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Category: Top Stories

UW-Madison students march in solidarity with Mizzou

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

Hundreds of people, mostly UW-Madison students, gathered in front of Bascom Hall Thursday night surrounding the statue of Abraham Lincoln in solidarity with their peers at the University of Missouri. After listening to speeches, they marched to Library Mall chanting what has become a common refrain at rallies locally and around the country: “Black lives matter!” and “No justice, no peace!” The group reconvened for more speeches before marching up State Street to the Capitol Square.

Craig Schuff, paralyzed researcher, UW-Madison engineering graduate student, dies

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

Craig Schuff’s heart and academic journey carried on more than four years after he was paralyzed in a Lake Monona diving accident that damaged his spinal cord. Schuff, 30, a quadriplegic since 2011, died Oct. 24.His advisers at UW-Madison said he was less than a year from finishing his doctorate in engineering, focusing on innovative nuclear research that deserves to be continued.

Campus carry

Posted on
Isthmus

Brent Eisberner generally feels safe on the UW-Madison campus. But the possibility of an attack is always on the law student’s mind. A former Marine Corps captain and concealed carry instructor, Eisberner selects his seats in classrooms and lecture halls based on what position would best allow him to react to an active shooter.

University of Wisconsin faculty approve tenure protections

Posted on
Associated Press (Channel3000.com)

Faculty representatives at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have approved a new policy that lays out a narrow range of circumstances that would allow firing of tenured professors.

The Wisconsin State Journal reported that the school’s Faculty Senate gave unanimous approval Monday to the policy, which would restore many layoff protections erased by state lawmakers in passing a budget this year. The policy goes to the UW System Board of Regents for final approval.

City officials optimistic Judge Doyle Square redevelopment will still happen

Posted on
WKOW TV

Business leaders and city officials Monday remained upbeat about the prospect of a large development at Judge Doyle Square, despite the decision of Madison-based Exact Sciences to opt against moving its headquarters downtown as part of a proposed redevelopment there.

Exact Sciences announced Monday it will instead seek to expand at the UW Research Park on the West Side.

Is Wisconsin System Chief Backtracking on Tenure?

Posted on
Inside Higher Ed

University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross has come under fire from faculty and a high-profile administrator for his changing stance on how the system should address tenure in light of recent changes to its legal status in the state. Faculty members and Chancellor Rebecca Blank of the University of Wisconsin at Madison have criticized Cross’s recent directive that new tenure polices can’t be written at the campus level, saying that the guidance contradicts Cross’s earlier assurances that tenure as it’s known would be preserved at the campus level — even though the Wisconsin state Legislature changed the law to make it easier to fire tenured faculty members.

UW Chancellor visits Juneau County cranberry farm

Posted on
Juneau County Star-Tribune

Northeastern Juneau County boasts some of the best cranberries in the world, and on Tuesday, University of Wisconsin Chancellor Rebecca Blank spent time knee-deep in the bogs, talking to growers, researchers and scientists on the forefront of cranberry production.

Preserve fetal tissue research: Our view

Posted on
USA Today

What began as an uproar over undercover videos of Planned Parenthood officials callously discussing how to collect fetal tissue is now threatening research vital to finding treatments for devastating conditions from Alzheimer’s to blindness.

Rebecca Blank: Ray Cross’ 180 on tenure undercuts credibility of Board of Regents

Posted on
Capital Times

UW System President Ray Cross’ about-face on a campus-specific tenure policy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison makes the Board of Regents look bad, abets faculty seeking extreme provisions and potentially delays adoption of a policy, threatening faculty recruitment, said Chancellor Rebecca Blank. Cross also undermined her ability to broker agreement on tenure issues among UW-Madison faculty, Blank said in an Oct. 22 email to Regent John Behling.

Reinvesting in the Wisconsin Idea

Posted on
Isthmus

There’s a lot of bad blood between stakeholders in our higher education system. There is tension between the Republicans who control the state Legislature and University of Wisconsin-System leaders, between the Board of Regents and the faculty, and between rural residents and the bigger schools, particularly UW-Madison.

As Campus Fears Rise, So Do Efforts to Enact School Gun Laws

Posted on
New York Times

LOS ANGELES — When Gov. Jerry Brown of California signed legislation this month banning concealed weapons on school campuses, the nation was in the midst of one of the worst spasms of gun violence at colleges in recent years. There were three such shootings, including one in Oregon that left 10 people dead, as the bill sat on Mr. Brown’s desk.

Wisconsin jury says Apple owes $234 million in patent case

Posted on
WKOW (AP)

A jury has awarded the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation more than $234 million in a patent infringement lawsuit against computer maker Apple Inc.

Noted: The patent dispute involved chip technology that was co-invented by University of Wisconsin-Madison computer sciences professor Gurindar Sohi, who was in the courtroom for the decision. U.S. District Judge William Conley told Sohi he hoped he felt his work was vindicated.

UW-Madison launches $3.2 billion fundraising campaign

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The University of Wisconsin-Madison launched its most ambitious fundraising campaign ever on Thursday night, asking alumni and other supporters to step into the breach during a time of unprecedented pressure to cut costs and find fresh sources of revenue.

Campus Concealed Carry Proposal sparking controversy at UW Madison

Posted on
WKOW TV

Quoted: UW Political Science Professor Mike Wagner is voicing opposition on Twitter.
“Am I worried, about it? Yeah, I would be worried about going into a classroom knowing 120 students are not enjoying a lecture…or worrying themselves, yeah I worry.”

And UW Madison Police Spokesman Marc Lovicott says his department opposes the bill.

“We don’t feel putting more weapons in the hands of our students, even though they legally have a permit to do so elsewhere will make our campus safer.