The Wisconsin Republican Party has requested copies of certain emails sent by Professor William Cronon, of the University of Wisconsin.
Professor Cronon and His Email: More Wrinkles
Wall Street Journal
Category: State news
Professors Face Scrutiny Over Labor Standoff (NPR Morning Edition)
National Public Radio
An open records request by a conservative think tank in Michigan seeks all emails related to the collective bargaining standoff in Wisconsin from labor studies professors at three public universities.
Opinion: Professors like Bill Cronon should be held to different public records standards
Isthmus
Bill Cronon is definitely one of the last historians at UW-Madison (where I went to grad school) that I would think of as a radical or even as very political. Even his masterwork, Nature?s Metropolis, which I happen to be assigning this semester in my 19th century America class, is marred by an inattention to politics (though still a very fine book, a real model of the craft in many other respects).
UW’s Martin offers compromise plan
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
UW Chancellor Biddy Martin has offered budget language changes aimed at giving other UW campuses more flexibility while maintaining Gov. Scott Walker?s budget proposal that the flagship campus gain autonomy from the rest of the UW System.
University releases some of Prof. Cronon?s e-mails to GOP
Daily Cardinal
UW-Madison released some of Professor William Cronon?s e-mail records to the Republican Party of Wisconsin Friday following the open records request the group filed March 17.
Judge Sumi continues TRO on union law
Daily Cardinal
After listening to testimony from several witnesses Friday, Dane County Judge Maryann Sumi decided to keep the temporary restraining order on the budget repair law.
Judge keeps halt on Walker?s union bill
Badger Herald
A Dane County judge said the temporary restraining order prohibiting publication of the bill limiting collective bargaining rights for public employees would stay in place, despite the continued absence of the Republican defendants.
Marquette Student Hospitalized With Possible Bacterial Meningitis
WISC-TV 3
MILWAUKEE, Wis. — A student at Marquette University has been hospitalized with a possible case of bacterial meningitis. The school said on Sunday that the student lives off-campus. The student?s roommates have already received preventative treatment, and the university is contacting others who may have had direct contact with the student.
Stanley Kutler: Who says it?s not about destroying unions?
Capital Times
…Walker is mugging Wisconsin?s educational tradition. He has proposed cuts of nearly $1 billion in state aid to local school districts while capping their levels of taxation. Apparently he is supporting the idea of spinning the university off from the state system, largely because he now will include all university employees as part of his ?250,000 new jobs.? The state and municipalities have yet to see the impact of his program on recruiting and retaining good teachers. The outcome is all too apparent.
Life goes on. The grass is sprouting on the trampled grounds at the state Capitol, the Legislature is in recess and the governor wants nothing less than a do-over of the 20th century. Meanwhile, killing the bargaining rights of teachers, providing a one-sided grievance and disciplinary process and reducing their incomes apparently are vital parts of the governor?s plan to open the state for ?business.?
(Stanley Kutler, a UW-Madison professor emeritus. This column first appeared on Truthdig.com.)
Collective bargaining law on hold until legislators testify
Wisconsin State Journal
Quoted: Dennis Dresang, professor emeritus of public affairs and political science for the La Follette School of Public Affairs at UW-Madison.
Chris Rickert: Economic impact studies more marketing than science
Wisconsin State Journal
I?m guessing most people who heard about the study last week showing UW-Madison generates some $12.4 billion in state economic activity and supports 128,146 jobs annually didn?t exactly smack their foreheads in surprise. Likewise, they probably wouldn?t have done any head-smacking if the numbers were $5 billion or $20 billion, or if the (surprisingly specific) jobs numbers had been a few thousand higher or lower. Massive numbers about huge institutions and the complicated means by which they are arrived at tend to produce a numbing effect on the human brain.
Michael Olneck: Absence of Cronon coverage questioned
Wisconsin State Journal
State Journal city editor Phil Brinkman?s explanation for that newspaper not covering the controversy over the Freedom of Information Act request for Prof. William Cronon?s emails is unpersuasive.
Chuck Litweiler: GOP: Beware of email fishing expeditions
Wisconsin State Journal
I doubt that Prof. William Cronon thought long and hard about working for the “government” when he signed on with the University of Wisconsin. He shouldn?t have had to….The Republican Party might want to consider that this sort of tactic is not a one-way street and make sure that all Republican office holders are using their government email addresses properly. Otherwise we can count on a lot more fishing expeditions from operatives in both parties.
UW releases some of professor’s emails to GOP; withholds others
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin on Friday released some of the emails requested of a history professor by the state Republican Party but said she is withholding others that “fall within the orbit of academic freedom.” Stephan Thompson, deputy executive director of the state Republican Party, had sought the emails under the state?s open records law after professor Bill Cronon wrote an essay on his blog critical of the role the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council has played in pushing anti-union legislation in Wisconsin and elsewhere.
Tea party, labor spend big in Wis. high court race
Madison.com
Quoted: Charles Franklin, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The Cronon Affair: Wisconsin Answers
The New Yorker
Universities don?t seem to breed much civil courage these days. But the University of Wisconsin is a glorious exception to the rule. When the Republican Party of Wisconsin demanded e-mails sent by and to William Cronon, it was the university?which serves as the official ?record holder? for this purpose?rather than the individual professor that had to answer the request. It has now done so, with two lucid documents that show scrupulous concern for the rights of all involved.
Boo-U students still can get to UW-Madison (Baraboo News Republic)
Proposals to give the University of Wisconsin-Madison independence from the rest of the UW-System and greater management flexibility are not going to lead to excessive tuition or cost students at UW-Baraboo access to the Madison campus, a UW-Madison spokesman said Thursday.
Learn to reciprocate (Minnesota Daily)
More than 10,000 Wisconsin students studying in Minnesota ? the majority of whom attend the University of Minnesota ? could be paying more for college next year. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker wants to end the state?s 43-year-old tuition reciprocity agreement.
Commentary: UW-System priorities: Grow people, jobs, communities
Racine Journal Times
As Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, I fully support the Wisconsin Idea Partnership and its goals to keep the University of Wisconsin System as a unified, world-class provider of higher education and to provide maximum flexibility from state bureaucracy to all UW System campuses. These flexibilities will allow all UW chancellors to lead their campuses in meeting the needs of our regions and our state using 21st century management practices.
UW to release some emails sought by state GOP (AP)
MADISON, Wis. (AP) ? The chancellor of UW-Madison says she will release some of the emails from a history professor requested by the Republican Party of Wisconsin, but she?s withholding others to protect “academic freedom.”
Editorial: Motive is no part of open records law
Appleton Post-Crescent
Let?s keep this as simple as we possibly can: An open record is an open record is an open record.
Olsen column: Remove UW split from budget (Baraboo News Republic)
In 1976, I was elected to the Berlin Area School Board. I ran because I believed that students from Berlin could have futures just as bright as students from anywhere else in Wisconsin. I was concerned that decisions made hundreds of miles away could hurt our kids. For the more than 20 years I served on the board, we strived to do what was best for Berlin?s students.
‘Academic Freedom’ Does Little to Protect the Privacy of a Professor’s E-Mails
Chronicle of Higher Education
Recent efforts by conservative-leaning groups to obtain the e-mails of Michigan and Wisconsin public-university professors have shed light on this much: Citing a need to protect “academic freedom” is, in itself, unlikely to help the universities avoid complying with requests for e-mails under state open-records laws.
Whose E-Mail Is It, Anyway?
Chronicle of Higher Education
Last month, Stephan Thompson, deputy executive director of the Wisconsin Republican Party, filed a request under the state?s open-records law asking the University of Wisconsin at Madison to turn over copies of e-mails from William J. Cronon, a tenured professor of environmental history. The request appears to have been prompted by Cronon?s political activism, including a blog post and an op-ed essay in The New York Times. In both, he criticized Gov. Scott Walker and conservatives in general.
Wisconsin-Madison to Release Professor’s E-Mails but Withhold Those Said to Be Private
Chronicle of Higher Education
The University of Wisconsin at Madison said on Friday that it would release to the state?s Republican Party records a party official had sought from the e-mail account of a Madison professor who had criticized the governor and Republican-backed legislation to curtail the collective-bargaining rights of university and other public employees in the state.
Judge’s Move Puts Indefinite Hold On Collective Bargaining Bill
WISC-TV 3
MADISON, Wis. — A Dane County judge said she?s keeping in place her restraining order preventing a law that would strip most public workers of a majority of their collective bargaining rights from going into effect while she considers whether a law was broken in the process of passing the law.
Judge keeps restraining order in place
Wisconsin Radio Network
A temporary restraining order blocking enactment of the budget repair bill will remain in place until Republican lawmakers can appear in court. The ruling comes after Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne rested his case Friday in a lawsuit claiming passage of the bill violated the open meetings law.
Wisconsin Stands Up for Professor
Inside Higher Education
If the Wisconsin Republican Partys perceived attack on the academic freedom of a prominent faculty member at the University of Wisconsin at Madison was seen as a test for Chancellor Carolyn A. Biddy Martin — with some wondering whether Governor Scott Walkers backing of the universitys push for autonomy would compel her to hold her tongue — she appears to have passed.
UW to release some of professor’s emails to GOP
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin announced Friday that she will release some of the emails from a history professor requested by the Republican Party of Wisconsin, but she is withholding others that “fall within the orbit of academic freedom.”
Union law halted after publication ruled illegal
Daily Cardinal
Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi amended her temporary restraining order Thursday morning, declaring Gov. Scott
Collective bargaining rights hopelessly bill tangled in legislation
Badger Herald
Considering the immense amount of opposition Gov. Scott Walker has faced regarding his controversial collective bargaining rights bill, it should come as no surprise that enacting the bill into law would be an equally torturous journey. That is exactly what is happening.
GOP misuses open records law
Badger Herald
Academic freedom is the hallmark of any great university. Especially in times of societal turmoil and uncertainty, the work of researchers and professors is tantamount to understanding and forward progress.
UW System officials debate UW split at meeting
Badger Herald
University of Wisconsin System officials provided new details of their proposal to gain flexibilities as a united entity in a Joint Finance Committee meeting Thursday, a plan the Madison chancellor has said could pose a risk to the excellence of the system?s flagship campus.
Campus Connection: UW-Madison to release Cronon’s emails
Capital Times
UW-Madison received an open records request from Stephan Thompson, deputy executive director of the state?s Republican Party, for email records of history professor Bill Cronon two weeks ago. On Friday, Chancellor Biddy Martin revealed in a letter to the campus community that the university will release those emails.
DOA to cease implementation of union bill
Badger Herald
The Department of Administration agreed to cease implementation of the governor?s union bill Thursday after a Dane County circuit court judge declared in an amended order the bill?s publication did not make it a law.
Analysis: State Budget Would Balance Without Union Law
WISC-TV 3
MADISON, Wis. — A new analysis shows that as long as state lawmakers approve a budget fix bill proposed by Gov. Scott Walker, the state?s budget would be balanced even if the collective bargaining law currently on hold doesn?t take effect. The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau analysis released Friday shows that the bill expected to be passed Tuesday would balance the budget currently projected to be $137 million short by July 1.
Wisconsin students may have to pay more to attend University of Minnesota under proposal (AP)
Star Tribune
Wisconsin college students would have to pay more to attend the University of Minnesota under a proposal backed by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker that his administration announced Thursday.
Boo-U students still can get to UW-Madison
Proposals to give the University of Wisconsin-Madison independence from the rest of the UW-System and greater management flexibility are not going to lead to excessive tuition or cost students at UW-Baraboo access to the Madison campus, a UW-Madison spokesman said Thursday.
Campus Connection: Faculty at UW-Stevens Point votes to unionize
Capital Times
Faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point voted Thursday to form a union with collective bargaining rights through AFT-Wisconsin, a statewide labor federation affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers. The vote was 283 to 15 in favor of union representation, AFT-Wisconsin said in a news release.
The state of our health, and health of our state
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
What is needed? Improving health outcomes requires policy initiatives supporting all four health determinant areas: health behaviors, socioeconomic factors, health care access and physical environment. Of those, policies that focus on reducing poverty and unemployment and on increasing graduation rates and social support will have the biggest impact on improving health across the state.
University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers analyzed policies and programs with scientific evidence that they improve the socioeconomic factors that drive health, including wage supports for working poor (e.g., expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit) and other programs for poor and working class families (e.g., comprehensive early childhood education and development programs, such as Head Start).
Groups seek emails of Democratic lawmakers
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
At least two politically minded groups have made extensive open records requests for emails sent and received by state legislators, two of the groups confirmed Thursday. A third group has made at least one such request.
Story refers to the request by the state GOP for some of UW-Madison professor Bill Cronon’s email.
On Topic: New Public Service Commission chairman no fan of regulation
Capital Times
Though its regulatory powers have been watered down over the past few decades, the Public Service Commission is still the body that provides a check on basic telephone rate increases and, among other things, makes sure that people?s heat is not turned off during cold Wisconsin winters because of unpaid utility bills. That?s why some find former state lawmaker Phil Montgomery?s appointment to chair the Public Service Commission hard to swallow.
Quoted: UW-Madison telecommunications professor Barry Orton
Wis. judge to look at how union law was passed
Madison.com
Having declared that Wisconsin?s divisive union law isn?t really a law yet, a judge was set to return to one of the underlying questions dogging the measure _ whether Republicans violated the state?s open meetings law during the frenzied run-up to passage.
Republican Gov. Scott Walker?s administration reluctantly suspended efforts to enact the law Thursday after Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi unexpectedly declared the measure hadn?t been properly published. The move marked another round in a messy legal fight over the law, which requires most public workers to pay more for their benefits and strips away most of their collective bargaining rights.
Wis. governor halts plans to implement union law
USA Today
A Wisconsin judge on Thursday did what thousands of pro-union protesters and boycotting Democratic lawmakers couldn?t, forcing Republican Gov. Scott Walker to halt plans to implement a law that would strip most public workers of their collective bargaining rights and cut their pay.
Break-up of university system considered by panel
Madison.com
The chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus urged state lawmakers Thursday to support Gov. Scott Walker?s proposal spinning it off from the university system. The future of the university system is one of the largest and most divisive issues in Walker?s budget. UW System President Kevin Reilly argued for giving the other campuses more autonomy but keeping the system intact. “I will be the first to agree that these flexibilities are important for UW-Madison,” Reilly said. “They are, but they are equally important to all other UW campuses.” Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin, who has pushed more than a year to get more freedom for Madison, said the campus needs a model that will allow it to thrive. “We?re in a race and were tired of listening to words and we?re tired of the same structures that aren?t getting us to where we need to go,” Martin said.
Wis. students may pay more to attend UMinn. (AP)
Madison.com
Wisconsin college students would have to pay more to attend the University of Minnesota under a proposal backed by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker that his administration announced Thursday. Walker is asking the Legislature?s Joint Finance Committee to approve a change to the two states? 43-year-old tuition reciprocity program that would save Wisconsin money by making students who go to Minnesota pay more. The reciprocity program allows Wisconsin and Minnesota college-bound students to pay instate tuition even if they attend public universities in the other state. This year it costs about $3,000 more in tuition and fees to attend the University of Minnesota than it does to go to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Under the deal, the state of Wisconsin makes up the difference for students who decide to go to Minnesota. That subsidy would end under Walker?s proposal, which means Wisconsin students would have to pay all of the higher Minnesota resident tuition.
Professor drama deepens (Milwaukee News Buzz)
?Yesterday was among the craziest of my entire life,? UW-Madison history professor William Cronon wrote on his blog last week, describing how news of the Wisconsin Republican Party records request seeking emails from his university account had ?gone viral in a very big way.?
Senator tells university leaders to stop fighting over UW-Madison autonomy issue
Wisconsin State Journal
A senator on the state?s powerful budget committee told university leaders to stop arguing over the fate of UW-Madison within the University of Wisconsin System. “Rather than fighting, sit down and work together so we can move this university system and UW-Madison campus forward,” said Sen. Luther Olsen, R-Ripon. His comments came after some three hours of testimony from UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin and UW System President Kevin Reilly before the Joint Finance Committee.
Wis. judge to look at how union law was passed (AP)
Madison.com
Quoted: University of Wisconsin-Madison law professor Howard Schweber.
Break-up of university system considered by panel (AP)
BusinessWeek
The chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus urged state lawmakers Thursday to support Gov. Scott Walker?s proposal spinning it off from the university system. UW President Kevin Reilly argued for keeping the flagship campus under the umbrella of the larger system.
Editorial: Pursue The Partnership (Channel3000.com)
WISC-TV 3
It?s safe to say when this editorial board initiated its support for UW Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin?s flexibility and accountability proposal for the Madison campus we did not foresee a UW separate from the rest of the UW System. We?re still not quite sure how the New Badger Partnership ended up as a stand alone authority.
UW System President Argues Against Madison Leaving
WISC-TV 3
University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly is trying to convince state lawmakers not to allow the flagship Madison campus to operate independently as Gov. Scott Walker has proposed.
Wis. students may pay more to attend schools in Minnesota
WKOW-TV 27
More Wisconsin college students may stay in-state if the reciprocity agreement between Wisconsin and Minnesota changes.
DOA stops implementing collective bargaining law
WKOW-TV 27
MADISON (WKOW) — After another ruling by a Dane County Judge the Department of Administration stops implementing the collective bargaining law.
UW System testifies before Joint Finance Committee on UW split
WKOW-TV 27
More authority for all schools in the UW System. That?s what system president Kevin Reilly called for Thursday morning.
Governor Says He’ll Halt Plans On Union Law
WISC-TV 3
MILWAUKEE — Gov. Scott Walker said he?ll comply with a Dane County circuit judge?s order halting enactment of a law that would strip most public workers of their collective bargaining rights.
Martin?s message: let UW Madison thrive
Wisconsin Radio Network
Biddy Martin explained her plans to split the Madison campus from the UW System to state lawmakers at the Capitol on Thursday. The UW Madison chancellor made the pitch for her Badger Partnership plan to members of the legislature?s Joint Finance Committee. ?Let us adopt a model that allows us to thrive,? said Martin. ?Let the other campuses have the flexibilities that are appropriate their their revenue mix, their administrative capacities, their specific missions, so they to can thrive.? Martin suggested amending Governor Scott Walker?s budget, which incorporates the Badger Partnership, so the other UW campuses ?get what they need.?
Agreement in Oregon (for Now)
Inside Higher Education
In contrast to some other states (yes, that means you, Wisconsin), Oregon?s politicians and the leaders of its public colleges and universities are on the same page about changes the state should make in how it manages higher education. But don?t blink, or you might miss the moment.
Report says UW-Madison generates billions of dollars for the state
Wisconsin Public Radio
A new report says that UW-Madison generates more than $12 billion a year in economic activity in Wisconsin and supports nearly 130,000 jobs across the state. The school?s chancellor says those numbers are a good reason for the campus to have more independence.
UW System testifies before Joint Finance Committee on UW split
WKOW-TV 27
MADISON (WKOW) — More authority for all schools in the UW System. That?s what system president Kevin Reilly called for Thursday morning.
“This is not the time to break up a well-running UW System,” Reilly said. The UW System President renewed his call for greater control at the university level – proposed in the Wisconsin Ideas Partnership. Reilly is opposed to Walker?s plan — supported by UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin — to spin off the Madison campus from the rest of the system.