The survey, which is meant to gauge student attitudes toward free speech on campuses, will be sent to a random selection of students — anywhere from 2,500 to 7,500 at each of the 13 System universities — starting Monday. Researchers from the Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service, a unit of the System, are looking to gather 500 responses from each campus.
Category: Higher Education/System
School for beginning dairy farmers slated for closure
It looks as if the University of Wisconsin-Madison is getting ready to close down the School for Beginning Dairy and Livestock Farmers, which has graduated almost 600 budding farmers after training them in grazing practices as well as business planning for their new operations.
The school was founded and directed by Dick Cates, a Spring Green beef farmer who also served on the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection’s citizen policy board and various state sustainability panels.
Judge dismisses lawsuit challenging UW-Madison’s practice of hiding some negative comments from social media
The University of Wisconsin-Madison was within its right to hide some negative comments from its social media platforms because the criticisms were off topic to the posts at hand, a federal judge ruled this month.
Scholars of Urban Education Gather for Solutions-Based Conference
Noted: Over 270 sessions were offered at the conference, including a keynote address by Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings, one of the world’s most prolific educational researchers. Ladson-Billings is Professor Emerita and former Kellner Family Distinguished Professor in Urban Education in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The widening racial disparities between Blacks and whites is dramatic, noted Ladson-Billings, who pointed out that in 2019, about 30% of Black children lived in poverty, with 1 and 4 Black children facing severe food insecurity. With regard to public schools, she noted that 45% of Black students attend high-poverty schools compared to 8% of white children.
During the COVID pandemic, a number of Black children were only able to access the internet through their smart phones.
“Think about remote learning,” she said, adding that children struggled to receive their lessons via a small phone screen. “But that’s the reality.”
Additionally, Ladson-Billings noted that 75% of Black students who are considered eligible for advanced placement (AP) courses never take one, in part because so many of these students are enrolled in schools where these accelerated courses are not even offered.
“They’re bright enough, but there’s no access,” she said, adding that too many Black students are frequently discouraged from achieving their full potential by schoolteachers and administrators, even as suspension and expulsion rates for Black children steadily inclines.
Abortion training is part of medical school curriculum, but some Wisconsin programs are having trouble providing it post Roe
Quoted: Administrators at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are also coming up with ways to solve the current training problem, but they’re also beginning to worry about future recruitment.
Dr. Laura Jacques, an assistant professor and the director of medical student education at UW-Madison’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, said the repercussions could be felt for years.
“I’m worried that we’re going to have a challenging time recruiting the best residents to our program because of these concerns, and not just for obstetrics and gynecology, but for all types of medicine,” she said.
Four months after her cancer diagnosis, former UW-Madison chancellor Rebecca Blank talks career, politics
In one of her first public appearances since being diagnosed with cancer this summer, former University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank received recognition from another Big Ten school with a room named in her honor.
Gubernatorial election will impact direction of Wisconsin public college systems
Campaign spokesperson Anna Kelly said that Michels would work to “ensure that our education system is working” for all.
Wisconsin OB-GYN programs must send residents across state lines for training because of abortion ban
Noted: The state’s two other OB-GYN residency programs − at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, and Aurora Sinai Medical Center in Milwaukee − are vulnerable as well.
An Aurora spokesperson said Thursday the hospital also plans to send OB-GYN residents out of state, though they would not provide specifics of the arrangement. A UW doctor said they are in the process of determining a course of action.
“We are committed to following the ACGME mandates of training our residents and putting out well-trained obstetrician gynecologists,” said Dr. Laura Jacques, an assistant professor and academic specialist in obstetrics and gynecology. “We are actively exploring options.”
Students rip ‘woke’ colleges for Halloween ‘offensive’ costume warnings: ‘Don’t think that’s their place’
Schools such as the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ohio University, University of Colorado-Boulder, University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Michigan are all encouraging students to choose a Halloween costume that does not appropriate another culture.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has a webpage dedicated to “Halloween cultural awareness” which states that students should avoid “racist, crude, or culturally insensitive” costumes.
Everything you need to know about the Supreme Court affirmative action cases
At the University of Wisconsin Madison, where the acceptance rate is about 60 percent, the admissions website states that the school’s holistic application process is designed to help identify “remarkable students” and “diversity in personal background and experience” and does not use “formulas or charts.”
Coalition of Wisconsin universities canceling class for students on Election Day
A coalition of private universities in Wisconsin is canceling classes for students on election day as part of an effort to boost voter turnout. We talk about the “Why Bother, Wisconsin?” campaign, and hear why they want other universities to join them.
UW-Madison’s ‘Fill the Hill’ raises more than $421K
The tenth “Fill the Hill” fundraiser at the University of Wisconsin-Madison brought in more than $421,000 for various campus initiatives.
The most beautiful college campus in every state
The University of Wisconsin–Madison lies on an isthmus between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona and boasts some stellar lakeshore trails, along with some notable historic buildings such as the Neo-Renaissance–style Memorial Union and the castle-like Red Gym.
College enrollment across Wisconsin down 3 percent, according to new report
Overall enrollment across Wisconsin colleges and universities fell around 3 percent this fall, according to preliminary data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Researchers say national enrollment declines have slowed to pre-pandemic, but they were surprised by the lack of a rebound.
Wisconsin firm asks Supreme Court to halt federal student debt forgiveness
According to data from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s SSTAR Lab (Student Success Through Applied Research), more than 715,000 Wisconsin residents owe an average of $32,230 in federal student loan debt.
Wisconsin nursing schools struggle to graduate enough students amid nurse shortage
As the demand for nurses grows across Wisconsin, nursing education programs are struggling to churn out enough graduates — but not for lack of applicants. Instead, schools are facing dwindling numbers of faculty and limited classroom space, forcing them to turn away prospective students.
UW-Madison professor says student loan forgiveness faces uncertain future as lawsuits play out
Quoted: “To get standing, you have to prove that you’re harmed by these actions and so to prove that you’ve been harmed by canceling a loan is a really hard needle to thread,” UW-Madison professor Nick Hillman explained.
Hillman says the lawsuits are attacking the forgiveness plan from all sorts of angles to clear the legal standing hurdle and more lawsuits are expected to come now that the application process is officially open.
Out of the three that are currently still awaiting a court decision, Hillman thinks the one filed jointly by six states has the best chance to undo the forgiveness.
UW System implementing virtual mental health services to meet growing demand
In May, Gov. Tony Evers awarded the System a $5 million grant from federal stimulus dollars to partner with telehealth company Mantra to provide virtual counseling and psychiatry appointments, a crisis helpline and a platform where students can do self-assessments, System Director of Student Behavioral Health John Achter said.
UW-La Crosse College Republicans scrawl anti-Semitic message on campus, prompting group chair to resign in protest
The student leader of the College Republicans chapter at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse resigned from her post this week after group members scrawled an antisemitic message on a campus sidewalk and promoted it on social media.
UW-La Crosse is at least the second Wisconsin school to be hit with antisemitic messages this school year.
UW-Madison historian Monica Kim awarded MacArthur ‘genius’ grant
A University of Wisconsin-Madison historian on Wednesday won one of the nation’s most prestigious awards, which comes with a no strings attached $800,000 stipend to spend however she sees fit.
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation named UW-Madison professor Monica Kim, 44, as one of 25 national recipients of the MacArthur fellowship. Also known as the “genius grant,” the awards are given annually to a select group of individuals across a range of disciplines who show exceptional creativity in their work and future ambitions.
Acceptance rates are declining at public universities
Less than half of the University of Georgia’s applicants, 42%, were accepted this fall after the university admitted a historically low number in 2021 at 39%. It previously toted accepting over 40% of students without a test score of any kind. The University of Illinois and the University of Wisconsin similarly let in less than half of the applicants. Ten years ago, however, all three of the schools accepted more than 60% of applicants.
University of Wisconsin System’s new social media advocacy campaign hopes to boost FAFSA applications
The social media campaign aims to promote the FAFSA to Wisconsin high school seniors and prospective college students.
Pink lawn flamingos are about to invade UW-Madison’s Bascom Hill
Bascom Hill will soon be covered in loads of plastic lawn flamingos because of the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association’s (WFAA) 10th annual Fill the Hill event.
A UW system tuition freeze is preventing rising tuition prices, but overall cost is still going up
The University of Wisconsin System has been in a tuition freeze for residential undergraduate students since the 2013-14 school year, but tuition isn’t the only bill students must pay to attend college.
It’s Good For Business When Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Workers Are Given A Fair Shot
For instance, a recent study showed that 80% of all tenure-track faculty members in the United States derived from just 20% of PhD-granting institutions. What’s more, no historically Black colleges and universities were among that 20%. Indeed, one in eight tenure-track faculty members got their PhDs from either Harvard, Stanford, UC Berkeley, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, or the University of Michigan.
A Cold War Program Gets Hijacked
NRC-funded efforts included a training institute last year at the University of Texas, Austin, where teachers of pre-kindergartners through fifth graders were schooled in “(Un)learning patterns of whiteness in literacy teaching.” In May, Stanford University’s Center for Latin American Studies sponsored a webinar about using picture books to initiate “conversations centered on advocacy for LGBT Latina/o(x) youth.” The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia hosted a graduate student who uses critical race theory in her research on Russia and Ukraine.
UW-Superior professor starts organization to tutor Ukrainian students whose lives were upended by war
University of Wisconsin-Superior chemistry professor Michael Waxman has the reputation of a tough instructor. But this year he has students who might say something different.
In late February, Waxman was horrified by the destruction of homes and families in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He felt he had to do something to help.
UW System enrollment decreasing on most campuses, UW-Madison enrollment increasing
The University of Wisconsin-Madison saw a substantial increase in first-year enrollment and a 5% increase in overall enrollment. However, while the University of Wisconsin System’s first-year enrollment is up, overall enrollment decreased by 1% this fall.
UW System launches campaign to increase financial aid applications
The University of Wisconsin System’s new tuition-waiver program aims to help the state compete for talent and fill critical worker shortages.
But financial aid applications determine eligibility, and Wisconsin ranks 38th in the nation for the percentage of high school seniors who file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
UW System takes to social media to boost financial aid applications
The University of Wisconsin System is making a new push to encourage more potential college students to apply for federal financial aid. The goal is to get more high school seniors from lower income families to consider enrolling at state universities and ensure qualification for a new tuition promise initiative.
Conservative group vows to continue fight against race-based student grants
The grants program was established in the 1980s to help minority students overcome barriers to receiving a bachelor’s degree. The University of Wisconsin System has a similar grant program for students that provides a maximum of $3,000 a year for those defined as minority students.
Johns Hopkins U. Paused Its Plans for a Campus Police Force. 2 Years Later, Resistance Is Stronger Than Ever.
Kristen Roman, chief of police at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, said that for colleges, one of the advantages of having a police department is that officers are more familiar with the institution’s particulars.“
As a community member, I myself would rather have somebody in a police role who is invested and understands some of the unique challenges of my community,” said Roman, who serves as director-at-large of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators’ Board of Directors
New UW System News Service sparks debate on government institutions providing impartial media
The UW News Service launched last week, providing media packages to news outlets across Wisconsin.
Lawrence University announces full-tuition financial aid program
Lawrence University in Appleton on Monday announced “Lawrence Advantage,” a program to use donated funds to “fully meet the demonstrated institutional need of students from Wisconsin and Illinois – the top two states represented among Lawrence’s incoming students,” according to a press release.
UW System overall enrollment down but number of new students up
More new people signed up for college in the UW System this fall than in the past three years, but overall enrollment is down.
UW-Green Bay bucks UW System trend with 7th year of enrollment growth, driven partly by Hispanic students
As declining enrollment continues to plague the University of Wisconsin System, UW-Green Bay is experiencing its seventh year of growth.
Based on preliminary data from the first day of classes, UW-Green Bay saw a 3% enrollment increase over last year among its four campuses despite a 1% decrease across the state’s public university system. After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting education, the system expected the drop.
Conservative law firm to appeal judge’s dismissal of lawsuit arguing minority retention grant discriminates against white students, others
Noted: A similar grant program is available for University of Wisconsin System students. While the UW grant wasn’t part of the lawsuit, Lennington indicated at the time the suit was filed that it, too, could be the target of legal action.
Estimates show continued enrollment declines at most UW System campuses
Enrollment at Wisconsin’s state universities fell by around 1 percent compared to last fall, according to new estimates from the University of Wisconsin System. While three schools saw more students enrolling this fall, nine reported declines of between 3 and 6 percent, and one reported steady enrollment.
After organizations condemn antisemitic chalkings, UW-Madison administrators report they are working to educate Students for Justice in Palestine
University of Wisconsin-Madison administrators are working to educate members of Students for Justice in Palestine on the harm caused by their antisemitic messages, after the messages were chalked around campus overnight before the first day of the fall 2022 semester, according to officials.
Enrollment dips at most UW campuses, but UW System president thinks campuses ‘have turned a corner’ on COVID-19
The ongoing enrollment decline at Wisconsin’s public universities continues this school year, with preliminary numbers released Thursday showing more than half of the University of Wisconsin System campuses down by 3% or more.
Just 5 Universities Produce One-Eighth of the Nation’s Tenure-Track Professors
Just five universities have produced one-eighth of the U.S. professoriate, and 80 percent of tenure-track professors at doctoral institutions earned their Ph.D.s from 20 percent of the nation’s universities.
Just 5 Universities Produce One-Eighth of the Nation’s Tenure-Track Professors
The researchers found that the University of California at Berkeley, Harvard University, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and Stanford University produce nearly 14 percent of the nation’s tenure-track faculty members.
The Prestige Hierarchy: Five Universities Trained One Of Every Eight Tenure-Track Faculty At Doctoral Universities
According to a new study, one in eight (13.8%) of U.S.-trained tenure-track faculty members employed at doctoral universities earned their PhDs from just five prestigious universities: the University of California, Berkeley; Harvard University; the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Stanford University; and the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Do College Rankings Serve Applicants Well?
The fact that Columbia falsified its data shows that the importance of these rankings is grossly overestimated. The scandal shows that Columbia’s administrators seem to think the school is untouchable, that consequences don’t apply to them. And they are not wrong. Columbia dropped 16 spots once the news of its cheating broke, but that is unlikely to have an impact on its next application pool. Students will still compete to attend the school for its prestigious Ivy League status. Even if Columbia now looks slightly worse in national rankings, its reputation as a top-tier institution will compensate for this blemish on its record.—Jackson Walker, University of Wisconsin-Madison, journalism and English
Baldwin introduces legislation to strengthen campus resources for sexual assault survivors
The new bill mandates an independent sexual assault prevention advocate at any higher education institute receiving federal funding.
Headstone dedication for first Black woman to attend Marquette University Law School
Before the legendary Vel Phillips accomplished her many firsts in the City of Milwaukee and Wisconsin, there was Mabel Emily Watson Raimey.
Raimey was the first African American woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She earned a B.A. in English in 1918 and was the first African American woman to attend Marquette University Law School. There is a marker at 11th and Wisconsin honoring her.
SSFC passes legislation UW System suggesting change to deadline for segregated fees
The UW System tried to release fee totals earlier, without asking ASM.
Fostering Success expands to additional campuses, supports underrepresented students
Program will support students across UW System who have been in foster care, homeless or orphaned.
Bring your tired, your poor, your glitchy home movies to UW-Milwaukee for Home Movie Day
Do you have an old reel of film of your parents’ wedding that could use some help? Or a glitchy VHS tape of your solo in the middle school musical?
The people at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Archives and Film Studies program are here to help — and, maybe, give those home movies a screening of their own.
The robots are coming! Marquette launches high-tech food delivery service
Noted: The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire is also launching a fleet of Kiwibots on campus this fall.
UW-Madison partnered with a different company, Starship Technologies, though the general concept is the same. The university’s 30-bot fleet debuted in November 2019, which turned out to be good timing. The robots offered students a dining option without needing to set foot in a busy dining hall during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last school year, UW-Madison received nearly 80,000 orders, said UW-Madison spokesperson Brendon Dybdahl.
“The Starship robots have become a very popular fixture on our campus,” he said. “Students take pictures with them, help them when they occasionally get stuck, and treat them almost like people.”
New Leadership Will Continue the Wei LAB Legacy
Twelve years after its creation, Wisconsin’s Equity & Inclusion Laboratory (Wei LAB) at the University of Wisconsin—Madison has a new director: Dr. Brian A. Burt.
Burt, a 2019 Diverse Emerging Scholar and associate professor of higher education at the University of Wisconsin—Madison (UW—Madison), was previously assistant director and research scientist at the Wei LAB. He takes the reins from founder Dr. Jerlando F. L. Jackson, who is now the dean of Michigan State University’s College of Education.
Where did Wisconsin schools rank in U.S. News’ best colleges list for 2022? Slideshow
The publication announced its 2022 best college rankings which had UW-Madison at No. 38, tied with the University of California, Davis and the University of Texas at Austin. The Madison campus came in at No. 42 in 2021.
UW System to send campus free speech survey to students this fall
A campus free speech survey that spurred the resignation of a University of Wisconsin System chancellor will be sent to students at all state colleges this fall, according UW System President Jay Rothman.
UT Austin ranked top public university in Texas by US News
Out of public universities nationwide, UT Austin tied with the University of California, Davis and the University of Wisconsin-Madison for the No. 10 spot. When accounting for both public and private universities across the country, UT tied with the same schools for the No. 38 spot.
As More College Presidents Quit, Search Firms Prosper
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University, Tufts University, New York University, George Washington University, Ohio University, Bowdoin College, Harvey Mudd College, Smith College, and St. Olaf College are among those currently seeking a new chief executive. Dartmouth College, Northwestern University and the University of Wisconsin Madison recently wrapped up searches for their newest presidents and chancellor, respectively.
UW System considers a direct admissions program for Wisconsin high school students
In administering direct admissions, the goal would be to increase access to a higher college education and student enrollment, according to WPR.
UW-Madison in-state tuition frozen for another year
In-state tuition rates for the University of Wisconsin System have remained stable since 2013. The UW System Board of Regents continued this trend by extending the tuition freeze to in-state undergraduates for the 2022-23 academic year. Tuition cost is decided in the summer by the Board of Regents through discussions with the chancellors.
‘The students are deserving’: Fostering Success expands to more UW campuses this fall
For students living in foster care, or those who’ve experienced homelessness, navigating college can be daunting. But a program to support those students is expanding across the University of Wisconsin System — in hopes of increasing school success and retention.
Fostering Success began at UW-Stout in 2013. The program is designed to support students by offering help navigating financial aid, academic advising and tutoring. Angie Ruppe, director of the program at UW-Stout, said Fostering Success is important because “the students are deserving.”
Student worker shortage leads UW-Milwaukee to ask professors for help in dining halls
A staffing shortage on the UW-Milwaukee campus led the university to make an unusual ask of its professors: Come help in our dining halls.
Faculty and staff received an email asking for volunteers to clean tables, serve food and replenish buffet bars, all in an effort to keep the thousands of students who moved into dorms last week fed.
UW alum and Oscar winner Fredric March’s name was removed from a campus theater in 2018. Calls for its return are getting louder.
There’s a renewed push to restore Academy Award-winning actor Fredric March’s name on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.
A student-led group voted in 2018 to remove the UW alum’s name from a theater in Memorial Union because of his association with a student group that shared a name with the Ku Klux Klan in the early 20th century.