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.
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.
If approved, the lower fees would make college much more accessible.
Written by , PhD Candidate, History, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Noted: Madeleine Pape is a PhD candidate in sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a former athlete
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.
As cost of UW housing continually increases, administration must reassess priorities, aid students with accessibility.
Letter to the editor from Sanford A. Klein, UW-Madison emeritus professor of mechanical engineering.
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.
Though Murphy’s bill would benefit out-of-state students, it ignores low-income graduates who need grant money the most.
Plan addresses racial, wealth disparities, making it particularly relevant, beneficial to Wisconsin
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.
Letter to the editor: I was appalled that UW-Madison will be doing a trial on railings in four sections at Camp Randall. Why are they doing a trial run they know the railings are sorely needed?
Simple changes such as turning off lights, recycling, composting and using the bus can make a difference, and are easy to implement.
Noted: Lucas Richert is the George Urdang Chair in the history of pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of “Strange Trips: Science, Culture, and the Regulation of Drugs.”
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.
For the second year in a row, UW was awarded No. 1 for Peace Corp’s 2018 Top Volunteer-Producing Colleges and Universities.
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
Letter: The spirit of Wisconsin grabbed me from the moment I entered the Kohl Center where I was surrounded by a sea of cardinal red and white worn by everyone from toddlers to elderly fans moving enthusiastically through the crowd with their walkers.
Taiwanese flat screen maker Foxconn has announced that it is purchasing a building on the Capitol Square to make it easier for local protesters to gather at the building to denounce the $4 billion subsidy for the company, its skirting of environmental regulations and its history of backing out on its agreements.
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.
As universities struggle to keep up with increasing demand for computer science, government has a duty to fund these programs.
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.
Column by Samuel Ropa, Center for Religion and Global Citizenry interfaith student fellow.
Noted: Aaron Yarmel is the director of Madison Public Philosophy and a Ph.D. candidate in philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Music is ever-present in college students’ lives. Music education should be too.
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.
Administration officials provide context for decision to reject Callisto sexual assault reporting software in favor of more productive changes.
UW should be applauded for its commitment to freedom and should continue striving to protect rights.
While institutional efforts to increase inclusivity are important, such efforts need to be part of a greater, campus-wide conversation.
The state’s inability to move forward with the new Natatorium could have serious consequences. Millions of dollars in private donations have been pledged to the project with the understanding that it will move forward on a certain schedule.
Continuing a recent trend, more states are passing laws that deal with free speech rights on college campuses.
Noted: The University of Wisconsin System has created a task force to recommend ways to improve the pipeline.
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.
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.
We must shift our social expectations and spaces to be more conducive to a substance-free lifestyle, which will be far more accommodating and comfortable for both students in recovery, and those who simply choose not to drink, alike.
Through what has been named The Isthmus Project, Mackie and others connected to UW Health will offer a set of coordinated services to innovators in the health-care space.
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.
Rejection of Callisto software on basis of imperfection jeopardizes students, ignores the software’s many benefits.
President Donald Trump’s recent executive order prompts discussion on free expression vs. diversity on campus.
Assuming that China and the US will have GDP growth rates of 6.3 per cent and 3 per cent in 2019, and then fall to 2.2 per cent in 2033, the size of China’s GDP, which was 66 per cent of the US GDP in 2018, will peak at 84 per cent in 2033.
Noted: Yi Fuxian is a senior scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of Big Country with an Empty Nest
Accessibility to mental health resources is important for everyone, but students of color lack accessibility more than their white counterparts.
We’re a little late with this, but we want to celebrate the UW Women’s Hockey team winning the national championship, because we’re not sure it’s gotten enough attention.
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.
One of the pleasures of leading the University of Wisconsin System is listening to students describe how our campuses have improved their lives.
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.
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.
This idea—first implemented at a few universities, including the University of Wisconsin-Madison—is where students are tasked with solving biomedical and clinical problems for a client under the advisement of a BME professor.
Despite the coast-to-coast glut of well-paying jobs in tech professions such as coding, cybersecurity and network management, the pipeline of potential workers is much smaller than what observers would prefer.
Higher education institutions used the loan program to irresponsibly profit at the expense of students and their families. It is time to pay up one way or the other.
Some things make so much sense they simply demand attention. That’s what we call “common sense.” And when a policy will save Wisconsin millions of dollars, put people and businesses to work, and enhance the dignity of our citizens, policymakers should take heed.
The meeting last Wednesday afternoon had gone on for almost an hour when Gary Brown, director of campus planning and landscape architecture at University of Wisconsin–Madison, said, “Let me address the so-called elephant in the room.”
The reality is that “cheating the system” of college admissions happens all the time, and since it occurs within the law, we don’t hear about it.
If you attend any major on-campus event, you have likely seen a member of the university communications team taking photographs. What you may not have noticed was their center of focus was probably on the students of color attending the event.
Don’t let scandal surrounding college admissions distract from financial privilege inherent in college admissions process.
In an increasingly polarized political and social environment, courses on race and ethnicity in the United States are crucial to educating young people on the roots of these issues. Ideally, this intersectional education will help address the lasting notions of racism and develop cultural sensitivity.
ASM must focus on the cause of sexual assault, rather than focus solely on mitigation efforts.
UW’s Center for Religion and Global Citizenry leads the conversation about religious pluralism in our community.
In light of confusion surrounding accessibility, eligibility of food insecurity relief programs, Second Harvest Foodbank provides clarity.
