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Category: Opinion

Editorial: Madison’s transplant pioneer

WISC-TV 3

MADISON, Wis. – Madison certainly has its share of unsung heroes; people who have made a profound difference in the world yet remain unrecognized or at least underappreciated here in their hometown.

How Korea was divided and why the aftershocks still haunt us today

Washington Post

New missile tests in North Korea have put the region back in the spotlight. The tests portend trouble ahead for President Trump’s extremely ambitious Korean agenda no matter how much confidence he has in Kim Jung Un.

–David P. Fields is the associate director of the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin and the author of “Foreign Friends: Syngman Rhee, American Exceptionalism, and the Division of Korea.”

Megan Waltz: UW Health remains committed to local vendors, products

Letter to the editor: I was dismayed to see Lindsay Christian’s May 16 article “UW Health shifts focus from local food” since I have been in charge of food operations for six years and there has been no shift away from using local products, nor any change in our commitment to a local spend of at least 20 percent of our total food budget.

Dairy research could be bipartisan — Donald Miner

Wisconsin State Journal

It may be that more money needs to be appropriated to research at University of Wisconsin System campuses to help the struggling dairy industry. But state Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, and 27 other Republicans have taken a partisan path to address the problem.

Be prepared for life

Wilmington News Journal

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt delivered the commencement address at the University of Wisconsin-Madison over the weekend, and delivered what I thought to be a brilliant message to 2019 graduates.

Ray Cross: UW System is delivering more graduates, deserves strong state support

Wisconsin State Journal

UW System president’s column: An investment in UW System will help us continue these successes and generate more graduates — especially in high-need areas such as nursing, engineering, business, computer science, information technology and data science. Across the System, our campuses have plans to expand these vital areas through our 2019-21 state budget capacity-building initiatives.

Nerissa Nelson: UW-Stevens Point’s plan to keep majors is a pyrrhic victory

My campus, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, has had a tumultuous year of dealing with a projected budget deficit of $8 million over the next three years. It started as an announced administrative “document/plan” to cut 13 liberal arts majors, followed by a “reduced plan” to cut six majors and tenured faculty, and then ultimately a “pulled-back plan” to not cut those majors or lay off tenured faculty.

Pete Buttigieg doesn’t speak seven languages. I know, because I do

The Daily Caller

Noted: I discussed the matter with one of the nation’s experts Dr. Dianna L. Murphy, who directs the Language Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She pointed out that people can have a variety of language strengths and weaknesses; and rather than treating language competency as a “switch yes or no,” learners can tell more of a story about their abilities.

Tom Still: Idealism or inevitable? Greening of America well underway

Wisconsin State Journal

The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, part of the UW-Madison Energy Institute, launched in 2007 to focus on sustainable production of fuels and chemicals from non-edible plant materials such as corn residue, poplar and switchgrass. It is one of four such labs in the country and was recently renewed – with an increase in federal dollars – by the Trump administration.

Earth Day 2019: Find common ground on conserving our environment

USA Today

It’s kicking off at the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which hosts an annual Earth Day Conference conducted in the spirit of the original 1970 “teach-in.” The event is called Imagine and Adapt: Possibilities in a Changing World.

Human viruses threaten the future of Uganda’s chimpanzees

My colleagues and I recently analysed two outbreaks of respiratory disease in two different chimpanzee groups, both located in Uganda’s Kibale National Park…Initially, we feared that the same virus caused both outbreaks, which would mean a single virus had been rapidly transmitted throughout the forest. But our team leader, Dr Tony Goldberg of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, tested samples, and we learned that the outbreaks were caused by two different viruses commonly found in humans.

Reflecting on 30 Years of Forgiveness Science

Psychology Today

It was great to be able to share our knowledge on the science of forgiveness, which we began to examine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1985, to aid in the advancement of this important area of research.

–Robert Enright, UW–Madison

Editorial Agenda 2019: Trees in the city

WISC-TV 3

A new study, co-authored by a UW Madison professor, finds trees play a big role in keeping towns and cities cool. That’s important for humans, but it’s also important for other organisms essential to life.

David Ward: Congress should invest more in ag research to keep US ahead of China

Wisconsin State Journal

Since 2014, Wisconsin universities have received 74 AFRI grants totaling $38 million. These grants have gone to projects such as studying the impact of climate change on dairy production at UW-Madison and research on improved food access for rural, low-income communities at Northland College in Ashland. Locally, this means we are improving an industry that is a cornerstone to our economy. Globally, this allows us to maintain food-supply chains and remain a world leader in agriculture.

Arboretum deserving of honor — Donna Silver

Wisconsin State Journal

Letter to the editor: Congratulations to the many people over the years who have created the UW Arboretum on Madison’s West Side. This Wisconsin treasure has recently been added to the National Register of Historical Places.

OP-ED: Black Studies becomes major factor in social advancement

Black Press USA

Noted: The University of Wisconsin-Madison offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in Black Studies, much to the disappointment of Dr. Mayibuye Monanabela who is among the founders of the Africana Studies department at Tennessee State University. He said getting students to major in Black Studies is often difficult primarily because, outside of teaching, there are not many well-paying trades that would require such professional acumen.

Now is the time to invest in research for our dairy future

WI Farmer

UW System agricultural research, which Wisconsin farmers of the past relied on to help build America’s Dairyland, still focuses on nutrition, production efficiency, welfare and disease prevention in dairy cows. In addition, UW researchers are also developing new stress-reduction programs for farmers, formulating new dairy-based food products, and creating sustainable practices that benefit water, land, rural communities and farm workers.

How to cut child poverty in half

Brookings

Other countries have demonstrated that where there is a will, there is a way to accomplish this goal. Without strong action by policymakers, poverty and its inevitable consequences will continue to impose great costs on children, families, and the nation.

–Ron Haskins is the Cabot Family chair and a senior fellow in economics at the Brookings Institution. Timothy Smeeding is the Lee Rainwater professor of public affairs and economics at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

Journal Times editorial: In wake of scandal elsewhere, good to see UW-Madison reviewing its admissions policies

Racine Journal Times

The college admissions scandal which broke earlier this month — federal prosecutors on March 12 charged 50 people with taking part in a scheme where unqualified students were admitted to prestigious universities, allegedly because their parents paid bribes and the students cheated on standardized tests — angers us because it seems unfair, other students’ hard work and ability taking second place to Mommy and Daddy’s bank balance.

The Admissions Scandal Is About Parental Narcissism—and the Schools’ Complicity

The Nation

The fact is that you can get an excellent education at hundreds of American colleges, many of which have fine reputations and are easier to get into. Take Bard, for instance, which accepts 49 percent of its applicants; Sarah Lawrence, whose acceptance rate is 43 percent; or the University of Wisconsin–Madison, which admits more than half of all students who apply.

Wisconsin proposed budget affects farmers

Ag Update

But the Wisconsin Farm Bureau would like to prioritize the positions of integrated specialist roles that would hold a joint appointment between UW-Madison’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and UW-Extension. Those specialists perform and teach the specialized research that is essential to Wisconsin farmers.