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Category: UW-Madison Related

Libya: Missing New York Times Journalist Anthony Shadid Told Dad ‘Not to Worry’

ABCNEWS.com

The father of Anthony Shadid, a New York Times correspondent missing in Libya, said his son told him “not to worry” Monday, one day before he and three journalists disappeared.

“I told him it?s so crazy there, no one knows who?s friend, who?s foe,” Buddy Shadid told the Associated Press. “But he said he knew what he?s doing. We?re all just praying for his safety.”

Anthony Shadid, Stephen Farrell, Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario were reporting on the fighting in the eastern part of the country, the Times said in a statement Wednesday.

Greenbush Day Celebration To Honor ‘Then & Now’

A festival that started five years ago is now an institution in the Greenbush Neighborhood. The fifth annual Greenbush Day Celebration, which honors the neighborhood?s past, present and future will be held Tuesday, March 22 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Welcome Center located at 21 North. Park St.

Two Pulitzer-winning UW-Madison grads missing in Libya

Wisconsin State Journal

Two Pulitzer Prize winners who are UW-Madison graduates are among four New York Times journalists missing in Libya, the Times is reporting. They are reporter Anthony Shadid, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, and photographer Lynsey Addario, who has won a Pulitzer and a MacArthur Fellowship, the Times is reporting.

2 of missing journalists are UW-Madison graduates

Madison.com

Two University of Wisconsin-Madison graduates are among four New York Times journalists missing while covering the fighting in Libya. The Wisconsin State Journal reports Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Anthony Shadid and photographer Lynsey Addario are both UW-Madison graduates.

Two UW graduates among 4 New York Times journalists missing in Libya

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Various media, including the New York Times, are reporting this afternoon that four New York Times journalists are missing in Libya.

Two of the missing journalists are University of Wisconsin graduates. They are Anthony Shadid, a former Washington Post reporter who has won two Pulitzer Prizes for his coverage of U.S. military action in Iraq, and Lynsey Addario, a photojournalist who received a 2009 “genius award” recipient from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Man attacked, stabbed downtown, police say

Capital Times

A 52-year-old man told Madison police he was attacked by four men while on a downtown street early Thursday morning, suffering a stab wound to the back. The victim was treated and released.

“He told an officer he was walking on North Lake Street when four men jumped him,” said Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain.

Gordon Commons project to make block of Lake Street one-way

Capital Times

A construction project on the UW-Madison campus will turn a block of North Lake Street into a one-way street for about two years. The Madison Traffic Engineering Division announced the southbound lane of North Lake Street between West Dayton and West Johnson streets is shut down as of Monday — for the Gordon Commons project.

Doug Moe: Couple to return to Malawi, ‘the warm heart of Africa’

Wisconsin State Journal

Late last fall, when Don Gray was helping plan a conference in Madison this month on the impact of the Peace Corps in Africa – an event honoring the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Peace Corps – an interesting thing happened.

Gray and his wife, Joan, were compelled to return to Malawi, the African country where they first served some 45 years ago.

‘Chronic’ trespasser arrested in apartment building laundry room, police say

Capital Times

A man who police say is a chronic trespasser was arrested again Wednesday morning when he was found hiding in a basement laundry room of an apartment building on the near west side, Madison police reported. Duardo Smith, 43, no permanent address, was arrested for criminal trespass to a dwelling at 8:34 a.m. Wednesday in the multi-unit apartment building on North Randall Street, police said.

….Court records show Smith has been arrested 20 times since 2008 for criminal trespass to property, unauthorized presence, being in a building after closing hour, trespass to land and violating restricted use of student centers or unions.

UW’s Synchrotron Center targeted to lose federal funding

Wisconsin State Journal

The future of a major UW-Madison science center — the Synchrotron Radiation Center — is in jeopardy after it was targeted to lose its annual federal funding under President Barack Obama?s proposed budget. The facility — a baseball diamond-sized electron accelerator in Stoughton — attracts researchers from all over the world and has contributed to the science of computer chips, Alzheimer?s disease and fuel sources, according to Synchrotron scientists.

John Nichols: UW ?radical? a major force in conservative movement

Capital Times

For the past quarter century, no name — save that of his former boss, Ronald Reagan — has been more consistently associated with the word ?conservative? than that of David Keene. As chairman since 1984 of the American Conservative Union, he has counseled presidents, and challenged them; put issues on the agenda, shaped debates and organized the biggest annual gathering of the right.

….Keene?s taking over as president of the National Rifle Association — Charlton Heston?s old gig. Not bad for a kid from Fort Atkinson who entered the political fray as Madison?s noisiest conservative back in the 1960s.

Walker proposes selling state-owned heating plants

Wisconsin State Journal

A controversial plan to privatize state-owned power plants, a plan that last caused a stir in 2005 before being vetoed by then-Gov. Jim Doyle, has been revived by Gov. Scott Walker in his budget bill. The provision would give the state Department of Administration the authority to sell the plants or contract for their operation. The proposal calls for net profits from the sale of the plants to be deposited in the budget stabilization fund. In 2005, a Republican-approved budget included a provision to sell all of the state?s 32 heating and cooling plants, including the Charter Street plant, which provides service to UW-Madison.

Son of prominent Wisconsin family dies from skiing accident injuries

Wisconsin State Journal

A University of Denver student who is the son of a prominent Wisconsin family has died from injuries he suffered in a skiing accident in January, authorities reported. The Summit County coroner?s office says 21-year-old Joe Lubar of Milwaukee died Friday at St. Anthony?s Central Hospital in Denver. Joe Lubar is the son of David and Madeleine Lubar and a grandson of Sheldon and Marianne Lubar, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. In 2006, Sheldon Lubar donated $10 million to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee?s School of Business Administration, which now bears his name, the paper said.

Private alumna leaves millions to UW

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The daughter of Czech immigrants, Martha Pavcek lived simply and apparently frugally. She taught in Milwaukee schools for many years and never married. You wouldn?t take her for a multimillionaire. Yet the University of Wisconsin Foundation has just announced that Martha left $2.7 million to the school in her estate.

The Machine vs. the ?Jeopardy!? Champs

New York Times

To the Editor: Richard Powers ?What Is Artificial Intelligence?,? Op-Ed, Feb. 6 describes I.B.M.?s remarkable achievement in Watson, an artificial intelligence system that is challenging the best human ?Jeopardy!? champions. (Bill HibbardStoughton, Wis., Feb. 6, 2011The writer is emeritus senior scientist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.)

SEC investigating company hired by UW-Madison to study efficiency

Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison announced this week that it plans to hire Huron Consulting Group ? a firm under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for misrepresenting its finances ? to conduct a study on the efficiency of the university. Huron is also the lead contractor on an $81 million computer project for the UW System. Darrell Bazzell, UW-Madison?s vice chancellor for administration, said a committee recommended Huron after a traditional process to request proposals.

Seattle man arrested for alleged battery at campus area bar

Capital Times

A 28-year-old Seattle man was arrested after he allegedly beat up a 31-year-old Madison man inside a campus area bar. William Eller was tentatively charged with substantial battery following his arrest after the incident Saturday night at Brothers, 704 University Ave., the Madison Police Department reported.

Weston parents convicted of letting daughter die seek new trial

Wausau Daily Herald

Noted: Leilani Neumann?s attorney, Byron Lichstein, wrote that jurors were incorrectly told at her May 2009 trial that she had an absolute duty to provide conventional medical attention to her children and that her religious beliefs could not shield her from conviction, according to documents. Lichstein, the director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison law school?s Criminal Appeals Project, said her trial attorney, Gene Linehan, should have objected when the jury was told this.

The Decline of the Science Fair

New York Times

To the Editor: You examine the declining participation of American high school students in science fairs. The primary reason for this decline is our increasingly sports-obsessed culture, not the curriculum. (Janet E. Mertz is a professor of oncology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.)

On Campus: UW seeks permission to build new homes for autopsies, research and monkeys

Wisconsin State Journal

Several UW-Madison facilities projects are on the agenda for approval at the UW Board of Regents meeting on Thursday and Friday.

….UW Arboretum donation: Loyal and Bernice Durand, UW-Madison professors emeriti, want to donate six acres of undeveloped woodland in the town of Cross Plains to the UW Arboretum. The land is adjacent to a nature conservancy already owned by the university. The gift is valued at about $350,000.

Faculty OK Badger Partnership goals

Badger Herald

After months of negotiation among committee members, the University of Wisconsin Faculty Senate adopted an advisory committee?s principles and proposals for the New Badger Partnership and Chancellor Biddy Martin announced her intention to hire a consultant firm to review UW?s administrative structure.

College donations slow to recover

Green Bay Press-Gazette

Fundraising at the University of Wisconsin-Madison continued its decline in 2010, and the school?s ranking dropped to 12th among the nation?s top 20 colleges and universities, according to a report released last week.

Private donations to UW drop in 2010

Daily Cardinal

UW-Madison may have routed Indiana University 83-20 during the football season, but IU outraised UW-Madison by over $30 million in private donations during 2010, according to the Voluntary Support of Education Survey.

Private donations to UW down in 2010

Badger Herald

While University of Wisconsin alumni and Badger enthusiasts in general are known for making generous donations to support their alma mater, the results of a recent survey suggest that tough economic times may have affected funds received in 2010.

Campus Connection: Good news, bad news for UW donations

Capital Times

UW-Madison was among the national leaders in private funds raised during the 2010 fiscal year according to the annual Voluntary Support of Education Survey, which was released by the Council for Aid to Education on Wednesday.

The survey reports Wisconsin?s flagship institution brought in $311.8 million in gifts, ranking 12th nationally.

But that?s a decrease from a year ago, when UW-Madison raised $341.8 million and ranked 10th nationally in 2009. UW-Madison wasn’t alone in this regard.

Kids of soldiers battle reality of war at home

Wisconsin State Journal

(This article first appeared in Sunday’s Wisconsin State Journal)

Andrew Leckel already was waking up with nightmares about his father?s second yearlong deployment in Iraq. One day he came home crying because his first-grade classmates had inadvertently fueled his fears by talking about soldiers being killed in the war. His mother, Heidi Leckel, says her son?s experiences underscore the need for parents, teachers, neighbors ? everyone ? to be more aware of how hard the long-running wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are hitting children of soldiers.

Mentioned: Laura Pettersen, a UW Extension employee who is project director for the state chapter of the Defense Department?s Operation Military Kids, which provided camps and support for 2,861 youth in 2010.

13% increase in UW Foundation endowment

Daily Cardinal

The UW Foundation grew by 13 percent between June of 2009 and June of 2010, after falling 23 percent the previous year according to a study done by the National Association of College and University Business Officers and the Commonfund Institution.

Can New Online Rankings Really Measure Colleges’ Brand Strength? Unlikely, Experts

Chronicle of Higher Education

For a college, what?s the value of a tweet? Or a Facebook item and mention on a blog? In recent months, a handful of companies have introduced rankings that claim to calculate a college?s brand value or online influence by looking at the attention an institution receives online. One ranking found that the University of Wisconsin at Madison has the strongest brand equity among universities, based on its number of mentions across the Internet. Another named Stanford University the most influential college on Twitter.

Badger Partnership step in rational direction

Badger Herald

Have the inevitable discussion about rising tuition with one of your well-informed peers, and chances are they?ll read you a veritable riot act of legislative abuses that the state?s flagship school did nothing to deserve: prison spending now totals roughly three-quarters of education funding, and state support of UW-Madison, currently hovering around 18 percent, is at an all-time low.