Category: UW-Madison Related

The college students yawned and took notes like it was any other day in their introductory computer programming class. Then the substitute teacher showed up � Bill Gates.

MADISON ââ?¬â?? Several times a year, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates heads off on a ââ?¬Å?thinkââ?¬Â retreat to look into his crystal ball.

ââ?¬Å?I ponder the ideas that people send me,ââ?¬Â Gates told more than 200 University of Wisconsin-Madison biology and computer science students Wednesday afternoon.

Madison, Wis. – Wearing an olive-green sweater, experiencing a minor glitch with the microphone and mumbling quietly to himself as he worked with a computer, a casual observer would have mistaken Bill Gates for any normal professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Bill Gates tried to sell University of Wisconsin students on the idea of a career in the software industry Wednesday, pulling out some of Microsoft’s latest high-tech toys to show how cool the work can be.

Software mogul Bill Gates pressed UW-Madison students Wednesday to do what he never did himself – get a university degree in computer programming.

In 1994, UW-Madison began to offer the only master cheesemakers program of its kind outside of Europe.

“I was in the first graduating class,” Jenny said. “There were four in my class and the test was easier.”

The program requires completing several courses and an intensive final exam. As time went on, the university continues to strengthen the program.

Peter Daniel Young seems to think he’s a regular Abraham Lincoln.
In reality, he’s a criminal who deserves to be punished for his crimes.

Young, 28, of Mercer Island, Wash., told the Associated Press in Madison last week that he saved thousands of mink from slavery by letting them loose from their cages on farms in Wisconsin, Iowa and South Dakota.

In Madison, two high-profile cases of sexual harassment allegations have emerged in recent weeks, in claims that former Overture Center for the Arts president Bob D’Angelo and former UW- Madison Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Paul Barrows have harassed women with whom they’ve had contact through their work.

Eyal Halamish of the Associated Students of Madison was out on Library Mall on Thursday night, organizing his troops before the Halloween forum.
“OK,” he told a group of about 15 students. “Look for Hannah. When she puts her hand up, everybody stand up. Got it? Hand up, stand up.”

As a 26-year veteran of University of Wisconsin student financial services, Susan Fischer said she would be honored to assume the helm of the department and fill the void left by her former boss and colleague Steve Van Ess.

Since Van Ess retired earlier this year, Fisher, the associate director of the department since 1990, has found herself in a position � as well as two other experienced candidates, Craig Munier from the University of Nebraska and Albert Hermsen from the University of Michigan � to continue his vision and goals as senior Director of Student Financial Services.

UW Transportation Services and Community Car are expanding car-sharing services on campus. There is already one Civic sedan available at Helen C. White Library. New Prius hybrid hatchbacks are being added at the UW Hospital (Lot 79) and Biotech (Lot 20). Over the next 3-5 years, additional cars will be added to these locations, plus new locations will be added in other campus neighborhoods.

About 20 people got more excitement than they bargained for during the first Giant Pumpkin Regatta when the pier on which they were standing collapsed.
No one was hurt, and the incident didn’t stop the “pumpkin pilots” from steering their oversized gourds around Lake Mendota.

“No one wanted to go to the hospital or anything,” Memorial Union spokesman Marc Kennedy said. “Mostly they were just startled.”

The event was sponsored by the Union’s Hoofer Sailing Club and organized by horticulture professors Jim Nienhuis and Irwin Goldman. Participants, outfitted with pumpkin helmets, steered a course in hollowed out, 3-foot-wide Atlantic Giant pumpkins, affixed to tractor tires to give them stability.

It’s not exactly an olive branch, but a new branch of the village of Shorewood Hills sanitary sewer system may be a peace symbol in often-rancorous relations between the village and the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

“The village of Shorewood Hills and the University of Wisconsin have had historically a prickly relationship,” said Al Fish, university facilities planning director.

He and Village Administrator Karl Frantz saw a way to smooth that relationship when Frantz approached Fish with a proposal by which the UW could provide a low-cost solution to an otherwise very costly problem for the village.

The whimsical regatta, which drew hundreds of onlookers to the Memorial Union terrace, was marred briefly when a section of the pier in front of the Hoofers Sailing Club boathouse fell into the water.

A “five-day trigger” option approved by the Board of Regents’ Business and Finance Committee Thursday could limit the number of consecutive days of sick leave a UW System employee can take before having to produce medical proof of illness.

Internal auditing of the University of Wisconsin System has been cut in recent years, a system review found, raising questions about its strength to sniff out waste and mismanagement on the state’s campuses. But a committee of the UW Board of Regents agreed Thursday that the cut was necessary.

The committee also voted on a recommendation that all university employees be required to provide a doctor’s note if they are out sick for more than five days, saying the Paul Barrows controversy at UW-Madison made the move necessary.

A Minneapolis law firm filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against Madison bar owners, accusing them of price fixing alcohol.

The suit accuses 25 downtown bars of charging patrons excessive amounts for drinks, and names Chancellor John Wiley and two city officials for conspiring to set high prices to decrease alcohol-related problems among UW-Madison students.

The University of Wisconsin at Madison, $1.569-billion as of August 31 (increase of $6.1-million in the last month); the goal was $1.5-billion by 2007.

“Two Days in October,” which kicks off this season’s “American Experience” series on PBS, will be screened in Madison before it is broadcast nationally at 8 p.m. Oct. 17.

People responsible for the production are in Madison this week to discuss the 90-minute film and the issues/history it depicts. (They include the producer, UW-Madison alumnus Mark Samels.)

From taking on dictators to facing a hostile take-over of a newspaper, veteran journalist Pongsak Payakvichien has made a name in Thai journalism for challenging the status quo _ and now wants to inspire young reporters to do the same

He received a master’s degree in journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, making him the first ever Thai journalist to graduate with an overseas degree in journalism.

In the wake of a report detailing that the Chancellor of UW-Madison did not investigate the allegations of sexual misconduct against another member of the administration, all top administrators must participate in mandatory sexual harassment training. The case that spurred the reaction involved former Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Paul Barrows and his sexual advances toward and relationships with students.

I have heard of Wisconsin’s party school image and the reputation of Camp Randall, a difficult place to play. As my wife and I walked to the stadium, we saw the many tailgate parties with people having a good time. We endured some good-natured ribbing as we walked by proudly wearing our maize and blue. But the closer we got to the stadium, the more the comments took on a nasty and personal tone. We also saw many anti-Michigan T-shirts and signs with pictures and language that cannot be reprinted.

The Madison mounties are going back into action.
After a 12-year hiatus, at least one city police officer will be astride his horse while patrolling Downtown streets, crowded festivals and potentially combustible events such as demonstrations or Halloween on State Street.

Differences should not be forgotten

Barrows coverage misrepresents

Former Vice Chancellor Paul Barrows seeks to appeal his case before the UW-Madison Academic Staff Appeals Committee, according to his attorney, Lester Pines. Barrows claims the university punished him unfairly following the discovery of his relationship with a graduate student in November 2004.

The man found guilty of two sexual assaults before the Fall 2004 semester began was sentenced Wednesday to more than 76 years in prison. Johnny Brown was charged and found guilty on six different felonies, including sexual assault, burglary and armed robbery, according to Consolidated Court Automation Programs.

UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley this week ordered training on sexual harassment policies for all employees who work at his discretion – mostly top supervisors – and asked faculty and staff governance groups to help him conduct a sweeping review of workplace policies.
After a summer of controversy over personnel matters, it’s important for UW-Madison to rethink its practices, Wiley said. The controversies included three professors convicted of felonies and a long personal leave by a top administrator that prompted an investigation over sexual harassment and sick leave.

With Halloween quickly approaching, “bad blood” simmering between the Tavern League, the University, and the city may keep collaboration on Halloween events at a standstill.

Due to funding problems, Madison Festivals Inc. cancelled the seventh annual Kites on Ice Festival, a popular community event held along the Memorial Union Terrace on the winter ice of Lake Mendota.

University of Madison Police Chief Susan Riseling will serve the campus community in a new capacity as of this week. Riseling, who has served her university position since 1991, has been elected vice president-at-large of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, an international group of more than 19,000 prominent law-enforcement officials.

In an effort to preserve professors� right to tenure, the University of Wisconsin Faculty Senate passed a resolution Monday advising the American Association of University Professors to conduct a formal investigation into possible due process and shared governance violations surrounding the Board of Regent�s dismissal of UW-Superior professor John Marder.

Two sorry tales from two of Madison’s most visible institutions last week beg a big question:
What does Madison have to do to be a women-friendly place?

Madison, in the heart of the polite Midwest, is supposed to be ahead of the curve on issues of fairness and decency with respect to gender.

Instead, we were reminded last week by serious and broad allegations of sexual harassment against a former UW-Madison vice chancellor and a hastily-retired Overture Center president that Madison has quite a ways to go.

An independent investigation into Paul Barrows’ forced resignation as a vice chancellor of University of Wisconsin-Madison and his lengthy sick leave that followed has found fault with both Barrows and the university’s chancellor, but neither will face major disciplinary action.

The Wisconsin State Supreme Court will hear the case of fired University of Wisconsin-Superior communications professor John Marder on Tuesday.

The court’s ruling will clarify the process by which the UW system can dismiss tenured faculty members.

There is nothing confusing about the image in “Patriot Act,” a work of art that has the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in an uproar. The face of President Bush is clear. So is the revolver being held to his head.

What has sparked fierce debate is what the image means and whether it belongs on a college campus.

UW-Madison is stepping up its Internet protection by spreading awareness about system breakthroughs. Jim Lowe, chief internet technology security manager at the Division of Information Technology is spearheading the campaign.

Gov. Jim Doyle demanded Tuesday that oil companies refund Wisconsin drivers $88 million, saying the firms gouged consumers after Hurricane Katrina.

Doyle cited a recent study by University of Wisconsin-Madison economist Don Nichols that concluded the recent gas spike was not caused primarily by the hurricane because prices at the pump have risen much faster than the price of crude oil.

This year, for the first time in UW-Madison history, students living in university housing will not be allowed to have guests during Halloween weekend.

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and other city officials announced their plan for this year’s Halloween weekend on Tuesday, emphasizing the need for order and safety. The dorms’ no- guest policy is part of an effort to keep out-of-town visitors to a minimum.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations has founded a new board addressing national security as it applies to higher education and UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley has been appointed as a member.

While several Louisiana colleges were forced to shut down for the semester following extensive damage from Hurricane Katrina, every college in border-state Mississippi will offer courses this semester.

To foster outreach and collaborate efforts to protect the nation�s intelligence, University of Wisconsin Chancellor John Wiley has joined representatives from several prominent universities as part of a new advisory board under the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The venerable Pres House, which has served students on the UW-Madison campus for nearly 75 years, wants to build a new six-story housing facility. The Madison Plan Commission approved a rezoning for the project Monday night but asked that developers rework a complicated plan for complying with the city’s affordable housing law.

The 75,000-square-foot building would provide 44 housing units with 153 bedrooms and 233 total beds. Plans also call for renovation of the existing 15,000-square-foot chapel and offices.

Pres House representative Charles Oewel of CFC Corp. in Belvedere, Calif., said the final look of the project arose out of discussions with UW officials regarding redevelopment of the entire Murray Street block. He said the project was scaled down from eight stories to six stories to accommodate the UW’s wishes.

The risk of an ongoing U.S. and British military effort in Iraq is the possibility of igniting a civil war in the region, an anti-war politician from the United Kingdom told a Madison audience Sunday.

“Hanoi” Jane Fonda may have helped British Member of Parliament George Galloway fill the Wisconsin Union Theater Sunday night, but it was Galloway who kept a crowd of about 1,000 in their seats – and on their feet.

The actress, who was scheduled to introduce Galloway, was a no-show. Instead, she sent word that she was recovering from hip surgery.

British MP and anti-war activist George Galloway told a crowd of about 1,000 at the Union Theater on Sunday night that the governments of the United States and Britain had created a “swamp of hatred” among Muslims worldwide that led to the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and al-Qaida.

Galloway, speaking in Madison as part of his “Mr. Galloway Goes to Washington” North American tour, said that while he did not excuse the actions of terrorists – calling the Sept. 11 New York and July 7 London attacks “criminal acts of mass murder” – he believed that the past actions of the U.S. and United Kingdom toward Muslims helped motivate the attacks.

Donald Downs, professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of the book “Restoring Free Speech and Liberty on Campus,” spoke on Thursday to a small group of College Republicans assembled at Daniels Hall.

Madison’s effort to ensure a safer and saner Halloween bash on State Street this year includes a plan to bring the celebration to an earlier and more definite end. That’s why State Street- area bar owners should set aside their hostility toward city regulatory policies long enough to agree to close 90 minutes early on the night of the Halloween party.
The bar owners’ cooperation is important to protect the safety of people and property, including their own.

Madison has long had an unwanted reputation as the home of a massive Halloween bash, often marred by alcohol-fueled hooliganism that produces property damage and injuries. Though an early bar time for Halloween is a reasonable request, cooperation from bar owners is in doubt. In fact, this week Dane County Tavern League President Barb Mercer unequivocally rejected a request for an early closing time from Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, Police Chief Noble Wray, UW- Madison Chancellor John Wiley and Associated Students of Madison Chairman Eric Varney.

Madison’s effort to ensure a safer and saner Halloween bash on State Street this year includes a plan to bring the celebration to an earlier and more definite end. That’s why State Street- area bar owners should set aside their hostility toward city regulatory policies long enough to agree to close 90 minutes early on the night of the Halloween party.
The bar owners’ cooperation is important to protect the safety of people and property, including their own.

Madison has long had an unwanted reputation as the home of a massive Halloween bash, often marred by alcohol-fueled hooliganism that produces property damage and injuries. Though an early bar time for Halloween is a reasonable request, cooperation from bar owners is in doubt. In fact, this week Dane County Tavern League President Barb Mercer unequivocally rejected a request for an early closing time from Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, Police Chief Noble Wray, UW- Madison Chancellor John Wiley and Associated Students of Madison Chairman Eric Varney.

Construction and funding for various departments in the City of Madison will not cost citizens more money than in previous years as a result of Moodyââ?¬â?¢s Investor Service issuing a ââ?¬Å?AAAââ?¬Â rating to Madison Sept. 13.

Madison wants State Street- area bars to voluntarily close 90 minutes early to shorten the massive Halloween party there next month.

But bars, after being hit with legal costs for cooperating with the city on a drink specials ban and being hit with a local minimum wage, smoking ban and proposal for mandatory paid sick leave, are saying no way.

“This is not going to happen,” said Barb Mercer, president of the Dane County Tavern League. “This is an industry that has been beaten up, sat on, chewed up and spit out. I’m angry.”

The proposed keg registration ordinance for the City of Madison could gain momentum from the City of La Crosse�s approval of similar legislation last week.

The UW Board of Regents resolved to immediately investigate felony charges facing university employees at the UW System Board of Regents meeting in West Bend, Wis. Friday.

Despite some traffic difficulties, the City of Madison hosted its annual Ironman Triathalon Sept. 11 and provided a satisfactory training ground for local and nationwide competitors.

The UW Board of Regents on Friday continued a suspension on backup jobs for outside hires and approved other rules designed to tighten the use of sick days and paid leaves and to speed up the process of investigating employees charged with felonies.
“We’re not trying to keep to the status quo,” Regent Danae Davis said, “because the status quo is unacceptable.”

WEST BEND, Wis. – Starting next fall, Wisconsin residents can apply for discount tuition at 130 colleges in six Midwestern states under a plan approved by University of Wisconsin System regents.

Thousands of athletes, volunteers and spectators are expected to attend Madison’s fourth annual Ironman Wisconsin Triathalon this Sunday.

The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents reconvened Thursday for the first time since July to discuss a variety of matters centered on recent employment and personnel matters affecting the UW System. Those matters were addressed during the regents� Business and Finance Committee hearing.

Even as Tulane University officials try to work from here, amid the chaos, to reopen in New Orleans for the spring semester, it’s business as usual for the admissions staff, which is attempting to recruit a class for next fall.

The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay opened its doors Tuesday to a more diverse student body.

UWGB enrolled 5,541, including 914 freshmen.

Some 1,092 UW System employees have backup positions with guaranteed pay, according to figures UW System president Kevin Reilly released to the state Legislature Friday, Sept. 2. The university system, which is comprised of 26 campuses, employs 33,000 people in all, meaning that about 3.3 percent of employees have such pay guarantees. According to UW System spokesperson Doug Bradley, state statute guarantees 64 percent of these backup positions.