Wisconsin Gov.-elect Scott Walker asked higher education leaders for help Thursday balancing the state?s tight budget and fulfilling his campaign promise of creating 250,000 jobs.
Wis. governor-elect asks UW for help on economy (AP)
Associated Press
Category: Business/Technology
CU-Boulder announces two finalists for dean of Leeds School of Business (Colorado Daily)
The University of Colorado on Wednesday announced two finalists who are being considered for the dean position at the Leeds School of Business. David Ikenberry, associate dean of the College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Kenneth Kavajecz, associate dean for full-time masters programs and associate dean for the undergraduate program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, are in the running for the position, which is expected to be filled this spring.
On Campus: University of Wisconsin-Madison chancellor returns to China
Wisconsin State Journal
For the second time this year, UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin is traveling to China. She is scheduled to leave today, according to a news release from the university, stopping in Beijing, Taipei and Hong Kong. Her trip will focus on academic collaborations, raising UW-Madison?s public profile in China and economic development.
Grass Roots: Are Internet contests a good way to support charities?
Capital Times
….Nonprofits building social networks seem to be betting on a lasting connection with their organizations, but that?s not what research on online engagement suggests, says Lewis Friedland, a professor of journalism and mass communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison: “There?s not a lot of evidence that people who click online are more likely to be mobilized to engage in the work of an organization.”
Biz Beat: Wisconsin job losses continue
Capital Times
There?s not much good news on the job front and a switch from Democrat to Republican won?t likely make much difference, a new report suggests. Wisconsin lost nearly 10,000 jobs from August to September, with manufacturing and construction sectors posting the biggest losses, according to the latest report from the Center on Wisconsin Strategy.
On Campus: University of Wisconsin-Madison earns an ‘A’ in sustainability
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison was one of seven schools to earn the top grade, an ?A?, in an independent college sustainability ranking. The College Sustainability Report Card graded 322 schools in the U.S. and Canada. The other schools that earned an ?A? are: Brown University, Dickinson College, Oberlin College, Pomona College, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and Yale University.
Wisconsin Institute for Discovery previews facilities – The Daily Cardinal – News
Daily Cardinal
The Wisconsin Institute for Discovery held a preview Tuesday to explain the creator?s goals and showcase the new building?s facilities before the grand opening Dec. 2.
Biz Beat: Sniffing Austin’s fumes
Capital Times
It wasn?t so long ago that Madison would compare itself favorably to Austin, Texas. Both are state capitals, home to a major public university, with a reputation for liberal politics and a soft spot for street people. But the latest economic performance report from the Milken Institute suggests the similarities end there.
Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery prepares for Dec. 2 grand opening
Wisconsin State Journal
Six years after it was first proposed, a cutting-edge, $150 million building that could lead to important discoveries in human health is nearly complete on the UW-Madison campus. The Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery building is set for a Dec. 2 grand opening. A glimpse inside the building reveals an environment ready-made for science ? both in the state-of-the-art research labs and the architectural design, which features wide-open spaces and flexible rooms.
Wisconsin stem cell scientists jump into governor’s race politics
Wisconsin State Journal
Embryonic stem cell researchers stepped away from their microscopes Tuesday to dispute gubernatorial candidate Scott?s Walker?s statements about their work and oppose the Republican?s positions. Scientists at a news conference held in a lab at embryonic stem cell company Stemina never mentioned Walker?s name, but they said they wanted to set the record straight about the promise embryonic stem cells hold and what it would mean for Wisconsin to ban their work.
Catholic Center unveils new plan
Badger Herald
The aging Catholic Student Center on Library Mall will become a large high-rise learning community in the future if Madison officials approve a plan to rehabilitate the facility.
Warren Buffett treats 20 UW-Madison grad students to lunch, business lessons
Wisconsin State Journal
Twenty UW-Madison MBA students lunched on New York strip steaks, french fries and root-beer floats with billionaire Warren Buffett in his hometown of Omaha last Friday ? on Buffett?s tab. And they came back with lessons to chew on about business, investing and life. The School of Business graduate students were among 160 students from eight colleges and universities around the country who were chosen for a chance to meet with Buffett and ask him questions.
Morgridge Institute for Research establishes medical device consortium
Wisconsin State Journal
A medical device industry consortium has been established by the Morgridge Institute for Research, the new private, nonprofit organization that will make up half of the UW?s Institutes for Discovery. “The idea is to have a consortium whereby common technology can be developed together, and we can jointly go after federal grants and share knowledge from one member to another,” said Thomas “Rock” Mackie, director of medical devices at Morgridge.
University of Wisconsin breaks ground on $250M upgrade to heating plant
Wisconsin State Journal
Marking the beginning of the end for coal power on the UW-Madison campus, Gov. Jim Doyle and other leaders broke ground Monday on a $250 million upgrade to the Charter Street Heating plant. The mostly coal-powered plant, which provides heating and cooling for UW-Madison, will be converted to run on natural gas and farm-grown fuels, known as biomass. It?s the most expensive single project in UW-Madison history. Doyle said that when it is completed in 2013, it will be one of the country?s leading biomass power plants.
New mental health facility will open in Madison
Badger Herald
Rogers Memorial Hospital will be opening a mental health facility today in Madison, becoming the city?s only daytime hospitalization program for adults with eating disorders and mental health issues.
Michael Cudahy giving $2 million for UWM Innovation Park project
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Retired business executive Michael Cudahy, who last year dropped plans to help fund University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee?s Innovation Park development, has agreed to donate $2 million for the effort.
Monona Terrace to host alternative vehicle expo Nov. 5
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison students from the Energy Hub student group will offer a free conference for students on transportation and energy in the upper level of Monona Terrace from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will cover issues including the challenges of enabling the nation?s power grid to handle electric cars and understanding the supply chain for biomass fuels.
Metro tests wireless service on buses
Wisconsin State Journal
Metro Transit Bus 007 has a secret weapon. Code name: WiRover. Tucked inside a locked cabinet in the lumbering blue and white city bus is a small black box. It?s part of a UW-Madison research project that could one day lead to Internet access in every car, truck, mini-van, bus and train. Starting now, passengers on two of Metro?s 200 buses can get free Wi-Fi while they ride. WiRover was developed by the Wisconsin Wireless Networking Systems Laboratory, known as WiNGS, founded and run by Suman Banerjee, associate professor in the UW-Madison Department of Computer Sciences.
UW Economic Outlook seminar: US on the verge of job growth
Wisconsin State Journal
The nation?s economy is on an upswing, speakers agreed at a conference in Madison on Friday. But how high it will swing and how soon it will get there brought very different expectations at UW-Madison?s Economic Outlook seminar at the Fluno Center. Quoted: Michael Knetter, president of the UW Foundation and former dean of the UW-Madison School of Business, and Donald Nichols, UW-Madison professor emeritus of economics and public affairs.
Google to announce test communities for Fiber by end of year
Badger Herald
City officials remain confident Madison will become the test city for Google?s approaching ultra high-speed Internet experiment.
20 UW Students To Meet Warren Buffett
WISC-TV 3
Twenty students in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Master of Business Administration program will travel to Omaha on Thursday to share a meal and an experience of a lifetime with Warren Buffett, chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway and one of the world?s most successful investors.
Microsoft gives $3.5 million to UW lab
Badger Herald
Christmas came early for a computer science lab at the University of Wisconsin thanks to a multimillion dollar investment from software mogul Microsoft Corporation, UW officials announced Tuesday.
Biz Beat: Hotel Red finds interested operator
Capital Times
Football season is quickly morphing into basketball season and still no opening date for the “Hotel Red” at the corner of Monroe and Regent streets. But a DeForest-based management firm is interested in trying to get the 48-room boutique hotel up and running.
Microsoft upgrades database lab in Madison
Wisconsin State Journal
Microsoft Corp. unveiled a $3.5 million upgrade to its database research lab near UW-Madison on Monday. The Jim Gray Systems Lab reopened at 634 W. Main St. with three times the space, new equipment and room for 30 researchers and staff. It had been running with nine staff members. Quoted: David DeWitt, who directs the lab and is an emeritus UW-Madison computer science professor.
At Institutes for Discovery, good food is on the menu
Wisconsin State Journal
When Steven Mixtacki became chief operating officer for one of the partners in the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, he quickly learned what some of the unscientific requirements were for the new facility. “I was told researchers want good coffee, beer and a place they can collaborate and get together,” said Mixtacki, who joined the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation in February. Those elements are part of the plan. A new venture by the restaurant group Food Fight called Discovery Culinary Collaborative will run two restaurants in the center that is scheduled to open in December on the 1300 block of University Avenue.
Campus Connection: Privatizing higher education
Capital Times
Should folks in Wisconsin be paying attention to a higher education debate across the pond?
Tuition at some British universities could jump up to a level charged by top private institutions in the United States if the proposals by a government-authorized committee released last week are adopted, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported. The assessment, which could help the government devise a plan to tackle a financing crisis facing British universities, “encourages a market-oriented approach toward higher education,” according to The Chronicle.
….This trend away from federal support of higher education as a public good and a shift toward market forces as a private benefit also could be playing out much closer to home. In fact, UW-Madison this week will host a series of forums to discuss Chancellor Biddy Martin’s vision for a new business model for Wisconsin’s flagship university.
Economic Outlook seminar is Friday
Wisconsin State Journal
Clare Zempel, principal at Zempel Strategic, Fox Point, and Brian Wesbury, chief economist at First Trust Advisors, Wheaton, Ill., will headline UW-Madison?s Economic Outlook seminar on Friday. Michael Knetter, president of the UW Foundation and former dean of the UW-Madison School of Business, and Donald Nichols, UW-Madison professor emeritus of public affairs and economics, also will be among the featured speakers.
Federal stimulus dollars jump-start stalled infrastructure projects
Capital Times
…According to the state?s economic recovery website ? www.recovery.wisconsin.gov ? Dane County has been awarded more than $352 million in Recovery Act funding, a figure that includes aid for school districts and local units of government.
Of that, $62 million is going for transportation improvements such as the Badger Interchange. Other local transportation projects using stimulus funds include the extension of taxiway B at the Dane County Regional Airport $3.69 million and reconstruction of University Avenue $3.6 million.
The rest of the money is divided among the UW System and other government or nongovernmental agencies.
Madison will be part of U.S.-China discussion
Wisconsin State Journal
Madison will be one of 50 U.S. cities participating in ?China Town Hall: Local Connections, National Reflections? at 5:45 p.m. Monday at the Edgewater Hotel. The event is sponsored internationally by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and locally by the Madison Committee on Foreign Relations and the UW-Madison?s Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy.
Campus Connection: UW MBA program ranked 37th
Capital Times
The Wisconsin School of Business? MBA program ranks 37th out of 80 top programs in North America according to the QS Global 200 Top Business Schools Report 2010.
Biz Beat: Epic passes American Family as No. 1 private employer
Capital Times
Epic Systems in Verona has supplanted American Family Insurance as the region?s largest private sector employer. Fueled by demand for its medical records software, Epic now counts nearly 4,000 employees at its sprawling headquarters on Verona?s west side. That?s up from 3,450 in 2008. That compares to the roughly 3,600 employees at American Family on Madison?s far east side.
….In either case, government remains the top employer in Dane County. UW-Madison is the largest, followed by 2) the Madison Metropolitan School District and 3) the Department of Corrections, according to the Department of Workforce Development.
Surf and turf: Telecom industry protests UW-Extension?s broadband plan
Capital Times
The University of Wisconsin System is coming under fire from the state?s largest association of telecommunications providers for planning to use millions of dollars in federal stimulus funds to expand high-capacity broadband Internet services in communities across Wisconsin.
Quoted: UW-Madison professor Barry Orton
Tyler Lark: Wind turbine siting should be local issue
Wisconsin State Journal
Letter by Tyler Lark, student, UW-Madison.
State requests to join federal stem-cell funding case
Daily Cardinal
The state of Wisconsin filed a motion with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to join an amicus brief in the case that will determine the state of stem cell research nationwide, Gov. Jim Doyle announced Tuesday.
Wisconsin files to join lawsuit against stem cell injunction
Badger Herald
Gov. Jim Doyle announced Tuesday Wisconsin has officially filed to join a lawsuit challenging the injunction banning federal funding for stem cell research.
On Campus: State wants to join stem cell legal battle
Wisconsin State Journal
The state of Wisconsin wants to file a friend-of-the-court brief to uphold federal funding for stem cell researchers. Gov. Jim Doyle announced today that the state filed a motion to join an amicus brief in Sherley v. Sebelius, a case challenging the National Institutes of Health?s embryonic stem cell research guidelines. At a news conference last month, UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin said as many as two dozen UW-Madison stem cell researchers face disruptions in their research.
Wis. governor candidate avoids stem cell questions
Madison.com
The Republican candidate for Wisconsin governor, Scott Walker, refused to say Tuesday whether he favors a ban on embryonic stem cell research — even though he previously told an anti-abortion group he does. Embryonic stem cell research was pioneered at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and millions of dollars is spent on it each year in the state. During a Tuesday campaign stop in Madison, Walker said he would direct state money to stem cell research that doesn?t use cells obtained from embryos.
Study pegs University Research Park impact at $825M (Business Journal of Milwaukee)
A study released Monday says the University Research Park in Madison contributes more than $825 million to the state?s economy each year.
Study pegs University Research Park impact at $825M
Milwaukee Business Journal
A study released Monday says the University Research Park in Madison contributes more than $825 million to the state?s economy each year.
New effort can put Wisconsin on path to prosperity
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Academic research and development is another economic asset. Led by the UW-Madison, academic R&D is a $1.2 billion sector, translating into thousands of direct and indirect jobs. UW-Madison is perennially in the top three universities in the nation for R&D, topping $1 billion in total research in 2009.
Anne Morgan Giroux and Colleen Penwell: Hard hats, soft hearts are in abundance at Institutes for Discovery
Capital Times
Dear Editor: The Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery on the UW-Madison campus will soon be occupied by brilliant scientists and eager students. For the time being, it?s home to hundreds of men and women who are busy putting the finishing touches on a stunning research facility.
Their craftsmanship is evident at every turn. Less visible is their equally impressive generosity and compassion. These carpenters, pipefitters, welders, electricians and glaziers are also generous benefactors.
Contract At Whitewater Technology Park Violated Rules
WISC-TV 3
MADISON, Wis. — The city of Whitewater and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater violated federal rules when awarding a construction contract at the Whitewater University Technology Park.
The problem revolved around a $2.9 million contract awarded to Janesville-based J.P. Cullen & Sons. Cullen was in charge of reviewing the bids and recommended itself for the main construction contract. It?s also construction manager.
UW-Madison research spending tops $1 billion
Wisconsin State Journal
Spending on research at UW-Madison has for the first time topped the $1 billion mark, according to a survey by the National Science Foundation of research expenditures nationwide in 2009. Vice Chancellor for Research Martin Cadwallader said the milestone is important not just for the university but for the entire state.
Your Right to Know: Let the sun shine on state contracts
Capital Times
A state website operating since 2007 is supposed to be informing citizens how state government spends some of their taxpayer dollars by disclosing information on state contracts worth $10,000 or more. But that is not happening. And for a state that strives to be a leader in government transparency, this is not a pretty story.
Google’s Marissa Mayer kicks off Business Strategy and Technology Conference
Wisconsin Technology Network
Marissa Mayer, raised in Wausau, Wisconsin, has been on the cover of Newsweek as ?one of the most powerful women of her generation.? Mayer, vice president of search product and experience and the first female engineer to join Google, returned to Wisconsin last week as a keynote speaker at the 12th annual Business Best Practices and Emerging Technologies Conference.
Hockey arena gets funding
Badger Herald
After several delays for financial reasons, the proposal to build a women?s hockey facility near the Kohl Center will now advance out of developmental stages and into the city approval process.
Madison groups win funding for isotope work
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Two Madison-area groups have received $500,000 each from the federal government to further develop technologies for making a radioactive isotope widely used in medical imaging tests.
The National Nuclear Security Administration awarded funding to a group including the Morgridge Institute for Research and Phoenix Nuclear Labs LLC of Middleton, as well as to NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes LLC of Madison and its partners.
The Wisconsin partnerships are the third and fourth recipients of such awards, for which there will be one more funding round, said Jennifer Wagner, a spokeswoman for the administration, part of the U.S. Department of Energy.
3M to give some retirees vouchers for health care – TwinCities.com
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Quoted: Tom Oliver, a professor at the University of Wisconsin?s School of Medicine and Public Health and an expert on health care policy.
Madison companies win federal grants to produce substance for heart care
Wisconsin State Journal
Madison could be the only U.S. location producing technetium-99m, a substance that is in cardiac stress tests and cancer scans performed on tens of thousands of patients every day, and is in short supply worldwide. Two area companies, in separate arrangements, won the only two federal allocations announced Monday to manufacture the medical isotope molybdenum-99 which, when it decays, produces technetium-99m. One of the proposals is a partnership with UW-Madison, state of Wisconsin, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California and Phoenix Nuclear Labs in Middleton.
410,000 more jobs by 2018?
Capital Times
Every two years, the state of Wisconsin comes out with its 10-year predictions on job growth. The report is designed to guide young people into new careers, let business owners know what employment trends are coming and help educators adjust their training programs. But the timing of the just-released “2008 to 2018 Jobs Outlook” could not have been worse.
Quoted: Kari Dickinson of the Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS)
Executive Q&A: Fred Blattner helps purify E. coli
Wisconsin State Journal
When a pharmaceutical company is creating a compound that could become the next wonder drug, it helps to have a clean slate on which to build the drug. That?s the concept behind Scarab Genomics, 1202 Ann St., a company that grew out of research at the UW-Madison laboratories of genetics professor Fred Blattner, the company?s president and chief executive officer.
Chris Rickert: What’s happening to on-the-job training?
Wisconsin State Journal
Quoted: Bill Reese, a professor of educational policy studies and history at UW-Madison, and Allen Phelps, a professor and director in the UW-Madison Center on Education and Work.
UP ON THE ROOF
Green roofs are sprouting up on local mixed-use condominium and apartment buildings as well as some public buildings, an effort to promote storm water retention, prevent urban heat buildup, and create appealing green spaces for city dwellers to enjoy.
Study shows Wisconsin’s bioscience industry is lucrative and growing
Wisconsin State Journal
Wisconsin?s bioscience industry provides jobs for 24,000 employees whose paychecks are nearly two-thirds higher than the average Wisconsin worker, a study released Wednesday shows. And the industry, which ranges from drug development to medical instrument manufacturing, is growing. Stemina Biomarker Discovery is an example of the growth. The Madison stem cell company had six employees in December 2007; today, it has 10 and is looking to hire at least three more. Stemina also received word this week that it will get $1 million in a phase 2 contract with the National Cancer Institute to find biomarkers associated with cancer stem cells.?We?ll be looking at more cancer stem cell lines and we?ll be taking it into animal models in collaboration with both the UW-Madison and the Mayo Clinic,? Donley said.
Report shows increase in bioscience jobs in Wisconsin
Wisconsin State Journal
Wisconsin?s bioscience industry provides jobs for 24,000 employees whose paychecks are nearly two-thirds higher than the average Wisconsin worker, a study released Wednesday shows. And the industry, which ranges from drug development to medical instrument manufacturing, is a growing field.
While employment statewide dropped 3 percent between 2004 and 2009, the number of bioscience jobs increased 3 percent during the same period, according to the report, compiled by the UW-Milwaukee Center for Workforce Development.
Mike Knetter and Linda Salchenberger: Two structural changes vital to bring good jobs to Wisconsin
Capital Times
If you did not feel great urgency about the Wisconsin economy three years ago, the impact of the Great Recession has probably changed your mind. It has changed ours. That is why we both agreed to serve on the steering committee consisting of representatives from business, government and education that commissioned the Wisconsin Competitiveness Study. We strongly support the recommendations of the completed study, entitled ?Be Bold Wisconsin? — especially the two recommendations that would radically alter the economic development infrastructure in the state.
(Wisconsin School of Business Dean Mike Knetter and Marquette University School of Business Dean Linda Salchenberger)
Biz Beat: Hotel at Monroe and Regent stays dark
Capital Times
If everything had gone according to plan, fans heading to today?s UW home football game might have spent Friday night in a new hotel across from Camp Randall Stadium. Instead of bustling with Badger fans, however, the hotel at the corner of Regent and Monroe streets remains empty.
Construction projects are few, far between
Wisconsin State Journal
To say that construction in the Madison area has slowed to a crawl is almost an understatement. If it weren?t for big projects like UW-Madison?s Institutes for Discovery and Epic Systems Corp.?s mushrooming campus in Verona, a lot more construction workers likely would be picking up unemployment checks.
UW panel discusses financing higher ed
Daily Cardinal
Chancellor Biddy Martin, former Kimberly-Clark Executive Kathi Seifert and UW Board of Regents President Charles Pruitt held a panel to discuss financing public higher education Wednesday at a Public Representation Organization of Faculty Senate event.
Chancellor, WARF threaten unionized labor at WID
Badger Herald
In a recent address to the Associated Students of Madison, Chancellor Biddy Martin summarized a lengthy PowerPoint presentation she plans on selling around the state. While glossing over the substantive changes she ultimately sought, Martin spent most of her 30 minutes in front of ASM lauding UW?s substantial impact on Wisconsin?s culture and economy. However, flipping through the slide packet that was temporarily distributed to council members, one could see the eerie outlines of Martin?s master plan. The overall objective was to sever UW?s ties with the rest of the UW System to become independent while still benefiting from an umbilical tether to state coffers.