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Author: jplucas

A battle for benefits (Indianapolis Star)

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Indianapolis Star

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Peter Burkholder was recruited heavily before he finally accepted his job as a music professor at Indiana University 19 years ago. He’s loved it, but now he’s threatening to leave if state lawmakers pass a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

Burkholder said he has come to accept that Indiana likely never will recognize his union with partner Doug McKinney. But he fears the amendment will keep him and McKinney from receiving domestic-partner benefits through IU and so hurt the couple’s chances of adopting a child.

Badgers Women’s Hockey Team Win Would Add To Coach’s Legendary History

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WISC-TV 3

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — The University of Wisconsin-Madison women’s hockey team will continue its trek towards another national title on Friday

The Badgers, the defending national champions, will face St. Lawrence in the national semifinals in Lake Placid. The team practiced on Thursday afternoon, WISC-TV reported.

If the Badgers can win on Friday afternoon, they’ll play for the national title on Sunday.

For coach Mark Johnson, however, Friday’s game is a return to Olympic glory.

Prof’s South Pole quest (St. Paul Pioneer Press)

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St. Paul Pioneer Press

A group of scientists, including a University of Wisconsin-River Falls physics professor, is drilling deep into the polar ice to get a clearer view of space.

“The goal of the project is knowledge. We want to learn more about the universe,” said Jim Madsen, who recently returned from his second trip to the South Pole for the project, dubbed IceCube.

Originally called AMANDA â?? Antarctic Muon and Neutrino Detector Array â?? the first phase of the project was completed in 2000 and gave way to IceCube. The new title is a bit easier to grasp. It is in the ice and will encompass a cubic kilometer.

The names are the result of a bunch of science types getting together, said Madsen, a Racine native who got his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his doctorate at the Colorado School of Mines. It was in Madison that he first met IceCube director and UW-Madison physicist Francis Halzen.

UW-Madison prof says U.S. economy approaching brink of recession (WisBusiness.com)

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www.wisbusiness.com

MADISON — The U.S. economy is approaching the brink of recession and the stumbling housing market could drag it over the edge, UW-Madison emeritus economics professor Don Nichols said Friday during an economic outlook forum at the Fluno Center.

But Nichols said he could not predict what will happen with housing during the rest of 2007.And because Wisconsin’s economy is based more on the export of manufactured goods, the Badger State could have a “relatively good” year and even beat the national growth average if “the housing bust becomes huge,” he said.

Under Wisconsin Influence, Students Drink More (WPR)

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Wisconsin Public Radio

The stateâ??s adult binge-drinking rate of 26 percent — one of the highest in the country — may be one reason why the problem is prevalent on Wisconsin campuses. So say some college officials responding to a national report calling for bold action against binge drinking among students.

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse says binge drinking is becoming more of a problem at college campuses. University officials have tried various efforts to curb alcohol abuse; the latest come during March Madness. College newspaper ads prompted by the American Medical Association urge fans to protest money universities get from alcohol advertising during tourney time.

Susan Crowley heads the abuse-prevention program at UW-Madison known as PACE. She says officials are reviewing the $425,000 UW-Madison gets from Miller Brewing and Anheuser-Busch in exchange for alcohol ads in game programs and sports broadcasts. She says these discussions are happening on campuses including Madison where officials are talking about whether there is an appropriate role for industry involvement in what the campus does and if it would be significant if changes were made in their relationship.

Bucky avoiding Columbus election (Beaver Dam Daily Citizen)

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COLUMBUS – University of Wisconsin Badger basketball fans hope that Bucky Badger will be very busy in Chicago on Sunday afternoon. Supporters of Columbus Mayor Dave Bomkamp – who is locked in a race with council member Nancy Osterhaus to stay in office after the April 3 election – are disappointed that Bucky won’t also be in Columbus at that time to help them cheer on their candidate, something that he apparently is not allowed

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Colleges taking another look at value of merit-based aid

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USA Today

Good grades and high test scores still matter â?? a lot â?? to many colleges as they award financial aid. But with low-income students projected to make up an ever-larger share of the college-bound population in coming years, some schools are re-examining whether that aid, typically known as merit aid, is the most effective use of precious institutional dollars. George Washington University in Washington, D.C., for example, said last week that it would cut the value of its average merit scholarships by about one-third and pare the number of recipients, pouring the savings, about $2.5 million, into need-based aid.

Baggot: Johnson relives a miracle

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Wisconsin State Journal

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – This is what Mark Johnson does every time he comes back to this place of enduring magic and memories:

He rises early and makes his way down from the hilltop hotel overlooking Mirror Lake to the main thoroughfare of this idyllic village.

He ducks into the Starbucks two blocks away, buys a medium cup of the day with a splash of whole milk.

He proceeds to walk slowly, up the street and down, with the same cosmic question in his head.

“How did we win that game?”

Researchers help create high-tech jobs

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La Crosse Tribune

In a recent report that probably went unnoticed outside the academic world, the Association of University Technology Managers released figures that show why the rest of us should be very happy that Wisconsin is a hotbed for scientific research.

The numbers demonstrate that investment in research is not just about professors working in labs; itâ??s about creating jobs for the 21st century economy.

For Med Students, Thursday Was Perhaps the Most Nervous Day in Their Lives

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WKOW-TV 27

Today is what’s known as “Match Day” at medical schools across the country. 4th year medical students found out today what hospital they’ll train at after graduation, and what area of medicine they’ll work in. The ceremony at the UW Medical School today looked something like a cross between a final exam and a game show.

Students walked up, one by one, to the podium, opened an enevlope, and read outloud their hospital assignment.

Liquor Liability: UW Student Organizations Target of New Policy

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NBC-15

UW has been combatting underage and binge drinking for years. Now administrators say their next effort may target student organizations. The University wants to revise its risk-management policy to reinforce the idea that student groups are liable if their members overdrink.
Right now, student groups could lose their status if they serve alcohol to underage members.

UW Checks On Workers Rights In Apparel Factory (WPR)

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Wisconsin Public Radio

(MADISON) Officials at the University of Wisconsin-Madison vow to check out alleged worker rights abuses at an apparel factory in El Salvador. Although the Adidas subcontractor shut down in 2005, reports persist of corruption and mismanagement that took place while the factory made uniforms and athletic gear for the University.

Complaints filed through the Workers Rights Consortium say when Hermosa Manufacturing closed, 260 employees were dismissed without receiving $285,000 in back pay or severance packages. Also, nearly 60 unionized workers were allegedly blacklisted, keeping them from finding jobs at a neighboring plant.

Currently the UW-Madisonâ??s contract with Adidas, which generates more than $1 million annually, lasts through 2011.

Waisman Clinical to make flu vaccine

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Wisconsin State Journal

A contract to manufacture DNA-based flu vaccine has been awarded to the Waisman Clinical BioManufacturing Facility at UW-Madison’s Waisman Center.
The vaccine will be tested first on animals, with human testing expected to begin early next year during the flu season, said Allen D. Allen, chief executive of CytoDyn of Santa Fe, N.M., which developed the vaccine.

Let freedom prevail in church-state fuss

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Wisconsin State Journal

Federal Judge John Shabaz wisely put the First Amendment ahead of political correctness at UW-Madison last week when he told the university to stop discriminating against student religious groups.

UW-Madison administrators should follow Shabaz’s direction by altering their policy on funding student organizations.

Students pay to find internships

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Wisconsin State Journal

Hunting for an internship takes time and as more students realize their value, competition is getting fierce. Various businesses now offer to help match students with internships, charging hundreds to thousands of dollars to help them write resumes, identify potential employers and find summer housing.

Oates: Fresh foes a fine thing for Badgers

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Wisconsin State Journal

For the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team, escaping the Big Ten Conference will be like getting out of prison.
After 19 straight games against Big Ten opponents who know UW’s offense almost as well as the Badgers do, the NCAA tournament represents a jail break. Freedom is right around the corner.

UW men’s basketball: Butch back to practice

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Wisconsin State Journal

CHICAGO – While he hasn’t been cleared to play in the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team’s NCAA tournament opener Friday night against Texas A&M- Corpus Christi, injured junior Brian Butch gave the Badgers at least a small measure of optimism about his possible return by practicing with the team Wednesday in Madison.

College drug use, binge drinking rise Prescription abuse, pot use both way up – USATODAY.com

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USA Today

Nearly half of America’s 5.4 million full-time college students abuse drugs or drink alcohol on binges at least once a month, according to a new study that portrays substance and alcohol abuse as an increasingly urgent problem on campuses across the nation. Alcohol remains the favored substance of abuse on college campuses by far, but the abuse of prescription drugs and marijuana has increased dramatically since the mid-1990s, according to the study released today by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University. The center found that “the situation on America’s campuses has deteriorated” since 1993, CASA President Joseph Califano says.

UW wonâ??t end Adidas contract (AP)

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Appleton Post-Crescent

MADISON â?? University of Wisconsinâ??s chancellor dismissed calls Wednesday to end the schoolâ??s athletics contract with Adidas AG over the mistreatment of workers in El Salvador but called on the company to remedy the situation.

Chancellor John Wiley said Adidas should do more to help workers who were unfairly treated by a former subcontractor. He also said he would send an envoy to the country on a fact-finding mission next month.

But Wiley said he would not follow an advisory committeeâ??s recommendation that the university end its exclusive contract with Adidas over abuses at Hermosa Manufacturing, which produced Adidas apparel bearing the Badgersâ?? logo from 2000 to 2002.

Letters: Press wrong to take UW professor’s side (The Sheboygan Press)

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As much as I am disappointed in University of Wisconsin professor Leonard Kaplan’s letter to the UW law school dean (I note he has yet to address the Hmong community directly), I am equally disappointed that The Sheboygan Press has decided who is more credible, who is right, and to pass judgment that in fact, professor Kaplan’s words are truth and if anything, only “provocative.”

The students’ first-hand accounts, though represented by a third party, are no less credible than that which was carefully crafted by an attorney and the university over a two-week period.

Let freedom prevail in church-state fuss

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Wisconsin State Journal

Federal Judge John Shabaz wisely put the First Amendment ahead of political correctness at UW-Madison last week when he told the university to stop discriminating against student religious groups.

UW-Madison administrators should follow Shabaz’s direction by altering their policy on funding student organizations.

Green tea plus painkiller slows prostate cancer (Reuters Health)

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Scientific American

A component of green tea combined with a low dose of a COX-2 inhibitor may act in concert to slow the spread of human prostate cancer.

In the journal Clinical Cancer Research, they report that low doses of the COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib (sold as Celebrex), given along with a green tea polyphenol slowed the growth of prostate cancer in cell cultures and in a mouse model of the disease.

“Celecoxib and green tea have a synergistic effect, each triggering cellular pathways, that, combined, are more powerful than either agent alone,” Dr. Hasan Mukhtar from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, said in a statement.

Stiemsma Overcomes Hurdles To Assist Badgers

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WISC-TV 3

MADISON, Wis. — University of Wisconsin-Madison Badgers basketball player Greg Stiemsma has overcome nagging injuries, academic trouble and clinical depression to help propel his team.

The 6-foot-11-inch, 265-pound Stiemsma was recruited by Wisconsin when he was the star on the Randolph Rockets. Stiemsma led the Rockets to three state tournaments in a row.

Purdue U. Is Poised to Announce $100-Million Deal With Foundation to Commercialize Research

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Chronicle of Higher Education

Purdue University is about to become the first public university in the United States to sign a deal with a billionaire’s foundation that has been trying to provide $100-million endowments to universities to finance programs designed to kick-start commercialization of their inventions.

Several public and private universities have rejected the money from the Alfred E. Mann Foundation for Biomedical Engineering because of concerns that the foundation was seeking too much control over the universities’ intellectual-property rights (The Chronicle, March 17, 2006).

UW Official to El Salvador on adidas

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WKOW-TV 27

UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley is sending a campus official to El Salvador to investigate whether Adidas has violated its contract with the school, over the way it treats factory workers.

Adidas provides more than 20 UW sports teams with Adidas apparel, and pays UW more than $300,000 a year. The total annual value of the deal to the UW is $1.2 million.

UW officials told 27 News, Wiley is even prepared to pull the plug on the exclusive contract, although student activists believe Wiley should be doing more.

Doyle Proposes UW Domestic Partner Benefits (WPR)

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Wisconsin Public Radio

(MADISON) UW-Madison officials say Wisconsinâ??s recent approval of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage should not affect efforts to get domestic partner benefits for state employees.

The proposal is included in Governor Jim Doyleâ??s budget. Even if it doesnâ??t encounter court obstacles, the expansion of health insurance benefits is expected to face opposition in the Republican-controlled Assembly.

Proponents of the plan say campuses need to offer such benefits to be competitive. Charles Hoornstra is Director of Legal Services at UW-Madison. He says the UW is the only Big 10 university that doesnâ??t have the benefits, which puts it at a disadvantage in competing for faculty who are skillful people and otherwise would like to come here, but donâ??t.

UC Davis provost to lead Hawaii school, official says (Sacramento Bee)

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Virginia S. Hinshaw, provost and executive vice chancellor at the University of California, Davis, is headed to the University of Hawaii as chancellor of the Manoa campus.The University of Hawaii Board of Regents is expected to confirm Hinshaw’s appointment Thursday, said UH spokeswoman Kristen Bonilla.

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Audit: Wis. technical college faculty among nation’s highest paid

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St. Paul Pioneer Press

MADISON, Wis. – Technical college faculty members in Wisconsin are some of the highest paid in the nation, according to an audit released Tuesday. They also earn generous benefits and receive additional compensation by taking on workloads larger than those required under their union contracts, the Legislative Audit Bureau said

Badger Band rocks La Crosse

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La Crosse Tribune

The University of Wisconsin Marching Band staged a high-spirited and energy-packed pep rally Tuesday night in La Crosse perfectly suited for a Badger sports fan in a March Madness mood.

Landry Family Propels Badgers Star

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WISC-TV 3

MADISON, Wis. — It’s a quiet, winter night around the basketball hoop where one University of Wisconsin-Madison Badgers player once honed his skills, but inside the Milwaukee family home of Marcus Landry, it’s closer to chaos.

“It’s just a big network of support; and I’m grateful for it,” said Efueko, Landry’s wife of almost one year. She lives with his father, Mark; his mother, Anita; son, Marcus Jr.; and daughter, Mariah. A brother and sister are also still at home. Somehow, despite the miles to Milwaukee between them, this arrangement is working.

Student In Critical Condition After Hit-And-Run

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WISC-TV 3

MADISON, Wis. — As a 20-year-old Madison Area Technical School student clings to life, authorities are searching for the hit-and-run driver who injured him early Saturday morning.

Lucas Peerenboom was out with friends on March 9, socializing at Bucks Bar on Regent Street. Sometime after 2:00 a.m. the group made their out of the tavern. They were on foot and had made it to Park Street.

Forum Focuses On Domestic Partner Benefits At UW

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WISC-TV 3

MADISON, Wis. — A public forum was held on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus on Tuesday to discuss whether the university should begin offering health insurance benefits to domestic partners.

The UW-Madison is the only institution in the Big Ten that doesn’t offer the benefits, but Gov. Jim Doyle said that he wants to change that. Doyle’s budget proposal would authorize and fund benefits for domestic partners of all state employees, including those of the UW System.

UW takes part in stem-cell trial

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Wisconsin State Journal

For one Middleton resident who’s tried everything to ease his symptoms from a severe form of heart disease, a new stem-cell treatment trial could be just what the doctor ordered.
For the past 20 years, Steve Myrah has suffered from chronic myocardial ischemia, a form of coronary artery disease that narrows arteries and limits blood flow to the heart. He struggles with pressure and pain in his chest daily, and he can’t walk more than a block without having to stop

Clinical Trial Could Revolutionize Heart Care

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WISC-TV 3

MIDDLETON, Wis. — A Middleton man has been selected to be part of a national clinical trial that could revolutionize cardiac care.The trial will use adult stem cells provided by the patients themselves, reported WISC-TV.

If successful, the use of stem cells could help hundreds of thousands of Americans who live each day with a serious heart condition, the narrowing of coronary arteries.The UW is among the first medical centers in the country taking part in the trial.Steve Myrah, 68, of Middleton, suffers from chronic serious heart pain.

The All-Academic NCAA Bracket

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Inside Higher Education

Talent and heart rule on the basketball court â?? the teams with the most skill and the players who want it the most tend to win. So itâ??s kind of a crazy exercise to look at who might advance through the bracket of the National Collegiate Athletic Associationâ??s menâ??s basketball tournament with an eye toward anything else but those factors. But this is higher education, after all â?? right? So if you happen to cling even faintly to that antiquated notion that college sports are supposed to be about what happens to students in the classroom, too, maybe, just maybe, itâ??s appropriate to view the NCAA tournament bracket through a slightly different prism.

Waukee unveils new W logo (Des Moines Register)

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The Waukee school district has settled on a new â??Wâ? logo remarkably similar to its predecessor, minus the tilt, shading, tail and prospect of a lawsuit.

Administrators began circulating the emblem late last week after months of retooling, a response to complaints that the â??Wâ? too closely resembled the logo used by the University of Wisconsin. Wisconsin holds a trademark on its â??W,â? used to market millions of dollars in Badger merchandise, and could have sued for infringement.

UW aims to push benefits for partners

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Wisconsin State Journal

 UW-Madison is working to build the case for extending health insurance benefits to domestic partners.

Laurie Beth Clark, UW- Madison’s vice provost for faculty and staff programs and the campus coordinator for the issue, sent out an e-mail last week to all deans, directors and department chairs, asking for stories and numbers of faculty, staff members or graduate students who have been affected by the lack of such benefits at the university.

Coaches hope high-tech gizmo improves free-throws – USATODAY.com

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USA Today

When a basketball player struggles at the free-throw line, conventional wisdom provides an obvious solution â?? shoot extra free throws after practice every day.
But some organizations from high schools to the pro ranks â?? including the University of Wisconsin â?? are experimenting with a high-tech solution, showing the lengths some coaches go to get their players to hit a shot that can be frustratingly difficult for even the best.

UW Doctors See Stem Cells As Possible Cure To Heart Disease

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WKOW-TV 27

68-year-old Steven Myrah could make the medical books if the procedure he underwent is successful. He was the first patient to undergo a new experimental surgery testing whether stem cells injected into weak areas of the heart can help blood vessels get stronger. Doctors mapped out his heart, found the weakened areas, and injected them with stem cells, or a placebo in some cases, to test whether they rejuvenate the tissue.

Bars, Businesses Discuss Proposed Plan

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WKOW-TV 27

Safety issues along State Street and the Capitol Square at bar time prompted Madison Police, some alders, and the Madison Common Council to discuss limiting the number of new alcohol licenses the city hands out.

Representatives from Downtown Madison met at Hawk’s Bar today to discuss its stance. Owner Hawk Schekel disagrees. “This bar could literally be worth $100,000 more overnight…and I’m totally against it,” he said. Hawk wants to see other measures taken up to address safety.

New UH-Manoa chancellor picked (The Honolulu Advertiser)

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Honolulu Advertiser

Virginia S. Hinshaw, who now serves as provost and executive vice chancellor of the University of California, Davis, has been recommended as the new chancellor for the University of Hawai’i-Manoa.

Hinshaw received the recommendation of a UH search committee, and the UH Board of Regents is expected to vote this week to make her selection official.

Let facts calm campus uproar

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Wisconsin State Journal

The criticism of UW-Madison law professor Leonard Kaplan deserves an Emily Litella ending.
Litella was a character made famous on the “Saturday Night Live” TV program by comedian Gilda Radner. She would deliver a commentary on a public issue that she considered offensive, becoming increasingly agitated, until she discovered that she had misunderstood the whole thing. At that point, she would respond: “Never mind.”

Reciprocity Agreement Continues For Another Year (WKBT-TV, LaCrosse)

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Wisconsin and Minnesota university officials have come to a temporary agreement on a long-standing tuition deal.  The tuition reciprocity agreement has been going since 1968, but has gained opposition, recently, because of increases to tuition in Minnesota. The deal allows Wisconsin students to pay Wisconsin tuition prices, even if they go to school in Minnesota, and vice versa.  While the deal was good for both states, Minnesota tuition has gone up, Wisconsin tuition has not kept pace, and now, Minnesota students feel they are getting the short end of the deal.

Track and field: UW captures NCAA indoor crown (AP)

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Green Bay Press-Gazette

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. â?? The University of Wisconsin won the NCAA indoor track and field national championship meet, which concluded Saturday.

Chris Solinsky failed in his bid for a third straight 3,000-meter title, but his second-place finish gave UW a comfortable lead over second-place Florida State.

New Guidelines Suggested for Licensing of Academic Inventions

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Chronicle of Higher Education

Eleven of the universities that are the most active and successful in commercializing their inventions issued a series of suggestions last week for how institutions can best license their patents while serving the public good.

Among the suggestions: sue only when necessary; avoid licensing patents to companies that do not seriously commit to developing the inventions; be more stingy about exclusive licenses; and, particularly for inventions related to human health, find ways to carve out protections in licensing deals so that poor people and those in developing nations are not barred by patent rights from gaining affordable access to life-saving cures.

Kaplan Case Calls For Engagement

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Wisconsin State Journal

Until now, I have refrained from commenting on the law school controversy involving what happened in UW Law School professor Leonard Kaplan’s classroom, because I believe discussion — while sometimes uncomfortable — is part of what a strong university should offer and tolerate.

Attacking cancer from the inside

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Wisconsin State Journal

Cellectar, a Madison biotech company developing a shot-in-the-arm treatment for cancer, is about to take a big leap forward, thanks to a healthy wad of cash, a one-of-a-kind machine and a new, well-credentialed chief executive with big hopes and plans. Cellectar is a UW-Madison spinoff company.