Author: jplucas

Quoted: Corliss Olson, associate professor at the UW-Extensionâ??s School for Workers.

Quoted: The government has blinked in the protracted standoff, said Thongchai Winichakul, a professor at the University of Wisconsinâ??s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

Quoted: â??Just modestly innovativeâ? was the way Allan R. Odden, an education professor at the University of Wisconsin who followed the talks closely, described the settlement. He said it would leave intact both teacher tenure and the traditional teacher salary structure, based on years of experience and educational attainment. â??Itâ??s a compromise,â? Dr. Odden said.

Quoted: â??Seeing an attractive young girl playing such a violent role gives the message that this type of behavior (and language) is not outrageous. It makes it harder for parents to declare such behavior out-of-bounds when popular movies glorify it or make it humorous,â? said Joanne Cantor, Professor of Communication Arts at University of Wisconsin-Madison

Quoted: Bill Tracy, chairman of the agronomy department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said consolidation in the industry has marched steadily forward for the last 30 to 40 years.

Quoted: “The question is not how conservative Democrats can explain health care, but whether their Republican opponents can exploit unpopular health care votes,” said Charles Franklin, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Quoted: Dr. Aaron Carrel with the UW Pediatric Fitness Clinic says the proposal is a good way to try and fight an epidemic that affects much of the nation. At least two-thirds of adults and one in three children are considered overweight or obese.

Quoted: UW-Madison Political Scientist Charles Franklin says Leinenkugel would face a similar challenge as Wall and Westlake in the race, because all three are not very well known politically around the state. Franklin says Leinenkugel is associated with a popular beverage, but heâ??s not necessarily a household name.

Quoted: The Corinthian report presents a “basic analysis that would indicate that they are doing as good or better a job” in producing good outcomes for their students, says Sara Goldrick-Rab, an assistant professor of educational policy studies and sociology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison who specializes in students access to higher education. But she and Baum of the College Board both say that the analysis leaves several important questions unanswered.

“Itâ??s extremely unlikely that youâ??re going to have a decrease in sexual offense recidivism with sex offender residency restrictions,” Michael Caldwell, a lecturer at UW-Madison, said.

Walter J. Dickey, a law professor at UW-Madison who specializes in criminal law, said itâ??s unlikely a judge would find much merit in charging a teacher with contributing to the delinquency of a minor simply for teaching the new curriculum.

“Iâ??m just not a fan of a test where there are no stakes for the students, and high stakes for teachers. I think thatâ??s sort of an unwinnable situation,” said Jim Wollack, director of testing and evaluation services at UW-Madison.

Quoted: Officials at University of Wisconsin Health said they hope the Healthy Choices Act will also give people tools to fight obesity. “The data is alarming and weâ??re at the point where people are saying enough is enough,” said Donna Katen-Bahensky, CEO and president of UW Hospitals and Clinics. “Weâ??ve got to resolve this problem whether Iâ??m in farming, Iâ??m in education or Iâ??m in health care. It is costing this country a tremendous amount of money.”

Sara Goldrick-Rab, an assistant professor of educational policy studies and sociology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison who studies student access to higher education, quoted saying she was bothered by quotes in the Maveron press release comparing the idea of a black for-profit college to black media companies.

Noted: Spirits of Earth: The Effigy Mound Landscape of Madison and the Four Lakes by Robert A. Birmingham (University of Wisconsin Press; 255 pages; $24.95). A study of Indian mounds in Wisconsin built between AD 700 and 1100 in the shapes of animals and other figures.

As the Vilas Zoo kicks off its 100th year exhibiting animals, the beloved Madison institution is undergoing a transformation that began with a tragic death more than 20 years ago. In its most recent accreditation review, Vilas, one of only 15 free zoos out of 221 accredited zoos in North America, was flagged for several issues including insufficient staffing. To address those concerns, Dane County, which owns the zoo, asked the zoological society to fund three positions this year at a cost of $615,000 – the societyâ??s largest contribution ever toward operations. The zoological society last year hired veteran fundraiser Boris Frank, who teaches marketing at UW-Madison and has helped raise money for Olbrich Botanical Gardens and the UW Arboretum. Frank said his goal is to raise the $1 million for Arctic Passage this year, and he also wants to double zoo membership to 4,000.

Written by Stephen M. Born, UW-Madison emeritus professor of planning and environmental studies.