Two thousand miles away, a handful of students held a largely silent protest at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Camp Randall Stadium. No arrests were made, the Associated Press reported.
Graduation Ceremonies Marked by Protests
TIME
Category: State news
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Protesters Agree to End Encampment
The New York Times
That approach differed from one at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where administrators in early May called in the police to break down the tents after negotiations failed. After the initial crackdown failed to end the encampment, Wisconsin-Madison later came to an agreement with protesters to break down the camp voluntarily before commencement ceremonies over the weekend.
UW-Madison offers proposed resolution to protesters to end encampment
WKOW
Tensions persist between students and administration at the University of Wisconsin-Madison over an encampment at Library Mall, now in its tenth day of protest. Demonstrators are calling for the university to sever all ties with Israeli institutions.
UW-Madison says protesters have until 4 p.m. to remove tents
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison officials and pro-Palestinian protesters said they’re willing to meet again Thursday, a day after protest leaders walked out of discussions.
Republican legislators launch audit of DEI activities in Wisconsin state agencies
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Members of the Legislature’s Joint Audit Committee voted Tuesday on party lines to approve an audit of all diversity, equity and inclusion activities within the state’s executive agencies — a move that runs counter to policies and priorities laid out by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
Republican lawmakers order audit into DEI initiatives at state agencies, UW
Wisconsin Public Radio
Republican lawmakers are ordering a review into initiatives that aim to promote diversity, equity and inclusion within state government.
Legislative Republicans launch audit of diversity, inclusion efforts at Wisconsin agencies, UW system
Wisconsin State Journal
Legislative Republicans plan to put the use of diversity, equity and inclusion positions within state government and the Universities of Wisconsin under a microscope with a new audit approved Tuesday.
Wisconsin lawmakers vote to audit state DEI initiatives
The Associated Press
In December he forced Universities of Wisconsin regents to freeze diversity hires, re-label about 40 diversity positions as “student success” positions, drop an affirmative action hiring program at UW-Madison in exchange for funding to cover staff raises and construction projects. Vos said after the deal was complete that he wanted an in-depth review of diversity initiatives across state government.
Wisconsin Republicans approve audit of DEI in state government
The Capital Times
The review of how state agencies are using DEI was promised by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, after a protracted battle between top GOP legislators and the Universities of Wisconsin over programs to support people of color and other historically disadvantaged groups.
Democrats target Republicans on budget committee, aim for control of Legislature
Wisconsin Examiner
Wikler said the campaign is to “hold Republican politicians to account for refusing to do what most Wisconsinites want on critical issues like hospital closures, the closures of University of Wisconsin campuses and funding from settlements about opioid addiction. Critical issues where most Wisconsinites want the same thing but these Republican politicians are playing political games that affect people’s lives.”
How campus protests could impact young voter turnout in Wisconsin
CBS 58
Young voters in Wisconsin are a crucial voting block for both parties, and with protest activity on college campuses against the war in Gaza ramping up, some fear it could hurt Democrats this fall.
The UniverCity Alliance in central Wisconsin
Wisconsin Public Radio The UniverCity Alliance in Central Wisconsin
An innovative program at UW-Madison is connecting communities throughout Wisconsin to education, outreach, technical assistance and research to help local governments solve challenges and improve livability and wellbeing.
After record outbreak, Wisconsin could see another bad year for spongy moths
Wisconsin Public Radio
PJ Liesch, an entomologist with the Division of Extension at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said defoliation could slow the growth of trees that may be logged for lumber. From a forest health perspective, it could also leave them vulnerable to secondary pests like the two lined chestnut borer. The insect, a native relative of the invasive emerald ash borer, typically targets weaker oak trees and starts killing branches in the upper canopy.
With spongy moth increasing for several years now, Liesch said there’s a lot of stressed oak trees. “So the secondary insects and problems can start popping up, and then it’s a very slippery slope leading to tree death in some situations,” Liesch said.
Another first for Wisconsin civil rights leader Vel Phillips: Statue in capitol
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
She has the distinction of being the first to do a lot of things. In 1951, she became the first Black woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School.
Addressing Wisconsin’s teacher shortage
WORT FM
On the Friday 8 O’Clock Buzz with Andy Moore, Dean Diana Hess from UW-Madison’s School of Education discusses the critical need for teachers in Wisconsin and the innovative Wisconsin Teacher Pledge program.
UW-Madison Hosts Panel On Nationwide Cuts To Higher Education Funding
WORT FM
Across the country, state lawmakers are cutting funding to their most prominent public universities.
That dwindling support for higher education was the subject of a panel at UW-Madison earlier this evening – and the School of Education’s Dr. Taylor Odlewas one of the panelists.
UW to vacate Richland campus 1 year after college classes ended
Wisconsin Public Radio
The Universities of Wisconsin will vacate a former two-year college in Richland County this summer, despite months of discussions with local officials who once hoped to save the former two-year college. County leaders say they’re now facing a potential “economic crisis.”
In an Election Year, 10 University Museums Focus on Democracy
The New York Times
Museums at the University of Michigan, Rutgers University, U.C.L.A. and University of Wisconsin-Madison, all part of the coalition, are involved in voter registeration or will serve as polling places for the 2024 presidential election.
A conservative quest to limit diversity programs gains momentum in states
The Associated Press
University of Wisconsin regents agreed in December to shift at least 43 diversity positions to focus on “student success” and eliminate statements supporting diversity on student applications. The actions were part of a deal with lawmakers to release funding for pay raises and campus construction projects.
Are Democrats right that Republicans are to blame for low state funding for UW System?
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Outside reports released earlier this month showed warning signs for the financial viability of the University of Wisconsin System’s universities and signaled future cuts to the state’s public campuses.
It’s the grocery bill, stupid. Why Wisconsin is gloomy heading into election.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Column by Menzie Chinn, professor of Public Affairs and Economics in the UW-Madison’s La Follette School of Public Affairs and Department of Economics.
A conservative quest to limit diversity programs gains momentum in states
ABC News
A similar bill barring mandatory DEI statements in higher education passed Wisconsin’s Republican-led legislature but got vetoed by the Democratic governor.
Sustainable energy at home and in the community
Wisconsin Public Radio
Gov. Tony Evers increases Wisconsin’s commitment to plant 100 million trees by 2030
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The governor told cabinet members and state employees gathered at Governor Nelson State Park on Monday that he was a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison when Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970 — a result of Wisconsin’s former governor and senator Gaylord Nelson’s advocacy.
UW-Madison extends financial support for education students who stay in Wisconsin to teach
Wisconsin State Journal
The program supports students going into teaching by paying the equivalent of in-state tuition and fees, testing and licensing if the student, once graduated, spends four years teaching in a Wisconsin school district. The extension was made possible by $8 million in donations, according to a statement from the school.
UW extends free teaching degrees for grads who stay in state
The Capital Times
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s education school is extending its Wisconsin Teacher Pledge for a third time in an aim to address teacher shortages across the state.
A case before the Wisconsin Supreme Court could reshape state government. Here’s what to know
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Evers sued GOP lawmakers in October over decisions to withhold pay raises for University of Wisconsin System employees and to block conservation projects, arguing such actions made by legislative committees rather than the full Legislature violate the state Constitution’s separation of powers requirements.
Biden Courts Wisconsin Student Vote (And It’s Mostly Working)
HuffPost
“I’m going to be voting for Joe Biden because Donald Trump has proven time and again that he’s not interested in continuing democracy,” said Dylan Goldman, a 19-year-old student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison who is from Florida. “While I think Joe Biden is too old to be president, I’ve been left with no other choice.”
Parts of Wisconsin brace for noisy, rare cicadas — who’s most impacted?
CBS 58
PJ Liesch, an extension entomologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, compared it to the recent solar eclipse because “you only have so many opportunities in your life to witness something like it.”
“This year we are talking billions, if not, trillions of cicadas,” Liesch said.
Wisconsin public universities face challenging financial futures, according to reports
Wisconsin Examiner
University of Wisconsin schools are facing challenging financial futures without major changes, according to recent campus financial reports.
Several factors have led to campuses’ financial difficulties including declining state support on an inflation-adjusted basis over the last decade, the impacts of the decade-long tuition freeze that ended in 2022, declining enrollment and inflation.
Eviction filings have spiked in Dane County. A new report looks at why.
Wisconsin Public Radio
“Available housing is incredibly low,” said Grace Kobe, who co-directs the University of Wisconsin Law School’s Eviction Defense Clinic, which is part of the partnership. “And so much of that housing that is being built is not affordable, and so when folks are facing eviction, or not facing eviction and just trying to find somewhere to go, their options are so incredibly limited here.”
‘UW System is the economic engine of our state’: Gov. Evers requests lawmakers to fund Universities of Wisconsin
Spectrum News
Gov. Tony Evers announced a push Friday calling on the Legislature to approve more funding for the Universities of Wisconsin.
Evers called it the largest increase in state support for the university system in more than two decades.
What to know about new statue memorializing Vel Phillips at Wisconsin Capitol
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
In 1951, Velvalea Phillips became the first Black woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School and in 1956, she became the first woman and first Black member of the Milwaukee Common Council.
Gov. Tony Evers urges increased funding for UW system after audits show fiscal strains
Wisconsin State Journal
Gov. Tony Evers is calling on the GOP-led Legislature to increase funding for the Universities of Wisconsin after the system’s leaders released a slate of third-party financial audits that showed half of its schools are in financial trouble.
Seven organizations the far right is targeting for diversity efforts post-affirmative action
The Guardian
Last Friday, the Wisconsin Bar and the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty reached a partial settlement. Under the terms, beginning this September, the program will be open to all first-year law students attending either Marquette University Law School or the University of Wisconsin Law School who are in good standing. Specifically, the bar is prevented from stating, suggesting or insinuating “in its materials that only law students from diverse backgrounds, with backgrounds that have been historically excluded from the legal field, or who have been socially disadvantaged are eligible”.
Compensation for Wisconsin teachers dropped 19% since 2010, report finds
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
New programs are working to fill the gaps. A new University of Wisconsin-Madison Special Education Teacher Residency Program covers the cost of an in-state resident’s master’s degree in special education and provides a stipend for students who agree to work at Milwaukee Public Schools. And the new Wisconsin Special Educators Induction Program provides coaching and training for new special education teachers.
WATCH: Biden visits Wisconsin to announce student debt relief for more than 30 million
PBS NewsHour
Biden will make the announcement on Monday in Madison, the state’s liberal capital and home of the University of Wisconsin’s flagship campus. The president is scheduled to speak at a nearby technical college.
Biden pitches up to $20,000 of interest relief in sweeping student debt relief plan
POLITICO
It’s no coincidence Biden chose Madison to deliver his remarks on student loan debt relief. Not only is it the county seat of Dane County, one of the bluest enclaves of the state, it is also the state capital and home of the University of Wisconsin with its student body population of 50,600 students.
More Than Half a Million Democratic Voters Have Told Biden: Save Gaza!
The Nation
“This is a big, f**king deal,” declared US Representative Mark Pocan, a Wisconsin Democrat, after his state voted Tuesday. Pocan was responding to the news that more than 30 percent of voters in precincts where University of Wisconsin–Madison students reside had answered the call of the “Listen to Wisconsin” coalition of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian activists to “[take] urgent action—with our ‘uninstructed’ votes this April—to shift American policy toward an agenda of justice in Gaza.”
Wisconsin’s bar association agrees to change diversity definition in settlement
CBS Minnesota
On its website, the bar association says the program is for University of Wisconsin and Marquette University law school students “with backgrounds that have been historically excluded from the legal field.” But the lawsuit alleged that is a new focus and that the program has historically been touted as a way to increase racial diversity among attorneys at law firms, private companies and in government.
Biden will talk about student debt relief in Wisconsin after primary voting delivered warning signs
AP
Biden was making the announcement Monday in Madison, the state’s liberal capital and home of the University of Wisconsin’s flagship campus.
State Bar of Wisconsin agrees to change diversity definition in lawsuit settlement
Washington Post
On its website, the bar association says the program is for University of Wisconsin and Marquette University law school students “with backgrounds that have been historically excluded from the legal field.” But the lawsuit alleged that is a new focus and that the program has historically been touted as a way to increase racial diversity among attorneys at law firms, private companies and in government.
UW-Madison wraps up 175th anniversary celebration with ‘ultimate campus experience’
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison is celebrating its 175th anniversary with a weekend of open houses and events on campus, for what the university is calling “the ultimate campus experience.”
UW system undergrad tuition to increase for second straight year
The Capital Times
UW system President Jay Rothman proposed the 3.75% increase last week, and the Board of Regents unanimously approved the hike Thursday at a meeting at UW-Platteville. No one spoke in opposition to the increase during the meeting.
UW system Board of Regents approves tuition hike; paid parental leave is coming
Wisconsin State Journal
The Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents on Thursday approved tuition increases that average 3.75% for the system’s 13 universities, about $387 more per year. With annual tuition and segregated fees factored in, the increase amounts to 4.4% for 2024-25, the university said.
UW Board of Regents vote to raise tuition system-wide
Wisconsin Public Radio
The base tuition rate for resident undergraduates will increase by 3.75 percent. This is the second increase in two years since a tuition freeze was lifted. Tuition increased by an average of 5 percent for this school year.
Now that the 2 Wisconsin referendums passed, what’s next and what don’t we know about them yet?
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School also examined the referendum language and found that Wisconsin didn’t lay out some exceptions that other states have.
“Even states that have restricted the use of private funding or resources have often included exceptions for common donations, such as private spaces for use as polling locations or food and beverages for poll workers,” staff attorney Emily Lau wrote in an analysis of the referendums.
Trump attacks immigration in return to Wisconsin
Wisconsin Public Radio
Samantha Crowley, a medical student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said during the Biden campaign’s press conference that a national abortion ban would “take away the reproductive freedoms” of over 1 million Wisconsin women. She said Trump’s largely taken credit for the Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision getting overturned.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson wins reelection in landslide victory
Wisconsin Public Radio
Johnson grew up in the city’s troubled 53206 zip code and attended Milwaukee Public Schools. He was one of 10 siblings — his father worked as a janitor for the Milwaukee Public School District and his mother as a certified nursing assistant. After attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he returned to his hometown to work for the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board, now Employ Milwaukee.
Why a Wisconsin voting site in Madison stayed open 90 minutes past the closing of polls
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
As polls closed throughout most of Wisconsin for this battleground state’s spring primary election, one voting site’s hours were extended by 90 minutes. The court-ordered adjustment was a response to what officials have chalked up to a mistake made by University of Wisconsin-Madison Memorial Union employees.
Wisconsin dairy farms closely watching avian flu cases in cattle
Wisconsin Public Radio
Keith Poulsen, director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, said the case highlights the importance of immediate action by dairy farmers if they see disease symptoms in their animals, which can include decreased lactation and low appetite. He said the people working on a farm with sick animals should be monitored closely.
“We don’t think that it’s a significant public health threat at this point,” Poulsen said. “But just like in our farms with poultry (highly pathogenic) avian influenza, they’re getting a large challenge, so we need to watch them very closely, and make sure that everyone is provided with the best public health care that we have available.”
Wisconsin Primary ballot features ‘Zuckerbucks’ measure: What to know
USA Today
It is likely the election funding ballot initiative will pass, but it is hard to gauge voter turnout in a presidential primary when neither major party has a competitive contest, said Kenneth Mayer, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Zolper Properties warns tenants of potential rent increases if MPS referendum passes
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
University of Wisconsin-Madison public affairs assistant professor and property tax expert Ross Milton said it is hard to find academic literature with “real world evidence” of how higher property taxes are shared between tenants and landlords.
He said renters voting Tuesday should be aware that landlords can decide to make them bear the brunt of higher property taxes. However, Milton added that property companies can raise rent whenever they want in Wisconsin, regardless of a new tax. “We don’t have rent control in Wisconsin,” Milton said.
Gov. Evers vetoes bill to curb road salt use, citing broad immunity to salters from slip-and-fall suits
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Potential solutions to the problem are ongoing across the state. Brining, where salt is mixed with water before being applied to roads, cleared Wisconsin highways faster and resulted in a 23% reduction in salt use on average, a study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison found. Some counties even use beet juice as a brining agent to allow the solution to work at colder temperatures, since standard road salt won’t work if it’s colder than 15 degrees.
Black scholars face anonymous accusations in anti-DEI crusade
Inside Higher Ed
Six of the seven are Black. Among them are Harvard’s first chief diversity and inclusion officer and her husband, who’s the chief diversity officer at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. They also include the chief DEI officer for staff at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. If you add Gay to the seven, four are Black women at Harvard
UW president proposes 3.75% hike in resident tuition next school year
The Capital Times
Resident undergraduate tuition rates would rise 3.75% for the 2024-25 academic year, without including fees or room and board. Seven universities in the UW system are proposing even higher increases on top of the 3.75%, Rothman told reporters Thursday morning.
Wisconsin experienced its warmest winter on record. But that doesn’t mean it’s time to plant your garden yet.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
For the most part, the winter season was downright balmy, with only one small stretch of negative temperatures in January, making it the warmest on record for Wisconsin, said Steve Vavrus, Wisconsin’s state climatologist and the assistant director at the University of Wisconsin Madison’s Center for Climatic Research. The El Nino effect — which carries warm air from the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean across the U.S. — is largely to blame for the warmth.
“It was a full two degrees warmer than the previous record, which is a huge amount,” he said. “We had the warmest December on record. We had the warmest February on record and we had the 10th warmest January on record. So that really is extreme in terms of consistent warmth over a whole season.”
UW system looks to raise in-state tuition for second year in a row, citing inflationary pressures
Wisconsin State Journal
Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman on Thursday announced the intent to raise tuition by 3.75%, saying the increase is in line with inflation and is necessary to maintain the UW system’s educational quality.
Political divides, declining population are causing fewer people to run in rural local elections
Appleton Post-Crescent
Reasons for the lack of candidates include the time commitment matched with lack of monetary compensation as well as declining participation in local government, according to Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“The positions often entail significant time commitments, do not provide much if any monetary compensation, and subject people to complaints, criticism, and even harassment,” Burden told The Post-Crescent.
UW campuses plan to raise in-state tuition in the fall
Wisconsin Public Radio
Wisconsin’s in-state undergraduate students will see a tuition hike of 3.75 percent in the fall, Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman announced Thursday.