Wisconsin has lost a bigger percentage of its work force during the current recession than it did during other recent recessions, in 2001, 1990 and 1981, according to a report from the UW-Madisonâ??s Center on Wisconsin Strategy.
Quoted: Jerry Oâ??Brien, director of the Center for Retailing Excellence at UW-Madison.
Mirk Buzdum and Dick “Cappy” Capstran, a pair of garage entrepreneurs in Milwaukee, know full well that their designs for drill bits and cutting tools are good.
“Itâ??s obvious that these technologies are valid, because people are stealing them and theyâ??re in production,” Buzdum said.
But their anger isnâ??t directed only at the multinational companies that they say are ripping off their ideas. A big part of the blame, they say, falls on the agency that is supposed to protect them and the rest of the nationâ??s innovators: the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The patent applications drafted by Buzdum and Capstran are among the 1.2 million applications pending at the agency – a backlog that was the subject of a Journal Sentinel investigation published in August.
Todd Streicher and his partners started 5Nines in 2003 as an outgrowth of Matador Consulting, founded two years earlier to provide advice on Internet marketing and computer applications for business use. 5Nines offers a data center, is an Internet service provider and handles computer support. Streicher has a bachelor’s degree from UW-Madison in psychology.
Russell Athletics, a clothing company that formerly produced licensed UW-Madison athletic apparel, announced plans last week to reopen a factory in Honduras and rehire the 1,200 workers who were let go when the factory shut down business last year.
UW-Madison was awarded $9.5 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for influenza virus research, it was announced Thursday.
About half the sports stadiums in the country now use the TurboTap, invented by UW-Madison graduate Matt Younkle. The TurboTap was Younkle’s 1996 winning entry created for the Schoofs Prize for Creativity competition held annually by the College of Engineering. It pays a $10,000 top prize and is open to any UW-Madison undergraduate.
Jim Norton, a Madison native and West High grad, has a new book, â??The Master Cheesemakers of Wisconsin,â? produced with his photographer wife, Becca Dilley. Norton and Dilley met at UW-Madison, where Jim was editor of the Daily Cardinal.
Russell Athletic, a former apparel licensee of the University of Wisconsin, made an agreement Tuesday with the union representing workers from one of its former plants in Honduras, which would allow the company to reapply for a contract.
The brains behind the Apex real estate empire claims it all started with a paper route.
When Bruce Bosben was 13, he began delivering The Capital Times to homes on Madisonâ??s west side. Bosben was eventually handling six different routes with the help of his family and in 1983 was named â??CT Carrier of the Year.â?
By the time he started college at UW-Madison, Bosben had saved enough money to pay his own tuition and launch the Empire Records store in the Westgate Mall.
….At the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Chinese undergraduates now account for more than half of the 1,109 Chinese students there. That increase is another sign that China is coming because Wisconsin, like many state schools, doesnâ??t provide scholarships for international undergrads. Last year, Chinese students paid out $2 billion in tuition nationwide. â??That money is keeping some American colleges alive,â? said Laurie Cox, who runs the international student center at the Madison campus.
â??Every time I turn around, another campus has signed a memorandum of understanding with another Chinese university,â? said Kevin Reilly, the president of the universityâ??s 26 campuses. Reilly recently joined Doyle on a trip to China. â??I came away thinking, if the 20th century was the American century … you have to believe that the 21st century will be the Chinese century.â?
The University of Wisconsin-Madisonâ??s Labor Licensing Policy Committee voted to recommend that Chancellor Biddy Martin start taking steps to end the universityâ??s apparel contract with Nike, Inc. due to alleged labor rights abuses at two of the companyâ??s factories.
But donâ??t expect Martin to take any immediate action.
….Dawn Crim, a special assistant to the chancellor for community relations, said Monday the chancellor is hoping to hear back from Nike representatives before taking any major action against the company. She said the university is hoping to receive a phone call from Nike by the end of the week.
Members of the University of Wisconsin Labor Licensing Policy Committee voted Friday to recommend Chancellor Biddy Martin immediately notify UW apparel manufacturer Nike it violated the universityâ??s labor code of conduct by neglecting to pay severances to workers in Honduras.
….Pinning down the informal economy is as tough as catching a fake Louis Vuitton vendor running from the police. But itâ??s huge in the United States â?? larger than the official output of all but the upper crust of nations across the globe. And, due to the recent recession, itâ??s growing.
Whether thatâ??s good or not depends entirely on oneâ??s point of view. The rise of the informal economy is either the flourishing of entrepreneurship among Americaâ??s poorest or a drag on legitimate businesses that play by the rules.
Quoted: Alfonso Morales, UW-Madison professor of urban and regional planning
Kenny Dichter will hold a talk at Camp Randall about how he turned his passion for Badger sports into entrepreneurial ventures that ultimately led him to found Marquis Jet, a leader in fractional ownership private aviation.
A Rice Lake company that provides community hospitals and clinics with diagnostic images pulled in a $3.35 million federal grant, making it the stateâ??s top recipient of such grants for the most recently completed reporting period.
Shared Medical Technology Inc. provides mobile medical diagnostic imaging to health care facilities in northwest Wisconsin, northern Minnesota and the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. With help from the Wisconsin Entrepreneursâ?? Network, the company won funding from the National Institutes of Health for a system to monitor fetal heart rates. The system, pioneered by a Medical College of Wisconsin doctor, is available at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and only a few other places in the world, said Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council.
UW-Madison and other UW System schools may receive grants or funding for job-related initiatives if a new bill introduced by Senate Democrats makes it to the floor in the next legislative session.
Two days after chastising Chancellor Biddy Martin for a change in policy regarding campus workers, the University of Wisconsin Student Labor Action Coalition presented her with a homemade cake in gratitude for her recent standoff with Nike over the compensation of workers; however, she was unable to share in the festivities.
A “professor” looking to rent a residence in Madison duped a real estate agent out of thousands of dollars using an old, but apparently still workable, check scam.
Madison police said the unidentified real estate agent lost over $3,500 to the scammer before she smelled a rat.
Noted: One part of the proposal announced Monday would spend $2 million to increase partnerships between businesses and the University of Wisconsin. It would also increase tax credits for those who invest in startup companies and create a new one for businesses that pay university or technical college tuition for their low-income employees.
Democrats who control the Wisconsin state Senate have unveiled a proposal they say will help create and retain jobs and businesses and improve worker education and training. One part of the proposal announced Monday would spend $2 million to increase partnerships between businesses and the University of Wisconsin.
UW-Madison officials held a workshop Friday to explore methods of improving labor standards around the world.
A cautionary e-mail sent to medical and biochemistry researchers last week, prompted by missing equipment, has accused a private microscope service representative of fraudulent behavior, though the representative claims he has done nothing of the sort.
The restaurant industry has seen declines nationally because of the down economy, but Monty Schiro’s Food Fight group, with 10 restaurants in the Madison area, has found economical ways to grow. Schiro is a UW-Madison graduate.
The UW-Madison Real Estate Department held a listening session Thursday to allow students and community members a chance to view the latest Edgewater Hotel redesign plans.
Hammes Company held an informational meeting at the Pyle Center Thursday night where students were presented with the revised proposal of the Edgewater Hotel.
A Madison company says it has developed a better way to keep in touch with friends and family in other countries. JumperTel Communications says its “plug and play” phone system is inexpensive and easy to use. JumperTel says. Of the seven company founders, all but one are UW-Madison graduates, and executives for the company’s investor, Optimo Investments, an investment firm in Abu Dhabi, are UW grads.
Dear Editor: It would seem to me the people at the two student newspapers responsible for the attempted boycott of the Nitty Gritty would be able to use their college education to evaluate a situation in its entirety.
In the 1960s and â??70s (before the boycott sponsors were a twinkle in their fathersâ?? eyes) the owner of the Nitty Gritty was the host of an extremely popular local childrenâ??s TV program, and later Madisonâ??s No. 1 rated TV sportscaster. He then purchased a run-down bar at Frances and West Johnson streets and built it into one of Madisonâ??s most respected eating establishments.
Last Thursday, Gov. Jim Doyle sent out an executive order clarifying an existing statute on health insurance to young adults. This would allow citizens in their 20â??s to be covered under their parentsâ?? health-care plan starting January 1 next year. Any Wisconsin resident would be eligible if you are between 17 and 27 years of age, unmarried, and either not eligible for health coverage through your employer or your premium contribution is more than the amount your parents would pay to add you to their plan. Currently, only childless full-time students can stay in their parents plan till the age of 25. But with the passage of this new policy, potentially 100,000 young adults in Wisconsin could benefit.
A new law will go into effect in January 2010 that requires all young adults up to age 27 to receive coverage from their parentsâ?? health insurance policy, Gov. Jim Doyle announced Thursday.
The Wisconsin Assemblyâ??s Committee on Colleges and Universities heard and unanimously passed a bill Wednesday that offers incentives in the way of tax deductions to those helping pay college studentsâ?? tuition.
The Student Health Insurance Plan corrected its exclusion clause Thursday night after realizing expenses acquired from self-inflicted injury were not covered under the plan.
Quoted: Sachin Tuli, co-director of International Programs and a lecturer in the UW-Madison School of Business.
With Halloween and the annual Freakfest celebration quickly approaching, businesses along State Street have been anticipating the rush of excess customers, as well as the potential for disorderly conduct.
The Wisconsin School of Business (Wisconsin Full-Time MBA Profile), a second-tier MBA program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, takes a nontraditional approach to teaching management. Students sign up to study career tracks rather than majors or concentrations. Brand management, applied securities, marketing research, and entrepreneurship are among the most popular specializations, says Erin L. C. Nickelsburg (ELCNickelsburg), director of admissions and recruitment for Wisconsinâ??s full-time MBA program. Entrepreneurship recently got a boost because more students become interested in the area during an economic downturn, she adds.
In one of the only examples Iâ??ve seen of collaboration between UW-Madisonâ??s Badger Herald and Daily Cardinal student newspapers, both papers put out an editorial today calling on students to boycott the Nitty Gritty. Yes, the Nitty Gritty — where you can get free soda/beer and a small sundae on your birthday, and thereby one of the most popular downtown bars.
What was the cause of this call to arms? Nitty Gritty owner Marsh Shapiro, the non-voting Tavern League of Wisconsin representative on the cityâ??s Alcohol License Review Committee, came out strongly against an initiative from Ald. Bryon Eagon to add a permanent, voting student member to the committee.
Who says Wisconsin suffers from a shortage of go-getters with good ideas?
Not U.S. News and World report, which features Linda Remeschatis, in its October issue. Remeschatis is owner of wisconsinmade.com.
The University of Wisconsin is also recognized by U.S. News and World Report as an excellent resource for people starting businesses.
The company that owns Brothers Bar & Grill filed a lawsuit against the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents Tuesday, alleging unfair condemnation procedures over their location at 704 University Ave.
MADISON, Wis. — Officials with the University of Wisconsin System are defending its decision to condemn a Madison bar as part of a plan to build a $43 million music performance hall.
The owners of Brothers Bar & Grill on Tuesday sued the UW System Board of Regents, seeking to stop the condemnation and keep the bar theyâ??ve operated for 15 years.
UW-Madison ranks third in the nation as one of the top research universities, according to new statistics from the National Science Foundation. UW-Madison ranked behind Johns Hopkins University and the University of California at San Francisco.
The University of Wisconsin announced another jump in research expenditures this year â?? as well as the earning of another top three national ranking for research institutions â??amid contentious talks about the proposal to significantly restructure the graduate program.
The UW-Madison has been named “Developer of the Year” by Wisconsin Builder magazine.
The university is in the middle of its biggest building boom since the 1960s, with the new Union South, Chazen Museum of Art expansion and the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, among other projects.
Much of the work was laid out in the 2005 Master Plan for upgrading campus buildings. Some historic structures are being renovated while 1960s-era buildings characterized by poor construction and excessive energy use are being replaced.
Wisconsin Builderâ??s honor is a deserving one for UW-Madison, reflecting perhaps the struggles of the private sector as much as anything.
I was saddened greatly by the opinion piece “UWM as economic engine? Dream on” by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee professor Marc Levine (Crossroads, Oct. 4). The central theme of that piece is disdain for Chancellor Carlos Santiagoâ??s leadership and vision of what UWM can do for Milwaukeeâ??s and Wisconsinâ??s economic futures.
It would be a tragic shame if anyone used Levineâ??s analysis as an excuse to deflect UWMâ??s current trajectory. I am absolutely convinced that UWM is on a path to become one of the nationâ??s great research universities and that the achievement of that goal is critical for the economic future of Milwaukee and all of Wisconsin (including, let me add specifically, the futures of Madison and UW-Madison), says former UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley in an op-ed column.
University of Wisconsin-Madison officials are lashing out at new recommendations from an influential federal panel that could dramatically weaken patent protection for the universityâ??s genetic research.
Among other things, the panel recommended essentially exempting genetic tests for cancer and other diseases from patent protection – meaning that anyone could use genetic diagnostic research from UW-Madison or any university without obtaining licenses.
“They are making reckless policy recommendations,” said Andrew Cohn, who spearheads government lobbying efforts on behalf of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, UW-Madisonâ??s patent-management arm. “This is an incredible precedent, a bad precedent.”
Last week the Student Labor Action Coalition marched into Chancellor Biddy Martinâ??s office, opposing the University of Wisconsinâ??s athletic apparel contracts with less-than-transparent multinational monoliths like adidas. And Biddy sat down and had what one SLAC member called â??a thoughtful and productive dialogue.â?
The University of Wisconsin-Madisons patenting arm has settled a patent infringement lawsuit against computer chip maker Intel Corp. involving technology used in a popular computer processor.
There was a time at the University of Wisconsin-Madison when starting a company ranked somewhere between gambling and arms dealing.
Faculty members shunned entrepreneurship because it seemed to conflict with the school’s true mission of conducting research and educating students, a debate that still rages at schools across the country, including the University of Minnesota.
“Prior to 1992, very few faculty started companies,” said Thomas (Rock) Mackie, chairman and co-founder of TomoTherapy Inc., who still teaches medical physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “It was almost frowned upon. But now it’s actively encouraged.”
The Student Labor Action Coalition protested at Chancellor Biddy Martinâ??s office Wednesday to voice their concerns with UW-Madisonâ??s actions toward sweatshop conditions.
The Student Labor Action Coalition marched on Chancellor Biddy Martinâ??s office Wednesday in protest of the University of Wisconsinâ??s agreement with multinational corporations that manufacture UW apparel.
Wisconsin has become the regional biotech equivalent of traditional high-tech powerhouses like Boston, Silicon Valley and Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, thanks to strong political support, an influx of investor capital and what is arguably the most formidable university technology transfer program in the country.
Marty Preizler was named the new director of graduate programs for the School of Business at Edgewood College. The college made the announcement in a press release Tuesday.
The UW System Board of Regents has approved a new bachelor of business administration degree in entrepreneurship for UW-Whitewater.
The Joint Southeast Campus Area Committee was presented with renovation plans for the power plant on Charter Street Monday night, including phasing out coal and utilizing more renewable fuels.
Two decades ago, it seemed that not a month went by without some farmer or another challenging the term “sustainable agriculture.” Farmers wrote letters to editors in farm papers asserting that there was no definition for this ridiculous term; it meant whatever a person wanted it to mean. In fact, then as now, sustainable agriculture advanced straightforward principles – of elevating environmentally sound, economically profitable and socially responsible agricultural systems.
Various farmers and more than one agricultural researcher buttonholed me back then to say that agriculture had to feed the world and this fanciful approach undercut agricultureâ??s serious responsibilities. Some perceived sustainable agriculture as anti-technology and opposed to change. It was a contentious time in agriculture, born of the farm crisis – the terrifying hemorrhaging of farmers during the 1980s – and the growing awareness of environmental damage from many federal agricultural policies.
Into this hostile climate was born the University of Wisconsin-Madisonâ??s Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last week.
Four students were awarded the Student Venture Seed Grant Monday for their business ventures as part of the Wiscontrepreneur program. The SVS program will provide each student with $3,000 to help turn their start-up businesses into successful companies. Charles Hoslet, UW-Madison Office of Corporate Relations managing director, said the program is designed to support students interested in pursuing entrepreneurial ventures.
Consistent with the spirit of the University of Wisconsinâ??s top-25 national ranking for entrepreneurship last week, the Wiscontrepreneur initiative announced the winners of the Student Venture Seed Grant Competition Monday. According to Allen Dines, assistant director at UWâ??s Office of Corporate Relations, five applicants presented their ideas to a panel of judges that consisted of university employees as well as local business leaders. Four of those five were then awarded $3,000 to help further their businesses.
Four student-run start-ups have received grants from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Office of Corporate Relations to help grow their businesses. The businesses, all run by UW-Madison undergraduate students, each received $3,000 from the officeâ??s Student Venture Seed Grant Program, the university said Monday.
Among the estimated 7,000 students, University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty and the public who attended author Michael Pollanâ??s discussion of his latest book, “In Defense of Food: An Eaters Manifesto,” were some 200 Wisconsin farmers.
The farmer delegation came to the Kohl Center on buses chartered by Madison-based feed company Vita Plus to hear for themselves what the much-discussed book was about, direct from Pollan himself.
….Mostly, the farmers attending the Pollan event seemed to be worried about how few of the students know anything about farming and have ever seen a farm up close. They’d like to do something about it.
Some farmers suggested that Chancellor Martin’s next effort might center on “Visit a Farm,” whereby entire classes, special groups or individual students and faculty would take a trip to an actual dairy or livestock farm.
Both UW-Madison graduate and undergraduate entrepreneurship programs within the School of Business ranked among the top 25 in the nation, according to a recent survey.
Wisconsin School of Business professors produced a recommendation based on their recent study to the Obama administration regarding the grave condition of foreclosures across America.
