Last Thursday, outgoing UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley announced his decision to allocate a $400,000 unrestricted university grant to help WSUM move into a new studio this summer. According to WSUM general manager Dave Black, that was more than the student radio station had originally requested from Wiley.
Most University of Wisconsin System students would see their tuition go up 5.5 percent under a plan released Tuesday, in part to pay for an unfunded mandate giving free tuition to veterans.
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In all, the plan would increase resident undergraduate tuition by $348 at UW-Madison, $340 at UW-Milwaukee and $265 at 11 other four-year schools for the coming academic year. Undergraduate students from other states would see the same dollar increases.
A college can spend millions of dollars a year polishing its image, but one viral video on a user-generated Web site like YouTube can undo it all in a minute and a half.
Some colleges, like the University of Wisconsin at Madison, are lucky enough to have user-generated campus tours come up on their first YouTube hit. Others have set up their own YouTube channels: Auburn University has uploaded more than 150 videos to the site.
Madison police officials say the Brittany Zimmermann homicide investigation has not turned into a cold case, two months after the UW-Madison student’s April 2 killing.
“They’ve come up with fifty people who you could describe as persons of interest,” Madison police spokesperson Joel DeSpain told 27 News.
Members of the UW Board of Regents are raising concerns about a program that offers free tuition benefits to veterans.
Under a state law passed in 2006, the University of Wisconsin System must provide those benefits to military veterans, but the program was not fully funded by lawmakers in the current state budget. As a result, UW System spokesman David Giroux says campuses across the state have to absorb the extra cost. State funding is only covering about a quarter of the cost of the program, leaving the UW to cover near $40 million in extra costs.
Most people read their college alumni magazines for the class notes, immediately flipping to the back to see who was married, had a baby or was promoted to an envy-inducing job. The columns tend to be meatiest at this time of year â?? class reunion season.
The advent of social networking on the Internet has created a quandary for these magazines, which want to maintain a conversation with alumni but have been slow to embrace the Web. Most schools have set up password-protected sites where graduates can change their contact information, drop a class note or donate money.
But younger alumni, accustomed to second-by-second updates from friends and classmates, are exchanging information in real time on Facebook and MySpace. Why wait for your alma mater to churn out a quarterly journal when you can Twitter all day?
A new report out of the University of Wisconsin says Barack Obama all but captured the Democratic presidential nod earlier this year. That’s when lopsided campaign spending helped Obama win nine consecutive nominating contests culminating with Wisconsin’s primary. (Audio.)
Students on four-year campuses of the University of Wisconsin System could see a 5.5 percent tuition increase for the coming school year. That’s under the terms of a budget plan which the Board of Regents is expected to approve this week.
The quintessential college town is lush and lined with quaint boulevards. Itâ??s Ann Arbor, Mich., Charlottesville, Va., and Boulder, Colo. Itâ??s dive bars and bookstores and movie theaters that still charge less than a meal.
Amna Buttar was in Madison the other morning and a remarkable thing happened — nothing.
Buttar took her daughter to the dentist and then met a friend to chat. She spoke with passion about her new life — she ‘s now a successful politician in her native Pakistan — but for the first time in recent memory there was no global controversy, no assault or assassination to discuss. It has been a frenzied few years for Buttar, and she welcomes the relative calm.
University of Wisconsin System leaders want lawmakers to pay the full cost of tuition benefits they ‘ve given to veterans.
Wisconsin veterans can attend the UW System and Wisconsin Technical College System for free under a 2006 law. The benefits are popular, but lawmakers and Gov. Jim Doyle have not given the schools enough tax money to cover them.
Thousands of miles away from the tapped kegs and beer gardens of Wisconsin, Erika Campbell happened upon a business idea perfect for Madison.
She saw an advertisement in a London restroom for a designated-driver service that takes people – and their vehicles – home safely after a night out on the town.
Quoted: UW-Madison professor and historian Patty Loew, a member of the Bad River band of Lake Superior Chippewa, an Ojibwe tribe.
UW-Madison ‘s new chancellor, Caroline “Biddy ” Martin, is upbeat and thinking big about the many challenges she ‘ll face running a world-class research and teaching institution.
Martin also brings a strong resume and record of achievement to the job.
Her positive energy, combined with her experience making tough decisions at Cornell University, make her a promising choice to lead UW-Madison.
Police custody was relatively brief for most of the transient men rounded up by Madison police nearly two months ago as they were investigating the violent killing of Brittany Zimmermann in her Downtown apartment.
But two of the men remain behind bars, one likely to be deported, because of events that were set in motion after their arrests.
When you’re soaring through the air at 120 miles per hour, there’s nothing on your mind but blue skies, beautiful clouds, and the incredible rush. The Madcity Skydivers are looking for just that: the simultaneous thrill and peace of flight, and they want to share it with others.
Three times a year, this UW student organization holds Leapfests, a chance for students of all experience levels to go skydiving together and enjoy the rush.
Quoted: Stan Temple, an emeritus professor of wildlife ecology at UW-Madison, and an expert on crows.
Q. Why do people ban books and how do they do it? What are the effects on society?
Submitted by Alice Herman, seventh grade, Jefferson Middle School
A. People raise concerns about books for many reasons, and it’s everyone’s right of free speech to ask questions and even challenge a book, says UW-Madison librarian Megan Schliesman. “But it isn’t their right to decide what others should read.”
The next chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison will be Carolyn A. (Biddy) Martin, university officials announced today.
Ms. Martin, 57, provost at Cornell University since 2000, earned her doctorate in German literature at Madison in 1985. She will succeed John D. Wiley in September, pending her approval by the universityâ??s Board of Regents this month.
The University of Wisconsin at Madisonâ??s next chancellor will be Biddy Martin, provost of Cornell University. Martin taught at Cornell before becoming an administrator, but also has roots in Madison, where she earned her Ph.D. in German literature in 1985.
A search committee is recommending that Cornell University Provost Dr. Carolyn “Biddy” Martin begin leading the UW-Madison this September, when current Chancellor John Wiley steps down after seven years in the position. Martin says she’s eager to get started working with the faculty, students, and the community surrounding the UW.
Martin has served as the chief academic and operating officer at Cornell since 2000. She received her doctorate in German Literature at the UW-Madison in 1985. If confirmed, Martin would be the first outside candidate to head the university in nearly 20 years, a fact she says should give her a fresh perspective on the problems and challenges facing the university.
UW-Madison is reviving a proposal that would require engineering students to pay the highest tuition among undergraduates on campus.
The proposal, which will go before the UW Board of Regents next week, would eventually raise tuition by $1,400 per year in the College of Engineering. The money would go toward hiring more faculty and improving academic programs.
The School of Business was the first undergraduate school at UW-Madison to bump tuition higher, a practice known as differential tuition, when it required students to pay $500 more per semester this past school year.
Chuck Oehler is preparing his PowerPoint and pamphlets, getting ready to show off his company, Primorigen Biosciences, to the world.
Primorigen is one of the Wisconsin companies chosen to make a presentation at BIO, the international biotechnology convention being held in San Diego June 17-20.
With an expected attendance of 20,000 from the global bioscience industry, BIO is a chance for Primorigen and hundreds of other biotech companies to see and be seen.
Biddy Martin knows that other universities raid promising UW-Madison faculty.
She understands the climate of reduced state aid and the ever-growing need for private fundraising.
She also knows the Legislature hasn’t always been friendly to the university.
Yet, Martin maintains a sunny attitude about the vast institution she is likely inheriting â?? not flinching at the signs that its future course will surely be bumpy at times.
The University of Wisconsin System said Wednesday that the Cornell University provost had accepted an offer to become UW-Madison’s next chancellor.
Elizabeth R. “Sis” Romine, age 94, died on Monday, May 26, 2008. She worked at the Memorial Union and Lowell Hall for many years.
Prominent local engineer and developer Jerome J. “Jerry” Mullins, age 82, died on Sunday, May 25, 2008. He attended the University of Wisconsin, College of Engineering and graduated in 1950 with a degree in civil engineering.  He later received Lifetime Achievement and Distinguished Service Awards from the University of Wisconsin. He and his family established the Jerome and Carol Mullins Entrepreneurship Scholarship Fund at the University of Wisconsin which provides several scholarships to engineering students each year.
After their weeklong Memorial Day holiday, members of Congress will duke out the details of the enhanced federal GI bill.
Wisconsin’s GI Bill already offers some of the best benefits in the nation, and because of that, University of Wisconsin System spokesman David Giroux says there are capacity concerns. He says they’ve already seen tremendous enrollment growth from military veterans as the result of Wisconsin’s generous benefits.
News reports lately have talked about three recent unsolved murders in Madison with ties to the area around the University of Wisconsin, but a decades-old murder of a student on campus is still unsolved. Christine Rothschild was found stabbed to death 40 years ago this week.
UW Madison’s biggest building boom in forty years is in full stride, and that means it’s going to be a busy summer and early fall on the sprawling, 935 acre campus. “We’ll be starting and finishing about eight or ten new projects on campus,” says Alan Fish, associate vice chancellor for facilities.
The State Journal’s front page article on student commencement campaigns on May 17 implicitly raised questions about the appropriateness of such campaigns at a public university – particularly within a unit that has raised undergraduate tuition by $1,000 and received an $85 million gift within the past year.
How dare we even broach the topic of “giving back” with students? Are we like the hiker climbing a mountain just because it is there? Or is there something more important about the journey?
There are a couple of things I won’t do in this space, and one of them is criticize University of Wisconsin sports fans.
Sure, there are instances where small pockets of folks might need to get cuffed upside the head, but Badgers fans in general have earned a wide berth because no intercollegiate support system is more loyal, generous, enthused or diverse.
As the frenzy of final exam week approached, UW-Madison student Colleene Thomas informed her Introduction to Africa instructor, sorry, but she couldn’t take the test as scheduled.
She would be busy choosing the next chancellor of UW-Madison that day.
UW-Madison’s scrappy, long-suffering radio station, WSUM-FM (91.7), received a generous gift this week that will help it move from its cramped quarters on State Street into a sleek new space at University Square.
If the Madison area has earned a reputation as a biotechnology hot spot, one huge reason is Promega Corp.
“For people in Madison, it’s the granddaddy of biotechnology,” said Carl Gulbrandsen, managing director of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF).
Dianne L. Sieker, age 68, died on Wednesday, May 21, 2008. She worked at the University of Wisconsin as a program coordinator in a variety of areas.
On a Wednesday afternoon, Bridget Maniaci sits in a State Street coffee shop among UW-Madison students paging through textbooks and staring at computer screens preparing for exams. Less than one year ago, Maniaci was one of them.
But now, Maniaci, a UW-Madison graduate with a degree in political science and economics, munches on a baguette and talks about life in Madison after her departure from the student demographic.
Summer jobs are a great opportunity for students, whether they’re a chance to test drive a career or to simply fatten their wallets. And many opportunities may be available.
“If there is a student who wants to work, there are jobs out there â?? that’s the bottom line,” said Tim Putzier, administrator of the UW-Madison Student Job Center.
David Pooley has been drawn to the mysteries of black holes and stars since he was a boy enthralled by science fiction.
But it is unlikely that the young Pooley, growing up in New Orleans, would have believed it if someone had told him that in 2008 he would be part of a team of astronomers that would for the first time witness the explosion of a star.
Don’t expect to find out the name of the likely next chancellor of UW-Madison until after the holiday weekend. A committee made up of members of the UW Board of Regents did not reach a consensus on a candidate during a conference call Wednesday. The group will reconvene Tuesday, said board President Mark Bradley.
Up against a tight deadline, the city’s Alcohol License Review Committee will take one shot in the coming month at cracking down on the places that sell booze Downtown to the chronic street alcoholics officials say are plaguing the area.
The embattled Dane County 911 center should hire two extra dispatchers this year, Dane County leaders agreed Wednesday, though questions remain about the center’s current staffing needs.
Q. Are there years when dandelions are more plentiful?
A. Mark Renz, UW-Extension weed scientist at UW-Madison’s department of agronomy, said varying environmental conditions ensure that virtually all plants, including dandelions, have some good years and some poor ones.
But he said dandelions seem perfectly suited to conditions in this area.
There may be hope yet for high school students who received the disappointing letter from Wisconsin’s flagship university that reads, “we think you’re qualified, but …”
UW-Madison is poised to admit more students from its waiting list than ever before.
UW Hospital’s Med Flight plans to resume patient flights today, said Dr. Bruce Lindsay, medical director of the helicopter service.
Flights will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. until Med Flight is ready to resume 24-hour service, Lindsay said. Eventually, a second helicopter will be added again, he said.
A study being released this month reveals some surprising statistics about public smoking bans. University of Wisconsin Economist Scott Adams says that his team looked into the number of drunk driving deaths where there is a ban on smoking in bars, and found that the fatal crashes are about twelve percent higher in such places. He thinks there are several possible explanations. (Audio.)
In another obesity-related study presented at the conference, Erica Roberson, a postgraduate researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, reported that fecal incontinence and urinary incontinence are little talked about but real problems for patients both before and after bariatric surgery.
Natalie Ammerman, a 2004 graduate of Holmen High School, has been accepted as part of a group of professional students to tour Uganda and help in hospitals, medical clinics and pharmacies.
Ammerman, 22, is a doctor of pharmacy candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy. The university has an ongoing project in Uganda for pharmacy, medical and nursing students and sends students for three weeks each summer. Ammerman and 15 other UW students will travel to Kampala, the capital of Uganda, on May 24.
She knew her Brewers, Bucks and Packers. She even surprised herself by knowing Flavor Flav. But a bit of history that involved President John Tyler and Texas stumped Suchita Shah, and the UW-Madison senior saw her run on â??Jeopardy!â? end in a semifinal that aired May 14. By making it that far, she won $10,000 at the college tournament that was filmed at the Kohl Center last month.
A new form of CPR is getting some county-wide attention. County Executive, Kathleen Falk, announced Thursday an initiative to teach average citizens CCR, or cardio-cerebral resuscitation. Dr. Darren Bean, the doctor killed in the med Flight crash earlier this month, championed the project. Falk says Dr. Bean taught firefighters and emergency workers how to do CCR and his next passion was to teach citizens. Dr. Bean’s wife says her husband would have wanted the project to continue. “My husband would be so proud to have this, this was his vision. This was his passion in life to save lives and he was an educator at heart,” said Dr. Stacey Bean.
“Now we know. Now we are going to do something about it,” says County Board Supervisor, Eileen Bruskewitz.
Help is on the way for the county’s 911 center. It’s something many say is long overdue since the recent botched 911 call from Brittany Zimmermann the day she was murdered in her home.
MADISON, Wis. — University of Wisconsin Hospital Med Flight operations will be back in the air on Friday, two weeks after a helicopter crash killed three near La Crosse.
The flight crews have been grounded since the crash on May 10.
Med Flight director Bruce Lindsay said that service will run 12-hour shifts for now — from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. — because that is the busiest times.
At Warner Park in Madison swarms of police officers wore bullet proof vests, helmets and grabbed high powered guns.
Training among the heavily armed police were Madison Fire EMTs.
“In the past we did emergency training at the paramedic level, but this training has a different twist,” says paramedic Dan Williams.
The EMTs are wearing heavy duty helmets, body armor and carrying duffel bags of medical equipment.
All purchased with an $18,000 grant made by Physicians Plus Insurance Group and the Meriter Foundation in the name of Dr. Darren Bean, the physician killed in the med flight crash almost two weeks ago.
Representatives of two UW-Madison campus constituencies raised concerns about the actions of chancellor finalist, University of Minnesota Vice President for Research Timothy Mulcahy.
Mulcahy, a former UW-Madison associate vice chancellor, visited campus last week for an interview with members of a chancellor selection committee, and also discussed his vision for the school with others.
AFT-Wisconsin union president Bryan Kennedy said during luncheon meetings, Mulcahy stated he would work to avoid faculty and academic staff labor organizing at all costs.
After a tragic crash which claimed the lives of three crew members, the University of Wisconsin Hospital’s air transfer service will be back in operation, beginning at 9:00 Friday morning
A new study headed by a University of Wisconsin researcher indicates that while most teenagers don’t label themselves solely by ethnicity, about 30-percent are labeled as such by their peers. Psychologist Brad Brown of says teens have always labeled themselves and their friends to get a grasp on their own identity. He says findings show that only about 15-percent of minority students said race defined what “crowd” they belonged to at school. Roughly 70-percent chose more social categories such as “jock”, “nerd”, “popular”, or “punk”.
The Board of Regents will wait until next week to make a decision on the new University of Wisconsin-Madison chancellor.
David Giroux, spokesperson for UW System President Kevin Reilly told us today, the five-member Board of Regents chancellor search committee couldn’t reach a consensus during a private conference call Wednesday afternoon, during which Reilly hoped to offer the post to one of the four finalists.
I know there’s been a lot of discussion regarding the 911 call made from Brittany Zimmerman’s phone in Madison on the University of Wisconsin-Madison student was murdered. Rightfully so, as I think this is a much bigger issue than the Dane County executive has been making of it. Kathleen Falk apologized for the errors made by the dispatcher and the call center. Is this enough?
WSUM General Manager Dave Black has confirmed that the UW-Madison student radio station will broadcast a “major announcement” by Chancellor John Wiley during the 2 o’clock hour this Thursday afternoon.
The announcement will occur during “Raveathon,” a seven hour broadcast marathon to be hosted by music industry veteran Bruce Ravid, from 1-8 p.m. Thursday. Ravid graduated from UW-Madison in 1974 and was an early pioneer of student radio on campus.
For the fifteenth straight meeting spanning parts of three years, the Madison city council representative to a 911 Center oversight board failed to show up Wednesday.
It was also the first meeting of the Public Safety Communications Center Board since a 911 dispatcher mishandled an April emergency call from the cell phone of murder victim Brittany Zimmermann.
MADISON, Wis. — An increasing financial squeeze is prompting many researchers to spend more time searching for ways to fund their experiments and studies than in actual performing.
Officials said that this situation is essentially slowing the discovery of new developments.
“With us being so close to making major breakthroughs, to pull the plug on it, it’s just devastating. It’s very bad social policy, and it’s being pennywise, and a pound foolish,” said Bob Golden, dean and professor of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
