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Author: jplucas

Recession forces colleges to find ways to cut spending

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USA Today

The unrelenting downturn in the economy is a hot-button issue in college athletic departments, the same as at your kitchen table.
“Everybody you talk to, that’s the topic of conversation,” says Mike Cleary, executive director of the 6,500-member National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. “I don’t care how big and how wealthy they are, this is going to impact everybody.”

Many Division I athletic departments have increased their spending at a higher annual rate than their universities have in recent years. Now, many are looking at decreases. That’s a fundamental change. NCAA President Myles Brand worries some schools could eliminate less-visible sports.

No, the motivation is political and financial

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Imagine that you are a patient needing routine surgery at an outpatient facility. At the Madison Surgery Center, you receive treatment to enhance your health, while in the next room or down the hall, a fully formed 19- to 22-week unborn baby is being dismembered, experiencing significant pain from the abortion procedure. Your treatment payment is pooled with the abortion money, making you indirectly complicit in the horrendous practice.

The UW Hospital and Clinics, Meriter Hospital and the Madison Surgery Center recently approved such a venture. The second-trimester abortion program was discussed for months, shrouded in secrecy. Since becoming public knowledge, information from facilities’ officials has been incredibly inconsistent and filled with public relations puffery.

Families scrape for college funds (Sheboygan Press)

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The Fisher family of Sheboygan calls itself a middle-class family who makes ends meet after picking up a third job â?? but now they’re staring at a $100,000 college tuition bill during the next four years.

Chelsea Fisher, 17, will graduate from Sheboygan South High School this spring and plans to attend Marian University in Fond du Lac, where tuition this year runs more than $20,000.

Tax hike could help smokers quit, at a cost

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Wausau Daily Herald

Quoted: “Wisconsin spends more than $3 billion each year in extra health care costs to treat illness and disease directly caused by tobacco use,” said Dr. Michael Fiore, director of the University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention in Madison.

5 Things Every Happy Woman Does

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Oprah Magazine

Quoted: “Eudaimonic well-being is much more robust and satisfying than hedonic happiness, and it engages different parts of the brain,” says Richard J. Davidson, PhD, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “The positive emotion accompanying thoughts that are directed toward meaningful goals is one of the most enduring components of well-being.”

Domestic Partner Registry Proposed

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NBC-15

Governor Doyle’s biennial budget proposal contained some big numbers; $2.2 billion in cuts to state services. $2.1 billion in federal stimulus money. $1.4 billion in new taxes, including a 1% increase on the highest earners.

But one of the more controversial proposals would extend legal rights and benefits to gay couples in Wisconsin.

In November of 2006, 1.1 million Wisconsinites voted to give Jim Doyle a second term as Wisconsin governor. That same night, 1.2 million people approved a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and anything substantially similar.

Economic-Stimulus Law Creates Jobs for Students, Too

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Chronicle of Higher Education

The $200-million for Federal Work-Study in the economic-stimulus law that President Obama signed this week is expected to help an additional 130,000 students, each earning an average of $1,500 a year, according to government estimates. The money, despite rumors to the contrary, will not be pegged to a new community-service requirement.

It’s Your Money: A.P.R.

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WKOW-TV 27

The letters A-P-R stand for annual percentage rate, as in, the interest rate you pay on unpaid balances.

“Annual percentage rate was created, historically, more than 25 years ago as regulators were trying to make it easier for us to compare interest rates, ” notes University of Wisconsin financial specialist Michael Collins.

Budget bill would help tenants in buildings faceing foreclosure

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Wisconsin State Journal

The new state budget repair bill will help tenants in apartment buildings facing foreclosure and deliver $200,000 to the financially strapped Tenant Resource Center in Madison.

Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, who helped craft the legislation, said the bill protects tenants who might lose housing in the economic downturn and that the TRC, an established nonprofit working on tenant issues, was the logical agency to handle toll-free calls and do education and outreach.

Reptiles May Overheat in Warmer Future (Austrailian Broadcasting Company)

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Discovery News

Commonly known as being cold-blooded and in need of some sunshine, the world’s ectotherms may be struggling to keep cool in the future.

The finding raises concerns about how animals that regulate their body heat using air temperature will cope in a warmer world predicted by climate change.

Writing in this week’s issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of Australian and U.S. researchers say the impact of climate change on ectotherms will depend on how global warming-induced changes in habitat alter the ability to access shade.

For the study, Warren Porter, of the University of Wisconsin’s Department of Zoology, and the University of Sydney’s Rick Shine studied the effects of climate change on a small Australian lizard known as the heath monitor (Varanus rosenbergi).

Parents of disabled more stressed, ill

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United Press International

Raising a child with a disability causes more daily stress and long-range health problems than parenting a child without disabilities, U.S. researchers say.

Stress and health ills were greater among parents of disabled children, U.S. researchers found.

The study, published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, found parents who had children with disabilities — that included attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and bipolar disorder — reported having at least one stressor on 50 percent of the study days compared with 40 percent among other parents.

Badgers hire new Director of Football Operations

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Wisconsin Radio Network

The University of Wisconsin has hired a new director of football operations, naming former assistant athletic director for football operations at Mississippi State, Brad Pendergrass to the post.

Pendergrass worked at Mississippi State for five years, first as the assistant to the head coach, then as the coordinator of football operations. He was promoted to Assistant Athletic Director for football operations in June, 2008.

Doyle details state deficit fix (AP)

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Wausau Daily Herald

Wisconsin’s cigarette taxes would be the third-highest in the country, smoking would be banned in workplaces statewide, and big oil company profits would be taxed under the budget Gov. Jim Doyle presented Tuesday night.

No state employees would be laid off or forced to take unpaid furloughs, and there would be no general sales or income tax increases. However, a new higher income tax bracket would be created for 1 percent of families who earn more than $300,000, and taxes on capital gains would increase.

At the clubs: WSUM brings eclectic radio (and free cake!) to Madison (77 Square)

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If you channel-hop local radio stations a lot in the car, you know that feeling of being trapped inside a loopy time warp as yet another ’80s megahit or Pussycat Dolls production gets flogged to death.

Meanwhile, UW-Madison’s student radio station, WSUM/91.7 FM, is guaranteed to have entertaining, unusual and fresh programming throughout the day. Unless, as has been known to happen on occasion, a DJ abandons the studio early to make his biology exam on time.

First Wave program at UW-Madison provides foundation for student hip-hop performers

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Isthmus

At first glance, Adam Levin, Andrew Thomas and Tobi Adeoye appear to be average UW-Madison undergrads. Laughing about dorm life, undecided about their majors, they’re notably humble and self-effacing. But unlike many of they’re peers, they’re not viewing graduation as a gateway to the day-to-day grind of the real world.

“My first year out of college, I want to do a year of shows,” says Adeoye, known on stage as Kid Quo. “I want to stretch the music thing, and work with kids and teach them how to express themselves through music.”

Statesâ?? Stimulus Money Is Expected To Be a Salve, Not a Panacea

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Chronicle of Higher Education

The nearly $54-billion that Congress is directing to state aid for education as part of the stimulus bill President Obama signed on Tuesday may stave off the worst budget cuts proposed for public colleges. But the money is unlikely to be able to plug all of the budget holes, and some university officials worry the measure could make it easier for states to spend less on higher education in the future.

UW-Madison research helps find a way to stop the spread of the common cold

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WKOW-TV 27

There is no cure for the common cold, but there could soon be a way to stop the spread thanks to work done in part by UW Madison.

UW researchers are working with the University of Maryland Medical School to tackle the common cold.

Researchers have been working on this for decades, but it is difficult because the common cold is made up of at least 99 different viral strains. The researchers have succeeded in mapping its entire genome using the latest in DNA technology. Now, they can see how they are related and how they are different.

Doyle Proposes Mixed Methods To Solve Budget Shortfall

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WISC-TV 3

Facing a $5.7 billion budget shortfall, Gov. Jim Doyle offered his solutions to the fiscal crunch on Tuesday night by focusing on a mixture of tax increases, spending cuts and federal money.

The budget that Doyle presented proposes to make the state’s cigarette taxes rise to the third highest in the country, bans smoking from workplaces statewide and taxes big oil company profits. The budget presented will not lay off any state employees or force them to take unpaid furloughs. There also would be no general sales or income tax increases.

Budget freezes university funding, offers tuition help for poor

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Wisconsin State Journal

University of Wisconsin System students might face bigger classes and fewer course offerings under Gov. Jim Doyleâ??s proposed budget, but tuition for poor and middle-class students will not increase in the next two years.

In a first-of-its kind provision for the state of Wisconsin, needy students from families that earn less than the stateâ??s median family income of $60,000 a year would be exempt from tuition hikes at System institutions.

“This is a first ever and we did it because we really want to recognize how tough the times are for students and families all over the state, and not just the poorest,” said System President Kevin Reilly.

Cuts and targeted taxes

Posted on
Wisconsin Radio Network

Governor Jim Doyle goes after the rich, the oil companies, and smokers in his proposed state budget. Doyle calls for deep cuts in state spending – $2.2 billion worth – deepest in state history according to Doyle, who also says he has no plans to increase middle class taxes. “My budget stands up for the people who earn regular paychecks, and the people who through no fault of their own, have lost theirs,” the governor told a joint session of the Wisconsin legislature Tuesday night at the Capitol in Madison.

UW System could $174 million cut, tuition increases of 5% to 6%

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The University of Wisconsin System faces a cut of up to $174 million under Gov. Jim Doyle’s 2009-’11 budget, offset in part by estimated tuition increases of between 5% and 6% in each of the next two years, state officials announced Tuesday.

Not all families will feel the effects of the tuition increase, however. In a new move aimed at protecting the middle class, families with incomes of less than $60,000 will be held harmless from the tuition increases thanks to a $38 million boost in state funding for financial aid.

That was good news for Cedric Lawson, legislative affairs director for the United Council of UW Students, which represents 110,000 UW students.

Doyle’s budget address: Everyone sacrifices (WisPolitics.com)

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Gov. Jim Doyle called Tuesday night for the state’s top earners, those earning capital gains, smokers and oil companies to pay more as part of his plan to balance the state’s projected $5.7 billion budget deficit for 2009-11.

In addition to the tax hikes, Doyle proposed using a mix of spending cuts and federal stimulus money to balance the budget while protecting education and public safety.

In all, the governor called for $1.4 billion in revenue increases and $2.2 billion in cuts to state programs to help close the shortfall, along with $2.1 billion in federal stimulus money.

Student Expectations Seen as Causing Grade Disputes

Posted on
New York Times

Quoted: Aaron M. Brower, the vice provost for teaching and learning at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, offered another theory.

â??I think that it stems from their K-12 experiences,â? Professor Brower said. â??They have become ultra-efficient in test preparation. And this hyper-efficiency has led them to look for a magic formula to get high scores.â?

Obituary: Robert W. Hougas

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Madison.com

Robert W. Hougas, age 90 of Monroe, formerly of Madison, died Friday, Feb. 13, 2009. He was Professor Emeritus in Genetics and Horticulture at UW-Madison, and also served as Associate Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences during his career.

Reader views: McGown will be missed

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Wisconsin State Journal

With the recent passing of Wayne McGown, Wisconsin lost a dedicated, talented public servant.

McGown began his professional career with the Four Lakes Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He served as an administrator under six Wisconsin governors over a 20-year period. He later served for a similar time as a special assistant to four UW-Madison chancellors.

In that capacity, he was instrumental in helping Chancellor Irving Shain establish and develop the University Research Park, a vibrant and dynamic part of Madison’s economic base.

Throughout his career, McGown was a consummate example of the best qualities of true public service. His focus was never on himself, but always on what was best for the state, the university and Madison.

He should be appropriately recognized for the considerable legacy he has left us.

— Art Hove, Madison

Groups Ask Doyle To Raise Funding For Financial Aid

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Wisconsin State Journal

Wisconsin college students are not satisfied with Gov. Jim Doyle’s statement that “staying even is the new increase” when it comes to funding.
In a letter to the governor sent last week, students and those representing student interests urged him to increase funding for financial aid in the next budget.

State led the way in unemployment insurance

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Wisconsin State Journal

If you were laid off 100 years ago, you were left to shift for yourself. But if youâ??re laid off today, the government provides temporary help. You can thank UW-Madison professor John R. Commons (1862-1945) for that safety net.

In 1918, Commons proposed a plan to the Legislature that would have shared the cost of unemployment insurance equally among workers, employers and state government. In 1921, Progressive lawmakers rewrote it so employers absorbed the entire cost, and the bill was rejected.

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Madison to see millions in stimulus money

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Wisconsin State Journal

The city of Madison, which just passed one of its tightest budgets in years, stands to get millions of dollars in the new $798 billion federal stimulus package, officials learned Monday.

“We have a terrific opportunity in Madison,” Len Simon, the cityâ??s federal lobbyist told the Board of Estimates by phone from Washington, D.C. “There is a large amount of funding available.”

Doyle, two Democrats may have final say on spending stimulus money

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Wisconsin State Journal

Three powerful figures â?? all of them Democrats from the Madison area â?? could end up making the final decision on how up to hundreds of millions of dollars in federal stimulus money for Wisconsin is spent.

Under a budget bill fast-tracked to be passed by lawmakers as soon as Wednesday, Gov. Jim Doyle and the two co-chairmen of the Legislatureâ??s influential budget committee could decide how much of that money would be spent.

UW professor measures ‘Obama effect’

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Tallahassee Democrat

They’re calling it the “Obama effect.”

Even before Barack Obama had moved into the White House, America’s first black president was responsible for a noticeable decrease in racial prejudice â?? particularly on the nation’s college campuses â?? according to a new study.

“We saw a dramatic decrease like we’ve never seen before,” said Ashby Plant, a psychology professor at Florida State University and co-author of the “Obama effect” report, targeted for publication in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

Plant and a colleague at the University of Wisconsin, psychology professor Patricia Devine, started their study once Obama secured the Democratic Party nomination last summer. Working with graduate students, they each interviewed roughly 150 non-black students at FSU and UW, attempting to gauge a shift in racial bias.

Appleton Education Foundation’s Brain to Five series opens with focus on autism’s impact

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Appleton Post-Crescent

Most parents want a healthy environment for their young children and Appleton Education Foundation is helping them tap into cutting-edge research that underscores why it’s so critical.

Wednesday, the foundation, along with the Waisman Center of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will begin its second Brain to Five speaker series, this time on environmental influences that affect early brain development.

UW may link with Iraqi university

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Wisconsin Radio Network

A link between Iraqi university and UW-Madison is closer to reality. Wisconsin officials participated in a recent teleconference with officials affiliated with Tikrit University. Dean of UW’s Division of International Studies Gilles Bousquet says the Iraqis are highly interested in drawing from their resources including the study of agriculture, engineering and health. Bousquet says UW has an “international reputation” in those fields.

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University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers study new drug for epilepsy

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Wisconsin State Journal

When Lily Giroux tries to go off her medications, her eyes roll and she slumps over for seconds at a time.

Grace Penwell shakes uncontrollably for about two minutes at least once a week, despite drugs and surgery.

Lily, 13, and Grace, 10, have epilepsy, a brain disorder marked by seizures.

Their parents, frustrated with the limits of treatments for the disease, are banking on an experimental approach at UW-Madison: a drug that mimics the low-sugar diets some people with epilepsy have tried since Biblical times.

University of Wisconsin-Madison’s innovation room designed to provoke thought, professors say

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Wisconsin State Journal

It looks decidedly unacademic â?? a room with a plush couch, a coffee table and a flat screen TV rimmed with candles.

But there it sits, smack in the middle of the University of Wisconsin-Madisonâ??s biomedical engineering department, a room outfitted more appropriately for a living room than an educational building.

Professors and administrators call it the “innovation room,” and its main purpose is to provoke deep thought.

It has long been considered an advantage â?? one might even say necessary â?? for students to think, mull and brainstorm whilst in college.

Economy test historically black colleges

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USA Today

Historically black colleges and universities, which for decades have been educating students who cannot afford to go â?? or cannot imagine going â?? elsewhere, have been particularly challenged by the U.S. economic meltdown.

Enrollments at the schools have declined at the same time endowments have dropped and fundraising sources have dried up. The same is true at most universities, but often students at black college and universities need more aid to stay on course.

Coaches aren’t exempt from furlough programs

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USA Today

The economic downturn is becoming a leveling force between some NCAA Division I athletics departments and their universities at-large. Arizona State, Clemson, Maryland and Utah State are in the middle of mandatory furlough programs that apply to all school personnel, including coaches.

And Harvard on Tuesday will begin offering buyouts to roughly 10% of its 16,000 non-faculty employees, including those in athletics who meet the eligibility criteria.

In Depth: Top College Sports Towns

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Forbes

Madison ranks #3 on the list.

Both the state capital and a legendary party city, Madison is one of the Midwest’s best college towns. While on the courts and playing fields, the Badgers mustered an 18th ranking in the Director’s Cup, Madison performed stronger in our quality of life rankings:

Scientists dig for the guts of earthquakes

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Las Vegas Sun

Quoted: Scientists can tell when a plate is under high stress but don’t have a way to determine where a fracture will occur, launching a quake, explained Harold Tobin of the University of Wisconsin.

Posted in Uncategorized

Notoriety Yields Tragedy in Iowa Sexual-Harassment Cases

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Chronicle of Higher Education

Mark O. Weiger was a star oboe professor who had traveled the globe as an artistic ambassador for the U.S. government. But he was also known as the king of raunchy puns. Even when he performed for schoolchildren, the music professor from the University of Iowa couldn’t resist slipping in some fart jokes.

“He liked pushing the envelope,” says his close friend, Alan Huckleberry, an assistant professor of piano at Iowa.

Cornell Experts Discuss Colleges’ Responsibilities During Hard Times

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Chronicle of Higher Education

When Cornell University professors, trustees, and alumni got together last week to consider whether rising costs threaten the notion that higher education can help anyone in America succeed, the event’s location offered a taste of irony: It was held at the Cornell Club, an exclusive midtown haunt where you need a membership number just to buy a beer in the wood-paneled lounge near the front door.

States must set priorities, manage expectations as they divide up money from stimulus plan (AP)

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It may sound like a nice problem for states â?? figuring out how to spend the billions in infrastructure funding they’ll receive as part of President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan.

But the task is more complicated than it seems, as state officials try to set priorities while managing competing pressures from communities, watchdog groups and federal regulators over how the money is allocated.

Appleton Education Foundation’s Brain to Five series opens with focus on autism’s impact

Posted on
Appleton Post-Crescent

Most parents want a healthy environment for their young children and Appleton Education Foundation is helping them tap into cutting-edge research that underscores why it’s so critical.

Wednesday, the foundation, along with the Waisman Center of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will begin its second Brain to Five speaker series, this time on environmental influences that affect early brain development.

Gonnering’s Attorney Reacts To 911 Center Audit

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WISC-TV 3

The final phase of the Dane County 911 Center’s audit that was released Thursday included recommendations for more staffing and more training, and the attorney for the boyfriend of Brittany Zimmermann reacted to the findings Friday.

The audit was ordered by county officials after the alleged mishandling of a 911 call from Zimmerman, a University of Wisconsin-Madison student who was found killed in her downtown Madison apartment last spring.

Union Redevelopment Project irresponsible undertaking by UW

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Daily Cardinal

139,700,000. I know youâ??re going to start processing all those digits. This number reveals the total budget of Wisconsin Union Redevelopment Project (estimated last Dec.), including the construction of a new Union South and renovation of Memorial Union. Surprisingly still, news is pouring in that Union South now is way over budget.

Torinus: Research needs development

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly observed recently that the 38,000 research-and-development jobs in the state now outnumber the paper industry’s total.

The observation has great import for a state trying to figure its way out of a deep recession and a heavy dependence on its historic manufacturing sector. The innovation economy is upon us, and Wisconsin, with its world-class educational infrastructure, is well positioned to take advantage of its brain power.

Jeff Skiles honored at UW basketball game

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WKOW-TV 27

The co-pilot of U.S. Airways light 1549 that safely splashed down in New York’s Hudson River was honored Saturday night at the Kohl Center.

Orgeon’s Jeffrey Skiles took the court during the first half of the Badgers-Buckeyes baskbetall game. UW Athletic Director Barry Alvarez presented Skiles with a game ball.

Obituary: Lucille Marie Skattum Schaber

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Madison.com

Lucille Marie Skattum Schaber, age 95 of Madison, formerly of the Darlington and Argyle area, passed away Feb. 10, 2009. In the early 60s Lucille moved to Madison and worked for the University of Wisconsin and Methodist Hospital.

Doyle: Federal stimulus bill great for Wisconsin, but budget cuts still needed

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Wisconsin State Journal

From new research at UW-Madison to new customers for Veronaâ??s Epic Systems to new road, clean water and environmental projects, the federal economic stimulus bill speeding toward passage in Congress holds plenty for Wisconsin, Gov. Jim Doyle and advocates said Thursday.

Those potential payoffs would come on top of increased benefits for unemployed workers, tax cuts for most families and federal aid for schools and health care programs â?? all designed to help struggling citizens and state governments amid the global recession.

“When you dig in to where you can get a big bang for a stimulus buck you end up seeing unemployment insurance and food stamps come up as very critical because that money gets spent,” said Laura Dresser, associate director of the Center on Wisconsin Strategy. “It gets spent on local things and it does it in an equalizing thing: Those people are spending money they otherwise wouldnâ??t have to spend.”

New kind of stem cells can turn into heart cells, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers show

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Wisconsin State Journal

A new kind of stem cells developed by UW-Madison researcher James Thomson performs like his old kind in a lively way.

The new cells can be turned into heart cells that beat in a lab dish, other scientists on campus have shown. The achievement could lead to a better understanding of heart disease and therapies crafted from the skin of patients with heart problems.