Category: UW-Madison Related

Even in an intensely watched setting like the UW-Madison campus, information technology staff discovered 20 computers infected with Conficker. “Twenty out of 40,000 isn’t too bad,” said UW IT spokesperson Meg McCall.

“What we then do is cut those machines off immedately from network access, encourage them to work with out help desk or do other maintenance to remove that,” said McCall.

McCall said UW constantly encourages students to pick up free security upgrades on CD. A more directed warning went out back in October, she said.

To help keep the thousands of private student laptops clean as well, anyone later discovered to have Conficker, will also be unplugged from UW’s network.

Thereâ??s some not-so-happy news for cows on the UW-Madison campus.

A $3 million proposal to remodel the bovine living quarters likely won’t be getting state funding in the next two years, after state Department of Administration officials rejected the proposal for inclusion in the capital budget.

The project was necessary, officials in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences said, because the cattle center on the west side of campus was built in the 1950s and is now outdated. The stalls are too small for todayâ??s cows and not ventilated properly.

The chancellor of UW-Stevens Point hit a parked car while in Madison to see Gov. Jim Doyle speak and left the scene of the crash without alerting anyone, according to a Madison Police Department report.

Linda Bunnell, who was driving a car registered to the UW Board of Regents, said in a statement Thursday that she was in a hurry to get to the governorâ??s budget address last month and was planning to follow-up with police and her insurance company later that evening.

The chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point wound up with a traffic citation when she visited Madison to hear Gov. Jim Doyle speak last month.

A police report said Chancellor Linda Bunnell hit a parked SUV and left the scene without telling anyone.

She released a statement Thursday saying that when the incident happened around 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 17, she was in a hurry to get to Doyle’s budget address and planned to follow up with police and her insurance company later that evening.

Meanwhile, a witness called police with her car’s license number, and an officer found the car and left a note.

Madison – Most University of Wisconsin-Madison undergraduates would eventually pay $1,000 more per year under a plan to improve quality and increase financial aid. Chancellor Biddy Martin has proposed in-state undergrads pay a $250 supplemental tuition charge next school year and out-of-state students pay $750. The charge would go up the following three years.
(Posted in the state-by-state national news top stories.)

While experts across the nation are busy drafting solutions to deal with what some call a national economic crisis, UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin is creating her own strategy for sustaining affordability and academic excellence.

University of Wisconsin Chancellor Biddy Martin announced to a group of student leaders Tuesday an initiative to create differential tuition for all UW undergraduates to increase financial aid and the number of faculty positions.

University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin is proposing a four-year plan to increase undergraduate tuition to maintain the school’s quality.

Martin wants students from Wisconsin to pay a supplemental tuition charge of $250 starting next school year. The charge would grow by $250 per year through 2013.

Out-of-state students would pay a $750 supplemental charge next fall, and it would increase by that amount through 2013.

Those charges would be on top of any statewide tuition increase.

Despite the economic crisis and a projected $5.7 billion state budget shortfall over the next biennium, it’s looking like the building boom on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus will continue for at least the next couple years.

The Higher Education Subcommittee of the state’s Building Commission recommended last week that $580.9 million in building projects across campus move forward during the 2009-11 biennium. This action by the subcommittee is just a first step — but an important one — as the state works toward its budget.

The Plan Commission passed new regulations for a Monroe Street bar Monday night after the establishment received criticism for not complying with city policy.

Is conducting the University of Wisconsin Marching Band on your list of things to do?

You can bid on a chance to do so, plus dozens of other Badger- and UW-related products and services, during the online Big Badger Auction that starts Wednesday and continues through April 8.

A proposal by the governor has lawmakers in the Chippewa Valley wondering if he’s leaving western Wisconsin out in the cold.

The UW System has recommended that UW-Eau Claire’s plan to update its education building be given priority for state funding. But the governor is recomending $240 million worth of projects for UW-Milwaukee’s campus. As a result, UWEC’s project was taken off the list.

“I always drive in the morning and I always see the cranes in the distance at Luther Hospital. And it’s like gee, maybe someday we’ll get some cranes on our campus and actually build something new,” says UW-Eau Claire Chancellor Brian Levin-Stankevich.

State lawmakers have wrapped up their first round of public hearings on the proposed state budget.

The Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee was in Sparta Monday, where hundreds of people turned out to comment on the budget plan. Committee co-chair Mark Pocan (D-Madison) says it provides real feedback on key issues.

In 1962, English professor Frederic Cassidy presented a paper at a scholarly conference called, “The American Dialect Society Dictionary: How soon?”

About 50 years, it turns out.

The Dictionary of American Regional English founded by Cassidy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is nearing completion of its final volume of text covering S to Z. A new federal grant will help the volume get published next year and allow the dictionary that linguists consider a national treasure to prepare to go online.

Used book lovers are lining up for the biggest sale in the state starting Wednesday at Memorial Library on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

The semi-annual sale includes more than 15,000 books covering almost any subject, and other media, including CDs, DVDs, video, record albums and maps, will also be on sale.

But it wasn’t until Mark Wagler’s fourth- and fifth-grade classes at Randall Elementary School researched the old Greenbush neighborhood three years ago that the idea of commemorating the triangle’s storied past grew. Thanks to the class’ efforts, the Madison City Council declared an annual “Greenbush Day,” which will be celebrated on Tuesday at the UW Welcome Center. The event will honor past and present neighborhood cultures with groups such as the Madison Yiddish Choir, Woezo (featuring West African drums), and a performance from TAPIT/new works combining Italian food, comedy and drama called “Mangia, Mangia!” Greenbush Day will also feature exhibits and speeches remembering the time when the neighborhood residents overlooked their differences to become a tight-knit community when they were not received by the larger community.

Madison Area Crime Stoppers is using a new type of software that allows people to send tips from cell phones by text message.

The Dane County Sheriff’s Department, along with Madison and University of Wisconsin-Madison police, will utilize new TipSoft technology software from a Texas-based company, which gives people the ability to send leads on crimes to law enforcement with their cell phones via text messages.

John Dejung, a UW-Madison graduate who has worked the past 12 years as 911/311 director for the city of Minneapolis, has been named director of the Dane County Public Safety Communications Center, County Executive Kathleen Falk announced Thursday.

Dejung’s first official day as Dane County Public Safety Communications Director will be June 1. His starting salary will be $120,000.

The Minneapolis 911 Center was awarded the 911 Call Center of the Year for 2008 by the 911 Institute for its handling and emergency response coordination of the Interstate 35 bridge collapse in 2007, according to a news release.

Count Wisconsin Public Radio among the media outlets feeling the pinch from the sour economy.

Support in February’s pledge drive, when program hosts solicit and solicit listeners for donations, actually exceeded its goal of $800,000, raising a total $878,000. But a pledge drive launched last fall, just as stock market losses signaled the depth of the economic downturn, missed its goal, said WPR acting director Mike Crane. And end of year gifts, when listeners who pledge their support during the on-air drives often give again in a mail campaign, were disappointing. All in all, fundraising from listeners is $300,000 off pace this year, Crane reported.

Saturday’s Wisconsin State Journal Business section touts a recent study showing parallel numbers of alumni CEOs for Harvard University and the University of Wisconsin, each with 13 currently heading S&P 500 companies.

What the article fails to point out is the inequality in enrollment figures for the two schools. (2nd item.)

University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s chancellor is retiring after leading the school through a period of tremendous growth.

David Markee announced Tuesday he plans to retire in August after leading the university since 1996.

UW-Platteville is largely known for its engineering program, and under Markee’s leadership, it became the fastest growing university in the state. Its enrollment increased nearly 50 percent over the past 10 years to 7,500 students.

A Madison man given a drunken driving ticket following a crash at the intersection of Observatory Drive and North Park Street late last week made matters much worse when University Police took him to an emergency room to have blood drawn. He now faces two felony counts for hitting a nurse and spitting on a cop.

The spring book sale organized by the Friends of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries will be March 25-28 in 116 Memorial Library, 728 State St.

The preview sale, which carries a $5 entry, will be from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on March 25. Book prices will be $5 for hardcover and $3 for paperback.

Gov. Jim Doyle proposed Monday that the state authorize $240â??million for construction projects at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, an unprecedented amount that UWM Chancellor Carlos Santiago said would enable the university to reinvent itself as a research and economic force in the metro region.

Laurits (Lau) Christensen, chair of the economic and engineering consulting firm Christensen Associates of Madison, has established a named faculty chair in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Economics, the UW announced.

Christensen, who served on the UW-Madison economics faculty for 20 years, says he made the gift to allow the recruitment and retention of top-flight professors, the UW said in a news release.

If the snow goes, can road construction be far behind?

Monday the city starts rebuilding the Gorham Street-University Avenue corridor, with lengthy delays expected during commuting times all summer.

“The University Avenue project will be a challenging one,” said city traffic engineer and parking manager Dave Dryer. “We will ask people to have patience, use alternative modes if they can. Some may be able to alternate schedules to avoid the most problematic times and use alternate routes.”

Winter is winding down.

So that means construction is gearing up.

Monday crews will start working on one of the first projects of the season downtown.

Billy Medley has only been driving on the streets of Madison for about a year and he’s already learned that road construction is a way of life here.

“It’s what I think of Madison. Always being improved. “

The year 1955 was a good one for a student photographer at the University of Wisconsin named Duane Hopp. He took photos of Frank Lloyd Wright in formal wear and Louis Armstrong in his shorts.

The Wright photo ran in Life magazine. The one of Armstrong â?? the only photograph of him in his underwear, according to Satchmo â?? was published in the UW-Madison student yearbook. Now, a half century on, Hopp thinks it might be time to publish them again.

Hopp, 77, has been thinking there might be a book in the best of the thousands of photos he shot over his extraordinary career, which included 26 years at the Photographic Media Center at UW-Madison.

All three finalists for Dane County 911 director have local connections.

A 911 board selection panel this week sent three names to Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk for final review: John Dejung, Eddie Goldsmith and Phillip Vorlander.

Dejung, the top choice, who earned his master’s degree in business administration from UW-Madison, has been director of the Minneapolis 911/311 center for 12 years. The center was named the best in the country last year by the Washington-based E9-1-1 Institute for how it handled the Minneapolis bridge collapse in 2007.

Madison motorists using a critical downtown corridor might want to consider an alternate route this spring and summer as road construction begins on Gorham Street, University Avenue and Broom Street.

The project is only six blocks long and two blocks wide, but it will tie up an important juncture where Gorham Street, the main westbound one-way street into downtown from the east side, meshes with University Avenue, the key one-way conduit through the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus heading to the west side.

Work begins Monday and is expected to continue through September.

Friday’s article regarding my remarks to the UW Board of Regents concerning the proposed budget lacked some important context. It characterized my view of the university’s fortunes as “grim” when, in fact, the governor’s budget provides many significant advances for our campus.

As my colleagues and I pointed out, it provides new sources of financial aid for low- and middle-income students, funding for research initiatives, resources for faculty retention and recruitment and support for domestic partner health benefits.

The 5 percent cuts mentioned were a worst-case scenario — something that could result if no tuition funds were used to help offset reductions and if there were a 1 percent cut on all funds. I stated that I don’t expect that will be the outcome.

Yes, pay more to protect youth

Thanks for your courageous stand on increasing the beer tax. But let’s not stop at a few pennies per beer. That would hardly start to pay off the annual $5 billion tab for alcohol-related health, social, and legal problems in Wisconsin.

Another reason for a higher tax is that increasing the price of alcohol is the single most effective way to decrease binge drinking by young people. Such drinking in itself causes harm, and for teenagers it poses risk for lifelong alcoholism.

A third reason is that stronger enforcement is only part of a comprehensive package to make our roads safer. In Wisconsin, three-fourths of intoxicated drivers involved in fatal crashes have never before been caught for drunken driving.

I could hardly believe what I was reading on Sunday’s sports page. I agree that there should be incentives and rewards for exceptional performance, but a $100,000 bonus was awarded to UW football coach Bret Bielema for exceptional achievement.

Leaders from across the University of Wisconsin System sounded a collective alarm Thursday during a Board of Regents meeting on the UW-Madison campus, stressing that state budget cuts would deeply impact students.

“Let us take our share of the pain,” UW-Madison Chancellor Carolyn “Biddy” Martin told the regents. “But let us not undermine the extraordinary quality of a UW-Madison or UW System degree.”

Due to a projected $5.7 billion state budget shortfall and a deepening recession, UW-Madison would need to absorb $63.4 million in cuts over the next two years if Gov. Jim Doyleâ??s recommended 2009-11 biennium budget passes in its current form. That figure represents more than a third of the UW Systemâ??s potential $174 million in lost funding.

Siavash Sarlati of Milwaukee, 24, a medical student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was one of those taking part in President Obama’s health care summit.

Wednesday evening, at the Sa-Bai Thong restaurant on Odana Road, a distinguished-looking visitor from Thailand eased into a booth and smiled broadly as he was handed a copy of a newspaper story four decades old.

Pongsak Payakvichien is a legend in journalism in Thailand. When the Wisconsin Alumni Association (WAA) presented him with its Distinguished Alumni Award in 2000, they noted that he had “almost single-handedly brought about Thai journalism’s coming-of-age.”

MADISON, Wis. — University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin said state budget cuts could force her campus to limit enrollment in some programs, cut course sections and do less research.

Martin said she asked college deans to develop plans to cut their budgets by 5 percent, about the amount Gov. Jim Doyle’s budget plan would require.

MADISON, Wis. — A new report said a 10-year program to increase diversity in the University of Wisconsin System made progress but much more work needs to be done.

MADISON, Wis. — University of Wisconsin System officials are proposing changes to speed up the construction of new buildings while holding down costs.

A report released on Tuesday said laws and rules governing the state building program are outdated, overly burdensome and time-consuming.

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee would take a $19.8 million budget cut over the next two years under Gov. Jim Doyle’s budget plan, university officials said Monday.

The reduction makes up about 11% of the UW System’s total $174 million budget reduction.

The system late Monday released a breakdown of the cuts that each of its campuses will have to absorb if Doyle’s budget passes in its current form.

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse will provide about $5.4 million â?? more than any other UW System school â?? to help create $25 million in financial aid for Wisconsin students.

Gov. Jim Doyleâ??s 2009-11 state budget includes a one-time transfer of $25 million from UW System school reserves to fund student financial aid.

The system sorted out how schools would pay for the financial aid based on how much each had in reserve funds from user fees for residence halls, dining halls and other services.

Thereâ??s a fine line between optimism and naivete and it seems as though Barry Alvarez is trying to walk it wearing a blindfold and a full-body cast.

The University of Wisconsin athletic director clearly realizes his department is facing major financial challenges â?? hence a leaner, more fan-friendly operating budget for next year â?? yet some key projections are held together by delicate strands of hope.

Ralph Ramirez’s mother came from a family of migrant workers.

“She used to go to Door County all the time,” Ramirez was recalling recently, “but not to do anything but pick cherries.”

Ramirez’s father worked in foundries most of his life. Having served in the military police during World War II, he applied at municipal police departments after the war.

Just call it “Match.com for the Super-Skilled Set.”

But beginners need not apply, organizers said.

Instead, the Badger Career Network Alerts program seeks to connect mostly graduates who are now in mid-career and executive-level positions with companies seeking new management, scientific and professional talent in those fields.

Put on your dancing shoes and literally dance the night away at the Shell on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

A dance marathon begins at 9 p.m. Friday and will continue for 12 hours to 9 a.m. Saturday, with participants raising money to help the kids and their families at American Family Children’s Hospital.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison raised more gift money last year than any other public university except UCLA, according to a survey released Wednesday.

But donations are slowing as the recession deepens, university officials said, which could mean less scholarship money for students.

The Freedom of Choice Act that is waiting in the political wings will provide an opportunity for all Americans of faith to shake out their spiritual cobwebs. They will be called to act in accordance with their consciences against the forces who would love to see Americans subjugate our tradition of faith and belief in natural law to a sense of political correctness. This political correctness has led this country (and by our financial support we’ve helped lead other countries) to accept that one human life has value over another.

Seventeen University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty have received almost $1 million in fellowships and awards from the UW-Madison Graduate School, with the honors being funded by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

Boosted by a healthy year-end finish in 2007, private giving to colleges and universities remained strong in fiscal 2008, according to a report to be released this morning by the Council for Aid to Education. The past few months have battered hopes that this trend will continue, at least in the next couple of years.

Colleges brought in an estimated $31.6-billion last year, the highest total ever reported in the council’s annual “Voluntary Support of Education” survey, which included 1,052 institutions. That represented a 6.2-percent increase over the previous year, and the fifth straight year of increases.

Gifts to colleges and universities broke all records in 2008, but began to decline as the recession deepened, and will most likely continue to do so for the next two years, according to a survey by the Council for Aid to Education.

The University of California, Los Angeles, raised the most of any public institution, coming in sixth on the list, with $456.6 million, followed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, ranked eighth with $410.2 million.

An attorney who has represented prisoners held at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay will talk about his experiences in March, during a presentation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Jeff Colman, a 1970 history graduate from UW-Madison, will talk about his Guantanamo cases and then hold a question-and-answer session, beginning at noon on March 9 in the Lubar Commons, Room 7200 at the UW-Madison Law School, 975 Bascom Mall.

Sloan Fellows

Four UW-Madison faculty members are among 118 scientists, mathematicians and economists from around the country who have been awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowships. The Sloan Fellowships, which come with two-year, $50,000 grants, were awarded to: Shuchi Chawla, computer science; Karsten M. Heeger, physics; Song Jin, chemistry; Tehshik Yoon, chemistry.

Climate seminars

A series of free public seminars beginning Thursday at UW-Madison will address how the state of Wisconsin can respond to climate change. “Bracing for Impact: Climate Change Adaptation in Wisconsin” is the theme of the nine-part series, to be held in room 1111 Genetics-Biotechnology Center Building, 425 Henry Mall. Each seminar will start at 7 p.m. and last about an hour.

Finance seminar

Undergraduate students at UW-Madison can attend the annual Financial Independence Seminar on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Grainger Hall, 975 University Ave. Hosted by the Wisconsin Alumni Student Board and the Wisconsin School of Business, students can get expert financial advice about managing student loans, improving credit scores, investing money and more. Registration is required by Wednesday at www.uwalumni.com/wasb.

Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle on Thursday signed into law a package that will raise taxes on businesses, cut state spending and authorize the immediate use of $300 million in federal stimulus cash for roads and bridges.

Dozens of commercial and residential infill developments are itemized in this report about the ongoing construction boom on Madison’s isthmus. But these private-sector developments are dwarfed by what is taking place on the UW-Madison campus, where two dozen significant projects have been completed since February 2005, are now under construction or have been proposed for the next five years.

Though fewer in number than the noted private-sector projects, these UW developments are larger in scale: In total, they represent almost $1.5 billion (with a b) in value — about three times the total invested in private-sector developments for the same period. (See related Isthmus story.)

Noted: Did I mention that the UW has almost $700 million in new construction in mind through 2011? â??Itâ??s the complete rejuvenation of big chunks of the campus,â? notes Al Fish, UW-Madisonâ??s associate vice chancellor.

Governor Jim Doyle goes after the rich, the oil companies, and smokers in his proposed state budget. Doyle calls for deep cuts in state spending – $2.2 billion worth – deepest in state history according to Doyle, who also says he has no plans to increase middle class taxes. “My budget stands up for the people who earn regular paychecks, and the people who through no fault of their own, have lost theirs,” the governor told a joint session of the Wisconsin legislature Tuesday night at the Capitol in Madison.

Gov. Jim Doyle called Tuesday night for the state’s top earners, those earning capital gains, smokers and oil companies to pay more as part of his plan to balance the state’s projected $5.7 billion budget deficit for 2009-11.

In addition to the tax hikes, Doyle proposed using a mix of spending cuts and federal stimulus money to balance the budget while protecting education and public safety.

In all, the governor called for $1.4 billion in revenue increases and $2.2 billion in cuts to state programs to help close the shortfall, along with $2.1 billion in federal stimulus money.

With the recent passing of Wayne McGown, Wisconsin lost a dedicated, talented public servant.

McGown began his professional career with the Four Lakes Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He served as an administrator under six Wisconsin governors over a 20-year period. He later served for a similar time as a special assistant to four UW-Madison chancellors.

In that capacity, he was instrumental in helping Chancellor Irving Shain establish and develop the University Research Park, a vibrant and dynamic part of Madison’s economic base.

Throughout his career, McGown was a consummate example of the best qualities of true public service. His focus was never on himself, but always on what was best for the state, the university and Madison.

He should be appropriately recognized for the considerable legacy he has left us.

— Art Hove, Madison

Wisconsin college students are not satisfied with Gov. Jim Doyle’s statement that “staying even is the new increase” when it comes to funding.
In a letter to the governor sent last week, students and those representing student interests urged him to increase funding for financial aid in the next budget.

The city of Madison, which just passed one of its tightest budgets in years, stands to get millions of dollars in the new $798 billion federal stimulus package, officials learned Monday.

“We have a terrific opportunity in Madison,” Len Simon, the cityâ??s federal lobbyist told the Board of Estimates by phone from Washington, D.C. “There is a large amount of funding available.”