Quoted: Dr. Michael Stier, a forensic pathologist from UW-Madison, told jurors that Kara, as she was known, died of diabetic ketoacidosis as a result of untreated juvenile onset diabetes. Complications from diabetes caused her body and internal organs to break down days before her death and some of the signs would have been obvious, Stier said.
The Wisconsin Republican Party, apparently stung by a blog post written by UW-Madison history professor William Cronon, has responded by asking the University of Wisconsin-Madison for copies of all of Cronon?s office e-mails that mention prominent Republicans or public employee unions. Cronon revealed the GOP?s Freedom of Information Act request in his Scholar as Citizen blog post late Thursday evening along with a lengthy, and typically scholarly, defense.
Quoted: “Even targeted boycotts are very difficult,” says UW-Madison associate professor of history William P. Jones, “so one this diffuse is not likely to be effective.” Jones notes that successful actions ? the Montgomery bus boycotts and the one against non-union grape growers in California ? were “focused on one company and supported by vigorous picketing.”
Quoted: Not everyone was well off. Katherine Curtis, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who specializes in demography and inequality, said blacks who returned to the states where they were born tended to have a higher poverty rate than those who went to other Southern states. One reason could be that they moved back for family, not economic opportunity, she said.
Quoted: Tom Eggert, co-director of the UW-Madison business, environment and social responsibility program, and Deborah Mitchell, who teaches marketing at UW-Madison.
Dane County?s black infant mortality rate, which dropped for several years and became a national success story, shot up again to four times the rate for whites over the past three years, leaving health officials stumped. UW-Madison researchers have been examining the situation in Dane County and comparing it with southeast Wisconsin, where the black-white gap has remained. Quoted: Jeanan Yasiri, executive director of the UW Center for Nonprofits.
Now that a Wisconsin judge has temporarily blocked a state law that would strip public employee unions of most collective bargaining rights, it?s worth stepping back to place these events in larger historical context. Republicans in Wisconsin are seeking to reverse civic traditions that for more than a century have been among the most celebrated achievements not just of their state, but of their own party as well.
(This column first appeared in The New York Times)
Former Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy is something of a political ghost, a memory of a particular style of legislative representation, full of demagoguery and deception, that has since seen few equals. Two UW-Madison history professors, in recent columns, resurrect the ghost ? although they disagree on how closely Gov. Scott Walker?s politics compare to Wisconsin?s most notorious of politicians.
Quoted: In the plainest sense, heirlooms are just old seeds. What has changed is the way we venerate them, said Bill Tracy, 56, a sweet-corn breeder and professor of agronomy at the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Tracy knows the old sweet corns well. He estimates that, over the decades, he has grown 75 to 80 percent of these varieties.
UW-Madison Limnologist Stephen Carpenter will receive $150,000 and a crystal sculpture from the King of Sweden in recognition of winning the 2011 Stockholm Water Prize.
Three UW-Madison science professors explained technical and public health aspects of Japan?s current nuclear crisis resulting from the 9.0-magnitude earthquake that recently devastated the country as part of a panel at the Wisconsin Institute of Discovery Tuesday.
While members of the international community have voiced major concerns about the potential health effects of radiation released in the nuclear crisis in Japan, University of Wisconsin experts said lasting health effects for citizens remain unlikely in a panel held Tuesday.
Quoted: Around one-third of panelists expect home prices to increase in 2011. Bill Cheney, chief economist of John Hancock Financial, and Abdullah Yavas, and professor of real estate at the University of Wisconsin, are calling for a 3% annual gain. Another dozen economists, including the National Association of Realtors? Lawrence Yun, expect home prices will be flat for the year.
The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism also analyzed more than 50,000 emails obtained through an open records request, and the watchdog group said the majority of emails supported the governor and his plan to curb collective bargaining rights.
“We crunched a lot of numbers over the weekend,” said Andy Hall, who heads up the group. “In broad terms, the governor enjoyed a margin of support of about 2-to-1.”
MADISON, Wis. — A scientist from the University of Wisconsin-Madison has been awarded the 2011 Stockholm Water Prize , the top award for scientists studying water-related activities. Limnologist Stephen Carpenter is the Stephen Alfred Forbes Professor of Zoology at the UW. The award, which comes with $150,000 and a specially designed crystal sculpture, honors individuals and organizations “whose work contributes broadly to the conservation and protection of water resources and to improved health of the planet?s inhabitants and ecosystems,” according to the group.
Quoted: UW-Madison philosophy professor Harry Brighouse.
Quoted: Greg Harrington, chairman of the water board and a UW-Madison environmental engineer.
Quoted: Deborah Mitchell, executive director of the Center for Brand and Product Management at the UW-Madison School of Business.
Quoted: “I honestly don?t understand how they can say they?re not involved in the race if they?re running these advertisements about Justice Prosser,” University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor Charles Franklin said.
Quoted: “What needs to be done is monitor the radiation levels in the evacuation zone and spot-check individuals there,” said Paul DeLuca, a medical physicist who is provost of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Quoted: Charles Franklin, a UW-Madison political scientist.
Quoted: UW-Madison Police Chief Susan Riseling.
Quoted: Steven Deller, a UW-Madison professor of applied economics who studied the ripple effects of Walker?s budget-repair bill and two-year budget proposal.
Quoted: Steven A. Ackerman and Jonathan Martin, professors in the UW-Madison department of atmospheric and oceanic sciences.
Quoted: Tim Smeeding, director of the Institute for Research on Poverty at UW-Madison.
Quoted: Max Lagally, a professor of materials science and engineering at UW-Madison and an expert on roughness.
Quoted: Charles Franklin, a professor of political science at UW-Madison, and Dhavan Shah, a UW-Madison professor who runs the Mass Communication Research Center.
Quoted: James Dennis, an emeritus professor of art history at UW-Madison, who has written the book, “Robert Koehler?s ?The Strike?: The Improbable Story of an Iconic 1886 Painting of Labor Protest,
Quoted: Dennis Dresang, a UW-Madison professor emeritus of political science and public affairs.
A Wisconsin judge issued a temporary restraining order Friday blocking the law from taking effect because of a lawsuit that contends Republicans violated open-meetings laws to enact it. “This is far from over,” says Kenneth Mayer, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Quoted: Although the risk right now is “fairly minimal,” officials should be cautious because there is “no safe level of radioactivity” and it?s much too early to tell how far radioactive material can travel, said Jeffrey Patterson, a radioactive exposure expert and professor at the University of Wisconsin.
Quoted: The situation is unprecedented, making it difficult to gauge whether the maneuvers are a desperate Hail Mary pass or whether they are on solid legal footing. There is not enough of a legal precedent ?to have any good sense on how to handicap the case,? says Charles Franklin, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Quoted: ?This area has a long history of earthquakes, but [the Sendai earthquake] doesn?t fit the pattern,? says Harold Tobin, a marine geophysicist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. ?The expectation was high for a 7.5, but that?s a hundred times smaller than a 9.0.?
“If we didn?t have the recall, I don?t know what would happen,” says Jane Collins, a professor of Community and Environmental Sociology at University of Wisconsin, Madison. “The day Republican senators separated the bill, people were so angry and exhausted, that some had to prevent individuals from erupting in the crowd.”
Quoted: “This is far from over,” says Kenneth Mayer, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Quoted: Dhavan Shah, a UW-Madison professor who runs the Mass Communication Research Center, said the public became more aware of the bill?s contents after Feb. 18. And some of the most controversial events ? such as the now-contested vote on the bill with less than two hours? notice ? happened after then.
Thousands are dead and thousands more missing after the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan about a week ago.UW Madison Geoscience Professor Harold Tobin came in to Wake Up Wisconsin Weekend to discuss the earthquake and the tsunami.
Quoted: But Kris Olds, a professor of geography at the University of Wisconsin, says that Americans also have a lot to learn.
While major American universities ?may have the international networks in place to fund-raise, they don?t always have the broader knowledge base to assess political, economic and cultural risk,? he said. ?For example, administrative entrepreneurs, as I call them, are rarely forced to work with regional area studies experts who really know what is going on.?
Meg Hamel is director of the Wisconsin Film Festival, which runs in Madison March 30 through April 3. She began her involvement as a volunteer with the first year of the festival 13 years ago.
Three stem cell researchers have been awarded the annual Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research for their pioneering work in human stem cells. The winners announced Wednesday are Elaine Fuchs of Rockefeller University in New York City; James A. Thomson of the private, nonprofit Morgridge Institute for Research and the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health; and Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University in Japan and Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease in San Francisco.
William Cronon, a professor of history, geography and environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, argues in a lengthy blog post that Republican-sponsored legislation that has spurred protests in Wisconsin did not original in the state.
Quoted: Charles Franklin, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist.
Gov. Scott Walker?s 2011-?13 budget proposal includes cuts to Wisconsin?s public schools of more than $834 million. This represents the largest cut to education in our state?s history. It would be impossible to implement cuts this size without significant cuts to educational programs and services for Wisconsin?s children.
The proposal is drastic – and that is just part of the problem. You have likely heard the old adage that a frog placed in a pot of hot water will immediately jump out to avoid harm, while a frog placed in cool water will not notice if the heat is turned up and will unwittingly allow itself to be boiled alive. Similarly, the proposed cuts are placed on top of smaller cuts the schools have taken steadily over the past two decades. [A column by UW-Madison School of Education Dean Julie Underwood].
Quoted: Paul D. Mitchell, associate professor in the Agricultural and Applied Economics Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Author David Maraniss is fascinated by connections. Maraniss?s critically acclaimed history, ?They Marched Into Sunlight,? juxtaposes the stories of soldiers marching into an ambush in Vietnam with anti-war protests at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, all taking place over two days in October 1967.
It is these connections between people, places and time that provide the basis for two new dance works, together called ?March Into Sunlight,? premiering Saturday, March 26, at 8 p.m. in the Wisconsin Union Theater. The program is part of the Sunlight Project and Symposium, a three-day event focusing on war, peace and protest.
MADISON, Wis. — Acclaimed stem cell researcher and University of Wisconsin professor Dr. James Thompson is back in the national spotlight.Thompson was awarded the Albany Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research. The $500,000 prize is the nation?s largest award in science and medicine, according to a press release from the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison?s Molly Jahn was named to the newly created Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change. This group announced Friday features 13 international experts on agriculture, climate, food, economics and natural resources. Members plan to examine threats to food security due to climate change and increasing populations.
UW-Madison stem cell research pioneer James Thomson is one of three winners of this year?s Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research, which some call ?America?s Nobel.?
Thomson was the first to isolate and grow human embryonic stem cells in the lab, in 1998. He helped discover a new way of creating stem cells in 2007 by reprogramming skin cells back to their embryonic state.
Quoted: Japan is a significant buyer of U.S.-produced cheese, said Bob Cropp, University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension dairy market expert. While the disaster in Japan may have a short-term impact on commodities, he expects the overall export picture for American dairy products to remain strong this year.
Are U.S. nuclear power plants prepared to handle the extremities mother nature has to offer? To help us answer that is Michael Corradini, University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of engineering physics, and is an expert on nuclear power and nuclear safety. Corradini ensures us that the reactors in the United States are absolutely safe.
When asked about whether it?s possible for nuclear radiation from Japan to spread to the U.S., Michael Corradini, a professor of engineering physics at UW-Madison, said the distance between the U.S. and Japan greatly lessens the possibility.
Quoted: Charles Franklin, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist.
Quoted: “GOP excitement in 2010 was, of course, also a crucial part of their sweep in the state, but Dem drop off played a role as well,” Charles Franklin, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin, told TPM. “In 2012 the Presidential race will mobilize Dems as well as the current union controversy. So the question will be can the GOP and tea party continue to turn out large conservative blocks as well. “
Quoted: What they will turn up is unknown, but there are doubtless more unethical studies from the past that have never been publicly reported, said Susan Lederer, a medical historian at the University of Wisconsin.
Quoted: The lone exception to the general pattern was the muriqui monkey in Brazil; males and females have similar life spans. Unlike other primates, muriqui males do not compete with each other for access to females. Instead, they cooperate with each other, explained co-author Karen Strier, an anthropologist at the University of Wisconsin who has studied muriquis since 1982.
Quoted: Some of those who concede that the Pell program deserves more scrutiny do so only grudgingly. Sara Goldrick-Rab, an assistant professor of educational policy studies and sociology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, bristles at the idea — coming even from the Obama administration, “despite all of their talk about supporting the needs of low-income folks and investing in their education” — that the country is spending “too much” on Pell Grants.
Quoted: ?The governor is using ?we are broke? as a rationale for saying he has to cut back dramatically on employee compensation,? Andrew Reschovsky, who teaches public affairs and applied economics at state-run University of Wisconsin- Madison. ?He?s totally ignoring the revenue side of the budget and the ability of the states? residents to pay more in taxes.?
Quoted: “Sometimes things that really matter most are not conducive to short-term happiness,” says Carol Ryff, a professor and director of the Institute on Aging at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Quoted: “If they don?t remove the heat, everything heats up and eventually melts,” said Michael Corradini, chairman of the nuclear engineering program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Quoted: Charles Franklin, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist, said time is running out for Walker?s opponents to try to turn a nonpartisan court race into a proxy fight over the labor law.
