I love the University of Wisconsin.
Out-of-state tuition: unjust and illogical
Daily Cardinal
Author: jplucas
Walker set for State of the State
Wisconsin Radio Network
Almost a month after taking office, Governor Scott Walker will deliver his first State of the State Address tonight to lawmakers at the Capitol. UW-Madison Political Scientist Charles Franklin says the speech gives Walker an excellent opportunity to further outline and restate his goals, although he says it?s rare that a governor provides any concrete plans during the annual speech.
New Question for Professors: Should Students Be Allowed to Attend Classes Via Webcam?
Chronicle of Higher Education
Noted: When I visited the University of Virginia last year, I saw a Skype guest speaker in action. Siva Vaidhyanathan, a professor of media studies there who frequently explores new educational technology, had agreed to give a half-hour talk via Skype to a friend?s class at the University of Wisconsin at Madison?s library school, and he let me sit in. A few minutes before he was to appear, he headed to his faculty office, logged onto Skype, and donned a headset. A Webcam built into his monitor broadcast his image, and thanks to a camera on the other end, he could see the classroom full of eager students. He spent a few minutes on prepared remarks, and then took questions. Afterward, he joked that his friend now owed him a beer, or else a guest lecture in return.
Can New Online Rankings Really Measure Colleges’ Brand Strength? Unlikely, Experts
Chronicle of Higher Education
For a college, what?s the value of a tweet? Or a Facebook item and mention on a blog? In recent months, a handful of companies have introduced rankings that claim to calculate a college?s brand value or online influence by looking at the attention an institution receives online. One ranking found that the University of Wisconsin at Madison has the strongest brand equity among universities, based on its number of mentions across the Internet. Another named Stanford University the most influential college on Twitter.
Study: Rise in some cancers linked to oral sex
USA Today
Noted: “It seems like a pretty good link that more sexual activity, particularly oral sex, is associated with increased HPV infection,” said Dr. Greg Hartig, professor of otolaryngology head and neck surgery at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison.
Statewide Smoking Ban Study Draws Differing Conclusions
WISC-TV 3
A statewide smoking ban study performed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Carbone Cancer Center concluded that the ban?s effect was not as severe as some bar and tavern owners have claimed.
UW Professor Worried About Family In Egypt
WISC-TV 3
A University of Wisconsin-Madison professor from Egypt is worried about his family in Cairo amid ongoing popular uproar.
Wartime accusations about Vang linger unresolved (Fresno Bee)
Quoted: The evidence, however, is controversial — and is invariably tied to history professor Alfred W. McCoy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Winter workouts, lifting help combat seasonal depression (Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune)
Quoted: Seasonal affective disorder is a kind of depression probably caused by a lack of sunlight, said Dr. Claudia Reardon, a University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health psychiatrist and assistant professor. Exercise can help fight the problem.
Austerity forces states to reverse their efforts to shrink class sizes (Stateline.org)
Columbus Dispatch
Quoted: “Class-size reduction policies came into effect because of an economic boom,” says Beth Graue, a professor of early childhood education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “It was in the ?90s and we had money to spend, and it was invested in reducing pupil-teacher ratios.”
Rivalries that are worth fighting for (Metro.Us)
Looking back at huge snowball fights: The University of Wisconsin-Madison didn?t win the title, but it does look like a good time.
Badger Partnership step in rational direction
Badger Herald
Have the inevitable discussion about rising tuition with one of your well-informed peers, and chances are they?ll read you a veritable riot act of legislative abuses that the state?s flagship school did nothing to deserve: prison spending now totals roughly three-quarters of education funding, and state support of UW-Madison, currently hovering around 18 percent, is at an all-time low.
UW Student Worried About Egyptian Family
WISC-TV 3
The recent street protests in Egypt have some University of Wisconsin students speaking out.
Was there ever an ‘Old’ Badger Partnership?
Isthmus
That?s the question Noel Radomski asks in a facebook comment. The UW education policy researcher may have terminated his mayoral campaign, but he still has a lot to say about UW:
UW Astronomer Reflects On Challenger Disaster
WISC-TV 3
University of Wisconsin astronomy professor Kenneth Nordsieck said the Challenger disaster changed the way many Americans viewed space flight.
Chris Rickert: Smoking ban bias cuts both ways
Wisconsin State Journal
It was with pronounced eye-rolling that I read the latest study by the UW-Madison Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center. Funded in part by the state Tobacco Prevention and Control Program and Smoke Free Wisconsin, the study?s author, David Ahrens, looked at antismoking ordinances in seven Wisconsin cities and found they did not eliminate hospitality industry jobs or cause bars and restaurants to close. Of course they didn?t. To find otherwise would be like a tobacco industry study finding its products kill you.
Crema Cafe adds weekend brunch
Wisconsin State Journal
A seven-course dinner inspired by the papacy in Avignon, in medieval France, will be held Feb. 3, at 6 p.m. at Steenbock?s on Orchard, 330 N. Orchard St., in the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery. The dinner will be prepared by chef Michael Pruett, and each course will be paired with a wine from the Rhone region. The featured speaker on the dual papacy will be William Courtenay, a medieval history professor emeritus at UW-Madison.
Allegra Zick: Is oil industry behind Walker?s priorities?
Wisconsin State Journal
Almost as fast as the high-speed rail scuttled by Gov. Scott Walker have been his actions to dismantle the biofuel project for UW-Madison?s power plant and the discouragement of wind power project construction throughout Wisconsin.
Steve Limbach: Walker lacks vision for long-range future
Wisconsin State Journal
As I listened to the president?s State of the Union speech, it became clear how at odds our new governor is with the initiatives that will shape our country and return us to a sound economy. I believe the president has it right in looking at innovation, technology and new green industries as having a huge and saving influence on our long-range future. Gov. Scott Walker, however, does not seem to understand or appreciate these issues…UW-Madison planned to add a co-generation power plant, giving the state an opportunity for new markets in biomass fuels and energy research, while providing clean energy. Walker turned it down.
Walt Hannan: Walker dealing with predecessors? mistakes
Wisconsin State Journal
Our governor is dealing with the Madison liberal left problem about as rapidly as can be expected. He is looking into all the high-cost foolishness of past administrations…Walker also eliminated the proposed biofuel boiler at the Charter Street heating plant for a substantial cost saving. UW-Madison gets rid of its dirty coal pile and the planners want to replace it with piles of wood chips, corn stalks and the like. Using home-grown products as a fuel source may be desired, but it can be just as effective at a rural location as it would be near the center of our capital city.
Quilt by association
Wisconsin State Journal
Quoted: Diane Sheehan, a UW-Madison professor and textile art expert.
Curiosities: How do they make artificial snow?
Wisconsin State Journal
Quoted: Pao Wang, a professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences at UW-Madison.
Curling: Area represented in tourneys in Turkey, Alaska this weekend
Madison.com
t?s a big weekend for several local youth curlers in competitions on opposite sides of the globe.University of Wisconsin student Blake Morton leads a rink at the Winter World University Games, which began Thursday in Erzurum, Turkey, while three teams that included members of the Madison Curling Club will participate in the 2011 Junior National Curling Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska, starting on Sunday. Morton is one of three McFarland residents on the team, along with Calvin Weber (UW) and Tommy Juszczyk (MATC). Marcus Fonger (UW-Eau Claire) hails from Cottage Grove and coach Mark Hartman is from Sun Prairie.
UW Athletic Board doesn’t extend contracts of Waite, Trask
Madison.com
Volleyball coach Pete Waite and men?s soccer coach John Trask had their contracts renewed but not extended by the University of Wisconsin Athletic Board at its monthly meeting Friday.
Bielema gets contract extension at Wisconsin
Madison.com
Wisconsin has given football coach Bret Bielema a contract extension after he led the Badgers to their first Rose Bowl since 2000. The University of Wisconsin Athletic Board on Friday approved extending Bielema?s five-year contract through Jan. 31, 2016. Terms were not disclosed.
Wis. lab: death of 200 cows traced to bad potatoes
Madison.com
A state lab says the 200 steers that died this month in Portage County were done in by tainted potatoes. Peter Vanderloo is an associate director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, which is run on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He says the cows tested positive for a toxin that?s found in moldy sweet potatoes.
On Campus: University of Wisconsin officials still tallying Rose Bowl costs
Wisconsin State Journal
UW Athletic Department officials are not ready to release an expense report on Rose Bowl costs, said Justin Doherty, assistant athletic director for external relations.
Bielema gets contract extension at Wisconsin (AP)
Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema has won a contract extension after leading the Badgers to their first Rose Bowl since 2000.
UW transplant surgeon puts on dancing shoes
WKOW-TV 27
By day, he?s a transplant surgeon. By night (at least for the past two to three months!) he?s a dancer.
Hundreds of American Students Lie Low in Egypt, as Protests Continue
Chronicle of Higher Education
Universities in Egypt were closed on Sunday and American institutions with students in the country were monitoring their safety while making arrangements to get them home, as antigovernment protests and sporadic outbreaks of violence continued in the capital and other cities. With airlines observing a 4 p.m.-to-8 a.m. curfew imposed by the Egyptian government, however, thousands of people trying to leave were stranded at the international airport here.
Study looks at how well hospices use the language of loss and dying
Wisconsin Public Radio
One of the ways a hospice attempts to help families of dying patients cope is with written materials. A study done at UW Madison questions whether that information is helpful.
Cows succumbed to moldy sweet potatoes
Wisconsin Radio Network
There was no apocalyptic cause for the recent deaths of 200 cattle in Central Wisconsin. The steers succumbed in a Portage County feed lot earlier this month, and Doctor Peter Vanderloo at the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Lab said tests have shown that it was moldy sweet potatoes used in the animals? feed that did them in. ?The mold product that grows on sweet potatoes was present in the sweet potatoes,? said Vanderloo. ?All the clinical science, the death loss, the changes in the steers, are all compatible with this mold.
Egyptian riots halt UW plans
Badger Herald
As political protests in Egypt become increasingly violent, University of Wisconsin officials are bringing students currently studying abroad in Egypt home and have indefinitely suspended programs scheduled to depart for Cairo later this week.
Getting Out of Egypt
Inside Higher Education
Study abroad programs across Egypt are scrambling to protect, feed, and evacuate their students while mass protests rock the country.
James Durfee: Coaches’ pay questioned
Wisconsin State Journal
Does anything here seem askew? According to a sports story last week, the UW Board of Regents is about to approve the expenditure of $316,668 for pay increases for UW Athletic Department staff. Will that provide pay increases for 10 staff members, or 15? No, it will go to just two football coaches….If athletics has a few hundred thousand extra floating around, why not re-direct it to student financial aid, or better yet, the state general fund?
Chris Rickert: Would you like fries with that ER visit?
Wisconsin State Journal
Quoted: UW-Madison professor Tom Oliver, the director of the school?s master of public health program.
Legal rules for prosecutors to follow
Quoted: Ben Kempinen, a UW-Madison law professor.
County exec hopefuls talk economy at candidates forum
Wisconsin State Journal
In a forum Thursday night between the candidates for Dane County?s top job, economic development was what everyone was talking about. The five candidates in attendance talked about how to protect vital social services, hold the line on taxes, stimulate the economy and produce more jobs. Candidate Zach Brandon said the county needs to grow its economy and create the right jobs ? not just jobs for people who make $100,000 a year or are UW graduates. “Leadership doesn?t mean waiting to see what (Gov.) Scott Walker does.”
Madison’s Hmong community celebrates life of beloved leader
Wisconsin State Journal
The late Hmong military leader Vang Pao was revered among his people for leading guerrilla forces against the Communists in Vietnam. When he died Jan. 6 from pneumonia in Clovis, Calif., at age 81, the loss was keenly felt in Madison, where many Hmong resettled after the war. Noted: Madison dropped a plan in 2002 to name a park in honor of Vang Pao after UW-Madison history professor Alfred McCoy cited published sources alleging Vang Pao had ordered executions of his own followers, enemy prisoners of war and his political enemies.
Steenbock’s to host medieval dinner
A seven-course dinner inspired by the papacy in Avignon, in medieval France, will be held Feb. 3, at 6 p.m. at Steenbock?s on Orchard, 330 N. Orchard St., in the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery. The dinner will be prepared by chef Michael Pruett, and each course will be paired with a wine from the Rhone region. The featured speaker on the dual papacy will be William Courtenay, a medieval history professor emeritus at UW-Madison.
How foul are we? ‘Swear words map’ charts U.S. tweets (KENS-TV, San Antonio)
While this map comes courtesy the other UW (Wisconsin),The fascinating map, courtesy of the University of Wisconsin is not your normal topography. Rather, Daniel Huffman logged about 1.5 million Twitter posts, and checked them for swear words (you can check out his methodology ? that is, which swears he used ? on his blog).
Preschooler food faves: salt, sugar, fat (Medill Reports)
Preschoolers know they prefer foods with salt, sugar, and fat and they can show it, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Oregon and University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Microbes’ enzymes could be key to better biofuel (Medill Reports)
Quoted: ?If we?re going to take these enzymes and use them on an industrial level, we need to be able to mass produce them. To do that, you actually need the gene that produces the enzyme,? said Garret Suen, professor of bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Where should UW-Madison students live?
Isthmus
2,700 students. The thought of that number supporting a cause would make any campus activist drool with envy. But that?s the number of students the Badger Herald is reporting have joined a facebook group in protest of a proposed apartment complex on Mifflin St.
UW Med students get real life training in DUI crashes
WKOW-TV 27
Some first year UW med students are taking a unique approach in learning about the consequences when it come to drinking and driving. About four times a year, the students take a break from the books to get a hands on lesson on a real problem impacting our community.
GOP legislators fast track latest voter ID bill
Wisconsin Public Radio
While the plan builds on voter ID bills of years past, David Canon, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says this one is different.
“This version?is more restrictive than any bill we’ve had in the past. Indeed, if this bill passes, it would be the most restrictive in the United States.”
Despite Obama?s Call, No Rush in R.O.T.C.?s Return to Campus
New York Times
In his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, President Obama called for college campuses to ?open their doors to our military recruiters? and the Reserve Officer Training Corps.
Pets treated to cutting-edge therapy at UW vet school
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Lying on a soft white blanket while waiting to get prepped for his medical treatment, Clyde looked bummed as he softly moaned.
It wasn?t clear whether he knew what lay in store for him. Clyde is a basset hound. Like most members of his breed, he always has a “hangdog look.”
On this day, 10-year-old Clyde was undergoing one in a series of TomoTherapy treatments for the cancerous tumor in his nose. He is one of the first pets to be treated by the relatively new radiation therapy at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, the first veterinary school in the nation to open a TomoTherapy clinic.
State health official tells U.S. House panel of shortfall
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The state?s health care programs for the poor face a shortfall of $214 million this year and a whopping $1.8 billion more over the next two years, the state?s top health official told a congressional committee Wednesday in high-profile testimony.
Changes to voter ID bill suggested
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Quoted: David Canon, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist.
Obama in Wisconsin: In Wisconsin, Obama touts his economic plan and woos voters
Los Angeles Times
Charles Franklin, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin.
Obama Says U.S. Needs to `Up Our Game’ to Compete
Bloomberg News
Quoted: Charles Franklin, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Study: College endowments make gains
USA Today
A year after their worst declines since the Great Depression, college endowment earnings gained sharply last year, though not enough to make up for ground lost during the recent recession, a study out Thursday shows.
After Tucson, schools seek aid to track trouble
USA Today
College mental health workers report greater concern about disruptive students since the mass shooting in Tucson, resulting in more calls from faculty, requests for special training and reassessments of campus procedures. Faculty members are seeking advice on dealing with disruptive outbursts and intimidating behavior, says Brian Van Brunt, president of the American College Counseling Association.
On Campus: University of Wisconsin-Madison debuts ‘Let’s Talk,’ drop-in counseling
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison?s student health services this week debuted a drop-in counseling service called “Let?s Talk.” With no appointments needed or paperwork involved, the program allows students to chat informally with staff from University Health Services at drop-in centers around campus.
Lawmakers debate GOP-backed voter ID bill (AP)
Wisconsin State Journal
Quoted: University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor David Canon, who studies election law, said the proposal would be the most restrictive in the country.
Mental health hits a low for college freshmen
USA Today
College freshmen?s emotional health hit an all-time low this academic year, reflecting the stress of wanting to succeed and the cost of acquiring a quality education during a struggling economy, a report from UCLA?s Higher Education Research Institute says.
Defense attacks psychologist’s report (Chippewa Herald)
Quoted: Dr. Craig Van Rybroek, a lawyer and psychologist who teaches at the University of Wisconsin and works at the Mendota Mental Health Institution, was hired by the court, not the prosecution or defense, to evaluate murder defendant Shane Hawkins.
Obama in Wisconsin: In Wisconsin, Obama touts his economic plan and woos voters
Los Angeles Times
Quoted: “There?s almost not a living state Democratic office holder left after that; I exaggerate slightly,” said Charles Franklin, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
Republican-backed voter photo ID requirement for Wisconsin draws criticism (AP)
Appleton Post-Crescent
Quoted: University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor David Canon, who studies election law, said the proposal would be the most restrictive in the country.