Though Wisconsin students once again had higher American College Test scores than the national average, the tests still show that many of the state’s students are not ready for college.
….Moreover, those ACT benchmark scores released Wednesday reinforce a recent report from the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance that 16.9 percent of incoming freshmen in the University of Wisconsin System in 2004 needed remedial math instruction and 8.1 percent needed remedial English classes.
Madison high school students bested the state ACT test score average once again for the 12th straight year, with scores of African-American students rising at a greater pace than all other students.
ACT test score comparisons were released today.
Wisconsin high school graduates are better prepared to succeed in college than students nationwide – but that means only that more than 70% of state students are at risk of having trouble in one or more freshman-level subjects while the national figure is almost 80%, according to ACT, the college testing company.
One Wisconsin lawmaker wants to introduce a new piece of legislation that would ban some admission procedures in the UW system.
Representative Stephen Nass says the system puts too much emphasis on socio-economic factors and not enough on academic performance when admitting students.
Dear Editor: As a faculty member at one of the UW System campuses, I am tired of the constant bashing of the UW System, mostly by people who have benefited from the affordable and valuable education the system has been offering for decades.
I do acknowledge that the system has its share of flaws like any large public institution, but do the Wisconsin public and the state politicians honestly believe that the flaws far outweigh the tangible and intangible benefits the state and its citizens realize from the system? Listening to them speak, it certainly appears to be so.
Former state Transportation Secretary Lowell Jackson, who served under both Republican Gov. Lee Dreyfus and Democrat Tony Earl during the 1970s and 1980s, has died at age 75.
Jackson, an engineering professor at UW-Extension, was part of the team of Republican insurgents who helped elect Dreyfus governor in 1978.
It’s not a surprise that there aren’t more Hispanics in elected office, said Ben Marquez, professor of political science at UW- Madison.
It takes a while for a population, especially one that has grown as rapidly as Hispanics, to produce political leaders, he said.
One large impediment to Hispanics in Wisconsin exerting their influence at the polls is obtaining citizenship, he said. Until they register voters in large numbers, the political parties likely will be slow to respond to their needs, Marquez said.
Suzanne Ellis’ art was born of love and obsession, manifest as painstakingly realistic renderings of wild animals. But increasingly she senses the realm beyond.
Wisconsin wildcats are the ghosts, be they real cats or not, but so are the memories of all these creatures encountered firsthand by this intrepid artist and nature lover.
This makes her new show, “Wild Wisconsin” in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum’s Steinhauer Gallery, substantially more than your typical wildlife art show.
Despite Gov. Jim Doyle’s call, the state never reviewed whether to change the rules to allow more faith-based organizations to participate in a program in which state employees can give part of their paychecks to charity.
“No action has been taken” to review eligibility requirements for those groups, a state lawyer acknowledged July 6 in a court document obtained by The Associated Press.
A Doyle administration spokesman said the state determined a review was unnecessary after an assistant attorney general advised the program was on solid legal footing.
Green Bay, Wis. – According to a recent article in Wisconsin Technology Network, regional cooperation is the cure all policy that will not only improve Wisconsin’s business climate, but also put us on the path to economic recovery. After all, this strategy of mutual cooperation and regional planning is what saved Denver from becoming yet another desolate, sleepy mountain town.
MADISON, Wis. – The faculty adviser to the Knights of Columbus called Thursday for University of Wisconsin-Madison to retract a statement claiming the school has agreed to recognize the group as a student organization.
UW-Madison professor Mark Etzel, faculty adviser to Knights of Columbus College Council 6568, said the university’s statement announcing the agreement late Wednesday was false.
“We have been stripped of our long time recognition by UW-Madison and that unsatisfactory decision remains,” he said in an e-mail to The Associated Press on Thursday morning.
The university announced late Wednesday that it had reached an agreement to recognize an affiliate of the Catholic service organization that would be open to all students. The university had earlier refused to recognize the group because its membership was limited to Catholic men.
But UW’s announcement of an agreement fell apart Thursday morning when Etzel denied a deal had been reached and the group failed to file the paperwork necessary to be registered.
Still, Casey Nagy, executive assistant to Chancellor John Wiley, said the university would not retract the statement.
“What you have here are people working hard to get an accord on an issue that they understand to be of public concern,” he said. “Our understanding was last night we reached that point.”
Dear Editor: As a college student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I can’t help but wonder what may be in store for UW System schools under a new administration. With the price of college reaching historic highs, action must be taken to safeguard the UW System from falling victim to hikes in tuition and closing its doors to thousands of qualified students.
Quoted: Richard Shaten, a faculty associate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
Gubernatorial candidate Mark Green says it’s “just plain stupid” that the Knights of Columbus is no longer a recognized student group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The university told the group this summer that it cannot be a recognized student organization because it does not allow all students to participate, the group told The Associated Press.
Five will get you 10 that state Rep. Steve Nass, the La Grange Republican whose favorite sport is savaging the University of Wisconsin, has his TV set tuned to Fox News.
He’d be a rare George W. Bush Republican if he’d be enlightened enough to watch a cable channel or even a network news show that was actually “fair and balanced” as Fox claims to be even while it leads the propaganda campaign for the current administration.
But folks like Nass, who can get all bent out of shape over a part-time UW lecturer believing in conspiracy theories, never speak out when a national cable channel, talk radio and a variety of big-time politicians spread false theories of their own.
Madison Area Technical College and UW-Madison have collaborated to build a biodiesel reactor to produce motor fuel blended from waste vegetable oil and methanol.
The reactor, which was dedicated on Monday, will be used to educate MATC students in the production, use and quality control of biodiesel fuels and the maintenance of biodiesel-fueled engines and vehicles, and to promote the use of biofuels across Wisconsin.
Dear Editor: In his July 29 column, Joel McNally used a lot of ink to lambaste Mark Green over stem cell research. But he missed one key point.
The bills Green voted against had to do with embryonic stem cell research. There is a difference between embryonic and adult stem cells.
….The University of Wisconsin System and UW-Madison are easy punching bags for those who want to score cheap political points. Like any big institution, the UW System has its share of flaws. Like any big institution, it is slow to respond, slow to change, slow to learn from its own mistakes. Like any big institution, it has its share of prima donnas. Maybe even more than its share of the latter.
But imagine what life in Wisconsin would be without the University of Wisconsin System. A lot of people seem unable or unwilling to do that.
Creating yet another point of contention between the University of Wisconsin and the state Legislature, some lawmakers have called for the dismissal of controversial lecturer Kevin Barrett.
Dear Editor: I am running against Steve Nass in the 31st Assembly District, in part because of his previous attack on free speech at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and also in part because of his backing of the same-sex marriage ban amendment.
There are 60 other legislators who apparently also do not value free speech and academic freedom, since they are trying to establish that they can punish anyone with whom they disagree by having them fired. I don’t believe they have that right and that precedent should not be established.
There’s no question Wisconsin needs a highly educated work force to grow its economy in the future.
There’s also no question that our system of higher education is going to be crucial to ensure we get the kind of work force we need.
Kentucky lawmakers might want to look at the University of Wisconsin’s experience before deciding whether to bar public universities from offering health insurance to unmarried domestic partners of employees.
Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager sent two ballot explanations of the gay marriage and death penalty referendums to the state Elections Board Friday, providing the plain English translation that voters will use when they weigh in on the hot-button issues in November.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources have successfully wielded a new weapon to fight off the invasive rusty crayfish in northern Wisconsin: a two-pronged maneuver that leaves no collateral damage in its wake.
Saying the nation is at a crucial moment in the development of stem cell research, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle urged supporters of human embryonic stem cell research to bring their “will for progress” to the political arena this fall.
This is cutting off your nose to spite your face. There’s no other way to put it. We know we said we hoped to have nothing further to say about efforts to force the UW to silence lecturer Kevin Barrett, but the actions this week of the Ozaukee County Board are so bizarre we draw them to your attention lest they spread unnoticed.
Members of the Ozaukee County Board in eastern Wisconsin are so outraged at the UW for allowing the 9/11 skeptic Barrett to teach an Islamic studies class that they voted to cut funding to the UW Extension program.
A key lawmaker said Wednesday he was outraged to learn details about the way the University of Wisconsin System managed a $26 million information technology project that failed.
Rep. Robin Kreibich, chairman of the Assembly Colleges and Universities Committee, said in a letter to University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly he was troubled to learn no employees were disciplined over the project and that an inexperienced project manager was put in charge.
A key lawmaker said Wednesday he was outraged to learn details about the way the University of Wisconsin System managed a $26 million information technology project that failed.
The Ozaukee County Board has voted to cut funding for next year’s University of Wisconsin Extension program by the amount paid a University of Wisconsin-Madison lecturer who contends that the U.S. government orchestrated the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Tuition at the University of Wisconsin System would rise either 3% or 3.75% in 2007-’08 and 1.75% in 2008-’09 under preliminary budget plans presented to the Board of Regents on Wednesday.
In a move some members hope will spread across the state, the Ozaukee County Board voted Wednesday to cut funding to next year’s University of Wisconsin Extension program by the exact amount being paid to a controversial part-time University of Wisconsin-Madison lecturer who contends that the U.S. government orchestrated the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=478242
If dollars were votes, the race between Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle and Republican challenger Mark Green would be on its way to a record turnout. Story quotes UW political scientist Charles Franklin and mentions John and Tashia Morgridge’s contributions to Doyle.
In Wisconsin, we know a thing or two about snowflakes. We also know a really lame snow job when we see one.
Whether you are the president of the United States or a candidate for governor of Wisconsin, when you take a political position contrary to the interests and wishes of more than 70 percent of the American people, you have to do some pretty fast talking to try to explain it away.
The dishonest public statements put out by both George W. Bush and Congressman Mark Green to try to justify their opposition to embryonic stem cell research didn’t even come close.
SUN PRAIRIE – Republican gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. Mark Green said today he would not follow Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle’s lead in trying to trim state spending by reducing the state’s workforce or contracting out with private businesses for state services.
Speaking at a campaign stop at Sir Hobo’s Restaurant, Green accused Doyle of engaging in “political gamesmanship” with state employees.
….Green also blamed Doyle for a $26 million computer payroll system at the University of Wisconsin that has failed to work as expected.
Dear Editor: In an utterly predictable move, Rep. Steve Nass and his cronies have chosen to cut and run from any debate with Kevin Barrett. But typically, not before taking a few cowardly potshots at the professor.
I do not for a moment believe that Nass actually wrote that July 27 letter to the editor. He just signed it after ordering one of his unfortunate clerks to search the Bartlett’s Web site for a few juicy quotations that he could urge us all to “reflect” on.
Dear Editor: I noticed in Rep. Nass’ cowardly way of backing down to Kevin Barrett’s debate challenge, that he took it upon himself to quote some of the Founding Fathers.
University of Wisconsin officials need to make a greater effort to ensure that Wisconsin students have access to public higher education.
Mentions that a recent Badger Poll by the University of Wisconsin Survey Center showed support among respondents for civil unions.
Too many of the state’s top high school seniors are finding the doors to the top University of Wisconsin campus shut to them. As a result, they often leave the state to pursue their degrees. The danger is they won’t come back – contributing to the state’s brain drain.
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=477039
Many scientists believe embryonic stem cell research has great potential for healing. But because it’s controversial and not well understood by the average voter, the issue also has great potential for political mischief and spin.
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=477039
Many scientists believe embryonic stem cell research has great potential for healing. But because it’s controversial and not well understood by the average voter, the issue also has great potential for political mischief and spin.
If Gov. Jim Doyle and Democrats have their way, the biggest issue in the campaign against Republican Mark Green will be smaller than the period at the end of this sentence.
With the hope of attracting undecided voters and driving a wedge into Green’s support, Doyle has launched a relentless effort to paint Green as an opponent of stem cell research, which is seen as holding the promise of treatments for a host of debilitating diseases.
Dear Editor: I would like to formally request a debate between Kevin Barrett and state Rep. Steve Nass.
I am still undecided about this issue (9/11), but the more I read Barrett’s point of view and see that his side of the argument isn’t being confronted and refuted with anything more than name calling and claims of irrationality, I begin to wonder who it is that is unfit for his job.
State and federal prosecutors are probing Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle’s administration over a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee building project and a meeting Doyle’s campaign fund-raiser arranged for Doyle’s top deputy in his state office.
Dear Editor: In spite of the seriousness of the issue, I can’t help being amused by all the hullabaloo about Kevin Barrett. Three politicians are trying to have him fired.
We would do much better to fire the politicians. Hoping to rein in the bounds of thinkable thought, politicians Jim Doyle, Mark Green, and Steve Nass of course also hope to gain a bit of a boost in popularity from the incitement they are generating.
WAUSAU – After two decades of steadily declining numbers of dairy cows in America’s Dairyland, the trend is slowly reversing itself, providing new optimism that an embattled industry in Wisconsin is on the rebound, farm experts say.
UW-Madison dairy economist Robert Cropp is quoted.
PHIL HELLMUTH is such a Madison kid that when Bob Soderstrom wrote a screenplay about Hellmuth, the once precocious and always colorful poker brat, he called it “The Madison Kid.
….The script was good enough to win a 2002 Wisconsin Screenwriter’s Forum contest, and now, in a business where it is said you can die of encouragement, it is this close to being made into a movie with a hot young actor named Hayden Christensen playing Hellmuth.
One of the questions still up in the air is where the movie will be filmed. You might think that a script titled “The Madison Kid” – with scenes set around the State Capitol and Union Terrace – would be a natural to be shot at least partly in Madison, but it’s more complicated than that.
Sixty-one lawmakers signed on to a legislative resolution this week calling on the University of Wisconsin-Madison to fire lecturer Kevin Barrett.
The resolution “condemns” Provost Patrick Farrell for his decision to allow Kevin Barrett to teach his fall-semester course on Islam. Barrett, who says the United States government was complicit in the Sept. 11 attacks, has a one-semester appointment for $8,247.
Quoted: Andrew Reschovsky, an economics professor who specializes in tax policy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Quoted: UW-Madison political scientist Charles Franklin.
The latest Badger Poll from UW-Madison showed that about 53 percent of state residents favor the gay marriage and civil union ban, compared to about 44 percent who oppose it.
State Rep. Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) said Thursday that 61 lawmakers had signed a letter condemning the Sept. 11 theories of University of Wisconsin-Madison instructor Kevin Barrett and criticizing UW’s decision to allow Barrett to teach a course on Islam at the university this fall. (Second item in Regional Briefs)
The 53rd edition of Wisconsin Farm Technology Days has come and gone. The hundreds of Sheboygan County volunteers who worked for nearly four years to plan, produce and carry out this big event did it well. They can be most proud.
A Badger Poll survey released today found that women favor stem cell research slightly more than men, Democrats are more in favor of it than Republicans, and older respondents back it more than younger ones.
A new Badger Poll released Wednesday by the UW Survey Center found that, overall, Wisconsinties generally approve of stem cell research.
President Bush, in a veto Wednesday that was the first of his presidency, rebuffed legislation on human embryonic stem cell research that was passed by the Senate a day earlier and by the House more than a year ago.
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=474319
President Bush, in a veto Wednesday that was the first of his presidency, rebuffed legislation on human embryonic stem cell research that was passed by the Senate a day earlier and by the House more than a year ago.
Overall approval ratings for President Bush in Wisconsin have slipped in recent months, and nearly half of respondents believe he is doing a poor job handling foreign affairs, the economy and problems at home, according to a poll released today.
http://www.jsonline.com/watch/?watch=22&date=7/18/2006&id=8724
Overall approval ratings for President Bush in Wisconsin have slipped in recent months, and nearly half of respondents believe he is doing a poor job handling foreign affairs, the economy and problems at home, according to the Badger Poll released today.
The University of Wisconsin Survey Center found that 5% of those polled rated the president’s overall job performance as excellent, 22% as good, 27% as fair, and 45% as poor.
