Chris Newbold, a 1993 UW-Madison graduate, recognized the wide appeal of Bucky Badger (Bucky has more than 18,000 fans on Facebook) and turned his passion for his alma mater into “The Big Bucky Badger Mystery” (University Pride Publishing, $21.95). Writing a children’s book with Bucky as the main character was “the perfect project,” Newbold said in a phone interview from his home in Missoula, Mont. “It’s a way to give back to the community and the UW, while at the same time bringing smiles to kids’ faces.”
Author: jplucas
Perinatal depression often goes untreated, study says
Wisconsin State Journal
More than 65 percent of depressed mothers don’t get adequate treatment for depression, according to nationwide study released this fall by the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. The study of 2,130 women found that black, Hispanic and other minority mothers were among the least likely to be helped. Women with health insurance were more than three times as likely to receive adequate care compared to uninsured mothers, the study found.
Madison Area Technical College embarks on series of changes, not all of them popular
Wisconsin State Journal
Within the past year, Madison Area Technical College has experienced unprecedented enrollment, adopted a new nickname and logo and unveiled a $350 million facilities plan. Transfer agreements between the college and four-year institutions such as UW-Madison have gone from only a handful five years ago to hundreds now, said Terry Webb, vice president of learner success.
Man arrested, accused of seventh drunk driving offense
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison Police arrested a man early Sunday for what would be his seventh drunk driving offense. Police said Hugo Xuchicale Ramirez, 34, was pulled over at North Park Street and West Dayton Street for speeding and weaving between lanes.
In Pa. coal region, a mother lode of corruption (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Philadelphia Inquirer
Quoted: “The level of corruption is unbelievable. Itâ??s epidemic,” says Robert Wolensky, a Luzerne County native who teaches sociology at the University of Wisconsin but returns regularly as an adjunct professor at Kingâ??s College in Wilkes-Barre. “It wasnâ??t until I moved to Wisconsin that I realized that corruption wasnâ??t a normal part of government.”
Oates: Cherish blowout of bald-tired Michigan
Bret Bielema knew his University of Wisconsin football team had no shortage of motivation Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium. The UW coach was aware that his players wanted badly to send 18 Badgers seniors out the right way and that they wanted just as badly to gain a measure of revenge for a painful loss at Michigan last season. So Bielema might have played on those emotions a little bit when he sent the 21st-ranked Badgers back onto the field for the second half with a mere four-point lead over the Wolverines.
Plans to try 9/11 suspect in NYC draw fire (USA Today)
Detroit Free Press
Quoted: “Weâ??re plowing new ground here,” says University of Wisconsin law professor Frank Tuerkheimer, a former U.S. prosecutor.
National Institute of Justice grant expands Wisconsin Innocence Project (Appleton Post-Crescent)
Appleton Post-Crescent
Since its inception, the Wisconsin Innocence Project has paved the way for the release of 12 inmates who were serving time for crimes they did not commit.Keith Findley, co-director of the 10-year-old project, is convinced they arenâ??t the only innocent defendants in Wisconsinâ??s prison system.
Rae Lin D’Alie is new old point guard
As she looked forward to the new season, University of Wisconsin womenâ??s basketball coach Lisa Stone was prepared to go with a new point guard. When the Badgers open the regular season Sunday against North Dakota, thatâ??s just what theyâ??ll have â?? a new point guard. The only thing is, sheâ??s got the same name as their old point guard. While Rae Lin Dâ??Alie remains her old diminutive, effervescent, energetic self, when Dâ??Alie looks in the mirror these days she sees an entirely different person than the one who was there a year ago.
Sunny Schubert: Whatâ??s next at UW? A ban on windows?
Good grief! UW-Madison is not going to use the Kindle e-book because visually-impaired people can’t find the button that makes the device read to them? Pray tell: Where is the button on a regular book they can push to get that weighty hunk of paper and cardboard to read to them?
Blog: Happy ending for Cascone
Madison.com
Dan Cascone returned as a fifth-year senior, enjoyed his most productive season at UW and will be one of 18 seniors honored Saturday when the Badgers host Michigan at Camp Randall Stadium.
UW-Stevens Point student falls 35 feet off roof
Madison.com
Police say a 20-year-old University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point student fell about 35 feet from the roof of downtown building while attending a party at an apartment. Sgt. Greg Bean said alcohol was involved and the circumstances leading up to the fall about 1 a.m. Friday were unclear.
UW tobacco research center gets $9 million federal grant
Wisconsin State Journal
A $9 million federal grant has been awarded to the University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention, to help fund research on smoking addictions, the center’s director said Thursday. The grant will be funded by the National Cancer Institute over five years and will help pay for research on quit-coaching and nicotine medications in Wisconsin clinics.
UW men’s hockey: Recruit rewarded for his patience
Madison.com
Tyler Barnes, 19, who originally committed to the Badgers in 2007, will be among the group of prospects signing national letters of intent with UW during the early signing period, which began Wednesday.
DNA helps overturn Wis. man’s sex-assault sentence
Madison.com
A Dane County judge on Friday overturned the conviction of a man who served more than six years in prison for a sexual assault that new DNA evidence indicates he did not commit. Judge Patrick Fiedler ordered the release of 45-year-old Forest S. Shomberg, citing new DNA evidence and fresh research on faulty eyewitness identification. The Wisconsin Innocence Project took up Shomberg’s case, armed with powerful new evidence not available in 2002: DNA found on the victim’s pantyhose did not match Shomberg.
Moore’s journey one to remember
Madison.com
Dan Moore took a big gamble when he walked away from a scholarship at Eastern Illinois, but now he’s a starting defensive tackle for the No. 21 Badgers and is on track to become his family’s first college graduate in May.
Oates: Seniors put program back on track
Madison.com
The senior class for the University of Wisconsin football team is small in numbers, short on starters and lacking in name recognition. That hasn’t prevented the class from putting itself in position to leave a lasting mark on the UW program.
University Theatre head David Furumoto mixes and matches global influences
Isthmus
“The theater is our laboratory. Itâ??s where our students do their work, where they learn. Our audiences are doubly important in that regard. “So says David Furumoto, the new head of the University of Wisconsin-Madisonâ??s University Theatre, and a tenured associate professor of acting in the department of theater and drama. Itâ??s safe to say thereâ??s never been another UT director quite like Furumoto. How many kabuki experts do you know who are also accomplished bagpipers?
College cycling championships come to Madison
The University of Wisconsin-Madison cycling team has won a bid to host the 2010 and 2011 Collegiate Road National Championship races. The National Collegiate Cycling Association, a division of USA Cycling, says the events will include a road race, a criterium through downtown Madison and a team time trial.
Family of slain UW-Madison student takes out ads
Madison.com
The family of a Madison college student who was killed last year isn’t giving up its efforts to find her killer. Relatives of Brittany Zimmermann have placed ads on a Madison billboard and inside Metro Transit buses. They’re hoping the ads will encourage anyone with information on her 2008 death to come forward.
Quitters get a shot in the arm with smoking vaccine
USA Today
Quoted: Getting ex-smokers through six smoke-free months would greatly reduce their relapse risk, says psychologist Douglas Jorenby of the University of Wisconsinâ??s Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention in Madison, which is testing NicVax.
Report: More U.S. students going abroad, and vice versa
USA Today
The number of U.S. college students studying abroad â?? and the number of international students in the USA â?? are at all-time highs, show data released today.But those increases do not reflect the impact of the recent economic downturn. Theyâ??re based on the latest data available, which date back two years.
And while the report suggests that numbers of U.S. students abroad will grow more despite the recession, the outlook is mixed on whether international growth will continue, says the two-part report, Open Doors 2009, published by the non-profit Institute for International Education, which tracks international enrollments for the State Department.
Hospital takes big leap forward, say little people (Akron Beacon-Journal)
Quoted: â??â??The reality is that this is a very, very specialized area,â??â?? said Pauli, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of the Midwest Regional Bone Dysplasia Clinics.
They’re here, they’re sincere, they’re Bioneers! (Isthmus)
Isthmus
The aim, says Kristen Joiner, “is to shine a light on whatâ??s happening with our local visionaries,” to bring them together with other regional leaders and engage the public in a cross-pollinated, trans-disciplinary meeting of minds. The agenda: food, water, energy, transportation, the environment, health, education, spirituality, art, music and politics.
Justin Doherty: The Dayne Game (ESPN.com)
ESPN.com
Editorâ??s note: The following is an excerpt from Justin Dohertyâ??s book, “The Dayne Game: Ron Dayne and the Greatest Day in Wisconsin Football History. “Once the Senior Day festivities were completed, it was finally game time. Former Wisconsin RB Ron Dayne rushed into the NCAA record books on Nov. 13, 1999. Iowa, once the Badgersâ?? yearly nemesis, had hit a low point in its programâ??s history.
Doomsday Predictions (WTMJ-TV, Milwaukee)
Quoted: Historian Paul Boyer, who has written books about Doomsday rumors over the years.”There is a period of crisis for those who are convinced the end is coming,” he said. “Prophecy belief is very very ancient in human history.”Boyer, a professor emeritus at UW-Madison, told us that for some, doomsday has replaced traditional religion.
Family of slain UW-Madison student takes out ads (AP)
The family of a Madison college student who was killed last year isnâ??t giving up its efforts to find her killer.Relatives of Brittany Zimmermann have placed ads on a Madison billboard and inside Metro Transit buses. Theyâ??re hoping the ads will encourage anyone with information on her 2008 death to come forward.
Fairness, speed of education-reform measures questioned
Janesville Gazette
Quoted: The solution includes a system more elaborate than using just test scores, said Allan Odden, UW-Madison professor of educational administration.”All states and districts need a database that links students and their achievement scores to teachers (who taught them the subject) and to schools, both as an overall management tool and for many, many other purposes,” Odden said in an e-mail response to a question from the Gazette.
UW Hospital honors employees and family for military service
WKOW-TV 27
The UW hospital honored some of itâ??s own for their military service over seas.The color guard was at a special ceremony honoring employees and family members in the military.
Number of Foreign Students in U.S. Hit a New High Last Year
Chronicle of Higher Education
The number of foreign students attending American colleges hit an all-time high in 2008, capping three consecutive years of vigorous growth, according to new data from the Institute of International Education.Some 671,616 international students attended U.S. institutions in 2008-9, an increase of almost 8 percent from a year earlier. First-time-student enrollments grew even more robustly, by nearly 16 percent.
Palin’s way of talkin’ dissected, you betcha (AP)
Madison.com
When Sarah Palin burst onto the national political stage there was a lot of talk about her distinctive way of talkin’, you betcha. Three University of Wisconsin-Madison linguists tackled the conundrum in a research article to be published in the Journal of English Linguistics next month. The answer lies in something that happened in the 1930s. The UW researchers said people living in Alaska’s Matanuska and Susitna valleys, where Wasilla is located, are largely descendants of farmers who moved there in the 1930s from the Upper Midwest.
Study raises new questions about Merck pill Zetia
Madison.com
A new study raises fresh concerns about Zetia and its cousin, Vytorin _ drugs still taken by millions of Americans to lower cholesterol, despite questions raised last year about how well they work. In the study, Zetia failed to shrink buildups in artery walls while a rival drug, Niaspan, did so significantly. Zetia users also suffered more heart attacks and other problems although the numbers of these events were too small to draw firm conclusions. However, the difference in plaque that Niaspan made in this study “is precisely the same as the difference” that earlier studies found from statins, which are now known to save lives, said Dr. James Stein of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a leading researcher on imaging artery buildups and in the past consulted for Schering-Plough Corp., which used to market Vytorin with Merck.
UW group votes to notify Nike of labor code breach
Badger Herald
Members of the University of Wisconsin Labor Licensing Policy Committee voted Friday to recommend Chancellor Biddy Martin immediately notify UW apparel manufacturer Nike it violated the universityâ??s labor code of conduct by neglecting to pay severances to workers in Honduras.
Some at UW want to revoke Nike’s business license
WKOW-TV 27
The UW Labor Licensing Policy Committee voted Friday to issue Nike, Inc. an ultimatum — clean up your act, or weâ??ll take away your license to do business with the university.It wasnâ??t a unanimous decision (7-2), but enough people said Nike wasnâ??t treating workers fairly, and therefore, violated the university code of conduct.
Parties Submit New Proposal to Settle Google Book Search Litigation
Chronicle of Higher Education
Though they kept the world waiting until the last legal minute, the parties to the proposed Google Book Search settlement managed to meet their new November 13 deadline to file a revamped version with the federal judge overseeing the case. Google, the Authors Guild, and the Association of American Publishers submitted Settlement 2.0 close to midnight Eastern time on Friday.
China Is Sending More Students to U.S.
New York Times
American universities are enrolling a new wave of Chinese undergraduates, according to the annual Open Doors report. While India was, for the eighth consecutive year, the leading country of origin for international students â?? sending 103,260 students, a 9 percent increase over the previous year â?? China is rapidly catching up, sending 98,510 last year, a 21 percent increase.
A rising China is changing the way Americans live overseas and at home
Washington Post
On visits to Shanghai and Beijing, Obama will encounter not simply a rising global power but a nation that is transforming and challenging the way Americans live overseas and at home, from college classrooms to real estate offices to the ginseng farms of central Wisconsin.
At the University of Wisconsin, as at college campuses across the United States, mainland Chinese dominate the study of science and technology and form the backbone of the engineering, chemistry and pharmacy departments. They receive twice as many doctorates in this country as students from India, the next-closest foreign competitor. And among foreigners, they register by far the most patents in the United States.
College Cycling Championships Come To Madison
WISC-TV 3
The University of Wisconsin-Madison cycling team has won a bid to host the 2010 and 2011 Collegiate Road National Championship races.The National Collegiate Cycling Association, a division of USA Cycling, said the events will include a road race, a criterium through downtown Madison and a team time trial. Nearly 300 teams with about 800 athletes are expected to participate.
Big Bird, a US ambassador?
Wisconsin Radio Network
Today Sesame Street celebrates 40 years on air. An expert in children and TV viewing applauds their efforts over four decades. UW communication professor Marie-Louise Mares says the program was launched with the intent of getting children ready for kindergarten, especially those from lower income families although soon all children became involved.
All eyes on Barrett
Wisconsin Radio Network
Quoted: UW political scientist David Canon expects Barrett to announce he is going to run for governor. â??My gut feeling is that heâ??s going to jump in,â? said Canon.
Long arm of law flexes at UW-Milwaukee
Wisconsin Radio Network
UW-Milwaukee police have stepped up off-campus patrolling in a response to a recent string of nearby robberies and assaults. The partnership between the cityâ??s police force and campus police has been augmented with UWM squad cars seen alongside MPD vehicles in surrounding neighborhoods.
Spiritual component remains a work in progress at the Pres House
Wisconsin State Journal
Before choosing the career path he’s on today, Jonathan Reid, a doctoral student in history at UW-Madison, considered attending seminary. Many aspects of a religious life still appeal to him, including living among others of faith. So for his campus residence, he chose Pres House, a 51-unit apartment building opened in 2007 by the Presbyterian student ministry on campus. The building’s owners sought to create a place where residents could explore their faith and grow spiritually – a concept that has drawn national attention for its novelty.
1999 Flashback: Wisconsin 28, Purdue 21
Each week, we’ll revisit the corresponding game from the University of Wisconsin’s most recent Big Ten championship team, which produced Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne. This week, we look back upon the Badgers’ close road victory over the Boilermakers and their own Heisman hopeful.
Buckyâ??s brains boost tech rep
Wisconsin State Journal
A smart and disciplined UW-Madison team has advanced for the ninth straight year to its top tournament. And it’s not the football or basketball squad. It’s the university’s three-member computer programming team, which learned this week it’s heading to China in February for the IBM-sponsored world finals. The team’s consistent success is great publicity for UW-Madison and its high-tech prowess. It also helps further Wisconsin’s reputation as a strong source of knowledge and new-economy workers.
Barry Alvarez bio
Timeline of Barry Avarez’s life and career.
UW women’s soccer: Belief system nets goal
Madison.com
Some people might be surprised to see the University of Wisconsin womenâ??s soccer team in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2005, but none of those people are on the team. The teamâ??s confidence is a big reason why the Badgers (9-5-5) will face Arizona State (9-7-3) at 7:30 Friday night at McClimon Field in a first-round match.
Baggot: Dayne’s run more memorable in hindsight
Madison.com
Heisman Trophy-winning Ron Dayne’s record-setting UW career is appreciated better through the lens of history.
Obituary: Walter Hubbard Argraves
Madison.com
Walter Hubbard Argraves, age 93, passed away on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. Walter spent ten summer sessions as instructor in the Clinical Reading Program at UW-Madison.
On Campus: Much of UW-Madison tuition increase to fund new faculty
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison students are paying $250 more this year for the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates, a program that Chancellor Biddy Martin pitched last year to improve undergraduate education. So what are they paying for? The university has also already spent some of the funding to alleviate bottlenecks in popular courses this fall. In total, the university has allocated about $3.8 million out of $10 million available. Almost $2 million of it is for new faculty, said Aaron Brower, vice provost for teaching and learning.
‘On, Wisconsin!’ hooks state ears from the start
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
If Wisconsinâ??s essence were distilled to one four-note riff, it would be this: D, C-sharp, E, D.Whether played on trumpets or pianos, sung by sopranos or tenors, thumped from synthesizers or shouted by rappers, those four musical notes are encoded into Wisconsinâ??s DNA.
A feast of doubts for college freshmen come Thanksgiving
USA Today
Itâ??s called the “turkey drop” â?? when first-year college students break up with their high school sweethearts over the Thanksgiving holiday. But thereâ??s a risk that freshmen might break up with their college, too.
Prof: UW-SP event didn’t violate fundraising ban
The faculty adviser to College Republicans at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point says a recent event there did not violate a political fundraising ban. Professor Justin Rueb spoke one day after two Democratic lawmakers asked for an investigation into the Nov. 2 event.
Around the Bubbler: University Theatre opens Federico Garcia Lorca’s “Blood Wedding”
Wisconsin State Journal
This weekend, the University Theatre opens Federico Garcia Lorcaâ??s “Blood Wedding,” a dark, passionate tragedy set in the Spanish countryside, complete with a love triangle and a deep-seated family feud. It marks the debut of the UW-Madisonâ??s MFA acting class of 2012.
Obituary: Leonard W. Gafke
Madison.com
Leonard W. Gafke, age 82, passed away on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009. During his long life, Leonard held several jobs, including at the University of Wisconsin.
UW-Madison team heads to China for computer finals
Madison.com
A University of Wisconsin-Madison competitive computing team will head to China. The three-member Wrong Answer team came in first among 201 teams at the North Central North America Regional Programming Contest finals Oct. 31 at UW-Parkside.
Obituary: Mary Ellen Lechnir
Madison.com
Mary Ellen Lechnir, age 75, of Sun City West, Ariz., and formerly of DeSoto and Madison, died Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009. Following her retirement from teaching, Mary Ellen worked part time at several UW food service units including “The Shed” and “Pop’s Club.”
Doug Moe: A gripping tribute to Vietnam vets
A striking current photo of George Banda, who served as a combat medic in Vietnam from November 1969 to December 1970, is part of an exhibit, â??Back in the World: A Portrait Exhibit of Wisconsin Vietnam Veterans,â? that kicks off with a Veterans Day presentation and reception Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Chazen Museum of Art. The photo exhibit â?? which runs through Jan. 3 at the Chazen, and then will travel around the state â?? itself serves as a kickoff for an ambitious project recognizing Wisconsinâ??s Vietnam veterans, culminating with a weekend-long celebration at Lambeau Field in Green Bay in May.
Schools shun Kindle, saying blind can’t use it
Madison.com
Amazon’s Kindle can read books aloud, but if you’re blind it can be difficult to turn that function on without help. Now two universities say they will shun the device until Amazon changes the setup. The National Federation of the Blind planned to announce Wednesday that the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Syracuse University won’t consider big rollouts of the electronic reading device unless Amazon makes it more accessible to visually impaired students.
Former Baraboo Basketball Star Hurt In Bar Fight
WISC-TV 3
A former Baraboo High School basketball star remains in critical condition after being punched in a Madison bar on Halloween by a man dressed as a flying monkey.A spokeswoman for the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison said Tuesday that Darin Schubring, 42, is critical but stable condition. She had no other details.
Reps. seek review of Walker event at university (AP)
Madison.com
Two Democratic lawmakers asked regulators Tuesday to review whether Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Walkerâ??s campaign violated a law that bans fundraising in state buildings.Reps. Marlin Schneider of Wisconsin Rapids and Amy Sue Vruwink of Milladore asked the Government Accountability Board for the investigation.