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Author: Kelly Tyrrell

Racial incident on UW campus prompts calls for student help

Posted on
WKOW TV

The defacing of a publicity poster for a theater production at UW-Madison prompts a letter from school officials, urging students to watch for, and confront racial insensitivity.

The poster depicted Japanese women and others in connection with the staging of the production “Tea,” with the vandalism involving the obscuring of the women’s faces in yellow. The play is about Japanese women marrying U.S. servicemen and returning with them to live in the United States.

“Here we are doing this Asian American play and someone sees fit to do something like this,” “Tea” director and UW School of Education professor David Furumoto says.

For The Record: UW campaign

Posted on
Channel3000.com

(Video) Neil Heinen talks about the University of Wisconsin comprehensive campaign that’s aiming to review the UW’s focus on its goals and raise money to help reach those goals.

Racial vandalism in classroom building provokes letter from administration

Posted on
Daily Cardinal

Students taking classes housed in Vilas Hall, including those in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, received an email Monday alerting them of “an incident of bias and racism” that occurred a few weeks ago in Vilas Hall.

The attached letter from Vice Provost and Chief Diversity Officer Patrick Sims detailed the vandalism of a poster for the Department of Theater and Drama’s production of “TEA.”

Student veterans find community at UW-Madison

Posted on
Daily Cardinal

Jim O’Rourke had a less-than-typical freshman year experience. At 24 years old, he transferred to UW-Madison out of the military, where he had been taking college courses in his free time. Unable to connect with his younger classmates, O’Rourke described that first semester as isolating.

“I didn’t have a lot of friends—a lot of the guys don’t have that typical experience where you move into the dorms and have more or less an assigned friend group,” O’Rourke said. “I imagine that’s how it kind of works. I have no idea.”

But weeks into that first semester, O’Rourke found a community in the Veterans, Educators and Traditional Students organization—a smaller group of people he said spoke his language and made him feel at home.

How low to go: Details emerge on big blood pressure study

Posted on
Associated Press (WKOW)

Noted: The study involved people over 50 whose top reading was over 130. People with diabetes were excluded, so the results do not apply to them. The results also may not apply to people with previous strokes, the very old, those with severe kidney disease or people already taking a lot of different drugs, said Dr. James Stein, who heads the high blood pressure program at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

UW Health holds event to help vets conquer job interviews

Posted on
Channel3000.com

Romel Santini knew his time in the Air Force made him a stronger candidate for any job. He said in his 20 years in the military, he acquired leadership skills, learned how to communicate clearly and became a better team member.

But he never had to interview to get a job in the military, so when he returned home, he had to figure out how to show those skills all over again.

To Educate a Diverse Nation, Topple the Ivory Tower

Posted on
Huffington Post

Coauthored by Clif Conrad:

Visit an American college campus today and you’ll see a more diverse student body than ever before. Over the last 30 years, the number of Hispanic students has risen five-fold, Asian and Pacific Islander enrollment has tripled, black enrollment has risen 150 percent and Native American enrollment has doubled.But the graduation rate for minority students falls far below the nationwide average. Our colleges and universities are not succeeding at educating students with diverse backgrounds. In an increasingly competitive global economy, our country cannot afford this waste of time, money and talent.

World-class talent

Posted on
Isthmus

With a reputation as a gifted teacher, violinist Soh-Hyun Park Altino will get to practice what she preaches at her Nov. 13 Madison debut recital in Mills Hall.

The UW School of Music’s new violin professor will share the stage with pianist Martha Fischer in a demanding program that includes Bach’s Sonata No. 3 in C major for solo violin, Brahms’ second violin sonata, Ives’ Violin Sonata No. 2 and the soaring “Romance” by Amy Beach.

Musical homecoming

Posted on
Isthmus

[T]his weekend, the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music offers a rare treat: a homecoming of celebrated alumni composers. They’re presenting exciting work, some of it postmodern, some of it emphasizing novel, symbolic staging and motion — along with a few world premieres.

UW Health is helping veterans get back to work

Posted on
WKOW TV

The third annual UW Health Veterans’ Career Event is set for Tuesday, November 10 starting at 8 a.m. at the UW Health administrative office building.

This is a chance for veterans and their families to network, receive career assistance, participate in mock interviews and learn about the opportunities at UW Health. Attendees are able to apply for jobs at the end of the event.

No charges filed against UW student accused of sexual assault

Posted on
Channel3000.com

The Dane County District Attorney’s Office has decided not to charge a University of Wisconsin-Madison student who was accused of sexually assaulting another student last fall.

The UW Police Department said a 22-year-old UW student was driven to the department by a local food delivery driver on Oct. 25. The woman had asked the worker for a ride saying she needed help. She had been sexually assault outside.

Craig Schuff, paralyzed researcher, UW-Madison engineering graduate student, dies

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

Craig Schuff’s heart and academic journey carried on more than four years after he was paralyzed in a Lake Monona diving accident that damaged his spinal cord. Schuff, 30, a quadriplegic since 2011, died Oct. 24.His advisers at UW-Madison said he was less than a year from finishing his doctorate in engineering, focusing on innovative nuclear research that deserves to be continued.

Event helps veterans find jobs

Posted on
Channel3000.com

(Video) Veteran’s Day is one week away. A special event is set for next week to help the brave men and women who have served our country find jobs. Bill Schrum, the vice president of human resources at UW Health, talks about the event.

Break free from Pelvic Floor Disorders

Posted on
WKOW TV

Quoted: “Pelvic-floor disorders are common but they are not a normal or inevitable part of getting older or having children,” said Dr. Heidi Brown, UW Health OB-GYN [and assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology]. “In this community talk we want to create a safe environment to help you learn to break free. You will learn tips and tricks to reduce symptoms and about the range of treatments available now.”

Dr. Brown and Dr. Dobie Giles, UW Health OB-GYN [and assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology], will present and take questions; physical therapists will be on hand for education; and one patient will share her journey through treatment.

Warm Wisconsin weather expected through November

Posted on
Channel3000.com

Quoted: University of Wisconsin meteorology professor Jonathan Martin said a stronger-than-normal El Nino pattern in the Pacific will push warmer temperatures into the Midwest throughout the rest of the month. But he said it will likely not be as warm as the 70 degree days Wisconsin will enjoy this week.

This is the first time in nearly two decades such a strong weather pattern has hit the Great Lakes states.

“[In ’97-’98] you could throw rocks into Lake Mendota,” Martin said. “The ice was gone Feb. 28, so I went down with my kids and threw rocks in the lake, and I told them, ‘This will never happen again.’ Well, it might this year.'”

12 on Tuesday: Rev. Everett Mitchell

Posted on
Madison365.com

Quoted: Q: Since you joined the University of Wisconsin, what has the university done to address the needs of people of color? A: The University of Wisconsin-Madison is a place full of passionate, concerned and motivated men and women who are hopeful for the least of these in this community. My office opened the South Partnership Space in South Madison that allows for programs such as Odyssey, Family Voices, the University of Wisconsin Law School, Dementia, Medical School, partner with the community to offer our resources. Even this past week, I worked with a team, Deb and Shelia, to ensure that teenagers from MMSD, NIP and Verona were given VIP access to the Bryan Stevenson presentation at the University. In partnership with WARF, we started a program called UpStart that allows for entrepreneurship education for men and women of color. [Mitchell is director of community relations.]

University of Wisconsin faculty approve tenure protections

Posted on
Associated Press (Channel3000.com)

Faculty representatives at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have approved a new policy that lays out a narrow range of circumstances that would allow firing of tenured professors.

The Wisconsin State Journal reported that the school’s Faculty Senate gave unanimous approval Monday to the policy, which would restore many layoff protections erased by state lawmakers in passing a budget this year. The policy goes to the UW System Board of Regents for final approval.

Exact Sciences’ Judge Doyle Square decision is right response to bad timing

Posted on
Channel3000.com

There are sounds reasons to believe Exact Sciences’ non-invasive test for colon cancer will one day be a widely-recommended preventive procedure. But there is no doubt the announcement last month that a federal health task force gave the test an initial designation of “alternative test,” just as company officials were wrapping up plans for an ambitious expansion at Judge Doyle Square was about the worst timing possible. Very simply the implications for the company’s financial performance, short term as they might be, made the move downtown too risky. It’s too bad, but company CEO Kevin Conroy’s decision to grow the company at its current UW Research Park location is the right thing to do.

Exact Sciences expansion to change Research Park culture

Posted on
Channel3000.com

Quoted: “We need to evolve as well and create an environment where companies can interact easily and where they can spill over into these third spaces and have casual encounters and lunch meetings and coffee meetings,” Research Park Managing Director Aaron Olver said.

Research Park has already brought in food carts to the heart of its campus on a daily basis, but Olver said they hope to bring in restaurants and coffee shops to help facilitate a more collaborative atmosphere, which is an idea Exact Sciences is on board with.

Blank says private fundraising dependent on state funding

Posted on
Badger Herald

University of Wisconsin’s “All Ways Forward” fundraising campaign hopes to get donors to make something happen on campus that wouldn’t happen otherwise, UW Chancellor Rebecca Blank said.

The last of the four comprehensive fundraisers of this kind, “Create the Future,” took place in 2006 and raised a total of $1.8 billion. “All Ways Forward” hopes to nearly double this amount by the end of the decade. The campaign aims to increase private support of the university in addition to the support from taxpayers, families and alumni donations gifts.

Chancellor Rebecca Blank: Concealed carry proposal ‘defies common sense’

Posted on
Badger Herald

University of Wisconsin Chancellor Rebecca Blank says she would not send her daughter to a college that allows concealed weapons in university buildings, and hopes to mobilize parents statewide to voice the same concerns to lawmakers.

“I’m the mother of a sophomore at Northwestern University,” Blank told The Badger Herald editors last week. “I wouldn’t send her to a school where she could end up in a dorm with someone with a gun in the room. I just wouldn’t do that.”

City, county officials share budgets with ASM committee

Posted on
Daily Cardinal

Members of the Associated Students of Madison Legislative Affairs Committee took a step back from discussions on state government campaigns Tuesday to learn about the city and county budgets.

County Board Supervisor Leland Pan, District 5, and Ald. Zach Wood, District 8, detailed the current status of the 2016 fiscal county and city budgets, in an effort to gain student involvement in the process.

Cold Case Investigation: Donna Mraz Murder

Posted on
NBC15

33 years ago a 23-year-old woman was stabbed to death right outside Gate 5 at Camp Randall. Even though that happened back in 1982, police are still keeping this a very active and open investigation, and they need your help finding the killer.

Everest earthquake survivor comes to Madison to shares his story

Posted on
WKOW TV

Andrew Land came to Union South Monday night to share his epic adventure of surviving the Everest earthquake and avalanches this past April. The Fond du Lac hospice nurse is also a mountain climber who went to Nepal in to conduct a charitable climb for HOPE (Hospice Organization and Palliative Experts) of Wisconsin.

City officials optimistic Judge Doyle Square redevelopment will still happen

Posted on
WKOW TV

Business leaders and city officials Monday remained upbeat about the prospect of a large development at Judge Doyle Square, despite the decision of Madison-based Exact Sciences to opt against moving its headquarters downtown as part of a proposed redevelopment there.

Exact Sciences announced Monday it will instead seek to expand at the UW Research Park on the West Side.

Badgers 17th in AP preseason poll

Posted on
Associated Press (WISC)

The Wisconsin Badger men’s basketball team is ranked 17th in the Associated Press preseason poll released Monday.

The Badgers will play UW-River Falls in an exhibition game Wednesday night at the Kohl Center.

Band Together to Beat Cancer to march into Camp Randall

Posted on
WISC-TV 3

Band Together to Beat Cancer is a fundraising effort spearheaded by the UW Marching Band. This year band members will wear “Beat Cancer” pins during the halftime performance. The pins will be available to the public for a donation starting at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday at Union South. You can also get a pin online for a donation at www.uwhealth.org/beatcancer.

The proceeds will be used by the Carbone Cancer Center to continue their research.

Skip the doctor visit: birth control available over-the-counter in some states, online here in WI

Posted on
WKOW-TV 27

Quoted: Dr. Paula Cody is an assistant professor of pediatrics at UW-Madison who specializes in adolescent sexual health. She said missing that face-to-face follow up with a doctor could be detrimental.

“If they have new onset headaches, or their blood pressure has increased, or moods have changed, I want to know that within a couple of months,” said Cody. “That’s one thing that if they’re getting online prescriptions, I’m not sure they’re following up.”

A little seed makes a big difference in breast cancer surgery

Posted on
WKOW TV

As breast cancer awareness month comes to a close, there is some good news for local patients and medical providers. New technology called radioactive seed localization is showing to be a more accurate tool for surgeons when locating and removing a lesion, while easing some day-of-surgery anxiety for patients.

Quoted: Jennifer Steiman, assistant professor of surgery

Grant program initiates overwhelming response and support

Posted on
Badger Herald

The UW2020 Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation Discovery Initiative has received an overwhelming number of responses to their new grant research program.

The UW2020 program, which began in 2014, has received an array of responses from faculty and academic staff. All staff with permanent principle investigator status are eligible to apply, and some 150 applications have already been received.

Latest Campus Master Plan nears final stages

Posted on
Daily Cardinal

The Facilities Planning & Management project team unveiled the newest stage of UW-Madison’s Campus Master Plan during its third public open house Tuesday.

The Campus Master Plan is a collective effort between Facilities Planning & Management, planning consultants and the university community to establish a process of orderly growth for the campus. The plan is updated every 10 years, with the most recent being finalized in 2005. The current master plan is now in month 10 of the full 24-month planning period.

Madison prepares for 10th Freakfest

Posted on
Daily Cardinal

Madison city officials gathered Wednesday to discuss logistics and entertainment for the upcoming Freakfest, which will have its 10th anniversary Saturday.

Madison Police Department’s Central District Captain Carl Gloede emphasised that the event is safe and family-friendly and that the city is excited to hold Freakfest downtown again.

“We’ve come a long way from a public safety perspective in how this event plays out each fall,” he said.

Ex-Badger Mark Osiecki Named Head Coach of U.S. Men’s Select Team

Posted on
NBC15

Mark Osiecki (Burnsville, Minn.), associate coach of the American Hockey League’s Rockford IceHogs, will serve as head coach of the 2015 U.S. Men’s Select Team that will compete at the 2015 Deutschland Cup from Nov. 6-8 in Augsburg, Germany, USA Hockey announced today.

Osiecki served as an assistant coach for the University of Wisconsin men’s ice hockey team from 2004-10, helping the team to the 2006 NCAA national title and 2010 NCAA national championship game. The former University of Wisconsin defenseman (1987-90) served as an alternate captain for the 1990 NCAA national championship team.

Sexual assault awareness, resources ramp up around UW campus

Posted on
Channel3000.com

Noted: While the majority of the people SANE treats are young women, only about one in 10 come from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Curran finds that even more surprising considering the geographic proximity between the hospital and campus.

UW Police Department spokesperson Marc Lovicott said sexual assault is one of the most under-reported crimes officers deal with on campus.

“We want them to tell someone because first and foremost, we need to make sure they are getting the help that they need,” Lovicott said.

Never has the Wisconsin Idea been more relevant

Posted on
Channel3000.com

The benefits of the research, teaching, learning and discoveries of the UW affect the world and humanity. That’s the mission. That’s what Walker decided he wanted explicitly stated in state statutes no longer.

Let us just put it this way: Never has the Wisconsin Idea been more relevant, more important, and more worthy of our support.

UW-Madison ecologist leads national society through changing scientific sphere

Posted on
The Daily Cardinal

As scientific fields rapidly evolve, putting more emphasis on effective communication skills and accessibility, the newest president of the Ecological Society of America, Monica Turner, the Eugene P. Odum Professor of Ecology and Vilas Research Professor of Zoology at UW-Madison, said she will use decades of experience as an ecologist to navigate the organization through changing times.

‘Go Big Read’ author challenges UW audience to make commitment to social justice

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University of Wisconsin’s “Go Big Read” author Bryan Stevenson chronicled his experiences working in the justice system to a packed room in Varsity Hall Monday, and explained how changing narratives will lead to tangible change.

Stevenson worked as a lawyer at the Southern Center for Human Rights representing death-row inmates after graduating from Harvard Law School in 1985.

Wisconsin would follow only one state in campus carry

Posted on
Badger Herald

A proposal from Republican legislators would make Wisconsin the second state in the nation to allow complete concealed carry on their public college and university campuses.

Jeff Nass, legislative affairs liaison for Wisconsin Force, said the campus carry act would give a person on campus the ability to protect him or herself from someone who chooses to misuse their size, gender or any form of a weapon. He said the act promotes student safety.

Go Big Read author fills Varsity Hall

Posted on
Daily Cardinal

Bryan Stevenson, the author of this year’s Go Big Read book, filled Varsity Hall in Union South Monday night during a talk on mass incarceration and race.

“Just Mercy” follows Stevenson’s career and his work as the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, an organization that defends the poor and wrongly convicted, according to the book.

The university gave out more than 5,000 copies of the book to students at convocation and more than 170 courses on campus are using the book.