One by one, UW-Madison graduates Saturday extended their hands on the commencement stage for a bare-handed shake with Chancellor Biddy Martin.
So much for swine flu worries.
About 5,000 students were eligible to participate in one of five graduation ceremonies for the campus this weekend â?? UW-Madison officials said hand sanitizer was available at different locations in the Kohl Center.
If you can avoid driving in the southeast part of the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus area around the Kohl Center this weekend, please do so.
Thousands of students, families and friends will descend on the Kohl Center, 601 W. Dayton St., for three days of five commencement exercises, beginning Friday evening and continuing on Saturday and Sunday.
The commencement congestion will be compounded by dorm students moving out of residence halls on Johnson and Dayton Streets, as well as ongoing road and building construction.
The staff at Scholarship America, the nation’s largest scholarship administrator, fielded more phone calls from families this year and noticed a heightened sense of urgency among callers. Berea College, the Kentucky campus that gives every accepted student a full-tuition scholarship, saw a 15% uptick in applications for this fall. And the number of families who filled out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid jumped almost 21% the first three months of 2009.
Dear Editor: Recently, purchasing negotiations were initiated for the Drumlin Community Gardens land, yet the conflict remains unresolved. After reading articles, attending meetings and contacting farmers, city representatives, the Alexander Co., and others, it felt like our wheels were spinning in the mud — the stakeholders seemed deeply rooted in different world views and the conflict seemed intractable.
No Joke: The man voted the funniest college student in the U.S. attends UW-Madison.
Adam Voll, a rising junior from Wheaton, Ill., won the TWIX Funniest College Student on Campus Contest.
Dear Editor: There’s a common misconception that being green is the same as being economically impractical. Seen as nothing more than a conscience pleaser for the rich, renewable energy has long been perceived as expensive and beyond the reach of the average American. However, when it comes to solar power, this really isn’t the case. Through a large number of economic incentives and buyback programs, solar power can pay for itself and then some within years and simultaneously help in the fight against global warming.
Fed up with fights, disturbances and underage drinkers, Madison police had planned to take a new tack with the popular Kollege Klub bar near UW-Madison: Try to block the annual renewal of its liquor license.
But the effort to delicense the bar â?? named by Playboy magazine as one of the best campus party spots in the nation â?? ran aground earlier this week over a communications breakdown among city officials, leaving the cityâ??s Alcohol License Review Committee the option of only imposing modest conditions on the barâ??s liquor license.
This weekâ??s University of Wisconsin-Madison student exodus might cause less of a mess than past years as students living in campus housing will be encouraged to recycle items that previously flooded dorm dumpsters.
Thousands of college graduates are facing a student loan crisis.
The job market is shrinking, and the sour economy is preventing employers, parents and relatives from helping those who are behind on payments. Student loan defaults are at their highest rate since 1998, and likely will go higher. And though federal student loans offer some payment modification options, private loans are far more onerous, because even filing for bankruptcy rarely wipes out the debt.
Students moving out of dormitories on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus this week will be able to recycle many of the things from their dorm rooms that used to end up in the landfill.
Gov. Doyle’s decision to cut state job cuts and mandate furloughs is a sensible way to face reality, the Eau Claire Leader Telegram says.
Rep. Tom Petri’s legislation to help protect students from credit card traps deserves passage and signing into law, says the Oshkosh Northwestern.
Overflowing Dumpsters could become a thing of the past this year when approximately 6,800 University of Wisconsin-Madison students move out of their university residence halls through May 17.
The issue of official commencement handshakes has been in the news recently, with some colleges and universities across the country putting in place additional precautions as a result of H1N1 influenza (swine flu).
University of Wisconsin students whose study abroad trips to Mexico were sunk because of flu concerns are being offered other options.
Fewer employers are pursuing graduates from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and other universities, underscoring an increasingly competitive job market for new college grads, according to a new analysis by Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
Fed up with disturbances, fights and repeated citations for serving underage drinkers, Madison may not renew the liquor license at the popular Kollege Klub bar near UW-Madison.
Founded at 714 State St. in 1953 and moved to its present location at 529 N. Lake St. in 1972, the bar has been ranked by Playboy magazine as one of the best campus party spots in the nation.
UW-Madison is canceling study abroad programs to Mexico in which students are scheduled to depart before June 1 because of concerns over swine flu.
Chancellor Biddy Martin based the decision on recommendations of the universityâ??s International Emergency Response Committee.
MADISON (WKOW)– Nearly 7,000 UW students have or are about to begin the end of the year move out.
To help with clean up and dumping of old furniture, the UW-Madison Division of Facilities Planning and Management (We Conserve program) has partnered with St. Vincent de Paul, and the Division of Housing. They have designated four locations where people can recycle metal and carpeting and donate reusable items.
A student-produced documentary film, “Like Touching A Hot Stove,” which provides a window into student life for African Americans at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is set to premiere on Tuesday, May 12.
Expect ruffled feathers when college freshmen return to the nest for summer break.
After several months flying around on their own, they may bristle over rules, obligations and even questions, such as “Where are you going?” and “When are you going to quit sleeping all day?”
Quoted: Patti Lux-Weber, coordinator of the UW-Madison Parent Program, and student Julie Bohl, a senior who works in the program.
They’re playing in rain-sodden fields near the University of Wisconsin-Madison Natatorium, not in the airspace next to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
And instead of zipping loop-de-loops on bewitched broomsticks, they trot doggedly with kitchen brooms between their legs.
But the nine UW-Madison students – all women – are shouting to each other about quaffles, bludgers and golden snitches, and, despite a steady rain, are clearly delighting in a vigorous game of Quidditch. Yes, Quidditch.
At first, Nehemiah Edwards wasn’t buying it.
Sitting in a room of eighth-graders five years ago, the middle schooler was told the sky is the limit for his education and success – he could be whatever he wanted to be, live wherever he wanted to live and have complete control over his destiny.
“They had big plans for us,” said Edwards, who was extremely skeptical during his first encounter with Dream Chasing, a program that takes the dreams of children and places them within reach.
“I didn’t know what to make of the program, but I decided to stick with it,” Edwards said. “I dreamed of going to college, but I didn’t think I was going to get there. As we got further with the program and hearing them talk, I started to believe it.”
In less than a month, he will graduate from Rufus King International Baccalaureate High School with honors and is heading to the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the fall, where he will study computer engineering.
Thirty-five University of Wisconsin-Madison students expecting to travel to Mexico this month to begin studies won’t be heading south of the border after the university canceled those programs due to the swine flu outbreak.
Chancellor Biddy Martin issued instructions last week to cancel student programs in Mexico that were scheduled to depart before June 1.
Tuition will rise sharply for the next four years for most University of Wisconsin-Madison students under a plan approved Friday to improve quality at the state’s flagship university.
The UW System Board of Regents approved Chancellor Biddy Martin’s plan to add a tuition surcharge of $250 next fall for in-state undergraduates and $750 for students from other states.
The University of Wisconsin System’s Board of Regents approved the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates on Friday.
The plan is the first major initiative by UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin, who replaced John Wiley as leader of the state’s flagship university on Sept. 1.
“I’m delighted and really happy,” Martin said after Friday’s Regents meeting at UW-Milwaukee’s student union. “I really do think it was critical for the quality of the institution — for the education we provide and for being able to start building up need-based financial aid that is so essential.”
Martin’s initiative features a supplemental tuition charge that grows by $250 in each of the next four years for in-state students and by $750 per year for those paying out-of-state tuition. The plan will start with the 2009-10 academic year.
Less than nine months after arriving from Cornell University, Biddy Martin is on the verge of pushing through her first major initiative as chancellor of UW-Madison.
On Thursday, the UW System Board of Regents’ Business, Finance and Budget Committee debated the merits of Martin’s Madison Initiative for Undergraduates before easily giving the plan the green light to move forward.
The proposal will likely be approved when the full board meets Friday at UW-Milwaukee.
A question about whether Facebook use has any impact in college students’ grades continues to create debate. A small study presented at an education conference last month showed a link between Facebook use and lower grades â?? but stressed that the findings don’t prove that one leads to the other. It unleashed a media frenzy across the globe. Now, a new study, published this week, finds the two variables are “likely unrelated.”
Less than nine months after arriving on campus from Cornell University, Biddy Martin is on the verge of pushing through her first major initiative as chancellor of UW-Madison.
On Thursday, the UW System Board of Regents’ Business, Finance and Budget Committee debated the merits of Martin’s Madison Initiative for Undergraduates before easily giving the plan the green light to move forward.
This proposal will almost certainly be approved when the full board meets Friday at UW-Milwaukee.
A major tuition increase is one step closer to reality for University of Wisconsin-Madison students.
A Board of Regents committee on Thursday approved Chancellor Biddy Martin’s plan to increase tuition for in-state undergraduates by $250 per year for four years and $750 per year for students from other states.
So far, the University of Wisconsin-Madison has no reported cases of swine flu on campus. But University officials are drawing on past experiences with viruses to manage their response to the current situation.
Dr. Sarah Van Orman is Executive Director of University Health Services at UW-Madison. She says their response to pandemics is shaped by national guidelines, and they’re working with local health officials in developing contingency plans in case the virus hits campus.
â??Most campuses have a lot of experience with how to control an infectious disease in its community, whether that be a residence hall or more broadly,â? says Van Orman, â??Now the specifics of how you do that really vary depending on what youâ??re dealing with.” (4th item.)
A committee of the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents on Thursday voted to delay until June the consideration of proposed revisions to the student conduct code.
A key issue was a provision that would allow students to have a lawyer speak on their behalf during disciplinary proceedings where they face suspension or expulsion or have been charged with a crime in connection with their conduct.
A higher education researcher at UW-Madison is among a small group of voices urging the Board of Regents to delay approving the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates, which is up for consideration Friday and has received widespread support.
The Regents are meeting Thursday and Friday at UW-Milwaukee.
Noel Radomski, director of the Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education, argues the initiative has not been adequately vetted, and its possible unintended consequences not thoroughly considered.
Educators at the UW are using video games as teaching tools.
But not video games like the ones you play on a console.
Video games like this one that was developed at the UW.
This is Melody Mixer.
It was developed by Dr. Jamie Henke and Engage.
“We’re involved in trying to develop new horizons of how to teach and how to teach better.”
Engage is made up of educators from all disciplines and other tech professionals.
The program is run by the University’s Division of Information Technology or DOIT.
Construction projects around campus and the downtown Madison area will cause traffic problems beginning in mid-May and extending through summer, forcing commuters to find alternative routes around campus and the city.
The University of Wisconsinâ??s new Go Big Read common book program, which begins this fall, announced its first book selection Wednesday.
The Wisconsin Union Council announced their support of the new Union Southâ??s final design Wednesday, marking the last vote of endorsement before the contractor bidding process begins this summer.
A man was arrested early Wednesday morning after entering eight unlocked rooms of female residents in Witte Hall on the campus of the University of Wisconsin.
On a table in the office of University of Wisconsin Chancellor Biddy Martin is a little white Badgers-themed piggybank. Interim Provost Julie Underwood gave Martin the piggy bank Wednesday morning as a way to help UW survive the stateâ??s budget troubles.
The decision to speak out against the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates has taken its toll on UW-Madison assistant professor Sara Goldrick-Rab.
Goldrick-Rab, an expert in educational policy studies, was a key part of my story which ran earlier this week headlined “UW-Madison chancellor’s proposed tuition hike elicits little push-back.”
In her blog on Monday, Goldrick-Rab wrote an entry titled “I (Finally) Figured Out Why I Want Tenure.” It’s a must-read.
“Senioritis” â?? skipping class, missing tests, attending parties instead of athletic practice, and generally slacking off at the end of the last year of high school â?? is practically a rite of spring. But this year there may be serious consequences â?? including having college acceptance withdrawn â?? for those who don’t finish with a strong academic record.
On a table in the office of University of Wisconsin Chancellor Biddy Martin is a little white Badgers-themed piggybank. Interim Provost Julie Underwood gave Martin the piggy bank Wednesday morning as a way to help UW survive the stateâ??s budget troubles.
Martin laughs after she says this, since she has a different thing in mind for raising money â?? a plan to increase tuition that will either succeed or die Thursday, when the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates is scheduled to go before the UW System Board of Regents.
Chancellor Biddy Martin will officially propose the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates to the UW System Board of Regents Thursday.
Martin will attend the meeting in Milwaukee and submit her proposal to the Business, Finance and Audit Committee, according to John Lucas, a spokesperson for UW-Madison.
â??The recent reports about the stateâ??s budget make the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates even more important,â? Martin said in an e-mail. â??We must begin immediately to increase need-based aid and build new partnerships between students and their families on the one hand and alumni and friends on the other.â?
Several residents of UW-Madisonâ??s Witte Hall reported that an unknown man entered their rooms while they were sleeping early this morning, according to the UW-Madison Police Department.
In response to the grim job market, UW-Madison Law School officials did something this spring that theyâ??ve never done before.
That means, in some cases, competition is tough even for volunteer positions.
University of Wisconsin System students facing charges of misconduct could have lawyers represent them at disciplinary hearings under a change praised by student advocates but opposed by some deans of students.
The UW System has spent two years considering changes to its student code of conduct, including giving universities the authority for the first time to punish students for off-campus, nonacademic misconduct.
The system announced several revisions to the proposal last week after student leaders, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education and others complained an earlier plan went too far.
State Rep. Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) is pushing for the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents to delay approval of the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates, a plan that would add a tuition surcharge for students at UW-Madison to increase financial aid and improve undergraduate education.
The initiative is up for approval this week at the Board of Regents meeting in Milwaukee.
UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin has spent more than a month talking about the plan on campus with students, faculty and staff and has gotten a largely positive reception for the initiative.
To shake, or not to shake?
Thatâ??s the question for officials on college campuses who are planning graduation ceremonies amidst concerns over swine flu.
UW-Oshkosh administrators have decided to forego the tradition of shaking hands with students when giving out diplomas at graduation on May 16.
Influenza. When you normally think about this illness, you picture an annoying sore throat accompanied by a mild fever and head congestion. The current variant of this infection, swine flu, has been receiving considerable attention, now considered nearly a pandemic. The responses to swine flu range from humor to concern with some Mifflin-goers donning masks in the midst of resonating caution as the illness continues to spread across the world.
To shake, or not to shake?
Thatâ??s the question for officials on college campuses who are planning graduation ceremonies amidst concerns over swine flu.
UW-Oshkosh administrators have decided to forego the tradition of shaking hands with students when giving out diplomas at graduation on May 16.
The Board of Regents will vote Thursday on proposed revisions to the UW System conduct rules that could allow universities within the system to punish students for severe off-campus misbehavior.
We understand that Dean of Students Lori Berquam, professor Jacqueline Hitchon, Associate Dean of Students Ervin Cox and various student members of our misconduct panels are petitioning the Board of Regents to reject code of conduct changes making it possible for students to be vocally defended â?? not merely advised â?? by an attorney at serious misconduct hearings.
A 26-year-old Monona man was arrested early Wednesday morning after he allegedly entered unlocked University of Wisconsin-Madison Witte Hall dorm rooms where female students were sleeping.
Simvong Inthavong was taken into custody by UW-Madison police and tentatively charged with eight counts of disorderly conduct and five counts of criminal trespass.
Copies of Michael Pollanâ??s book â??In Defense of Food: An Eaterâ??s Manifestoâ? will likely swarm the UW-Madison campus this fall.
The book was chosen for the universityâ??s first common reading program, Go Big Read. Chancellor Biddy Martin created the program to engage students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members in a shared reading experience.
A committee chose the book from nearly 400 nominated titles.
Amazon.com is widely expected to unveil a new Kindle electronic book device with a larger screen Wednesday, which would be geared for textbooks, magazines and newspapers and possibly shake up the economics of multiple industries at once.
If Amazon reveals a bigger device better suited for digital textbooks and periodicals, the rollout could help students get educational materials more cheaply and give newspapers and magazines a better way to sell digital versions of their content.
The University of Wisconsin celebrated the talents of its student-athletes Monday night, but not in the customary manner.
For more than a dozen years, the UW Athletic Department held a banquet at the end of the school year to honor the academic achievements of its athletes.
In an attempt to jazz things up this year, the event was re-named The Buckinghams, moved to the Capitol Theater at the Overture Center and modeled after the Academy Awards, including a red carpet. All that were missing were long-winded acceptance speeches.
â??This is very cool,â? senior Joe Krabbenhoft, a member of the menâ??s basketball team, said after earning an unsung hero award. â??You feel like youâ??re at the Oscars or something.”
Bud Selig, the commissioner of Major League Baseball, will be UW-Madisonâ??s 2009 spring undergraduate commencement speaker, campus officials announced Monday.
Close to 8,000 UW System students who received financial aid package projections in March will be given an average of $310 less than expected in grants for the 2009-â??10 school year.
The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents will vote Friday on proposed changes to the Chapter 17 and 18 code of conduct that, if passed, would allow students an advising attorney to speak on their behalf in possible cases of suspension and expulsion.
About 7,700 University of Wisconsin System students will receive an average of $310 less than expected in their financial aid package for the next school year, based on a Thursday vote by the Joint Finance Committee.
The University of Wisconsin Art Department and School of Educationâ??s Art Lofts facility will celebrate its grand opening beginning today with a series of events to highlight the buildingâ??s purpose and presence on campus.
