Skip to main content

Category: Higher Education/System

How Wisconsin is ruled by a shadow governor

POLITICO

Then-Gov. Tommy Thompson, a Republican, picked Vos to serve as a student representative on the University of Wisconsin’s board of trustees. Vos was also college roommates with Reince Priebus, who later became chair of the Republican National Committee and Trump’s first White House chief of staff. Priebus didn’t respond to inquiries about Vos.

What Higher Ed Can Learn From Hospitals

WSJ

The University of Wisconsin System and the University System of Georgia have consolidated some of their two- and four-year institutions in recent years. But consolidation is rare in higher ed. Given the rising cost of trying to be all things to all people, universities have to form centers of excellence via regional partnerships.

College football season is here. And so is the delta variant.

NBC News

At one such game, University of Wisconsin’s home opener against Penn State, no vaccination proof or negative test was required. Masks were required indoors but only “strongly encouraged” in outdoor spaces. More than 76,000 people attended. The Madison, Wisconsin, metro area, home to more than 660,000 people has seen a steady increase in cases since mid-July and a positive test rate of 3.4 percent, according to Public Health Madison and Dane County.

UW-Madison reports 90% of campus fully vaccinated even without vaccine mandate

Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison reported on Thursday that nine out of every 10 members of the campus community are fully vaccinated — even without mandating students and employees to get the shot.  “I’m proud of our students and employees for taking this important step to protect themselves and others,” Chancellor Rebecca Blank said in an announcement. “And I’m grateful to our staff, who worked tirelessly to achieve these results.”

Prehn corresponded with Republican leadership about decision not to step down from Natural Resources Board, emails show

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The embattled chairman of the Natural Resources Board sought and received counsel from aides to Republican state Senate leadership on his decision to not vacate his seat at the end of his six-year term in May, emails show — contrary to claims he hadn’t.

Frederick Prehn solicited advice from and shared information with several people since May, according to documents obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, including Madison lobbyist Scott Meyer, U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, and former University of Wisconsin Regent Gerald Whitburn.

Thompson should impose jab mandate — Roy Christianson

Wisconsin State Journal

Letter to the editor: Before people nominate UW System President Tommy Thompson for a “Profiles in Courage” award for his refusal to let the Legislature in effect run the UW System, let’s consider the following. If Thompson is correct that UW has the right to determine how to manage its own health policy (which I strongly suspect he is), he is simply doing his job by refusing to let legislators like Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, dictate whether mask or vaccine mandates can be used.

The pandemic made internships hypercompetitive

CNBC

At the height of the pandemic last year, half of all internship opportunities had been canceled, according to job site Glassdoor. The ones that weren’t canceled were mostly virtual and some were unpaid. By spring 2021, just 22% of students said they’d had an internship during the school year and only half of those said they were in-person, according to research from the Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Tommy Thompson: I have no plans to cede UW COVID policies to lawmakers

The Capital Times

Column by interim UW System president Thomnpson: The University of Wisconsin System owns a critical responsibility to open our classrooms this September to deliver the in-person education students deserve and parents expect. And we are planning to do just that. Unfortunately, some want us to ignore our unambiguous authority and duty under Wisconsin law to protect the “health, safety, and welfare of the university.”

Wisconsin Colleges, Universities Using Federal COVID-19 Relief To Pay Off Student Debt

Wisconsin Public Radio

As the fall semester approaches, more Wisconsin universities and colleges are looking at ways to reduce debt that could keep students from continuing their education.

Officials at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee announced Friday they had forgiven more than $5 million in outstanding balances owed by students from the 2020-21 school year.

UW System Refuses To Submit COVID-19 Safety Restrictions For Republican Approval

Wisconsin Public Radio

University of Wisconsin System interim President Tommy Thompson says he will not comply with an order from Republican state lawmakers to submit COVID-19 safety restrictions and requirements for their approval. Thompson said he doesn’t think the state Legislature will sue over the matter but said if it goes to court he’s confident the UW will win.

Tommy Thompson explains why he got vaccinated – and why you should, too

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

When I had an opportunity to become vaccinated against COVID-19 last spring, I didn’t hesitate. The vaccine clearly was the best way for me to protect myself and the people I care about from death or hospitalization due to COVID. I was also eager to do my part to help our society beat back this insidious disease.

All UW Campuses Enact Mask Requirements, Expectations Amid Rise In COVID-19 Cases

Wisconsin Public Radio

Every University of Wisconsin System campus in the state has instituted mask requirements or expectations for individuals regardless of their vaccination status as the number of new coronavirus cases rises. The measures come amid an effort by Republican lawmakers to block COVID-19 restrictions at universities.

The critical race theory controversy drives an hourslong legislative debate over classroom instruction in Wisconsin

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Quoted: “Teachers do not deliberately set out to make students feel bad about themselves. The problem this bill seems to identify, that Wisconsin’s teachers intentionally or otherwise want to make students feel bad, is simply not real,” said Jeremy Stoddard, a University of Wisconsin-Madison curriculum and instruction professor.

“What I fear is that if it becomes law, it will have a chilling effect inhibiting teachers from teaching a full account of history.”