Patrick V. Farrell, executive associate dean of the UW-Madison College of Engineering, was named provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs Wednesday.
Discovery keeps pressure on Bush
The creation of the first embryonic stem-cell lines without animal products is a research breakthrough that highlights, yet again, UW-Madison’s pre-eminence in the field.
The new lines also show how close stem-cell research is to life-saving cures and how much closer it could be if the federal government would ease its unreasonable funding restrictions.
madison.com
Quoted: Sari Judge, an adviser in the UW-Madison journalism program.
Legislators Want New Barrows Case Probe
Three lawmakers are asking the UW Board of Regents to reinvestigate the Paul Barrows matter and sanction University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly for not mentioning his role in it until last week.
madison.com
Cellular Dynamics International – the young company founded by UW-Madison stem- cell research pioneer Jamie Thomson and his partners – is getting a $2 million jump-start from the state.
Hygiene lab clarifies test policy for individuals
The state Laboratory of Hygiene at UW-Madison has a new “no friends and family” policy after a professor from outside the lab got a free genetics test for a friend.
The incident raised concerns with at least one lab employee and prompted an investigation.
While the review determined no one had broken any rules, the lab’s longtime director decided to clarify testing policy to make sure such an incident doesn’t happen again. Supervisors posted the rule on a bulletin board in January to be sure employees understood that they shouldn’t process samples that way.
Move-Out Donations
UW-Madison students moving out of their apartments this week can donate clean clothes, quality furniture, unopened nonperishable food and other household items in good condition at several sites. Anything in poor condition should be thrown away.
Regents vow to lobby for more aid
MILWAUKEE – For what it’s worth, members of the UW Board of Regents on Thursday vowed to hammer state lawmakers over the next few weeks about finding more financial aid for needy students.
Georgia academic to be Whitewater chancellor
A special committee of the UW Board of Regents on Tuesday picked Martha Dunagin Saunders, a Georgia academic, to be the next chancellor at UW-Whitewater.
Saunders, 56, was one of five finalists for the job. She is vice president for academic affairs at Columbus State University, a campus of the University System of Georgia with 7,000 students, slightly smaller than UW-Whitewater’s enrollment of roughly 10,500.
State asks union to bargain again
Facing a rally of frustrated state employees Thursday at the Capitol, the Doyle administration Tuesday called for public employee union leaders to return to bargaining over unsettled 2003-05 labor contracts for about 24,000 state workers.
Karen Timberlake, director of the Office of State Employment Relations, acknowledged the state’s position on salaries and health insurance for those workers has not changed since negotiations sputtered several months ago.
UW Coaches’ Phone Use High: Athletic Department Spent $180,000 On Cell Phones Last School Year, With Coaches Leading The Way.
The UW Athletic Department rang up a cell phone bill of $180,000 in the 2003-04 school year, a tab sure to be heavily reviewed by government officials as part of an ongoing audit of state-owned cell phone usage.
Records show cell phones were issued to 158 people associated with the athletic department and that 54 employees — coaches, administrators, medical personnel and event managers — had bills of more than $1,000 last year.
Help give children the tools to succeed in school
A modest effort to get young children ready for school could pay big educational dividends in future years – but the program’s success depends on you.
Children in a Madison kindergarten program for 4- year-olds, for example, made substantial literacy gains during the pilot project’s first year, UW-Madison researchers say.
A day at ‘awesome’ Camp Randall
The remodeled Camp Randall stadium is truly “awesome” says Derek Skibba. And since he’s 4, he ought to know.
Tax bill may go to vote today
Senate Republicans were set to hold a hearing at 1 p.m. today (Tuesday) on the Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights but had not released a copy of the plan to the public as of late Monday. The proposal is expected to have a long-term effect on funding for the Unievrsity of Wisconsin System