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Author: jplucas

Wisconsin Economic Summit Series will kick off in August

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Wisconsin State Journal

Business, education and community leaders are planning a series of summits to develop recommendations on how to boost Wisconsinâ??s economy and create more jobs. The summits revive a process that took place from 2000 to 2003, where state business, labor, education and government officials met and talked about boosting the economy. Today, there are still questions about the best ways to do that, said Michael Knetter, Albert Nicholas dean of the Wisconsin School of Business at UW-Madison.

Geoffrion, Meyer named UW athletes of the year

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Madison.com

Hockey player Blake Geoffrion and swimmer Maggie Meyer have been named the University of Wisconsinâ??s athletes of the year, the school announced Wednesday. Geoffrion, a senior forward, led the Badgers to the NCAA championship game and became UWâ??s first Hobey Baker Award winner this season, while Meyer is a 2009-10 USA Swimming National Team member and a five-time All-American for the Badgers.

Solinsky catches Sports Illustrated’s attention

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Madison.com

Former University of Wisconsin standout Chris Solinsky is profiled in the June 28 edition of Sports Illustrated, which is on newsstands now. A five-time NCAA champion and 11-time All-American while with the Badgers, Solinsky caught the magazineâ??s attention after shattering the American record in the 10,000 meters in early May and becoming only the fifth U.S. runner to break 13 minutes in the 5,000 three weeks ago in Oslo.

Doyle aide Morgan offered $245,000-a-year UW job — no resume needed

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Wisconsin State Journal

The University of Wisconsin System president offered Gov. Jim Doyleâ??s top aide a high-level job without reviewing his resume or conducting a background check, according to records obtained by The Associated Press. Documents released under the public records law shed new light on the unusual and speedy process in which Administration Secretary Michael Morgan landed the $245,000-per-year job as the systemâ??s chief operating officer.

Small explosion causes disruption at University of Wisconsin-Madison power plant

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Wisconsin State Journal

A small explosion at the Charter Street Heating Plant caused some UW-Madison buildings and parts of UW Hospital to lose air conditioning Wednesday. University officials took the plant off line after a pipe ruptured in a coal-fired boiler at around noon, unleashing a torrent of steam in the building at the corner of Dayton and Charter streets. No one was injured, said John Harrod, director of the universityâ??s physical plant.

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Should we mourn the death of Dwight Armstrong?

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Janesville Gazette

Pardon me if I shed no tears over the death of Dwight Armstrong. As the Associated Press reports in todayâ??s Gazette, Armstrong was a heavy smoker and died Sunday at UW Hospital in Madison after battling lung cancer.

$245,000 UW-System job unlikely to attract top people

Posted on
WKOW-TV 27

E-mails released by UW-System officials in connection to the recent selection of former Doyle administration cabinet member Michael Morgan to a highly paid, senior vice presidentâ??s job include a frank assessment of the worth of searching far and wide for administrative talent in higher education.

UW Heating Plant Explosion

Posted on
NBC-15

Police and firefighters responded to a small explosion at the Charter Street Heating Plant during the lunch hour today.All of the facilityâ??s occupants were evacuated and all were accounted for in the wake of the blast, authorities said. No injuries were reported. The plant is located at Dayton and Charter streets on campus.

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Charter Street plant shut down after pipe rupture

Posted on
WKOW-TV 27

The Charter Street Heating Plant is shutdown and could be for a couple of days. A pipe ruptured in one of the boilers and was leaking steam this afternoon.  The plant shut down and evacuated workers.  No one was hurt.

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Small Explosion Rocks UW Heating Plant

Posted on
WISC-TV 3

A small explosion in one of the smokestacks at the University of Wisconsin heating plant on Wednesday brought emergency responders and prompted an evacuation of the facility.

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UW reporting option two-sided

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

A University of Wisconsin system-wide practice allowing sexual assault victims to report anonymously not only protects the victims of assault, but it may also be protecting the perpetrators. Laura Podgornik looks at the practice of anonymous reporting.

Agenda set for dairy competition workshop

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Wisconsin State Journal

Topics and speakers have been finalized for Fridayâ??s U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Agriculture workshop examining competition in the dairy industry. It is one of five U.S. workshops on agriculture and antitrust enforcement issues. The event will open at 8:45 a.m. with a roundtable discussion featuring U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Christine Varney, assistant attorney general for the Justice Departmentâ??s Antitrust Division. It will be held at the Union Theater, 800 Langdon St., on the UW-Madison campus.

UW football: Family Fun Day set for Aug. 22

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Madison.com

The University of Wisconsin will host its Football Family Fun Day on Aug. 22 at Camp Randall Stadium, the school announced. The free event runs from 3 to 5 p.m. and features autograph sessions and photo opportunities with coach Bret Bielema and the UW players.

Armstrong, anti-Vietnam War bomber, dies at 58

Posted on
Madison.com

Dwight Armstrong, one of four men who carried out a fatal bombing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to protest the Vietnam War, has died. He was 58. Armstrong, who spent years as one of the FBIâ??s most wanted fugitives after the 1970 blast, died Sunday at UW Hospital in Madison after battling lung cancer, hospital spokeswoman Susan Lampert Smith said. She said his family wanted the public to know he was a smoker because “they wouldnâ??t want anyone else to have to go through that.” Armstrong was a shaggy-haired high school dropout when he and his older brother, Karl, and two others parked a stolen van packed with 2,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate and jet fuel next to Sterling Hall and lit the fuse on Aug. 24, 1970.

Obituary: Dwight Armstrong

Posted on
Washington Post

Dwight Armstrong Vietnam War Protester Dwight Armstrong, 58, one of four men who carried out a fatal bombing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to protest the Vietnam War, died June 21 at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison. He had lung cancer.

Obituary for Joyce E. Wessley

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Joyce Esther Swoboda Wessley lost her five year battle with ovarian cancer on Friday, June 18, 2010. Her last position before retiring was with the University of Wisconsin Foundation, where she worked alongside Donna Shalala on various fund raising events.

New forest research facility to be dedicated

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Wisconsin State Journal

The U.S. Forest Products Laboratory will dedicate its new Centennial Research Facility at 9 a.m. Wednesday at 1 Gifford Pinchot Drive. Invited speakers include Harris Sherman, undersecretary of the USDAâ??s Department of Natural Resources and Environment; Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell; Deputy Chief of Research Ann Bartuska; and UW-Madison College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Dean Molly Jahn.

Politics blog: Barrett slams his opponents on stem cell research

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Wisconsin State Journal

Democratic candidate for governor Tom Barrett spoke about his support for embryonic stem cell research, and criticized his competitorsâ?? opposition to it, on Monday during a visit to UW-Madisonâ??s Waisman Center. “This is an institution that can provide huge benefits to the people who live in this society, but it can only do so if we allow it to continue its mission,” Barrett said. “And my concern is that you have candidates for office at the state level… who want to inject politics into science.”

Dr. Dutton more than abortion provider

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Wisconsin State Journal

As a young physician in Madison, I am frustrated with your coverage of reproductive health care. The recent article “Abortion doctor to leave UW” omits critical information, and the organization driving this story is a political group that opposes family planning services, including legal abortion. While she provides valuable abortion care, billing Dr. Caryn Dutton as “abortion doctor” belittles the range of contributions she has made to our community. An exceptional obstetrician/gynecologist, Dutton offers the full range of reproductive health care – including family planning, preconception, prenatal, labor, delivery, postpartum and abortion care – with the utmost professionalism and integrity.

UW IT chief leaving for Notre Dame

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Wisconsin State Journal

The UW-Madisonâ??s information technology chief, Ron Kraemer, is leaving to take a similar position at the University of Notre Dame, the UW announced. Kraemer, vice provost for information technology and chief information officer, came to the Division of Information Technology (DoIt) in 2005 as associate director, and became chief information officer in 2007.

On Campus: UW Med School in top 20 for ‘social mission’

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison was ranked 20th out of 141 U.S. medical schools for fulfilling its social mission. In the study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, medical schools were ranked by three criteria: the percent of graduates who practice primary care, work in health professional shortage areas, and are underrepresented minorities.

Barrett says he will champion stem cell research

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Madison.com

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett says he will back stem cell research just like Gov. Jim Doyle if heâ??s elected governor. Barrett says itâ??s wrong for opponents of embryonic stem cell research to suggest the work is unethical. Barrett says he will be a champion for stem cell research being done at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and will stand up to attempts by lawmakers to limit it. Barrett spoke after touring the Waisman Clinical Biomanufacturing Facility at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on Monday.

State selects company for plant conversion

Posted on
Madison.com

The Boldt Co. of Appleton has been selected by the state to convert a power plant on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus from coal-burning to biomass. The state Department of Administration announced Monday that Boldt will work alongside British consulting firm AMEC to install the new biomass boiler at the Charter Street heating plant. The project is expected to be done by the spring of 2013.

NIH chief Collins nixes 47 new stem cell lines

Posted on
USA Today

National Institutes of Health chief Francis Collins turned down a private lab’s request for federal research funding approval of 47 human embryonic stem cell lines, many of them with genes for diseases such as muscular dystrophy or cystic fibrosis. Collins approved ei lines from academic centers, bringing the total number of NIH approved cell lines to 75.

Barn boogie (Kenosha News)

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It isnâ??t every day you host 3,000 people for breakfast. So Sue Crane figured she might as well top the day off by having 350 people for dinner.

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Barrett defends stem cell stance

Posted on
Wisconsin Radio Network

The Democratic candidate for governor is defending UW research using embryonic stem cells. Thereâ??s been groundbreaking work on Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, or IPS cells, derived from adult stem cells, at the University of Wisconsin

Dairy workshop will feature politicians, but regular people will be able to speak

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

Despite having a lineup of political heavy hitters, the heart of next weekâ??s dairy industry workshop in Madison will be the words that come from farmers, said a UW-Madison law professor who will be a panelist. Fridayâ??s event at Union Theater on the UW-Madison campus will feature a roundtable discussion with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Christine Varney, U.S. assistant attorney general for the Justice Departmentâ??s Antitrust Division. It has been organized by the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Family of boy born without immune system prepare for a second child with condition

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

Moments after Julie Osborn gives birth to her second child this summer, the baby will be whisked to a reverse isolation chamber, a hospital room designed to block the entry of germs.The concept is familiar to Osborn and her husband, Clark. Their first child, Josh, now 11, just spent 80 days sealed in a hospital room as part of his treatment for the same immune system disorder, commonly known as “bubble boy disease.” Since Jan. 1, 2008, all newborns in Wisconsin have been tested for severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). Of the estimated 180,000 infants screened so far, one has had the disorder, said Charles Brokopp, director of the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene at UW-Madison.

Catching Up: What is the status of Madison’s application for Google Fiber?

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Wisconsin State Journal

The application, which serves as Madisonâ??s bid for a $97 million high-speed Google fiber-optic network, was due March 26, and Google has not offered a definite schedule of when applicants can expect to hear back, said Preston Austin, a leader in efforts to bring the network to Madison. He said itâ??s expected that Google will make selections this year.The ice cream flavor created to woo Google, MadFiber, didnâ??t even last a month, said Sara Brummel, manager at UW-Madisonâ??s Babcock Dairy.

Dance festival featuring various ages and abilities a wonderful show

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Wisconsin State Journal

In its Summer Dance Festival, presented over the weekend at UW-Madisonâ??s Lathrop Hall, Li Chiao-Ping Dance strove to feature people of various ages and abilities â??dancing through life.â? The concertâ??s seven works, three of which were premieres, did just that. On stage were children through senior citizens and professional dancers moving alongside community members who had little or no previous dance training.

Politics blog: Ozanne named Dane County district attorney

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Wisconsin State Journal

Gov. Jim Doyle on Friday named longtime prosecutor Ismael Ozanne the new Dane County district attorney. Ozanne takes the job vacated by Brian Blanchard, who was elected in April to the District IV Court of Appeals. Ozanne received his undergraduate degree from UW-Madison and his J.D. degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School.

UW System learning how to best use virtual world

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Wisconsin State Journal

His students will know him this summer as Prof Cerise, a philosophy guru who wears sunglasses, has uber-cool spiky black hair and orates from a soaring stone lecture hall.In reality, UW-Whitewater professor Chris Calvert-Minor will be sitting in front of a computer â?? as will his students â?? and they will meet only virtually in the world of Second Life. Students will sit in an animated classroom with cushy armchairs and couches. UW-Milwaukee, Whitewater, Madison, Green Bay, Stout and Oshkosh are some of the UW System campuses using Second Life.