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Category: Opinion

Forget what the right says: Academia isn’t so bad for conservative professors

The Washington Post

In 1951, William F. Buckley declared the university to be a den of atheism and anti-capitalism in his book “God and Man at Yale,” launching a campaign against higher education that has helped define postwar conservatism. Judging from today’s political landscape, not much has changed. On the campaign trail, Marco Rubio called the university an “indoctrination camp,” while Ben Carson promised to deny federal funding to schools that show sharp political biases.

Nan Enstad: Attacking tenure harms Midwestern values

LaCrosse Tribune

In 2001, I landed my job as a history professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I was overjoyed for many reasons, including that UW-Madison is one of the best public universities in the country. I was also glad because it placed me within driving distance of my father, then in his 70s, who lives in the Twin Cities.

Stand up and defend the UW

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Noted: Donald Moynihan is a professor of public affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and chair of the Social Studies Divisional Committee.

Tom Oates: Barry Alvarez sticks to a stellar hiring formula in tapping Greg Gard

Wisconsin State Journal

In elevating Gard — the Badgers’ interim coach since his mentor, Bo Ryan, abruptly retired in December — to the permanent coaching position two days before the start of the Big Ten Conference tournament, Alvarez followed a tried-and-true formula for success at UW. He hired a coach who has lived and breathed Badgers basketball for decades, who brings unquestioned commitment and loyalty to the program, who fully understands how to function and win at the school.

One paycheck away from poverty

The Hill

Noted: Author Michael Collins is a professor of Public Affairs and faculty director of the Center for Financial Security, University of Wisconsin—Madison and editor of the book A Fragile Balance: Emergency Savings and Liquid Resources for Low-Income Consumers, Palgrave Macmillan.

Noah Williams: The Partisan Tax Policy Center

Wall Street Journal

For centuries discussions of tax policy centered on the collection of government revenues. As Louis XIV’s finance minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, famously wrote: “The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing.” This was the received wisdom until Adam Smith pointed out in 1776 that the wealth of nations—not the wealth of governments—is what really matters. The debate about the proper ends and means of taxes has raged ever since.

Chris Rickert: Madison schools take some of the pressures of parenting off parents

Wisconsin State Journal

Quoted: “The best-practice thinking these days has been to start providing access to these services earlier, before children are victims of abuse or neglect and before they have to be removed from their homes,” said Ellen Smith, the child welfare training coordinator at UW-Madison’s School of Social Work.

“There is a lot of interest in supporting biological families to prevent abuse and/or out-of-home placements rather than spending all of our limited funding to pay for out-of-home care costs.”

Tom Still: Why basic research matters at Wisconsin’s colleges and universities | Madison Wisconsin Business News | host.madison.com

Wisconsin State Journal

There are 115 universities in the United States that can lay claim to an “R1” rating from the national organization that ranks research institutions, and Wisconsin is now home to two of them: UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee, which joined the elite Research Level 1 list in February.

Olds: UBC Future Forward

Inside Higher Education

As I outlined back on 9 August 2015 in Inside Higher Ed, the unexpected leadership transition at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in summer 2015 had all the ingredients to become a major crisis. And a ‘barn-burner’ of a crisis has certainly emerged, sad to say. As a concerned alum, I do hope my alma mater can move forward. From my perspective, nearly seven months later (amid a possible vote of non-confidence in the Board of Governors and an ongoing presidential search) it’s worth flagging two key problems, and then three correctional action suggestions.

Christian Schneider – Bernie Sanders’ free college plan flunks common sense

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

After enough time passes, there’s no limit to the things that cease to shock us. Take, for instance, parrots. I feel like a larger portion of our daily interactions should be dedicated to discussing the fact that there’s an animal that can talk. And yet there it sits, our unspoken secret, while we discuss less important things over coffee, such as religion and politics.

D. Bantz: Tenure story needed more viewpoints

Capital Times

Pat Schneider’s article “Regent committee endorses controversial UW tenure policies without debate” was fairly well researched but lacked what I feel is essential to journalism today. A viewpoint. It described the viewpoints of the UW Regents and some faculty, but I feel the story and ultimately what was voted on was not accurately reported.

WISC Editorial Agenda: Innovative collaborations for equity

Channel3000.com

Our final agenda item for 2016 is a direct response to one of the community leaders we asked to advise us on community issues who said he and other new young leaders had a responsibility to collaborate and urged us to “call them out” on doing so. So we will. The collaboration needs to be at the highest levels of the UW, Madison leading non-profits, business sector leaders and public officials.

Letter to the editor: I am a token for the University’s gain

Badger Herald

Sometimes I ask myself, “Why would UW completely fund my education?” I’m here for myself, but I am also here for UW. There are a ton of brilliant black and brown kids in Milwaukee, but for some reason, UW was inspired to recruit me from Washington, D.C. Am I a token? Definitely. I am the projection of their illusion of a racial democracy and diversity. I’ve been given access to this institution as a means to their end.

Regents changing the meaning of tenure — Michael Kissick

Wisconsin State Journal

Letter to the editor from Michael Kissick, Madison, assistant professor and faculty senator: In terms of written law, 100 years of faculty policy that had historically national influence is being reversed by the UW Board of Regents for no good reason.

Rick Cruz: Professors getting just desserts

Capital Times

Waaaaaa. I’m sick of seeing UW-Madison professors with tenure, $200,000 salaries and thousands of hours of sick leave they get to turn into cash payments for health care payments when they retire.

WISC Editorial Agenda 2016

Channel3000.com

Noted: We will encourage our bedrock civic institutions; the UW, United Way, the Madison Community Foundation, Urban League of Greater Madison, Centro Hispano, 100state, Young, Gifted and Black, and more to collaborate and be held accountable for real, innovative, measurable problem solving.

Plain Talk: Why a world-class university matters to Wisconsin

Capital Times

Column: The (Epic founder Judith) Faulkner story is one of a kind, to be sure. But there are hundreds like it involving smaller companies that have been formed by men and women who came here because of what the UW had to offer. That’s why it’s so troubling when the university becomes a whipping boy for politicians who profess they want to make it easier for businesses to create jobs when, in fact, one of the largest job creators is the university itself.

Michel: We need another Carson Gulley

Madison Magazine

Unless you’ve eaten at Carson’s Market on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus or watched local cooking shows on television in the 1950s, you’re probably unfamiliar with the name Carson Gulley. Born the son of Arkansas sharecroppers in 1897, Gulley moved to Madison in 1926 and eventually became head chef of the UW residence halls. Among his many achievements was being the first African American to star in his own local TV program.

Prioritize UW research to fight disease

Wisconsin State Journal

Wisconsin State Journal Editorial: Wisconsin is well-positioned to help find better treatments — and receive even more federal research dollars — because of UW-Madison scientists. Wisconsin also boasts strong health care systems. It has medical experts at hospitals and technology companies across the state

Cost of higher ed should top state’s to-do list

Capital Times

Letter to the editor from McFarland H.S. Senior: I am very aware of the high fees that come with attending a four-year university … This problem should be at the top of Wisconsin’s to-do list. Without proper financial assistance, the students at Wisconsin universities will either be up to their necks in debt after graduation or drop out of school before finishing due to the financial burdens currently being presented.

The weight of words

Badger Herald

As colleges across the country debate diversity on campus, students and leaders at UW grapple with the definition of free speech

Here’s why state support for UW waning

Eau Claire Leader-Telegram

It’s been said often that we’re all fighting our own battles, and for middle-class families and their college-age offspring, a major battle is paying for higher education without incurring staggering long-term debt.

Roach: Trio of films strip the emperor’s clothes

Madison Magazine

Noted: “The Hunting Ground” takes a withering look at how the finest universities in our land, staffed by pedigreed academics espousing the purest of values, callously marginalize female students who dare report rape or sexual assault on their campuses. The film illustrates how too often image protection trumps justice. The film stars a handful of brave young victims who smartly bring legal action against more than seventy colleges and universities for Title IX violations. Schools under federal investigation include Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Notre Dame and the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Lawmakers aim to fix student debt problem they helped create

Wisconsin State Journal

Column from Chris Rickert: “With Wisconsin college students the third most likely in the nation to be weighed down by student loan debt, legislative Democrats have been pushing a proposal to let them refinance their loans with the state, while Republicans on Monday responded with a handful of more modest proposals.”

UW student section chant was immature — Douglas A. Kramer

Wisconsin State Journal

In Sunday’s paper, I read about the UW student section at Saturday’s basketball game twice chanting, “You can’t read,” directing the chant at Maryland player and Wisconsin native Diamond Stone. … Why wasn’t the student section cleared after the first episode? This embarrassment of our flagship university, and of this young man and his family, actually happened twice.

Government is boosting the cost of college

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Christian Schneider opinion column: “[I]t isn’t tuition that is driving the recent explosion in student loan issuance. In fact, it is exactly the other way around — the availability of easy money flooding the market in the form of loans has allowed college administrators to hike tuition to soak up this excess cash.”