Kevin Barrett is a lucky, lucky guy.
Against all odds â?? from skeptical University of Wisconsin administrators to scathing criticisms by newspapers across the nation â?? Mr. Barrett survived the fall semester and the controversy surrounding his course, â??Islam: Religion and Culture.â? In fact, he did far more than simply survive the term: He emerged from the entire episode with bragging rights, thanks to glowing reviews from his students.
…public education must be our highest priority, and somehow we must find the money to fund schools properly; the UW and civil servants could develop a computer system to overhaul Workforce Development, create voter rolls and figure out who is eligible to vote.
We need strong civil service and confidence in our university. Not more outsourcing or privatization.
This is just the kind of news I didn’t want to hear. A UW-Madison microbiologist warns that tomorrow’s cause of global warming might be dirt.
Yes, dirt.
At least, that’s the hypothesis of Teri Balser, an assistant professor of soil science.
Gov. Jim Doyle’s request for lawmakers to include health insurance coverage for the domestic partners of state employees, including the UW system, should be made a priority as part of Wisconsin’s 2007-2009 budget.
Touting tax cuts and increased funding for education, Gov. Jim Doyle claimed Tuesday night that his two-year opportunity budget would take the squeeze off middle-class families and college-bound Wisconsinites. Doyle did not, however, mention where he intended to plant the money trees that will fund the tax cuts and university aid.
Global warming coverage has been building to a crescendo these last weeks and reached a peak and turning point on Feb. 2 with the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scientific assessment group’s Summary for Policymakers.
Starting next fall, the UW System will finally use the â??holisticâ? admissions approach that UW-Madison initiated years ago. We could not be more pleased.
The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents unanimously voted Friday to extend the â??holisticâ? admissions policy already in place at the UW-Madison to other system schools.
Yesterday, Gov. Jim Doyle announced a breakthrough collaborative effort between the University of Wisconsinâ??s WiCell stem-cell bank and the United Kingdomâ??s stem-cell bank. For most present, the press conference was another strong push in the direction of improved stem-cell research.
Crime everywhere! In the dorms, in the streets, in our own backyard! Scared yet? Didnâ??t think so. There is a good reason why â?? weâ??re all living in a bubble. Yet, now might be the time to step outside.
It took Alando Tucker only one shot to score the 2,000th point of his University of Wisconsin men’s basketball career Saturday at the Kohl Center.
Fortunately for the Badgers, their senior forward didn’t stop there.
Aside from the irony of watching college football’s most notorious hold-up artist, Barry Alvarez, playing the part of the guy with his hands in the air for a change, there was nothing unusual about the five-year, $7.5 million contract the University of Wisconsin gave to coach Bret Bielema last week. In terms of compensation, the deal was fair for both sides.
“The current governor shall be king of Wisconsin for life.”
Believe it or not, Gov. Jim Doyle could have used his vast veto powers to sign this sentence into law as part of the state budget.
I made up and punched the sentence into the “Veto-Matic” and voila! — a Wisconsin monarchy. All Doyle would need is a moat and castle in Maple Bluff. But, alas, the Veto-Matic couldn’t find “moat” or “castle” among the 217,000 words in the state’s 2005-2007 spending plan.
You too can play God . . . I mean, governor, at www.vetomatic.com. The Web site is the brainchild of UW-Madison mechanical engineering student Dale Emmons.
Three years ago, the three Kipnes daughters were in a New Jersey salon getting pedicures. The sisters, all UW-Madison grads who now work for their father, an intellectual property attorney in New Jersey, are Erika Whitman (class of ’93), Pamela Karp (’97) and Deanna Kipnes (’04). They were lamenting the weather as their toenail polish was applied.
To score 2,000 points in the Big Ten is scarcely a backhanded compliment, but it does imply the kind of longevity not always associated with greatness. The really special ones – the Magic Johnsons, the Isiah Thomases, the Glenn Robinsons – didn’t hang around long enough to qualify for the semi-exclusive club.
Alando Tucker became the 24th member Saturday when his Wisconsin Badgers continued their Panzer-like swath across the college basketball landscape with a 74-62 victory against Iowa. Tucker is a senior, a rarity for a player who projects as a first-round NBA pick, yet it was a series of injuries that helps account for his full undergraduate experience.
â??If you guys are going to drink alcohol in a fun, responsible manner… I say go for it.â? A recent UW-Madison graduate made this statement to thousands of freshmen last fall at the Class of 2009 welcome rally.
Earlier this week, the University of Wisconsin wrapped up the last of three visits from candidates hoping to be the next dean of students. Because the position has such a direct effect on students, UW officials wisely chose to include a forum in which students could meet and evaluate each candidate.
Campus administrators and students regularly lament the lack of racial and ethnic diversity at UW-Madison. They typically complain about the oppressiveness of the ââ?¬Å?sea of white facesââ?¬Â they see on Bascom Hill.
What kind of minority student representation would be required so everyone could agree that race/ethnic diversity has been achieved? Nobody has answered that question satisfactorily nor is it clear if much serious thought has been given to the question.
Regent President David Walsh spilled the beans about diversity and the proposed ââ?¬Å?holisticââ?¬Â approach to admissions policy at last weekââ?¬â?¢s Regent hearing. He did so by characterizing the new Freshman Admissions Policy as a ââ?¬Å?race-consciousââ?¬Â policy.
Depending on which way you cross the Minnesota-Wisconsin border to attend a state college, you could stand to gain or lose anywhere from $1000 to $3000 in yearly tuition payments, thanks to a widening tuition gap between the states.
In March, the UW System Board of Regents will consider a proposal by the UW-Madison School of Business to raise tuition $500 per semester for business majors and $150 for business certificate students. This plan would align the business school with most of the Big Tenââ?¬â?only Minnesota doesnââ?¬â?¢t have differential tuition for B-school majorsââ?¬â?as well as UW-Milwaukee, which for years has charged business students a premium.
Live from the State Capitol Tuesday night, Gov. Jim Doyle flexed his muscles and articulated lofty plans in his annual State of the State address. As the keystone of his education platform, Doyle reaffirmed his commitment to the Wisconsin Covenant.
Quoted: Fran�§ois Ortalo-Magn�©, a real estate economist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
At first glance, the University of Wisconsin is thriving just as much as any other public university in the country. Enrollment is soaring: The number of new students has been steadily increasing since 2001, with each crop of freshmen possessing better academic records than the class before.
Susan Heegaard, executive director of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, sent a letter to the Wisconsin Higher Education Aids Board last week calling for a change in the Minnesota-Wisconsin reciprocity agreement.
With all of America�s advancements in science and technology, our legal system should be adept at finding the truth in most of today�s murder cases. On Jan. 23, Roy Brown was released from prison after serving 15 years on a murder conviction.
In the next 800 words, you’re going to meet my new favorite coach. But first you have to guess who he is. Hint No. 1: Nobody in any division of college basketball won a higher percentage of his games (.908) in the ’90s than he did. (Login required.)
According to the Wisconsin Higher Educational Aids Board, grants are ââ?¬Å?ââ?¬Ë?giftââ?¬â?¢ aid; they do not have to be repaid.ââ?¬Â But if state Rep. Suzanne Jeskewitz, R-Menomonee Falls, has her way, grant-funded students will repay each dollar per course in which they earn sub-ââ?¬Ë?Cââ?¬â?¢ grades.
The dean of students position has been filled on an interim basis since former Dean of Students Luoluo Hong left the University of Wisconsin on a sour note in June 2005. Things will change this semester, however, when Chancellor John Wiley and Provost Patrick Farrell select a permanent replacement.
Ever get bugged during dinner by those earnest students shilling for their university’s endowment fund?
Feel free to use my excellent line: “Sorry, love to help you. But I’m still waiting for my college education to pay off.”
Heh, heh.
UW admissions policies regarding race are currently being debated.While many state officials oppose affirmative action, proponents of ââ?¬Å?comprehensive admissions,ââ?¬Â including Chancellor Wiley, believe it promotes diversity and equality.
Last fall, UW System President Kevin Reilly asked the Board of Regents to implement a ââ?¬Å?holisticââ?¬Â freshman admissions policy at all UW campuses. The policyââ?¬â?which has been used effectively at UW-Madison for yearsââ?¬â?requires admissions officers to consider non-academic factors in evaluating prospective students, while maintaining the primacy of academic factors. Non-academic factors include race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, motivation, leadership qualities and legacy status, among other things.
It’s Audrey Seiler meets Lonelygirl15 and it’s coming to YouTube this week.
Columnist Michael Hunt says Alando Tucker is the best player ever in UW basketball history.
How to solve Wisconsinââ?¬â?¢s ââ?¬Å?brain drainââ?¬Â? Looming over the head of the state Legislature for years, the ââ?¬Å?brain drainââ?¬Â conundrum is a complex problem to solve. One definitively wrong way to solve it? Free tuition.
Pat Richter attends University of Wisconsin men’s basketball games as a fan these days, and Richter the fan is thrilled that Richter the athletic director didn’t succeed in hiring Rick Majerus as UW’s coach in 2001.
Asked if he is happy today that Majerus jilted him six years ago, Richter’s response was emphatic.
“Oh, yeah,” he said recently.
There is a certain risk to making such calls, kind of like the peril that came with declaring Ohio State and Michigan the best football teams in the land well before the fact.
But with marginally less chance for damage control three months hence, we will proceed to the edge of this sturdy limb and pronounce Wisconsin as a Final Four team right here and now.
Author Gregory Krohm is a professor of actuarial science, risk management and insurance at the University of Wisconsin. The article “A New Season?” appears in the winter issue of the Cato Institute’s Regulation Magazine.
In case you missed Sunday’s New York Times story on Downtown Madison, I’ll give you the Cliffs Notes version:
Downtown revived.
Condos appear.
Drunken students plague new residents.
If you have been following the funeral ceremonies for former President Ford during the past few days, you might have noticed the presence of his pastor.
The Rev. Robert Certain led prayers for Ford at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Palm Desert, Calif., days after Ford died. Certain also led the procession of the late president’s casket into the Capitol Saturday, presided at Ford’s state funeral Tuesday and will lead services today at the Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Certain is somewhat known in Madison. His brother, Phillip, is the former dean of the College of Letters and Science at UW-Madison, and Robert Certain visits here frequently.
Inviting Ward Connerly to speak to a special Wisconsin legislative committee studying affirmative action is like inviting the grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan to address a hearing on race relations.
….The irony is the embarrassing Grothman and Connerly show is taking place at a time when the University of Wisconsin System has a serious problem with affirmative action. Namely, we don’t have nearly enough of it.
Some major corporations have stopped job recruitment on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus because executives say the lack of racial diversity on the campus does not properly prepare students to succeed in their companies after graduation.
I learned about the Aramaic term earlier this week when I ran into Dr. Manucher Javid, a retired UW-Madison neurosurgeon who has made it part of his life’s work to introduce members of Downtown Rotary to the beauty and variety of the world’s religions.
An oft-heard complaint about the University of Wisconsin-Madison, justified or otherwise, is that its academic and research fruit falls close to the tree. It has world-class scientists and well-developed mechanisms for turning their best ideas into products or services, but most of that commercialization takes place within a half-hour drive from campus.
Not that flags can flutter on the airless surface of the moon, but if they could, the international lunar base camp on NASA’s drawing boards would be a prime spot to hoist Wisconsin’s colors. Cites UW-Madison technology advances. A column by Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council.
Certainly, it’s a relief that police have arrested and charged Antonio Pope with kidnapping and raping two UW- Madison students. Despite Pope’s arrest, troubling questions remain.
Way back when I was covering the Wisconsin Legislature we had a Republican state senator who spent much of his political career attacking the University of Wisconsin.
….Today’s Gordon Roseleip, the shoot-from-the-lip assemblyman from the Whitewater area, Steve Nass, has been rewarded for his over-the-top confrontations. The Assembly Republican leadership has put him in charge of the Colleges and Universities Committee, where he has the potential to do untold damage to the system.
It’s one thing to hold the UW administrators to account for their mistakes and misdeeds. It’s quite another, though, to punish the entire system – students, faculty and everyone else connected to the schools – in the mean-spirited “get even” way in which Nass specializes.
….
Yippee! They’d be getting a new chairman of the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities. They happily ripped open the shiny new package, only to find inside the Legislature’s version of the killer Chucky doll: Rep. Stephen Nass, R- Whitewater.
Criminal background checks are commonplace in the working world. Fortunately, the UW System Board of Regents voted Friday to join the club, adopting a policy requiring background checks for all potential employees.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has lobbied hard for a school of public health at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee throughout the past year. This is understandable ââ?¬â? he is the cityââ?¬â?¢s mayor, and heââ?¬â?¢s actively trying to rectify what he believes is a key liability of Wisconsinââ?¬â?¢s most populous municipality: poor public health.
Free tuition in exchange for 10 years of living and working in Wisconsin ââ?¬â? sound like a fair deal? This is one of many ideas the state education reform commission is considering to improve Wisconsinââ?¬â?¢s schools and economy.
What if Wisconsin voters in the recent election had been asked, as Michigan voters were, to amend the state constitution to “ban public institutions from using affirmative action programs that give preferential treatment to groups or individuals based on their race, gender, color, ethnicity or national origin for public employment, education or contracting purposes”?
Quoted: Alfred McCoy, professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Buildings across campus sport signs proudly proclaiming UW-Madisonââ?¬â?¢s ââ?¬Å?We Conserveââ?¬Â campaign to slash energy consumption 20 percent on a per-square-foot basis by 2010. UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley said the program, announced in May, ââ?¬Å?will encourage smart energy use that will help protect the environment.ââ?¬Â
The Student Rights Coalition published a column Tuesday expressing their distaste for a recent decision by University of Wisconsin Chancellor John Wiley. The group criticized Mr. Wiley for enforcing an order by the Board of Regents to disallow the use of student-segregated fees to fund off-campus facilities for student organizations.
Much of the rhetoric surrounding the gay marriage ban last month claimed that its passage would eliminate the possibility of UW-Madison ever offering its employees domestic partner benefits. In meetings beginning Thursday, the UW Board of Regents may try to skirt the amendment and offer those benefits anyway in its unclassified pay plan.
In writing for the majority in the U.S. Supreme Court�s landmark 2003 ruling in Grutter v. Bollinger, Justice Sandra Day O�Connor found the University of Michigan Law School�s use of affirmative action as part of its admissions process to be constitutional, so long as it is narrowly tailored and not reliant on a quota system (as was the downfall for Grutter�s companion case, Gratz v. Bollinger, in which the court struck down Michigan�s undergraduate bonus point system for minority applicants).
When Tom Flynn hears “Merry Christmas!,” he hears an implied insult coming from conservative Christians reasserting their dominance at a time when America is growing more diverse.Flynn is waging “war on Christmas,” and he says his side, the “Happy holidays!” crowd, is winning.The secular humanist will bring his message to the UW- Madison campus tonight, when he talks about “The Real War on Christmas.”
University of Wisconsin administration sent a memo Nov. 16 to the Student Services Finance Committee (SSFC) stating that university segregated fees can no longer be used to fund the rent of groups in non-university buildings.
Professional poker playerI grew up in Madison. While I now live on the West Coast, I love Madison, return regularly (every Christmas and summer) and will always consider Wisconsin home.It is also the state where I lived my formative years, attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, learned the art of poker at the Memorial Union, and launched my poker-playing career at locations throughout the state.
As second-year medical students at the Medical College of Wisconsin, we speak on behalf of many other medical students in support of the college’s circulatory control laboratory using dogs. An opinion column by three medical students.
