Co-authored by Susan S. Engeleiter Professor of Education Law, Policy and Practice at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The silence by our administrative and faculty leaders, specifically in my field of the sciences, is deafening. Graduate students are looking for someone to step up for us, while our class sizes are shrinking, our stipends do not meet the cost of living, and our future job prospects are disappearing. Yet UW leadership is all too concerned with playing politics, if that is what you call rolling over for legislative Republicans. The few scientific faculty who will speak publicly shrug off the inevitability of layoffs and decreased class sizes for graduate workers, who do the majority of scientific labor toward cancer cures and Alzheimer’s research.
Ditto for potential candidates weighing the rigors of a campaign, says Joel Rogers, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s High Road Strategy Center: “Running for office is a drag for sure, and has become much more dangerous to one’s mental health and a happy family life.”
Letter to the editor: This attack is nothing more than an attempt to dictate what students should be taught. This is not what colleges and universities are there for. They are there to engage young minds to learn what they feel their future lives should be like.
Written by Dr. Dipesh Navsaria, MPH, MSLIS, MD, FAAP, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and also holds master’s degrees in public health and children’s librarianship.
Wisconsin Public Radio has, in varying forms, been an essential part of this state’s media landscape for more than a century. PBS Wisconsin, with roots tracing back to the early days of WHA-TV, has been just as essential for the past 70 years.
The United States had a taste of such a gap during the Vietnam War. At the time, academic scientists found themselves caught in the crosshairs of zealous anti-war activists who, despite scant evidence, accused them broadly of collaborating on weapons research in support of the war. In 1970, the situation reached a violent crescendo with the death of Robert Fassnacht, a physicist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison who was working in a building that was bombed by anti-war protesters.
Written by Anthony Hernandez, a faculty member in the Department of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin—Madison (UW-Madison), who received a research award from the National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation for his study on leadership in higher education. He has been recognized with four teaching awards at UW-Madison. He led the evaluation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) in Dane County, Wisconsin for two years.
Rather than laying off staff or admitting fewer graduate students, one place the school (and the UW System more broadly) could look to save hundreds of millions of dollars is to cut its exorbitant spending on out-of-state business consultants and costly technology purchases. Additionally, in this time of attacks on faculty research, now UW System’s adoption of Workday further threatens researchers’ ability to do their work.
Outside of specific genetic diseases, scientists have identified more than 250 genes that are associated with a higher likelihood of ASD. As Maureen Durkin, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explained to me, some of these genes are also associated with beneficial traits. “It’s not as simple as ‘these are causes of autism, and you’d want to edit them out of the genome,’” she said.
As Trump administration withholds research funds, targets international students, faculty, Big Ten should push for united response against unconstitutional actions.
Written by Luke Fuszard, a lecturer in the Department of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Senior Fellow at the High Road Strategy Center.
Co-authored by James H. Stein, MD and Robert Turell Professor of Cardiovascular Research at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, and Chad Alan Goldberg, PhD and the Martindale-Bascom Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Written by John Gross, a clinical associate professor of law at the University of Wisconsin Law School and director of the Public Defender Project.
Co-authored by Kateri Klingele Pinell is a clinical mental health professional and co-founder of the Wisconsin Student Parents Organization at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Last Spring, the University of Wisconsin chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine led an encampment protest on Library Mall that lasted from April 29 to May 10, 2024, which UW temporarily disrupted using police force on its third day.
The disruption of Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield’s (’75 MPA) talk reveals a growing trend of selective free speech among pro-Palestinian activists.
Whether or not you plan on heading to law school or end up with an “incarceration, conviction or arrest record” like one in every three American adults, you interact with the law every day. You deserve to have a basic understanding of it.
Co-authored by J. Michael Collins, a professor in the School of Human Ecology and the La Follette School of Public Affairs, and Tyler Q. Welch is a PhD candidate in the Wisconsin School of Business’ Risk and Insurance department, both at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
University of Wisconsin-Madison pro-Palestine students have the freedom to speak and they must have the freedom to stay. Will Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin stay silent?
Written by Sarah McKinnon, faculty director of Latin America, Caribbean, and Iberian studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and member of the Migration in the Americas Project.
This State Journal editorial ran on March 30, 1925.
Written by Devin Mehta, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying finance.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield will speak at the La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison April 1 where she’ll share insights from her experience in foreign policy and how it applies to modeling respect and compromise in policy making. The event is free and open to the public.
Letter to the editor: As President Donald Trump tries to cut diversity, equity and inclusion programs, the UW-Madison DEI efforts serve up the perfect target for DEI critics.
Letter to the editor by Prof. Matthew Hora, Departments of Educational Policy Studies (School of Education) and Liberal Arts & Applied Studies (Division of Continuing Studies).
When one writes a weekly column for over 15 years, one notices patterns. The one I see today is at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where I sense an atmosphere of caution — and deep sadness — more pronounced than at any time in my decades observing and writing about the state’s flagship university.
My confusion arises because the Legislature also required UW-Madison to create an endowed chair for a “conservative” professor. To me, that sounds exactly like DEI. Were Vos and colleagues requiring the university to potentially choose a less-qualified person as a professor because that person was “conservative”?
Co-authored by Paul Wilson, the Grainger Professor of Nuclear Engineering and the chair of the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s department of nuclear engineering and engineering physics, and Michael Corradinia, a former member of the U.S. Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, a former president of the American Nuclear Society and a professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Letter to the editor: It was interesting to read that our state GOP lawmakers are demanding that UW-Madison establish an endowed professorship focusing on conservative politics and thought.
Written by Mariel Barnes, an assistant professor with the La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Written by Jonathan Patz, the Vilas Distinguished Professor & John P. Holton Chair of Health and the Environment at the Nelson Institute & Department of Population Health Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Co-authroed by Susan S. Engeleiter Professor of Education Law, Policy and Practice at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Letter to the editor: From disrupting the day-to-day work of UW-Madison researchers who are working to find cures for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes, to harming the livelihoods of real people across Wisconsin and the country, these caps will affect all of us.
Some background: The city of Madison, specifically the University of Wisconsin, is a long-established hotbed for Peace Corps recruitment. The campus produced more volunteers than any other American university in 2023, and Dane County has a huge concentration of returned Peace Corps volunteers, second only to Washington, D.C. among U.S. cities. Since the Peace Corps was founded 64 years ago, UW-Madison has produced 2,766 volunteers, second-most nationally.
At the University of Wisconsin-Madison — the sixth largest research university in the country — this cap would translate into an annual loss of approximately $65 million in research funding. The nationwide impact is even more staggering, amounting to billions of dollars in cuts for institutions that rely on NIH grants to support their research infrastructure. The hardest hit area would be indirect costs, or Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs, funds that cover essential expenses like laboratory equipment, research facilities and staff salaries.
Co-authored by Suzanne Eckes, the Susan S. Engeleiter Professor of Education Law, Policy and Practice at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Written by Xueli Wang, the Barbara and Glenn Thompson Endowed Professor in Educational Leadership at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. With a focus on community colleges and postsecondary STEM education, her research examines educational practices, structures and policies that promote students’ holistic well-being and equitable access, experiences and outcomes.
Peter Rickman is the president of the Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers Organization now, but in 2011 he was a grad student and a member of the Teaching Assistants’ Association at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He remembers it was a Thursday when the governor “dropped the bomb”—which is what Walker himself called his bill dismantling unions. Rickman was in a meeting with other organizers at the time: “We all sort of looked around at one another and were like … this is our fight.” After all, teaching assistants were state employees, too.
It is beyond comprehension that any responsible American policymaker would take actions that might undermine — or even destroy — efforts that have already yielded tremendous progress for ailing Americans. And that have the potential, in relatively short order, to make historic breakthroughs in the fight against diseases and conditions that have caused immense pain, heartbreak and death.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is a key partner for USAID’s Feed the Future Innovation Lab, helping train agricultural researchers around the world and research new seeds. In the past decade, Feed the Future has reduced hunger and poverty by 20 to 25 percent in targeted areas, with over 6 million producers newly using better agricultural practices in 2023 alone.
Of course, these innovations not only support communities abroad, but can also be put to use right in UW-Madison’s backyard to make farmers more resilient to increasing hazards such as heatwaves and extreme precipitation.
American universities are spending far too much on consulting firms. Recent investigations reveal staggering numbers: $51 million at the University of Wisconsin, $4.7 million at the University of Florida, and similar seven- and eight-figure contracts across the nation.
These up-front losses generate much greater future value of nonmonetary as well as monetary kinds. Look at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Harvard University, et al. in Table 22 above. The sector spent nearly $28 billion of its own money generously subsidizing sponsors’ research, including by subsidizing the federal government itself.
Letter to the editor: I read in the Wisconsin State Journal about football player Nyzier Fourqurean, who had used up his eligibility. But because he had played for a Division II team earlier in his college career and was not paid, he petitioned a court to allow him one more year of eligibility.
Op-Ed by John Gross,a clinical associate professor of law at University of Wisconsin Law School and director of the Public Defender Project.
Column by UW-Madison student Devin Mehta: At a state school such as my own, the wide range of political beliefs, backgrounds and ideas creates wide-ranging discussions and open worldviews. DEI initiatives are valuable on campuses because they force constructive dialogue that challenges existing viewpoints.
Letter to the editor: The college football national championship recently concluded with Ohio State (oops, forgot the “The”) winning the championship.
Finding the best student organizations on campus begins with stepping outside of your comfort zone.
Letters to the editor: When I look around campus, the most pleasing views include the oldest buildings, or those with some stylistic consistency with their neighbors.
Letter to the editor: The proposal to detach UW-Madison from the other Universities of Wisconsin system campuses smacks of elitism.
The plan will offer direct admission to UW-Madison for students placing in the top 5% of their Wisconsin high schools.
Written by ostdoctoral Research Associate in Microbial Genomics and Systems Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Dorm life is unforgettable, unfortunately so is rest of housing process for freshmen.
Despite losing 14 seats in the fall election, GOP legislators still feel empowered to hold the state’s largest economic engine hostage to the whims of its most petty members. Republicans on the state Building Commission ganged up on UW-Madison last week and threw another obstacle in the path of the long-awaited and already-approved new engineering building.
When UW leaders asked for $845 million, a fraction of the total amount cut from the UW budget under his watch, Assembly Speaker Vos said, “I just know that some of these numbers, where they ask for the moon, are unrealistic.”
When Vos graduated from UW-Whitewater in 1991, Wisconsin’s higher education appropriations per student were $11,028. In 2023 it was $9,277. So the “moon” was realistic when he personally benefited from taxpayer support, but is unrealistic when it is your turn to benefit?
UW scientists study how methamphetamine affects body, probe legal, medical, societal implications of drug.
I would be correctly described as a member of that committee with a partisan background. I did not, however, vote in “lockstep” with other members who might also be so categorized. Furthermore I would suggest many of the questions were more nuanced than the authors claimed. Additionally there were members of this committee (including some UW employees and past Regents ) who did not show, nor do I believe they have, strong partisan leanings. Instead their clearly expressed concern was for the future of the system. That was also my concern.
Written by Sarah Halpern-Meekin, director of UW-Madison’s Institute for Research on Poverty and a professor of public affairs with the La Follette School of Public Affairs and the Vaughn Bascom Professor of Women, Family, and Community in the School of Human Ecology.
This is no time to be downgrading one of the world’s most important systems of public universities. UW System President Jay Rothman, UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin, and Gov. Tony Evers have all publicly opposed this splitting off of UW Madison, a fugitive relic of the Walker years.
Everyone else should too.
Letter to the editor: According to Open Seat Food Pantry, a student organization at UW-Madison that seeks to address food insecurity, it is estimated that 12% of UW-Madison students are food insecure. The Office of Student Assistance and Support houses Badger FARE, a program that only provides $75 per academic year for those who meet the criteria. The school additionally provides frozen meals, but distributes them through churches, limiting its effectiveness.
