More financial aid grants are proposed for Wisconsin college students. It’s a proposal from Madison Democrats, Representative Spencer Black, and Representative Joe Parisi: providing that any increase in tuition at UW or technical college campuses be matched dollar for dollar by increases in financial aid.
UW-Madison computer scientist Paul Barford doesn ‘t want to be alarmist, but he thinks you could be in danger of being attacked — by a botnet.
Botnets (a term combining “robot ” and the “Net “) are the biggest and baddest Internet villains out there these days, he said, combining other threats that have been around for years — worms, viruses, spyware, and so on.
Social conservatives used to scowl at the work of UW-Madison stem cell scientist James Thomson, whom Doyle introduced during his speech. But Thomson has quickly become a pro-life hero for reverting human skin cells back to their embryonic state. The technique should eventually allow researchers to develop better drugs and even cures for disease without destroying — or even using — embryos.
William M. Yen, age 72, a Graham Perdue Professor of Physics at the University of Georgia, died Thursday, Jan. 17, 2008. He held a position on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1965 until 1986. Dr. Yen was well known internationally as a leader in the field of optical properties of solids and was a pioneer in the application of lasers in the study of condensed matter.
The Teamsters union and New Era Cap Co. have been struggling for months over working conditions and wages in the company’s Mobile distribution center. Such a tangle of claims and counter-claims isn’t unusual when a union enters a workplace. What is unusual is how the Teamsters have nationalized complaints involving the 118 workers in one obscure Crichton warehouse.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison on Friday announced it would cut off the Buffalo, N.Y.-based cap maker’s license to manufacture caps with the school’s name or logo, and student activists who visited Mobile earlier this month are trying to get other schools to follow suit.
It took the Wisconsin Legislature four months longer than scheduled to set a new biennial budget in 2007. But it gave Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat serving his second term, plenty to boast about when he called on the Star Tribune editorial board on Jan. 9 while in town to promote renewable energy with Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Excerpts of Doyle’s remarks:
Fond du Lac High School is inviting the community to discuss ways to improve employment opportunities for youth with disabilities.
“Community Conversation” will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 31, at Marian College, 45 S. National Ave.
The evening will provide a venue for creative brainstorming and networking over coffee and desserts. It is open to anyone interested in improving employment and community involvement for youth with disabilities. Business and community leaders, local policymakers, faith communities, youth agencies, families and young people are especially encouraged to attend.
Quoted: University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor Charles Franklin.
Quoted: Charles Franklin, a professor of political science at UW-Madison.
Quoted: Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
The U.S. economy will be saddled with some burdensome obstacles in 2008, according to economist Michael Knetter, dean of the University of Wisconsin School of Business in Madison. Knetter, a former economic advisor to Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, provides his macroeconomic outlooks annually at the Northern Trust Economic Trends Breakfast. Small Business Times executive editor Steve Jagler recently interviewed Knetter about the economic outlook for 2008. The following are excerpts from that interview.
Arriving in Kenya, the nine of us were unaware of the dangers and uncertainties that lay before us. From the plane, even the fires we saw were all “natural” in our minds. Our drive to the hospital in Maseno forced our eyes open as we bribed our way through a myriad of roadblocks. Hundreds of men were on the road that day, Dec. 29, some carrying machetes, others with loads of looted materials.
As senior nursing students at UW-Madison on the La Crosse campus, we had tried to prepare ourselves for what we would experience in Kenya. Since this was the second annual trip, we thought that we knew what we were getting into, but we couldn’t have anticipated what the next few weeks would bring.
MADISON, Wis. — Doctors at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine performed a first-of-its-kind surgery on an exotic yellow-footed tortoise.
The tortoise, named Baskin Robbins, lives at the Milwaukee County Zoo. His caretakers noticed that Baskin Robbins wasn’t walking and appeared to be in pain, so they sent him to Madison for a checkup.
“Baskin Robbins is here because he is lame, meaning he’s not bearing weight on his front left leg, and we think it’s because he had a problem with his humerus, which is the arm bone. Part of it has broken off, and that part needs to be removed so that he’s not lame and in pain,” said Dr. Gretchen Cole, a veterinarian at the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine.
Classes are now in session at UW-Madison, which means that students are once again dozing through lectures, flirting at the library and drinking heavily at their favorite downtown taps. But I issue this plea to Badger undergraduates: Make good use of your time here.
The University of Wisconsin is a world-class institution. You’ll likely never have a better chance to read great books and talk about them with thoughtful people. And you’ll likely never again be amid such a concentration of brilliant lectures, concerts, exhibits, films and other provocative events. As ever, there is a lot going on, all over campus.
Nobody knows the importance of working smoke alarms better than UW senior Andy Talen. He was asleep inside his house on N. Bedford St. last fall when it caught on fire. Andy escaped, but his brother, Peter, died.
Andy asked the UW’s dean of students office and Madison fire department if he could help pass out batteries on Friday during their planned event to raise awareness.
“It’s just a simple check…just put a battery in,” said Andy.
MADISON, Wis. — A student group at UW Madison is promising to continue its fight against what it believes is religious discrimination.
A District Court ruled last week that the UW must allow funding for the Roman Catholic Foundation’s programs, even though the activities include prayer and worship.
The UW has refused to fund the programs because officials believe sponsoring the group violates the separation of church and state, reported WISC-TV.
Q. Will the sun ever burn up the Earth and, if so, when?
— Submitted by Noelle Yeazel, Grade 6, Whitehorse Middle School
A. Like all stars, the sun changes over time, and some day — when it has consumed all of its hydrogen fuel and becomes what astronomers call a “red giant star ” — its outer layers could reach as far as the Earth and swallow our planet.
Cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu suffered a torn ACL during a workout on Tuesday, but his agent disputed early reports it would cause the former University of Wisconsin standout to miss the upcoming football season.
A few of the hundreds of people gathered in Memorial Union’s Grand Hall on a frigid night last winter joined hands expectantly in the center of the dance floor.
Before long, the hall filled with a buoyant folk tune rooted in the villages of Eastern Europe, and the string of dancers grew, spiraling outward until spectators in folding chairs found themselves precariously close to a stampede of legs rushing past in waves.
The fuel that ignited the Wisconsin rumors was director Michael Mann, a UW-Madison alum, visiting the Baraboo National Bank last month — drawn by its vintage appeal (the exterior hasn ‘t been altered much since the 1930s) as a potential filming locale.
Madison and UW-Madison officials took a wait-and-see approach Thursday to a report by a Downtown neighborhood association that — among other things — calls for a crackdown on underage drinking, higher drink prices and fewer bars to stop alcohol-related crime in the central city.
On Thursday, a law student working with the Wisconsin Innocence Project made the case for David Sanders ‘ compensation request, which includes repayment of attorneys ‘ fees and the maximum $5,000 allowed under the law for the eight months he spent in prison, the start of what was to be a 15-year sentence for first-degree sexual assault of a child.
Two key members of the Senate Finance Committee, which is responsible for setting U.S. tax policy, today wrote to 136 colleges with endowments of $500 million or more, pressing for additional details on their finances and signaling an interest in legislation that would require colleges to use more of their endowments to keep costs to families manageable.
Quoted: Ken Goldstein, director of the Wisconsin Advertising Project.
Wisconsin is poised to weather the cooling U.S. economic climate better than other parts of the nation, panelists at an economic forum in Milwaukee said today.
“We are facing a period of great uncertainty,” stated Michael Knetter, dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business.
Becoming one of the world’s top three public research universities – it’s alluded to in speeches and scattered throughout the media – is on the minds of administrators and right now, it may be the University’s credo.
The Board of Regents approved University President Bob Bruininks and Provost Tom Sullivan’s strategic positioning plan in June 2005, endorsing a plan to turn the University into one of the world’s leading public research universities.
MADISON, Wis. — Former Memorial High and Badgers star Jack Ikegwuonu was hoping to be selected in the upcoming NFL draft, but it is being reported that he has suffered an injury that will keep him from playing in 2008.
Ikegwuonu left University of Wisconsin-Madison after his junior season to enter the NFL draft, but his injury will delay or possibly derail that dream.
Near record amounts of snow this winter have raised concerns about roof collapses. Snow and ice accumulations on roofs cause a loading which can cause roof collapse when the roof is not strong enough to resist the load. The deeper the snow, the higher the loading.
Brian Holmes and David Kammel, University of Wisconsin-Madison/Extension professors and specialists note that the more dense the snow and ice, the greater the load for a given depth. Rain held in snow can add about 5 pounds per square foot per for each inch of rain.
College and universities in Wisconsin are getting richer.
Each of Wisconsin’s top 15 college endowments has grown by at least 15%.
The richest endowment belongs to the biggest school: UW-Madison. It’s got $1,645,250,000 in its coffers for its 41,000-plus student body.
MADISON, Wis. — The Capitol Neighborhoods Association met Thursday night to discuss ways to combat alcohol problems in their community.
Authorities said that excessive drinking in downtown Madison is a problem that has led to dangerous, and even deadly, situations.
Officials from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the city of Madison suggested ways Thursday to curb binge drinking and violence, especially among college students.
A biochemist at UW Madison is hoping his genetic research on algae may someday help the computer industry make thinner silicon chips. Gil Halsted reports.â?¦(Audio.)
More bad news for college officials who say too many parents are micromanaging their children’s lives: Most college-bound kids seem to welcome the involvement.
The number of colleges and universities boasting endowments of $1 billion or more climbed by 14 last year to a record 76, nearly doubling the number of such schools five years ago. And as tuition increases continue to outpace inflation, that’s prompting some critics to step up their pressure on colleges to share more of their wealth.
When the Dalai Lama returns to Madison this summer to share his message of kindness, compassion and peace with his followers and admirers, the revered spiritual leader will be the recipient of a rare prayer offering.
Warning that “challenging days are ahead,” Gov. Jim Doyle said Wednesday that Wisconsin must face a national economic downturn by cutting state spending, boosting businesses and remaking the way individuals and small companies buy health insurance.
More than 30 years later, Lori Berquam looks at photographs recovered from the fire that burned her family ‘s home to the ground and swears she can still smell the smoke.
“And your clothes. As many times as you wash your clothes, the smell, it ‘s such a hard thing to get out, ” Berquam said. “And then you think, is the smell really there or am I just imagining it to be there? “
Dena Sattler carries multiple credit cards, but when faced with the decision of which one to use at the checkout, more often than not she chooses the one emblazoned with the logo of the University of Iowa. As an alumna and football fan, she can earn points toward Hawkeye memorabilia to add to her collection.
So far, she has cashed in credit-card points for two football helmets used in games.
Quoted: Charles H. Franklin, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin.
While other University students enjoyed winter break, global studies senior Emily Hassing was hanging out in Zanzibar, Kenya, trying to avoid the postelection violence that had broken out around the country.
Hassing was one of nine students in Kenya for a year with the Minnesota Studies in International Development program on Dec. 27 when the incumbent president, Mwai Kibaki, was accused of rigging the election.
The program serves a group of UW-Madison students.
NAPERVILLEâ??The lives of persons with disabilities â??can literally be transformed by people who are willing to welcome, receive, befriend, support and walk alongside them,â? said Erik Carter, an assistant professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
WAUKESHA – A new study released by the University of Wisconsin-Madison says fewer than half of all people in the country are getting their puppies and kittens vaccinated, which could have disastrous results in the future. (Subscription required.)
In his speech, Doyle also praised University of Wisconsin-Madison stem cell researcher James Thomson, who was in attendance, and UW research teams for embarking on the next frontier of stem cell research – using skin cells to create new stem cells for use in medical research. He also noted the forthcoming groundbreaking on the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, a new research center that will foster collaboration between biotechnology, nanotechnology, and information technology.
Colleges have been scrambling over the past year to respond to recommendations from a national commission that they be clearer to the public about what students have learned by the time they graduate.
Sometime in the next several weeks, for example, a national online initiative will be launched that allows families to compare colleges on measures such as whether they improve a student’s critical-thinking skills.
Glenn and Winifred Skillrud are donating up to $175,000 to the University of Wisconsin Foundation for two scholarship to cover the costs of students majoring in piano and voice â?? if they are satisfied with how those funds are used during the next four years, they will endow the program, according to an article in the Badger Herald.
The scholarships will cover the costs of classes, food, books, and concert dress, the newspaper said. The donors want to help â??ensure more classical singers receive training instead of the America Idol-style popular today.â?
A Catholic student group is suing the University of Wisconsin at Madison, claiming it is being discriminated against because it is a religious organization.
The Roman Catholic Foundation says the university unfairly refused to release funds from student fees to pay for some of its activities. The university has disallowed funds to pay for activities such as printing Lenten booklets, running evangelical Catholic training camps and hosting retreats where counselors were priests and nuns.
Quoted: Gregory F. Nemet, co-author of the Energy Policy paper and an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, told the public-interest center. His paper says that a tenfold increase in research spending â??is both warranted and feasible.â?
MADISON, Wis., Jan. 22 (UPI) — U.S. scientists say the study of diatoms — algae that encase themselves in patterned, glass-like shells — might lead to an advance in computer chips.
University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers said the tiny unicellular phytoplankton build their hard cell walls by depositing submicron-sized lines of silica, a compound related to silicon.
The University of Wisconsin instated a self-disclosure and background-check policy for potential faculty members last spring, after the university discovered that three professors were convicted felons.
Wisconsin also considered the issue of faculty recruitment before requiring disclosure and background checks, but says the policy is too new to evaluate its effect.
“It remains too early to tell” whether the policy impacts the recruitment of faculty, University of Wisconsin-Madison Human Resources Director Mark Walters s
The University of Wisconsin instated a self-disclosure and background-check policy for potential faculty members last spring, after the university discovered that three professors were convicted felons.
Wisconsin also considered the issue of faculty recruitment before requiring disclosure and background checks, but says the policy is too new to evaluate its effect.
“It remains too early to tell” whether the policy impacts the recruitment of faculty, University of Wisconsin-Madison Human Resources Director Mark Walters said.
Madison, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Madison professor who first isolated human embryonic stem cells said Tuesday that Wisconsin would have to spend $50 million annually on stem cell research to keep pace with California on a per capita basis.
James Thomson, who spoke on the past and future of stem cell research at the monthly luncheon of the Madison chapter of the Wisconsin Innovation Network, said Stanford and the University of California-San Francisco, alone, receive on the order of $15 million a year a piece.
MADISON, Wis. — University of Wisconsin-Madison officials are urging students to make sure their smoke detectors are working after two recent off-campus fires.
School officials are handing out nearly 2,000 9-volt batteries at the student union on Tuesday to students who live in houses and apartments.
Dean of Students Lori Berquam said that the goal is to have a safe second semester after two tragic fires in November
MADISON, Wis. — The dispute with cable companies and the NFL Network continues in Wisconsin even as the football season is winding down.
A bill heard Tuesday by an Assembly Committee would require cable companies and the NFL Network to go to arbitration to reach a deal. The NFL Network and the Big Ten Network have reached agreements with many carriers, but not Time Warner and Charter Communications.
Quoted: Donald Hester, University of Wisconsin-Madison professor, says the slow growth in tax collections is a bad sign and as consumer consumption drops, it will only get worse.
New stem cell breakthroughs hold great potential for human medicine, UW-Madison researcher Jamie Thomson said today, but any therapies coming from them may be a decade or two off.
â??This will revolutionize human medicine, but mostly it is about the basic science and biology and having access to things we did not have access to before,â? he said, noting that transplantation of stem cells to the central nervous system will be particularly difficult.
The public hates negative ads. At least thatâ??s what the media and pundits offer up every election year.
But UW-Madison political science professor Ken Goldstein argues theyâ??re usually more accurate, more likely to focus on substance and policy, and more likely to spark votersâ?? interest and participation. In short, they work.
Goldstein said past claims that negative ads are detrimental to democracy are false and based on faulty assumptions. He builds his case in a new book â??Campaign Advertising and American Democracy.â?
Kenneth Paul Nabholz, age 52, passed away on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2008. Ken worked in the maintenance and shipping departments of the University of Wisconsin and UPC Inc., respectively.
Donald Lawrie “Pa” Ostrander, age 85, passed away on Thursday, Jan. 17, 2008. He worked for the University of Wisconsin Medical School for 35 years in pathology.
Frank C. Larson, M.D., age 87, Emeritus Professor of Medicine and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, died on Tuesday, December 25, 2007. He was a member of the faculty of the University of Wisconsin Medical School from 1951 until his retirement in 1989.
An attack at a UW-Madison dorm room, coupled with the theft of checks from a friend, will mean 10 years in prison for a homeless man.
When it comes to drug development, Jon Thorson studies sweet spots.
The UW-Madison pharmacy professor works with sugar molecules that enable natural compounds to fight cancer or infections – or avoid unwanted side effects.
The University of Wisconsin System will soon have three chancellor searches in the works.
