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Category: UW-Madison Related

Block of North Mills Street closing for weekend utility work

Capital Times

A block-long stretch of North Mills Street will be shut down Saturday and Sunday so crews can complete installing utilities in the street. The block is between Spring Street and Dayton Street, next to the UW-Madison Charter Street Heating Plant. The plant has been undergoing a retrofit, with coal-fired boilers changed out to natural gas-fired boilers.

Home explosion victim memorialized with Ugandan school

Wisconsin State Journal

In the year since his death in a Sun Prairie home explosion, family and friends of Andy Manley have turned their grief to good works with a training academy in rural Uganda and a scholarship honoring him and his late nephew. The School for Andy in Buyaya, Uganda, was made possible in part by donations made to memorialize Manley, a 26-year-old aspiring teacher who died a year ago Wednesday when the home he shared with two friends exploded as a result of an apparently faulty furnace installation.

Wrongful death suit filed against county, 911 center

Wisconsin State Journal

On the third anniversary of their son?s death, the parents of a man who was beaten to death in an East Side park filed a wrongful death lawsuit Thursday against Dane County and the Dane County 911 center, alleging that their son might have been saved if dispatchers had sent police to the park in response to earlier calls from a neighbor.

….This is the second lawsuit against the 911 center in about three years. The parents of slain UW-Madison student Brittany Zimmermann sued the center and the county for allegedly mishandling a 911 call from Zimmermann’s phone shortly before she died in April 2008. The lawsuit was settled for a $5,000 contribution to a fund to help find Zimmermann’s killer and $2,500 to cover some lawyer fees.

Link campuses to employers

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Regarding several recent columns, in addition to transferring technologies to create jobs, Wisconsin institutions also need to work together to ensure that our sons and daughters are ready to take advantage of career opportunities in the new economy. [A letter to the editor from Gilles Bousquet, dean of international studies and vice provosts for internationalization.]

UW to streamline, save money

Badger Herald

After hiring a group which would streamline university practices last semester, the University of Wisconsin has recently received the results of a study detailing ways to combat decreasing funding from the government.

Campus Connection: Former UW-Richland student jailed in Bahrain is freed

Capital Times

A former UW-Richland student who had been imprisoned in Bahrain since Sept. 8 has apparently been set free. The Cap Times reported on the plight of Ali Almajed earlier this month. On Tuesday, former UW-Richland international student adviser Kathy Neckar, who has stayed in close contact with Almajed?s wife, sent an email stating she had just gotten word that Almajed is out of jail.

On Campus: Small changes could save University of Wisconsin-Madison up to $8.5 million, report finds

Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison uses more than 72 e-mail systems and buys more than 250 types of black pens. A new report found that the university could save money – up to $8.5 million – by centralizing and standardizing some of these administrative functions. (And yes, the report found that UW-Madison could be more fiscally responsible with black pens.) The suggestions are the initial results of an external review by Huron Consulting Group, hired by the university to look for areas of efficiency.

City to deploy mobile cellphone tower for Freakfest

Wisconsin State Journal

Madison police are expecting a much tamer Freakfest on Saturday than the violence-riddled Halloween celebrations of years past, but they are still having a COW. The Cell on Wheels ? a mobile tower and electronic radio transceiver on a truck about the size of a semi that will be parked in the Buckeye Lot at 214 W. Gorham St. ? will enhance cellphone coverage for social and public safety purposes as thousands of costumed revelers descend on the State Street area, said Central District Capt. Carl Gloede.

Freakfest pushing buses off downtown streets

Capital Times

Madison Metro buses will pull a vanishing act on normal routes downtown this weekend, courtesy of the Halloween partiers at both the family fun festivities on Friday on Capitol Square, and Freakfest on Saturday on State Street. The bus system announced it will use the Capitol Loop route instead of the Capitol Square route all weekend beginning at 6 p.m. Friday and continuing to Monday morning.

Stepping Into the Breach (Campus Technology)

If you think your institution is immune to a security breach, perhaps you should have a chat with Brian Rust at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. When asked about data breaches on his campus, the communications director in the Office of the Chief Information Officer answers with the hint of a sigh: “Let me tell you about the most recent one.”

Man scares State Street pedestrians into giving up money, police say

Capital Times

A man claiming to have a gun held up about 15 people on State Street on Saturday night before being arrested by Madison police. Brandon Stull, 19, of Madison, was arrested for armed robbery at about 10:40 p.m. Saturday in the 700 block of State Street. Before his arrest, Stull allegedly terrified pedestrians by being very loud, boisterous and belligerent, claiming to have a gun while demanding money from the victims.

Bob Wardrop: Rehiring retirees saves state money

Wisconsin State Journal

As one of the 447 rehired university employees, I?d like to share my story. Months after I retired from my position as a professor, I was rehired to teach the same number of sections as when I was a professor, but at a pay rate of about 29 percent of what it was as a professor. The money the university has saved in my salary has no doubt helped in meeting student needs in the face of dwindling state support.

Editorial: 150 Years Of UW Alumni

WISC-TV 3

This weekend, the Wisconsin Alumni Association is throwing a little party to celebrate its 150th anniversary. My hunch is if you wanted a ticket to the bash you could still get one, but don?t quote me — call the WAA. But some 700 or so alumni are planning to don their red party duds at a celebration at the Institutes for Discovery that will among other things raise up to 150-thousand dollars for scholarships. But what this is really about is school pride. It?s about being one of an estimated 380,000 UW alumni around the world who support the UW and its mission, promote the contributions of fellow alumni and work together to do some good in this world.

Campus Connection: Rally at UW-Richland to show support for imprisoned former student

Capital Times

Members of the UW-Richland campus community are holding a rally Friday to show support for Ali Almajed, a graduate of the school who is reportedly imprisoned in Bahrain.

…to date, it appears no one has been able to help Almajed, who is from Bahrain and attended UW-Richland as an international student from 1999 to 2002. He then transferred from the two-year UW System campus in Richland Center to UW-Platteville, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in 2005.

For UW-Madison homecoming parade, Bucky’s got a new ride

Wisconsin State Journal

The running boards were bent and twisted, the transmission was cracked, the engine needed to be rebuilt and the body resembled Swiss cheese. The Bucky Wagon was in bad shape, hadn?t been driven through the tunnel onto the field at Camp Randall Stadium since 2001 and, for about two years, was being stored under a tarp near the Goodman Softball Complex. But since 2010, the 9,000-pound antique but badly worn 1932 LaFrance fire engine has undergone a $750,000 transformation, the vast majority donated.

Man breaks arm when he’s tackled on State Street, police say

Capital Times

An early morning tackle on State Street on Saturday resulted in an Iowa man going to the hospital with a broken arm, Madison police reported.According to the report, the 24-year-old Iowa man was trailing behind two friends while walking up State Street toward the Capitol about 3:30 a.m., when he was suddenly tackled from behind.

A helpful tool

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Wisconsin has two related problems when it comes to four-year college degrees. It doesn?t have enough people with such degrees. And it takes too long in many instances to get a four-year degree – while students and their families spend too much money.

UW-Milwaukee Gets New Chancellor

WISC-TV 3

MILWAUKEE — The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is getting a new chancellor. Michael Lovell became interim chancellor when Chancellor Carlos Santiago took over as chief executive officer of the Hispanic College Fund last October. He was previously the dean of the university?s College of Engineering and Applied Science.

A helpful tool

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Wisconsin has two related problems when it comes to four-year college degrees. It doesn?t have enough people with such degrees. And it takes too long in many instances to get a four-year degree – while students and their families spend too much money.

The University of Wisconsin System wants to change that and is developing tools to make it easier and cheaper for transfer students to finish school. If they help more UW students graduate earlier, that will be a good thing. Even better: Expand the tools to include schools outside the system.

What’s News: Madison tied for the highest percentage of bike commuters in the U.S.

Capital Times

A greater percentage of Madisonians bike to work — 6 percent — than in any of the largest U.S. cities except Portland, Ore., which has the same percentage, according to the State Smart Transportation Initiative. Next on the list released Monday by the UW-Madison-housed initiative was Seattle, which had 3.6 percent of its commuters using a bicycle to go to work in 2010, followed by San Francisco and Minneapolis, which both had 3.5 percent.

Colleges Strive to Attract More Students to Twitter Pages (U.S. News)

Due to the enormous influence of social media, many schools are finding unique ways to attract more students to their Twitter pages. For example, a University of Wisconsin-Madison alumnus has promised to donate $1 to the school for each additional person who follows the institution on Twitter, or for each new “like” on Facebook, The Chronicle of Higher Education reports.

Software Upgrades Could Produce Self-Tuning Wireless Access Points (CIO India)

Researchers say wireless access points could double as analysis tools that detect radio-frequency interference and automatically adjust to preserve the quality of Wi-Fi connections. Such upgraded devices could eliminate the need for separate, costly spectrum analyzers that discover interfering devices but do nothing to counter interference, say researchers at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Madison 360: City’s percentage of college grads jumps

Capital Times

Madison is mentioned atop the front page of Thursday?s Wall Street Journal in a map showing “brain gainers,” metro areas that have shown the biggest 10-year growth in percent of population with college educations. According to the map, Madison is second among the nation?s 100 largest metro areas, up 6.4 percent to 43.3 percent.

Donors Pledge $1 for Each New Friend, Follower of Wisconsin-Madison

Inside Higher Education

Donors who believe in social media have pledged $1 for each person (up to $50,000) who either friends the University of Wisconsin at Madison or its alumni association on Facebook, or who becomes a Twitter follower. Will Hsu, who graduated from UW-Madison in 2000 and is one of the donors, said that he views social media as “a powerful way for younger alums and current students to get connected and stay connected with the university.?

No charges filed in fatal Madison bus crash

Madison.com

Prosecutors in Dane County say no charges will be filed in a deadly bus crash in Madison. A 58-year-old University of Wisconsin-Madison librarian was killed June 22 when she was hit by the Metro bus turning a corner. The district attorney?s office reviewed reports from police, reconstruction investigators and the state lab in making the determination. Prosecutors say the bus had a significant blind spot that prevented the driver from seeing Maureen Grant in the pedestrian crosswalk.

No charges for driver in deadly Metro bus crash

WKOW-TV 27

MADISON (WKOW) — The Dane County District Attorney?s Office says it will not file criminal charges against the Metro driver who was behind the wheel in a deadly crash in June. Maureen Grant, a 58-year-old UW-Madison librarian, died June 22, 2011. Authorities say Debra Foster hit her while turning the corner from North Lake Street onto University Avenue in Madison. The D.A.?s office determined that the bus itself had a significant blind spot that prevented Foster from seeing Grant until Grant was directly next to the bus.

Doug Moe: Arboretum dedications, old and new

Wisconsin State Journal

This is a story that starts with a barn and ends with a bench, and it spans nearly 80 years. In the decades between, a jewel of Madison came into existence and prospered, while a man who was there by accident at the beginning grew to love it as much as anyone ever has. Their story begins on a hot June day in 1934, when a UW-Madison chemistry student named Harold Tarkow took a walk along Mills Street from campus to an area of farm and woodland south of Lake Wingra.

On Campus: Donors pledge $1 for every new follower of UW-Madison Facebook and Twitter

Wisconsin State Journal

A family of UW-Madison boosters have come up with a novel way to give scholarship money while also increasing support for the university on social media. Will and Jenny Hsu, of Minneapolis, pledged to give $1 to the Great People Scholarship for every new person to follow UW-Madison or the Wisconsin Alumni Association on Facebook or Twitter — up to $50,000. Will Hsu?s parents, Paul and Sharon Hsu of Wausau, Wis., will also contribute.

Madison honored as most educated city in U.S.

WKOW-TV 27

MADISON (WKOW)- Men?s Health magazine described Madison as the city “where the average household has more degrees than a thermometer”, and that?s one of many reasons it ranked Madison at the top of its compilation of most educated cities in America.

Swap limited parking for park near Memorial Union

Wisconsin State Journal

Imagine if the Wisconsin Alumni Association planned to build a surface-level parking lot on top of a lakefront park next to the Memorial Union in the heart of the UW-Madison campus.The public outrage would be loud and furious. Well, the good news is that the WAA just proposed doing the opposite.

City pool goes to the dogs; proceeds help Capital K9s

Wisconsin State Journal

Dogs are getting plenty of chances to stay fit this time of year in Madison.Sunday was the fifth annual Dog Paddle at the Goodman Pool, sponsored by Capital K9s and the local pet store Animart. And this coming Sunday is the 28th annual Dog Jog benefit race, sponsored by the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine.

Dean Brasser Q&A: The bottom line from a former city hall insider

Capital Times

In 35 years of public service for the city of Madison, Dean Brasser earned a reputation for being a straight shooter. He served under five different mayors, starting in 1976 fresh out of UW-Madison after one of his favorite professors there, city comptroller Paul Reilly, let drop that there was an opening at city hall for an accountant.

Hundreds gather at state Capitol for 10th anniversary of terror attacks

Wisconsin State Journal

Dane County?s commemoration on the roof of Monona Terrace featured dozens of police officers and firefighters. Tom Cleary of New York recounted the frantic days after the World Trade Center collapsed when he and other family members searched local hospitals in vain for his brother, Kevin Cleary, 38, a UW-Madison graduate who spent part of his childhood in Maple Bluff.

City pool goes to the dogs; proceeds help Capital K9s

Dogs are getting plenty of chances to stay fit this time of year in Madison. Sunday was the fifth annual Dog Paddle at the Goodman Pool, sponsored by Capital K9s and the local pet store Animart. And this coming Sunday is the 28th annual Dog Jog benefit race, sponsored by the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine.

Doug Moe: An inside look at the downfall of Anthony Weiner

Dave Arnold knew things were getting strange when he found himself talking on the telephone with Matt Lauer. It wasn?t just that he had the anchor of NBC?s ?Today? show on the line. While Arnold was talking to Lauer, he had Barbara Walters of ABC on hold. At the same time, he was fielding an email from Wolf Blitzer of CNN.

?It was a little surreal,? Arnold said last week. It was happening in the spring, when Arnold, 26, a Rice Lake native, UW-Madison journalism graduate and former Wisconsin State Journal intern, found himself at the center of a true media maelstrom.

HathiTrust and Google Will Help Duke Press Digitize Books

Chronicle of Higher Education

Duke University Press has struck an agreement with HathiTrust and Google to make a large number of its backlist titles freely available through the HathiTrust digital repository. The press, like many others, hasn?t had spare resources to digitize and archive all those books itself.