Chancellor Rebecca Blank, UW-Madison Police Chief Sue Riseling and others faced tough questions and listened to recommendations about improving the campus’ climate at a community meeting at the Urban League of Greater Madison on the South Side.
Category: Top Stories
New Under Armour contract provides revenue boost to athletics department
The final numbers on the University of Wisconsin athletic department’s apparel contract with Under Armour were staggering when released in October. The 10-year deal worth as much as $96 million was Under Armour’s largest ever given to a university’s athletic department. At minimum, UW will receive five times as much cash per year as in its current deal with Adidas.
UW-Madison slates community discussion on changing campus climate for minority students
Chancellor Rebecca Blank is inviting members of the community to talk with her Monday about needed changes to the climate for minority students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Blank, along with UW-Madison Police Chief Susan Riseling, chief diversity officer Patrick Sims and director of community relations Everett Mitchell, will host a discussion from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday at the Urban League of Greater Madison, 2222 S. Park St.
Budget cuts leave some UW-EC students scrambling for classes to graduate
The stress level is running high at UW-Eau Claire this month.Not because of final exams. That traditional source of college anxiety remains three weeks away.
Wisconsin Madison Senate to Consider No-Confidence Resolution in System President, Board
The University of Wisconsin at Madison’s Faculty Senate will vote on a resolution expressing no confidence in UW System President Ray Cross and the system’s Board of Regents on May 2. Among numerous alleged missteps by Cross and the board, the resolution criticizes them for supporting a new systemwide layoff policy for tenured professors that many faculty members said fell short of providing real tenure protections in the event of program closures for budgetary and academic concerns. The board also approved changes to a Madison-specific policy that many professors said watered down tenure protections. The new policies stem from the Wisconsin Legislature’s elimination of tenure from state statute last year.
Student protesters occupy UW-Madison’s College Library, demand end to graffiti case
Hundreds of University of Wisconsin-Madison students, joined by a handful of faculty members, occupied a campus library Thursday to disrupt its studious atmosphere in protest of a graffiti-related arrest.
UW Protestors Condemn Arrest Of Black Student Over Vandalism Allegations
Hundreds of University of Wisconsin-Madison students marched through campus Thursday, chanting “education, not incarceration,” to protest the arrest of a student for his alleged role in spraypainting graffiti art around campus.
UW-Madison student activist Deshawn McKinney awarded Truman Scholarship
UW-Madison junior Deshawn McKinney has been selected to receive the prestigious national Truman Scholarship. The Harry S. Truman Scholarship, created by Congress in 1975 as a memorial to the former president, is intended to support the next generation of public service leaders.
UW researchers simulate Zika virus in mice, a key step in developing treatments
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine have found a way to simulate the Zika virus in mice, a step that should help researchers better understand the disease and even gain a foothold in the effort to develop vaccines and antivirals.
#TheRealUW: A social media movement is forcing UW-Madison to confront its race problems
Stories of racist incidents on campus have been shared using the Twitter hashtag #TheRealUW for much of the past month … #TheRealUW has allowed students of color to vent their anger and frustration about incidents of racism on campus. It has been exhausting to read and draining to live, they said. #TheRealUW has pushed race incidents into the public sphere, past the bounds of confidentiality or denial that typically protect targets and transgressors alike. Nobody now can claim that they have not heard the stories.
U of Wisconsin student pulled from class, arrested for anti-racist graffiti
Prompting widespread anger from faculty and students, University of Wisconsin at Madison police on Thursday pulled a black student from class and arrested him for allegedly spray-painting anti-racist messages across campus.
UW-Madison Police Chief Apologizes For Classroom Arrest
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Chief issued an apology on Friday after campus officers interrupted a class to arrest a student earlier this week.
What would Tommy do?
In early January, UW-Madison economists Steven Deller and Tessa Conroy released a study on Wisconsin job creation that sank beneath the waves with barely a ripple, despite its insight into the Badger State’s sluggish economy.
State budget cuts mean less student work, less growth in high demand areas at UW-Madison
University of Wisconsin – Madison officials say budgets cuts brought upon by the $250-million deficit facing the entire UW System will lead to cuts in the number of work hours for student employees. The students use the income from these jobs to pay for tuition, room and board.
UW-Madison to award rare posthumous graduate degree in May
Officials at the University of Wisconsin-Madison plan to award a graduate student who died last year a rare posthumous degree. The State Journal reports 30-year-old Craig Schuff died in October. Schuff had already earned a master’s degree in nuclear engineering and was preparing to defend his thesis to earn a doctorate in electrical engineering.
Reports outline the cost of funding cuts to higher education
Summaries outlining the impact of state funding cuts to higher education say University of Wisconsin System campuses have laid off employees, consolidated administration, reduced advising services and cut course offerings over the past year.
UW-Madison cuts student employment, undergrad advising, IT services to hit budget
Student employment hours have been drastically cut back because of state funding cuts, University of Wisconsin-Madison officials reported last week to UW System administrators. Those cuts came in addition to paring of undergraduate advising services and reductions in information technology services to students, according to a campus budget impact statement that was to have been presented to the Board of Regents when it met last week in Green Bay.
From larger classes to fewer campus jobs, UW outlines cuts
Larger class sizes, fewer course offerings, cuts to academic advising, potentially increasing how long it takes to finish a degree, loss of student jobs on campus, inability to grow high-demand programs, and outdated academic facilities that aren’t being maintained.
Across UW System, campuses reduce courses, advising and jobs as budget cuts take hold
Institutions across the University of Wisconsin System have laid off employees, consolidated administration, reduced advising services and cut course offerings over the past year, according to documents released Monday summarizing the impact of state cuts to higher education funding.
Campuses across UW System report job losses, larger class sizes
Campuses across the UW System are cutting dozens of positions and resorting to larger class sizes to deal with state budget cuts, according to a new UW System report.
UW-Madison Chancellor Blank seeks to reassure faculty over new campus-specific rules on tenure
University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank in a blog post Friday addressed new campus-specific policy written by faculty but edited by the Board of Regents, saying it is “workable, consistent with our peers, and provides tenure protections that should reassure our faculty.”
Rebecca Blank: UW-Madison won’t lay off tenured faculty
UW-Madison chancellor Rebecca Blank said Friday that the university won’t lay off tenured faculty so long as it remains a leading research school.“Top-ranked universities always take care of their tenured faculty,” Blank said in a blog post. “As long as this university is a top-ranked institution we will behave like other top-ranked universities. That means we don’t layoff tenured faculty. Period.”
Madison to host a Shakespeare treasure — the First Folio
The First Folio, a printed collection of William Shakespeare’s plays that dates back to 1623, is scheduled to arrive in November. Shipped under conditions of top security and high-tech climate control, the book will be on display for nearly six weeks at the Chazen Museum of Art, with UW-Madison Libraries and UW Arts Institute as co-presenters.
UW officials announce task force on experiences of minority students
The University of Wisconsin System will create a task force to study the experiences of minority students and make recommendations to improve the racial climate on UW campuses, officials announced Friday.
Blank says UW-Madison will not layoff tenured faculty
UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank said the university’s new tenure policy approved by the UW System Board of Regents Friday is “workable” and should reassure faculty, according to a post on her online blog.
UW engineering PhD student who died last year will get rare posthumous degree
When he died last October at age 30, Craig Schuff, a quadriplegic, was just a few neutrons short of completing his doctorate in electrical engineering at UW-Madison. He had already earned a master’s degree in nuclear engineering, already passed a qualifying examination and prelims, and had already begun preparing to defend his thesis. He had interrupted his graduate studies in the College of Engineering once before, in 2011, when a Lake Monona diving accident damaged his spinal cord and left him motionless, but no less motivated. Now, in death, Schuff rejoins the elite: In May at UW-Madison graduation ceremonies, his parents will accept for him a posthumous doctorate in electrical engineering.
Regents committee approves UW-Madison tenure plan
A University of Wisconsin System regents committee has approved UW-Madison’s new tenure policy
UPDATE: Regents committee signs off on tuition increases
A University of Wisconsin System regents committee has approved a plan to raise nonresident and graduate tuition at five campuses.
UPDATE: Regents committee approves UW-Madison tenure plan
A University of Wisconsin System regents committee has approved UW-Madison’s new tenure policy.
Regents committee passes new UW-Madison tenure policy, with changes
A new UW-Madison tenure policy written by faculty members is poised to pass the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents after a series of changes that make it compatible with a System policy governing all state campuses.
Regents panel approves new UW-Madison tenure policies
After nearly a year of turmoil over weakening faculty tenure protections, it took nine minutes for a committee of the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents to give preliminary approval Thursday to the first campus-specific policies that will put changes into place.
UW Regents Won’t Hear Presentation On Budget Cut Impacts
A group of Democratic state lawmakers are slamming a decision to scrap a presentation on how budget cut are affecting University of Wisconsin System campuses.
Former chancellor Donna Shalala to address women’s summit at UW
Former UW-Madison chancellor Donna Shalala will be keynote speaker at a global summit for women at the university.
Voter ID law has large impact on college students
MADISON — The huge voter turnout in the Wisconsin primary could have been even higher without the state’s new photo identification requirement, voter advocacy groups said Wednesday.
A Thin Line Divides Engaging With Activists and Alienating Them
Patrick Sims, vice provost for diversity and climate at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, decided last week that he had had enough.When he received a picture of a racial slur, scrawled on notebook paper, that had reportedly been slipped under a freshman’s dorm-room door, Mr. Sims did something unusual for a campus administrator. He recorded a video.
Voting at UW-Madison went relatively smoothly, officials say
In spite of Tuesday’s record turnout, the wait to vote at UW-Madison polling locations remained manageable, officials there said.University officials stressed that delays for the campus locations didn’t hit the one and two hour waits seen at UW-Green Bay and Marquette University at some points Tuesday.“The city clerk’s office tells us the max wait time was about 15 minutes,” spokeswoman Meredith McGlone said.
UW-Madison loses national ranking for graduate engineering after reporting incorrect data
University of Wisconsin—Madison’s engineering school misreported data for the U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Graduate School” rankings for 2017, self-reported the discrepancies before the data was released to the public, and lost its tie for a No. 14 ranking.
UW-Madison engineering program stripped of national ranking over incorrect admission rate
U.S. News and World Report has stripped UW-Madison’s graduate engineering program of its top-15 national ranking after learning the university submitted incorrect figures for its acceptance rate that made the program seem more selective than it actually was.
Badgers men’s hockey: Tony Granato introduced as UW’s coach
When Barry Alvarez began his search for the successor to Mike Eaves as University of Wisconsin men’s hockey coach, his short list consisted of three names.
Wednesday afternoon one name not on that list, Tony Granato, was officially introduced as the fifth head coach in the program’s modern history.
$35M Will Help UW South Pole Project Try To Unlock More Cosmic Secrets
A University of Wisconsin-Madison scientist says much work is ahead for the UW’s neutrino project at the South Pole now that it’s won a $35 million grant to continue detecting high-energy cosmic particles.
Cold cash for IceCube; UW gets $35M contract renewal for South Pole observatory
Chill the champagne, IceCube will stay frozen for another five years.
From mice to monkeys, animal models hold the key to battling Zika
At the University of Wisconsin, Madison, infectious disease researcher David O’Connor — who described the reaction among scientists when Zika first made news as, “Oh my gosh, we know nothing about this” — started infecting macaques last month and has been sharing his data online as it arrives.
Barbs and battles as presidential campaign heats up in Wisconsin
Noted: During a speech Monday afternoon on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, Clinton took aim at Republicans who have erected a blockade against President Barack Obama’s nominee to replace the late Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. Clinton singled out GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin for his part in preventing the confirmation of Merrick Garland.
Slew of anti-abortion laws may thwart Zika research
The furor from the Planned Parenthood sting videos is driving a tide of bills, which range from outright bans on research using aborted tissue to prohibitions on donating the tissue. Story quotes UW-Madison’s Alta Charo and Robert Golden.
James Baughman remembered as popular journalism professor
Facing a room full of students the day after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, professor James Baughman distilled decades of studying the history of mass communications into one assignment: Write about it, he told the class. Like Ernie Pyle writing about the Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II. Or CBS News radio correspondent Edward Murrow reporting from London as the Nazis’ bombs fell. Baughman “just came in and scrapped everything and said this is what you’re doing,” recalled Jason Stein, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter who took one of Baughman’s classes as a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Changes to tenure, budget and Regents show extent of Scott Walker’s impact on UW
Gov. Scott Walker has had a bigger impact on Wisconsin’s public universities than any governor in decades, and he is among the most aggressive governors in the country in reshaping higher education, experts say.
Congressional inquiry seeks the names and identities of fetal tissue researchers
Scholars are expressing concern about government and other third-party inquiries targeting researchers working in controversial fields. The alarm grew on Thursday with the disclosure that a special House committee investigation is seeking the names of researchers and graduate students working with fetal tissue — including that obtained via abortions.
Erik Iverson named head of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
Erik Iverson, president of business and operations for the Infectious Disease Research Institute in Seattle, has been hired to head the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. Iverson will succeed Carl E. Gulbrandsen, who since 2000 has been managing director of WARF, the licensing and patenting organization for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He will start July 1, following Gulbrandsen’s retirement on June 30.
WARF board chooses former Gates Foundation attorney Erik Iverson as its new leader
The WARF board of trustees announced the appointment Wednesday, to take effect July 1. Iverson’s salary was not disclosed. He will succeed Carl Gulbrandsen, who has led WARF since 2000 and plans to retire on June 30.
Following Brussels Attack, U.S. Universities Reach Out To Students Abroad
Following Tuesday’s deadly explosions in Brussels, major American universities with study abroad programs scrambled to locate students who are currently in Europe.
Joy Cardin: University Officials And Students Address #TheRealUW
After University of Wisconsin-Madison students return from spring break, a university-wide town hall will be held to address issues regarding the number of reported incidents of race and bias on campus. Joy Cardin’s guest reporter discusses the recent string of cases and how UW officials and students are reacting, including the use of the social media hastag #TheRealUW. Then, she talks with UW-Madison’s chief diversity officer about the concerns and additional steps the university is taking to address the campus’ cultural climate. She also hears from a UW-Madison student about her on-campus experiences with racism as a Latina.
American students studying in Paris react to the latest terrorist attacks
The terrorist attacks at an airport and metro stop in Brussels on Tuesday that killed more than 31 people and wounded at least 150 has prompted heightened terror alerts across Europe, in the U.S. and around the world, USA TODAY reports.
Badgers beat Xavier; Headed to Sweet 16
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard never lost confidence in Bronson Koenig, even when he struggled in the Big Ten Tournament and failed to hit a 3-pointer in an NCAA Tournament win over Pittsburgh. Gard proved just how much he believed in him Sunday night.
Mike Eaves relieved of duties after 14 seasons as UW Men’s Hockey Coach
Mike Eaves has been relieved of his duties as the UW Men’s Hockey coach after 14 seasons, according to Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez.
Mike Eaves fired as UW men’s hockey coach
University of Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez has fired men’s hockey coach Mike Eaves after 14 seasons, UW Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez announced Friday.
Badgers men’s hockey: Wisconsin fires coach Mike Eaves after 14 seasons
The University of Wisconsin announced Friday that it has fired men’s hockey coach Mike Eaves. Eaves led the Badgers program for 14 seasons and helped UW win its sixth NCAA title in 2006. The Badgers also reached the 2010 NCAA championship game. He finishes with a career record of 267-225-66.
Wisconsin’s Tenure Battle Shifts to Campuses
The fight over the University of Wisconsin system’s tenure and layoff policies is not over yet. Faculty leaders there hope to regain at the campus level what they just lost at the state level: a guaranteed say in any decisions to jettison academic programs and their tenured professors.
Racial Harassment Prompts Policy Changes At UW-Madison
University of Wisconsin-Madison officials are responding to a racially charged incident last week in which a male student verbally assaulted and spat on a black female student.
UW-Madison leader launches steps to blunt ‘troubling string’ of hate incidents
Citing “a troubling string” of hate and bias incidents, University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank announced she would accelerate the hiring of two mental health professionals dedicated to diversity and climate, roll out a program to teach students cultural competency and step up efforts to encourage students to report such incidents.
Another day, another bias incident at UW-Madison
UW-Madison police are investigating an act of racist vandalism that was committed earlier this week on campus, officials confirmed Wednesday.