Category: UW-Madison Related

For the first time in 100 years, no coal is being burned at Downtown Madisonâ??s Capitol Heat and Power Plant, said David Helbach, Wisconsinâ??s director of state facilities. The state will spend about $25 million this fall to install gas boilers that will allow the plant to cool and heat Downtown office buildings using only natural gas. The switchover is part of a court agreement between the state and the Sierra Club calling for the elimination of coal at two state-owned plants: UW-Madisonâ??s Charter Street Heating Plant and the Capitol plant. Converting the Charter Street plant from coal to biomass is expected to cost $251 million.

Each year, universities must fend off attacks from poachers â?? outside institutions looking to pick off underpaid or underappreciated faculty members. There were 148 such offers made at UW-Madison in the last academic year, and the university kept about 80 percent of them by making counteroffers. The university also took a more offensive posture than in past years, making 54 â??preemptive moves,â? increasing the pay or benefits for faculty who are perceived at risk of leaving.

If the University of Wisconsin System were graded on its faculty salaries, it would fall behind the class curve. At UW-Madison, full professors are paid about $10,000 below the median at comparable universities. UW-Milwaukee professors earn about $22,000 less than those at peer institutions, and professors at the UW Systemâ??s other institutions make about $14,600 less. â??We found weâ??ve got significant gaps between our salaries and our peer institutions at virtually every level and every type of job,â? said David Giroux, UW System spokesman.

The average welder makes about the same amount of money as the average professor. It pays more to be a faculty member at UW-La Crosse than it does at UW-Stevens Point. Nine of the top 10 highest-paid employees in the University of Wisconsin System are men. These are some of the Wisconsin State Journalâ??s findings from the UW System Redbook, the universityâ??s budget document.

A University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher whose innovations have been licensed to medical imaging companies around the world, and a Neenah company that helps entrepreneurial concerns develop product prototypes, will receive awards from the MIT Club of Wisconsin Friday. Chuck Mistretta, a medical physics professor, developed technologies that gave doctors a better way to look at coronary arteries, dramatically changing the way they used MRI machines and driving many other innovations, said Carl Gulbrandsen, managing director of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, the technology transfer agent for UW-Madison.

Gov. Jim Doyle has appointed an Eau Claire lawyer to the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents. Doyleâ??s appointment of Edmund Manydeeds is being praised by lawmakers from northwestern Wisconsin, who have complained their area lacks adequate representation on the board that governs state universities. Lawmakers passed a bill last year that would have required at least one regent to come from seven geographic districts of the state.

The Bay Creek Neighborhood Association passed a resolution asking the Madison City Council and Dane County Board to create a task force of experts to determine if the continued use of non-human primates in bio-medical research is ethically justified, and to postpone the proposed expansion of primate laboratories at UWâ??Madison until the task force issues its final report.

Noted: Babcock Hall Dairy Store is even getting involved. Theyâ??re testing a new flavor of Google ice cream with Google colored candy and granola to represent, of course, the fiber in fiber optics.Store Manager Sara Brummel says, “This is a way to really set us apart by having an ice cream just for them.”The ice cream certainly wonâ??t hurt but city officials hope Madisonâ??s tech savvy population wins out.

The city of Madison is looking for residentsâ?? help to attract Google Fiber, an experiment by the Google Company to bring ultra-high speed fiber networks to residential homes in trial locations around the country.

Madison is the among cities around the country hoping Google will chose it to test its new fiber-optic network, and the city hosted a public meeting Thursday night to garner support and ideas for the Google network in Madison.

“What Google is doing with this project is theyâ??re saying itâ??s not a zero sum game, itâ??s a win-win game. Once this fiber comes into a home, you can be a customer of Charter, AT&T, TDS or many other providers,” said David Devareaux-Weber, of the University of Wisconsin-Madisonâ??s Department of Information Technology, at the meeting.

The power to unionize may soon be in the hands of faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Superior campuses.

A 26-year-old DeForest man drove into Wingra Creek on Wednesday after arguing with his passenger and then trying to run him over, Madison police said. Dawand L. Washington picked a the 21-year-old passenger from a UW-Madison residence hall and during the ride, the two began arguing over a cell phone.

Faculty at University of Wisconsin campuses in Eau Claire and Superior could be the first to form unions under a new law giving academic workers that right, organizers said Wednesday. Organizers on both campuses said they collected cards from 70 percent or more of faculty members saying they wanted to form unions affiliated with AFT-Wisconsin. They have asked the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission to verify that the response meets the 30 percent threshold required and to set a date for elections, which could occur as early as May

Noted: The University of Wisconsin-Madisonâ??s Babcock Dairy is churning out a new ice cream flavor to help lure Google. The first samples of the new ice cream flavor will be handed out to those who attend Thursday nightâ??s public meeting.

So UW-Madison is having trouble finding top students who want to attend, according to a March 1 article titled â??With less scholarship cash, UW is losing high achievers.â? I wonder where theyâ??re looking.

With the current University of Wisconsin Colleges and Extensions chancellor on his way out, a committee of 23 members has been chosen by the system to search for his successor, UW System announced Tuesday.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Education Secretary Arne Duncan will deliver a commencement speech to University of Wisconsin-Madison graduates this spring. The university announced Wednesday that Duncan will speak at the morning commencement on May 15 at the Kohl Center.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Faculty members at University of Wisconsin campuses in Eau Claire and Superior could be the first professors in the state to form unions.

Organizers on both campuses say they have collected more than enough authorization cards to require an election to decide union representation.

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee needs a little more time to close on its 89-acre purchase at the Milwaukee County Grounds, where the university plans to build a new research facility and business park. But there are no signs the delay amounts to anything more than advertised. UWM should move as expeditiously as possible to develop the site.

The cityâ??s Board of Estimates approved a motion Monday night that would loan $300,000 in tax incremental financing to the developer of a Near West Side senior housing project. Gromacki said a similar situation happened with the redevelopment of University Square near UW-Madison.

The Internet has come a long way over the years — and Madison city leaders say theyâ??re ready for whatâ??s next.Thatâ??s why the mayor and others are hoping to get Googleâ??s attention, as the company is working to find a test site for a new ultra-fast Internet service.

To the Editor: It is heartening that Diane Ravitch has felt compelled to acknowledge the gloomy results of accountability and school choice policies that she previously enthusiastically propounded. (The writer is professor emeritus of educational policy studies and sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.)

Thursdayâ??s rally to protest budget cuts at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee ended in 15 arrests and the detainment of the student government president.

Nearly $9 million in borrowed federal dollars and investment from local businesses and government will go toward expanding broadband Internet access in the Madison, Middleton and Monona areas, Gov. Jim Doyle announced Wednesday. Funding for the work is coming from a $5.1 million grant through the federal stimulus act and $3.7 million from local city and school district coffers; UW-Madison; Dane County; Xiocom Wireless, which operates MadCity Broadband; and others.

The 14th Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibet, will visit the University of Wisconsin-Madison May 15 and 16 to inaugurate a new center devoted to the study of healthy mind development, the university said Wednesday.

When Monona residents ask Metro Transit manager Chuck Kamp why Metro buses traveling through the city donâ??t open their doors, he explains that Monona contracts with a private company for its own bus service.

â??Thatâ??s very disappointingâ? from a regional transit perspective, Kamp said.

Discarded smoking materials started a fire that caused about $10,000 damage to UW-Madisonâ??s Grainger Hall on Monday afternoon, according to investigators from the Madison Fire Department.

The fire was reported just before noon on Monday at Grainger Hall, which is on Park Street between University Avenue and Johnson Street.

Two Wisconsin colleges are trying to determine who distributed racist flyers on their campuses. “White pride” flyers turned up at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Monday and last Thursday at St. Norbert College in De Pere.

Two Wisconsin colleges are trying to determine who distributed racist flyers on their campuses.”White pride” flyers turned up at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Monday and last Thursday at St. Norbert College in De Pere.

City leaders want Madison to be a test sight for Google. At Tuesdayâ??s council meeting Mayor Dave Cieslewicz introduced legislation to support the cityâ??s bid to be one of the cities to try the companyâ??s super high-speed Internet service.

Madison firefighters extinguished a fire in an exterior wall of Grainger Hall on the UW-Madison campus just before noon Monday.

Firefighters arrived to find a large room near the entrance filled with smoke, and occupants still in the building, according to spokesman Lori Wirth. “Evacuation was slow to take place, hampering firefighting operations,” she said.

A dozen young alumni of UW-Madison are being honored by the UW Alumni Association for exemplifying the Wisconsin Idea of touching lives here, as well as around the world.

The “Forward Under 40” awards were announced on Monday by WAA president and CEO Paula Bonner.

“We are proud to recognize our younger generation of alumni for their commitment to demonstrating the Wisconsin Idea in all that they do,” Bonner said in a release from the UW-Madison news service.

Barring a small miracle, either in the form of a cashierâ??s check or a change of heart, a planned practice rink for the University of Wisconsin menâ??s and womenâ??s hockey teams wonâ??t be built anytime soon. UW athletic director Barry Alvarez set an early-March deadline for raising $2 million in gift funds toward the $25 million facility, which is scheduled to break ground this spring and be completed in 2012.

Barring a small miracle, either in the form of a cashierâ??s check or a change of heart, a planned practice rink for the University of Wisconsin menâ??s and womenâ??s hockey teams wonâ??t be built anytime soon.

UW athletic director Barry Alvarez set an early-March deadline for raising $2 million in gift funds toward the $25 million facility, which is scheduled to break ground this spring and be completed in 2012.

A motorist died early Sunday after a chase and two crashes just after midnight, UW-Madison police reported.

A UW-Madison police officer tried to stop a vehicle driven by Darrell H. Pantazes, 51, of Skokie, Ill., for going the wrong way on West Johnson Street at 12:10 a.m. Pantazes reportedly failed to stop and struck another vehicle at the intersection of University Avenue and Orchard Street, but continued westbound on University Avenue. The person in the other vehicle was taken to a hospital for precautionary measures.

A motorist who was apparently driving erratically near the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus was killed shortly after midnight on Sunday after crashing into another car and a traffic pole, authorities said.

A project to convert leftover food into fuel will begin construction in the spring at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and will be the first of its kind nationwide.

On the UW-Oshkosh campus, cafeteria leftovers could soon be used to power the collegeâ??s heat and electricity. The university says its planned dry fermentation anaerobic biodigester will be the first of its kind in the nation, converting campus and community yard and food waste into fuel.

On the UW-Oshkosh campus, cafeteria leftovers could soon be used to power the collegeâ??s heat and electricity.

The university says its planned dry fermentation anaerobic biodigester will be the first of its kind in the nation, converting campus and community yard and food waste into fuel.

A University of Wisconsin-Madison research employee who was convicted of having child pornography has been sentenced to six months in jail. A judge sentenced 41-year-old Sidney Gullens on Friday but granted Huber work-release privileges.

If I were to judge the University of Wisconsin-Madison vs. Brothers Bar case based solely on the ginormous sign recently hung on the side of the bar it would have me leaning toward the University. It seriously does the bar a disservice in the fight because it has the uninformed asking, “Why does Brothers Bar hate music education?”

It has been up for less than a day, but city of Madison officials are telling Brothers Bar and Grill owners that they need to take down the brassy “No UW Music School” sign draping the side of the building. Matt Tucker, city zoning administrator, said it violates city codes that restrict the size of signs to 32-square-feet in area and 15-feet in height.

The State of Wisconsin Investment Board approved a plan to add leverage to its investment strategy. Teachers at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, pictured, could be beneficiaries of the tack if it works.

College administrators from Michigan and New York are among the finalists to be the next chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

The University of Wisconsin Athletic Department Tuesday sent out a release to Wisconsin football season-ticket holders informing them that the department is requesting a $3 per ticket increase for the 2010 season.

Many students had the day off for Presidentâ??s Day, and some families headed down to Discovery World Museum for Badger Day. FOX6 Reporter Kim Murphy shows you students got an up close look at how science works.

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has agreed to settle a campus newspaperâ??s lawsuit demanding full access to the student union boardâ??s meeting records. The university agreed to turn over unredacted copies of the minutes and pay the UWM Post nearly $11,800 in attorney fees, according to the settlement attorneys for both sides signed Friday.

A former University of Wisconsin-Whitewater dean agreed Friday to pay $1,000 and drop his racial discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against university officials after days of trial testimony.

A former UW-Whitewater dean agreed Friday to pay $1,000 and drop his racial discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against university officials after days of trial testimony.

MADISON, Wis. — A former University of Wisconsin-Whitewater dean has agreed to pay $1,000 and dismiss his racial discrimination lawsuit against university officials.

Howard Ross dropped the case after days of trial testimony Friday. His attorney, Robert Kasieta, said it became clear he was likely to lose because the case had become too convoluted for the jury.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy has raised more than $22 million in a six-year campaign to bolster recruiting and retaining of top teachers and to establish new scholarships.

This much is clear: He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madisonâ??s communication arts program. He is making the gift with his wife through a family foundation. They have a son who recently graduated from the college. Based on that publicly available information, Internet sleuths may be able to guess the identity of the donors who promised $15 million to build a music performance facility at the university. But a judge has decided that their names can stay secret for now, a decision praised by university fundraisers.

This much is clear: He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madisonâ??s communication arts program. He is making the gift with his wife through a family foundation. They have a son who recently graduated from the college.

Based on that publicly available information, Internet sleuths may be able to guess the identity of the donors who promised $15 million to build a music performance facility at the university. But a judge has decided that their names can stay secret for now, a decision praised by university fundraisers.

A University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy fundraising campaign recently raised $22.6 million to support students, faculty and programs, exceeding expectations.

Jack Ohle tweets, something a few other college presidents find odd.”â??You do what?â?? they all say,” said Ohle. Ohle is president of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn. But to his Twitter followers, heâ??s simply @GustiePrez.

In another blow to Googleâ??s plan to create a giant digital library and bookstore, the Justice Department on Thursday said that a class-action settlement between the company and groups representing authors and publishers had significant legal problems, even after recent revisions.

A former University of Wisconsin-Whitewater dean is expected to continue testifying at his civil trial against university officials Wednesday.

A former University of Wisconsin-Whitewater dean is expected to continue testifying at his civil trial against university officials Wednesday.

As Dean of Students, Iâ??m a regular consumer of newspapers, blogs and websites containing news and opinions about the state of our campus community. Iâ??m most proud of our students, faculty and staff when we engage in a thoughtful and productive exchange of ideas on even the most controversial topics. That is the foundation of our campus â?? the process of fearless sifting and winnowing.

Getting kids involved in gardening is a growing movement in Madison. To keep the momentum growing, gardening enthusiasts will gather at the Goodman Community Center on Feb. 20 for the Madison Youth Grow Local Conference.