. Some private schools, including Williams and Dartmouth, are paring financial aid. House Republicans have proposed cutting the maximum Pell Grant given to needy students.
Faculty will march on Capitol with students and TAs
Badger Herald
In a show of solidarity with University of Wisconsin teaching assistants? and students? continued demonstrations of opposition to the budget repair bill, some professors said they will begin to reschedule classes and meetings today.
Professors to walk out of classrooms Tuesday
Daily Cardinal
Public Representation Organization of the Faculty Senate, a membership organization consisting of UW-Madison faculty, has scheduled a march to the Capitol Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. in response to the budget repair bill.
Key Part Of Walker’s Budget Plan Faces Deadline
WISC-TV 3
A key part of Gov. Scott Walker?s stalled plan to balance the state?s budget in part through making public workers pay more for benefits faces a Friday deadline.
Walker Rejects Compromise As Capitol Protests Continue
WISC-TV 3
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said Monday he won?t negotiate over his plan to strip most collective bargaining rights from nearly every public employee.
UPDATE: UW Health doctor’s notes investigation
WKOW-TV 27
UW Health says its investigating doctors who passed out medical notes to teachers protesting over the weekend.
Lengthy Assembly debate likely for budget repair bill
Wisconsin Radio Network
The Assembly meets today to take up the Governor?s budget repair bill, although it could be awhile before a final vote on the measure takes place.
Not budging on the budget bill
Wisconsin Radio Network
Governor Scott Walker stands by his refusal to negotiate with state union workers over his plan to eliminate nearly all of their collective bargaining rights. Union leaders are saying they would be willing to pay more for pensions and health care, but want to keep their ability to collectively bargain. Walker won?t compromise.
Wisconsin Splits Over Governor?s Move Against Public Unions
New York Times
Wisconsin?s financial problems are not as dire as those of many other states. But a simmering resentment over those lost jobs and lost benefits in private industry ? combined with the state?s history of highly polarized politics ? may explain why Wisconsin, once a pioneer in supporting organized labor, has set off a debate that is spreading to other states over public workers, unions and budget woes.
Quoted: ?The Republicans are really Republicans here, and the Democrats are really Democrats, so the candidates who come out of primaries reflect that,? said Ken Goldstein, a political scientist from the University of Wisconsin.
UW men’s hockey: Former goalie Daubenspeck in coma after car crash
Madison.com
Several former University of Wisconsin men?s hockey players planned long ago to be in Madison this weekend to watch the Badgers host rival Minnesota at the Kohl Center.
Medical Billing Errors Surge
Wall Street Journal
Yet problems are emerging in the way hospitals use the systems, leading to billing mistakes to the tune of “thousands of errors in an hour,” according to a 2010 study in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association by Ben-Tzion Karsh, an engineering professor at the University of Wisconsin.
UW football: Bielema’s persistence lands an assistant, tweaks Boilermakers coach
Madison.com
University of Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema is nothing if not persistent in his search to find the right assistant coaches for his staff.
Wisconsin risks losing its best public employees
CNN.com
For about a week, tens of thousands of men, women and children have been gathering at the State Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, protesting Gov. Scott Walker?s “budget repair” bill. Besides requiring sharp increases in employee contributions to pension and health insurance benefits, the bill strips most of the state?s public sector unions of almost all their collective bargaining rights.
If Walker?s bill passes, and salaries and benefits continue to be slashed by local governments with no negotiations necessary, it will be the most effective teachers, the best managers and the most successful university professors who will be the first to leave their jobs for the private sector.
Social networking sites can help predators lure children to abuse, authorities say (Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune)
Quoted: There are some young people, particularly those who are lonely, who are more susceptible to predators who tell them they?re terrific, said Darald Hanusa, who has a Ph.D. in clinical social work, is employed at the Midwest Domestic Violence Resource Center in Madison and lectures part time at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A lot of flattery goes into the grooming process.
Wisconsin senators’ absence raises questions on tactic
Reuters
Quoted: Professor Mark Copelovitch of the University of Wisconsin said the Democrats? move was a local version of the U.S. Senate filibuster, a tactic once minimally used that he called now “systematic.
Those Wisconsin unions
Guardian (UK)
Quoted: According to the economist Menzie David Chinn at the University of Wisconsin, yes, state and local employees in the state are somewhat undercompensated compared to their private-sector counterparts. First of all, here?s a chart, which reflects national averages not Wisconsin ones but is interesting anyway, comparing public- and private-sector workers? wages (I assume whoever made this chart means wages specifically, which refers to money compensation only and not benefits). It shows that at every level of education except “less than high school,” private-sector employees out-earn public-sector ones. The difference gets more stark as you go up the education ladder, as you might expect.
People Program has a new assistant director (The Madison Times)
Madison Times
Carl Wesley has spent a lot of time in his life helping and guiding students ? ranging from grades 2 through 16 ? from throughout the state of Wisconsin. His innovative work with youngsters will help him tremendously at his new job as the assistant director for the University of Wisconsin-Madison PEOPLE (Pre-College Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence) program.
Obama’s Wisconsin remarks ease labor’s doubts (Politico)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Quoted: But in Wisconsin, Obama had no choice but stand up for his friends in labor, according to Charles Franklin, a University of Wisconsin, Madison political scientist and polling specialist. “The unions are seeing it as essentially a threat to their existence.”
Officials: State funding cuts could dwarf possible savings on benefits
Wausau Daily Herald
Quoted: Federal stimulus money that states used last year to plug budget holes is gone, and Howard Schweber, an associate professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, described the outlook for municipalities as “bleak.”
Were Walker’s plans clear?
Janesville Gazette
Quoted: “At least personally I did not see this coming,” UW-Madison in political scientist David Canon said.
Wis. budget plan may tilt political playing field (AP)
Seattle Times
Quoted: Combined with proposals to require voters to show identification, end election-day voter registration and redraw legislative boundaries, Wisconsin Republicans could solidify their power if the anti-union bill passes, said David Canon, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist.
An open letter to Scott Walker from UW-Madison faculty
Badger Herald
As scholars, teachers and citizens, we recognize that the right to form unions and bargain collectively has been essential to the establishment and enrichment of democracy in Wisconsin, in the United States and around the world. The International Labor Organization, which the United States joined in 1934, states that ?the right of workers and employers to form and join organizations of their own choosing is an integral part of a free and open society? and includes collective bargaining rights among the four ?fundamental principles and rights at work.? The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which the United States endorsed in 1948, states that all workers have the ?right to form and to join trade unions for the protection? of their interests.
Reschovsky: Wisconsin risks losing its best public employees
CNN.com
For about a week, tens of thousands of men, women and children have been gathering at the State Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, protesting Gov. Scott Walker?s “budget repair” bill. Besides requiring sharp increases in employee contributions to pension and health insurance benefits, the bill strips most of the state?s public sector unions of almost all their collective bargaining rights.
Transparency key for partnership
Daily Cardinal
When it comes to details about the New Badger Partnership, Chancellor Biddy Martin has been talking in generalities for nearly a year. Martin has continually called for drastic measures to help cushion the possibility of large cuts to university funding?measures she vaguely described as “flexibility” and “increased tools.” However, when a memo with specifics about the possible shape of the New Badger Partnership was released last week, it seemed as if behind-the-door details that had built up for months were finally made public.
Defiant Dems vow to stay away
Wisconsin Radio Network
The Wisconsin state Senate?s 14 Democrats left Madison last week, and Republican leaders in the chamber now say they?ll be on the floor Tuesday with or without them. Provisions of Governor Scott Walker?s budget repair bill would radically restrict the ability of state workers to collectively bargain, and Senator Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) said Democrats will stay away as long as necessary to oppose that. ?He wanted us to come back and do our jobs and debate the proposals,? Erpenbach said of statements Walker had made. ?And then in the very next sentence, he says he?s not going to negotiate this. So it doesn?t make any sense to me for us come back and debate something that?s not negotiable. That?s ridiculous.?
Closing of Borders could revive mom-and-pops
Wisconsin Radio Network
UW-Madison Marketing Professor Deborah Mitchell says the news of the liquidation is not surprising but ?sobering.? She says the book giant lost touch with its competitive advantage as a gathering place in the community, in addition to taking on too much debt and futile efforts to edge out Amazon.com as an online presence.
Lost in the crowds are ‘silent’ supporters of Gov. Walker’s plan
Wisconsin State Journal
Jeff Waksman is a Ph.D. candidate who works as a UW-Madison research assistant, and he stands to see his paycheck dwindle if Gov. Scott Walker succeeds in making state workers pay more for health and retirement benefits, but that?s OK with him. “It?s going to cost us a little beer money,” Waksman said Friday as he and other Walker supporters prepared for a rally Saturday intended to answer a week of anti-Walker protests at the Capitol.
Chris Rickert: Look past political theater to judge Walker’s proposal
Wisconsin State Journal
Quoted: Dennis Dresang, UW-Madison political science professor emeritus.
Mike Ray: Wisconsin’s academic reputation threatened
Wisconsin State Journal
With one stroke of his pen, Gov. Scott Walker can end the quality of education in Wisconsin as well as the rich history of cooperation that Wisconsin government is known for. Our state ranks among the nation?s highest academic achievers. Walker?s economic plan makes scapegoats out of state teachers and will lead to a brain drain the likes of which this state has never seen. The nation?s leading researchers at UW-Madison will likely take millions of research dollars with them as they flee, causing tuition raises to unprecedented levels. Wisconsin?s once proud academic system is about to be shredded.
Joshua Sandquist: Walker?s budget plan is tough love
Wisconsin State Journal
Joshua Sandquist, of Madison, is a research scientist in zoology at UW-Madison.
Report: Public employees make less, including benefits, than private workers
Wisconsin State Journal
Quoted: Andrew Reschovsky, UW-Madison professor of public affairs and applied economics.
Psychologists find teachable moments for children in Capitol protests
Wisconsin State Journal
Quoted: Charles Kalish, professor of educational psychology at UW-Madison.
Gloria Meyer: Focus on strengths, or we’ll be ?Wississippi’
Wisconsin State Journal
When I left a major corporation in another state to take a job at UW-Madison, I cut my salary in half. I wanted to do something worthwhile and provide a public service. Part of the deal, however, was good health insurance and pension. Many state employees made the same deal, which the governor now wants to rescind.
Chris Rickert: It hasn?t been the best week for liberalism
Wisconsin State Journal
Quoted: Tim Smeeding, director of the UW-Madison Institute for Research on Poverty.
Ask the Weather Guys: What is the coldest wind-chill temperature ever recorded in Madison?
Wisconsin State Journal
Quoted: Steven A. Ackerman and Jonathan Martin, professors in the UW-Madison department of atmospheric and oceanic sciences.
Curiosities: Why, when I see wind generators on a windy day, are some rotating and others not?
Wisconsin State Journal
Quoted: Giri Venkataramanan, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at UW-Madison.
Larry Davis: Share the sacrifice, except for coaches
Wisconsin State Journal
What stuns me is why UW Chancellor Biddy Martin and the UW Board of Regents would approve salary increases for football coaches at the same time that other UW staff members were informed their salaries will be cut.
UW men’s hockey: Former goalie Daubenspeck in coma after car crash
Madison.com
Several former University of Wisconsin men?s hockey players planned long ago to be in Madison this weekend to watch the Badgers host rival Minnesota at the Kohl Center. Their trips took a sad, solemn turn when it was learned that former UW goaltender Kirk Daubenspeck was critically injured in a car crash Thursday.
Texas poised to pass bill allowing guns on campus
USA Today
Texas is preparing to give college students and professors the right to carry guns on campus, adding momentum to a national campaign to open this part of society to firearms.
UW Officials At Odds Over Madison’s Role in System
Inside Higher Education
Leaders of the University of Wisconsin System are urging Governor Scott Walker to reconsider a plan to spin off the system?s flagship Madison campus into an independent university — while the chancellor at Madison has quietly been encouraging the governor to set the campus loose, The Journal-Sentinel of Milwaukee reported.
Rust Belt at vanguard of backlash against organized labor (Seattle Times)
Seattle Times
Quoted: Charles Franklin, a political-science professor at the University of Wisconsin
Wisconsin senators’ absence raises questions on tactic
Reuters
Quoted: Professor Mark Copelovitch of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
UW sports: Athletic department’s budget is increased to $88.368 million for 2011-12
Madison.com
The University of Wisconsin Athletic Department had its operating budget request of $88.368 million for 2011-12 approved without rancor or debate Friday. Members of the UW Athletic Board voted unanimously to allow the department to spend $5.29 million more than its current operating budget of $83.219 million, an increase designed primarily to address two major capital projects.