Category: UW-Madison Related

Madison received the top award for its population size from the Digital Cities Survey for its innovation in online technology for city residents.

Letter writer opines on Sex Out Loud.

The UW Roman Catholic Foundation may be able to keep all 14 of its full-time positions after all, as the Associated Students of Madison Student Judiciary ruled late Monday night to reverse the Student Services Finance Committee�s original decision to deny the group contract status.

The University of Wisconsin at Madison, $1.835-billion as of November 9 (increase of $28.3-million in the last month); the goal was $1.5-billion by 2007.

If the stakes were not so high, the muted exchange between members of a state legislative panel and officials from the University of Wisconsin System over an overly generous sick leave program would be almost comical.

When the U.S. Supreme Court agreed in June to hear two cases about the use of race as a factor in elementary and secondary public school assignments, many in higher education were understandably intrigued.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 � By the time the Supreme Court finished hearing arguments on Monday on the student-assignment plans that two urban school systems use to maintain racial integration, the only question was how far the court would go in ruling such plans unconstitutional.

There seemed little prospect that either the Louisville, Ky., or Seattle plans would survive the hostile scrutiny of the court�s new majority. In each system, students are offered a choice of schools but can be denied admission based on their race if enrolling at a particular school would upset the racial balance.

LISTENING THIS week to a new song devoted to public transportation in Portland has led me to conclude that Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz needs to expand his vision of how Portland’s futuristic ideas can be transferred to Madison.

….The question for Madison is: Where can we build a tram? The obvious answer is Bascom Hill….

Stuart D. Levitan, author and UW-Madison alum, celebrated the release of his long awaited book, ââ?¬Å?Madison: The Illustrated Sesquicentennial History,ââ?¬Â at the Orpheum Theater Wednesday night.

A contentious development near the UW Arboretum was dealt a setback Wednesday night when a zoning decision was overturned.

UW-Madison�s Chazen Museum of Art expansion is not progressing as quickly as officials thought.

Two years ago, estimations were made to have all funds raised by fall 2006 and expansion completed by 2009 for the university�s museum. The plan requires funds adding up to $35 million.

For every wacky, part-time lecturer spinning silly conspiracy theories at UW-Madison, there are hundreds if not thousands of talented educators and researchers helping Wisconsin in tangible ways.

Don’t know much about history? Don’t know much geography? There are some painless remedies for that this holiday season.

This week’s main event is the launch of “Madison: The Illustrated Sesquicentennial History, Volume 1, 1856-1931” by city planner-journalist-labor mediator-politician Stuart Levitan.

The University of Wisconsin Press launch party, free and open to all, will be Wednesday from 5 to 8 p.m. in the lobby of the Orpheum Theatre on State Street.

Fundraising for the $35 million expansion of UW- Madison’s Chazen Museum of Art is lagging $10 million behind projections, delaying construction by at least two years – or, worst-case scenario, leaving its elaborate building plans uncertain.
When UW-Madison alumni Jerome and Simona Chazen donated $20 million to the former Elvehjem Museum of Art in May 2005, university administrators were confident that another $15 million for the facility’s 62,000- square-foot addition could be rounded up by this fall. To date only $5 million is “firmly committed,” said museum director Russell Panczenko.

Finally, a large number of American and Iraqi scholars, leaders and policy analysts have determined the obvious: yes, we have a civil war in Iraq, and it has existed for a long time.

Anyone with a sense of history knows that when a country is being torn apart by contending internal forces (two or more) and the government is largely dysfunctional and, above all, incapable of quashing the effort, that is civil war. Hardly rocket science. Add to the mix what historians recognize as ââ?¬Å?an insurgency,ââ?¬Â one that is remarkably successful and gaining in strength by the day. Maybe we are getting better.

After years of denial in Vietnam, we recognized reality ââ?¬â? and left. Does that mean ââ?¬Å?cut and runââ?¬Â? Can we move beyond President Bushââ?¬â?¢s clichÃ?©s and manipulative language and simply say we must leave a situation that we cannot control?

Stanley I. Kutler
The writer is emeritus professor of history and law at the University of Wisconsin.

UW-Madison has decided not to pursue $100,000 originally promised to the university as part of a donor�s estate to which his daughter claimed as her rightful inheritance, the Associated Press reported Thursday.

The UW-Madison fundraising arm is drawing criticism for unsuccessfully fighting for two years to obtain an additional $100,000 from the estate of a donor who meant to leave the money for his once- estranged daughter.
Just as the state Supreme Court was ready to hear the case, the UW Foundation last month agreed to allow the estate of Harold Mennes to pay $100,000 to his daughter plus $34,000 in fees to her attorneys.

The case highlights a dilemma for nonprofit groups: how hard to pursue money they believe is theirs. Fight too hard and they risk antagonizing potential donors, but too soft might mean they lose money for their cause.

As one of the 37 percent of Americans who believe it is either “very likely” or “somewhat likely” that federal officials either participated in or took no action to prevent the Sept. 11 attacks, I’d like to point out that UW-Madison lecturer Kevin Barrett has challenged anyone — especially Rep. Steve Nass — to a debate.

U.S. must change backward views on breastfeeding

Thanks to Susan Lampert Smith for her Sunday column “UW being a boob with mom who must pump.” Smith accurately described the discrimination and humiliation new mothers often experience in the U.S. while breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding needs to be promoted, protected and preserved. New mothers should not have to be banned to the rest rooms to either feed their child or pump milk. I’m sure Camp Randall has an appropriate, clean place for mothers to breastfeed or pump in privacy.

Dear Editor: The University of Wisconsin is one of 14 competitors for the new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, intended to replace the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Plum Island Animal Disease Center. The proposed facility would be located at the UW’s Kegonsa Research Facility in the town of Dunn.

The UW-Madison fundraising arm is drawing criticism for unsuccessfully fighting for two years to obtain an additional $100,000 from the estate of a donor who meant to leave the money for his once- estranged daughter.

Just as the state Supreme Court was ready to hear the case, the UW Foundation last month agreed to allow the estate of Harold Mennes to pay $100,000 to his daughter plus $34,000 in fees to her attorneys.

Joel Plant doesn�t think taverns should have last calls, because they cause patrons who may already be intoxicated to rush the bar and then drink fast before they pour out into the street.

Plant, Madisonââ?¬â?¢s Alcohol Policy Coordinator for about a year, also believes municipalities should have a system that prevents an establishment from morphing from a restaurant into a bar by removing tables and creating ââ?¬Å?vertical drinking space,ââ?¬Â where patrons stand shoulder to shoulder.

This is way too cool to resist sharing it with the rest of the class: The UW-Madison has launched an interactive online campus map that blows all previous campus maps out of the water.

From Eagle Heights and Frautschi Point in the map’s northwest corner, the map encompasses the Lake Mendota shoreline all the way to Lowell Hall and from there south to the Kohl Center. But what’s cool about the map are its interactive features.

Wisconsin Union Travel Center employees and other UW-Madison students have drawn up a student initiative in hopes of saving the campus-funded Travel Center after Union administration announced Thursday that it would close in Summer 2007.

Arlen Leholm will resign as dean of the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension at the end of January to become executive director of the North Central Regional Association of State Agricultural Experiment Station Directors.

It’s all about synergy as two of the state’s top research institutes join forces. Marshfield Clinic and WiSys Technology Foundation have announced a partnership to strengthen collaborations in research and technology transfer. Dr. Robert. Carlson, director of Marshfield Clinic Applied Sciences, says the agreement’s been in the works for several years.

The UW-Madison Teaching Assistants� Association vigorously opposes a new graduate assistant tuition remission plan set for implementation in January. TAA estimates hundreds of graduate assistant positions will be lost�an outcome disputed by the university administration.

The first TV bulletin said only that a plane had crashed near Tri-State Airport in Huntington, W.Va.

“I remember feeling sad, but I think we all assumed it was a tiny plane of some sort. So we really didn’t give it much thought,” recalls Veronica Heide, who was a senior at Huntington High School at the time and had been watching TV the night of Nov. 14, 1970, with her parents and three siblings.

Movie viewers unfortunate enough to start watching the infamous 1987 flop “Ishtar” were quick to ask: “When does this end?” Wisconsin is asking the same question of the Kevin Barrett story at UW-Madison.

A long-time benefactor of UW-Madison has left more than $16.5 million to various university programs as part of her estate.
Ethel K. Allen, known to friends as “Toddy,” died on May 7 at age 98. Allen received her bachelor’s degree in botany in 1928 and a master’s degree in bacteriology in 1930 from the University of Wisconsin. Those departments will receive more than $412,000 each.

References UW-Madison study on Wisconsin’s deer herd.

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was added last week to InfoWorld�s 2006 list of organizations that best contributed to expanding businesses through the use of technology.

Two major construction projects are underway at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater to better meet the needs of students on campus.

Since we’re on the topic of weird stuff, we see that Kevin Barrett, professor emeritus of wacky ideas at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, plans to apply for more teaching jobs at UW after his fall course on Islam ends. Barrett created a controversy by teaching the theory that the Sept. 11 attacks were orchestrated by the Bush administration. What’s next, Kevin? A course on meteorology exploring the possibility that Hurricane Katrina was caused by UFO training exercises in the mid-Atlantic? Here’s a tip: If you’re looking for work, try Faber College, and be sure to tell Dean Wormer we sent you.

A special Board of Regents committee met Thursday with representatives from various University of Wisconsin System campuses to further discussions on revising the current faculty disciplinary policy.

Though the University of Wisconsin campus is adorned with ââ?¬Å?We Conserveââ?¬Â signs promoting environmental consciousness, a number of UW students and Dane County residents gathered Wednesday to say the university is not actually adhering to that agenda.

With the permit for the coal plant on Charter Street up for renewal this year, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources held a public hearing to hear residents� opinions.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 � A least half of eighth graders tested in science failed to demonstrate even a basic understanding of the subject in 9 of 10 major cities, and fourth graders, the only other group tested, fared little better, according to results released here Wednesday.

As we get older, it’s always great to look at photos of when we were young. The memories of childhood just start flowing back into our minds.

A UW Madison alumni is making a difference by giving orphans a portrait of themselves painted by art students a world away.

Letter writer opines on Kevin Barrett.

WASHINGTON – Organized labor delivered millions of votes for the Democratic Party in the 2006 midterm elections and has spelled out what it wants from the Democratic-controlled Congress in return.

Union workers voted Democratic in the House races, 67 percent to 30 percent. And others in union households voted almost as strongly Democratic, according to exit polls conducted for The Associated Press and the networks.AFL-CIO President John Sweeney sees the elections as a “mandate for a union agenda.”

Police officers on horseback are a given around the University of Wisconsin campus for special events, and if police officials have it their way, the city might be saddling up more officers to form a full-time cavalry.

The University of Wisconsin Center for Women�s Health Research held its 8th annual Leadership Conference Friday, featuring Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton as a keynote speaker addressing the regrettable state of women�s mental health in Wisconsin.

The UW Board of Regents on Friday confirmed Joe Gow as the next chancellor of UW-La Crosse.
Gow, currently the interim president of Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, is expected to start Feb. 1.

I am embarrassed that the University of Wisconsin attached its name to the study performed by the UW-NewsLab regarding local television news coverage of campaign issues from Sept. 7 to Oct. 6 this year.

There is little use citing the statistics of the study�they look bad. They ignore morning and noon newscasts, and newscasts at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. (Central Time). It also didn�t count weekend public-affairs programming, free-time offers to candidates or debate co

As part of its monthly meeting, the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents held its annual trust funds investment forum Thursday.

A committee of the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents approved more than $35,000 in pay raises for three chancellors and a provost Thursday in what was framed as a small number of desperately needed salary increases for university employees.

The election Tuesday, which gave control of the state Senate to Democrats, whittled down the Republican advantage in the Assembly and handed Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle a convincing victory, offers a chance at long last for collaboration in Madison.

Less than a day after Wisconsin residents voted to pass the controversial same-sex marriage and civil unions amendment, two Board of Regents members reacted by issuing statements of disappointment.

Dear Editor: The article “A little horse sense tames Halloween,” by Lee Sensenbrenner and Steven Elbow, was a dramatic testimony to the power of two things: a nonviolent approach to aggression and the healing power of animals.

I was moved by the description of the mounted officers moving among the confrontational crowd and the resulting ability to quell the threat of violence with a peaceful approach. The presence of the horses seems to have been instrumental in this endeavor.

At first listen, a criminal background check for employees may seem trivial to some, but the University of Wisconsin Faculty Senate has a different take on the matter.

Drs. Perry and Virginia Henderson Friday were given the lifetime achievement award from the Madison Chapter of the National Association of Fundraising Professionals for their philanthropic and volunteer work for nonprofits in the Madison area.

(Also honored were Don Gray of the UW Foundation and Rachael Weiker, a May 2006 UW-Madison graduate.)

UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley outlined challenges facing the university and the administration�s goals for the coming year in his annual State of the University speech Monday at Bascom Hall.

In accordance with today�s elections, University of Wisconsin Chancellor John Wiley spoke about the implications the marriage amendment could have on the university in his annual State of the University address Monday.

Madison, Wis. – When it comes to building an effective board of directors, it’s a different world than the one that existed five years ago.

Three years after the University of Michigan won approval from the U.S. Supreme Court to use affirmative action (in some forms) in college admissions, voters in Michigan could strip the institution of the right to consider race when admitting students.

It’s a final push to court the college vote as the hours tick down to Election Day. It typically takes a charismatic candidate or heated issue to get students to the polls. This year there is no Howard Dean for this group to rally with, but with two polarizing issues on the ballot, it might be enough to draw them out.

On Monday a nonpartisan get out the vote campaign spent the afternoon camped out on Library mall. It registered more than 4,200 students before the election. On this particular day, it was looking to remind youth voters to get to the polls.

(SUPERIOR) The fight to get a Christian group at UW-Superior sanctioned as a student organization is heading to the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents.

The Board of Regents is expected to consider guidelines for student groups at its December meeting. The UW-Superior chapter of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship was denied student status last semester by a student government committee because although any student can join, the organization�s constitution says the leaders must be Christian.

UW System President Kevin Reilly and the UW System Board of Regents� Special Committee for the UW-La Crosse Chancellor search recommended Nebraska Weasleyan University Interim President Joe Gow for the position Friday.

A special committee of the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents announced its recommendation for the next chancellor for University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Friday.

Joe Gow said he owes someone a big thank you.