UW-Madison in the Media

A selection of media coverage about the university and its people.

• Editorial: 150 Years Of UW Alumni WISC-TV 3 Oct. 14, 2011 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.
• New cell phone app developed at UW helps identify birds Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Oct. 12, 2011 Is that the call of a black-capped chickadee, or some kind of a sparrow? The answer may soon be in the palm of your hand. A new smart phone app now in development at the University of Wisconsin-Madison could help the armchair bird watcher identify the calls of many more birds.
• With extra year as UW chancellor, David Ward is ready to take on big stuff Capital Times Oct. 12, 2011 ....By adding a year, Ward appears to have morphed from a trusty caretaker into a fully empowered leader poised to initiate and guide major changes in UW-Madison’s finances and operations — including its personnel system — in one of the most challenging periods of its 163-year history. To Ward, Reilly and the many UW constituencies eager for Ward to stay longer, this change appears to be a big deal in the labyrinthine culture of campus politics and decision-making.
• Editorial: UW-Madison gets welcome re-Ward Wisconsin State Journal Oct. 10, 2011 UW-Madison benefited from a promising development last week: David Ward’s appointment as interim chancellor was extended to the summer of 2013.
• Editorial: A helpful tool Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Oct. 11, 2011 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.
• Another great team Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Oct. 6, 2011 This is Wisconsin at its best: A team that includes the state’s four largest engineering schools and several large Milwaukee-area employers is working on a new project that aims to make Wisconsin a leader in the creation of "microgrids," energy islands that can function off a main power grid.
• A.C. Nielsen Jr., Who Transformed Research Firm, Dies at 92 New York Times Oct. 5, 2011 Arthur C. Nielsen Jr., who transformed the company his father founded in 1923 into an international leader in market research, helping to make its name synonymous with television ratings, died on Monday in Winnetka, Ill., where he lived most of his life. He was 92. He was a graduate of the University of Wisconsin.
• Addison Trail Freshmen head to college for unique program Chicago Tribune Oct. 5, 2011 From the time he learned to read, Alex Avalos’ parents told him he would someday go to college to create a better life for himself. The first glimmer of that day arrived last week, although not in the way Avalos expected, as the 14-year-old Addison Trail High School freshman visited the University of Wisconsin- Madison campus with 99 of his classmates.
• Facebook Photos of Drunken Students May Indicate Real Alcohol Problems, Study Says ABCNEWS.com Oct. 5, 2011 College students who post the details of their drunken nights on Facebook can end up with a few problems on their hands – embarrassment, regret or explanations to mom and dad. But a new study from researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggests those Facebook postings may also signal that a student is at clinical risk of having a drinking problem.
• What I Do: Aldo Leopold inspired Scott Craven to become wildlife specialist Wisconsin State Journal Oct. 4, 2011 "People of all ages love wildlife and have a curiosity about different types of animals. One of the nicest aspects of my career has been to respond to their questions about what types of animals they’ve seen. I responded to between 1,000 to 2,000 questions per year from the public," says Craven, a UW Extension wildlife specialist and UW-Madison professor emeritus of forest and wildlife ecology.
• 'Microgrids' energy storage project announced Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Oct. 4, 2011 Microgrids will be set up at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2012 and at UW-Madison’s new Wisconsin Energy Institute Building, scheduled to open in 2013, according to the initiative by the Center for Renewable Energy Systems. The Center aims to conduct applied research to help Wisconsin companies develop projects for the renewable energy and energy storage markets.
• Wilson and Wisconsin Run Down Nebraska, 48-17 New York Times Oct. 2, 2011 MADISON, Wis. — On his first day on the Wisconsin campus this summer after transferring from North Carolina State, Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson called his own team meeting. He delivered a short and simple message to his new teammates: he had come to work hard and compete. But just the simple act of introducing himself to his teammates and acknowledging that nothing would be handed to him spoke to his savvy and maturity.
• With Nebraska in Town, Wisconsin Gets Ready to Jump New York Times Oct. 1, 2011 When Nebraska travels to Wisconsin for its Big Ten inauguration Saturday night, the game will resonate as a cultural event as much as a sporting contest. Wisconsin is bracing for the presence of some 30,000 Nebraska fans in Madison this weekend, many of whom do not have tickets and are just tagging along for the revelry and history.
• Tickets or no tickets, Nebraska fans migrating for inaugural Big Ten game at No. 7 Wisconsin Washington Post Sept. 29, 2011 Wisconsin officials tout Saturday night’s game against Nebraska as the toughest ticket ever at 94-year-old Camp Randall Stadium.
• State, cranberry industry look to capitalize on growing demand in China Wausau Daily Herald Sept. 29, 2011 CRANMOOR -- Gong Ruina, a graduate student at Beijing Sport University and world-champion badminton player, said harvesting cranberries is more difficult than it looks.
• Nebraska fans expected to come to Wisconsin in full force Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sept. 27, 2011 Barry Alvarez’s memory teems with Camp Randall Stadium moments. They’ve accumulated over the last 21-plus years - 16 as football coach and five-plus as full-time athletic director:The back-to-back games against Michigan and Ohio State in the 1993 Rose Bowl season; the victory over Penn State in ’98 to clinch another trip to Pasadena; the victory over Iowa in ’99, which brought another Big Ten Conference title and a national rushing record for Ron Dayne; and the upset of No. 1 Ohio State last season. Nebraska’s visit to Madison this week, the Cornhuskers’ first Big Ten game, could rise to the top of that list.
• For University of Wisconsin, New Facebook Fans Pay Off New York Times Sept. 21, 2011 The value of a follower on Twitter or Facebook can be nebulous – unless you’re the University of Wisconsin, Madison, this month.
• Editorial: Ward welcome for one more year Daily Cardinal Sept. 22, 2011 The question surrounding Interim Chancellor David Ward’s term length recently surfaced as UW-Madison’s University Committee requested he stay an additional year. While the interim position is only allotted a single-year term during a search and screen process, members of the UW faculty argue Ward’s background, collegiate experience and national insight put him in the best position to lead UW-Madison through Wisconsin’s rocky political climate.
• Editorial: University of Wisconsin-Madison policy right to promote diversity Appleton Post-Crescent Sept. 19, 2011 Every so often, a group calls out the University of Wisconsin-Madison for having an admissions policy that takes into account factors other than academics — such as race.
• The Cyborg in Us All New York Times Sept. 19, 2011 Noted: Justin Williams, a biomedical engineer at the University of Wisconsin, has already transformed the ECoG implant into a microdevice that can be installed with a minimum of fuss. It has been tested in animals for long periods of time — the micro ECoG stays in place and doesn’t seem to negatively affect the immune system. Williams said he hopes to try it in humans soon. “Our goal is to make devices that would require only an outpatient procedure,” he says. “Even if we could make it an overnight stay in the hospital, that would be good.” The implant, in humans, would be about the size of a quarter and sit like a plug in the skull, with a tiny antenna for wireless hookup between machine and brain.
• Criminal minds: As brain research enters classroom, UW plans to train attorney-scientists Capital Times Sept. 14, 2011 In 2008, Tyler Mills went to court on a charge of child enticement. The charge stemmed from an online conversation with a cop posing as a 14-year-old girl, during which Mills asked her to “de-virginize” him.
• UW-Madison faculty, students fight admissions discrimination charge Wisconsin State Journal Sept. 14, 2011 UW-Madison waged an all-day offensive Tuesday against a charge that it engages in discriminatory admissions practices — as students and staff rallied on Bascom Hill, hijacked a press conference and disputed the findings of the admissions allegation.
• Percentage of Americans Living in Poverty Rises to Highest Level Since 1993 New York Times Sept. 14, 2011 Quoted: “We’re risking a new underclass,” said Timothy Smeeding, director of the Institute for Research and Poverty at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
• Teaching 9/11: How educators are responding 10 years later Christian Science Monitor Sept. 9, 2011 As Diana Hess learned that airplanes had slammed into the twin towers in lower Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001, her first instinct was to cancel her classes for the day. But before she could, the University of Wisconsin education professor began receiving frantic calls from her students – pleading with her to hold class as planned.
• City counties ranked healthier than rural CBSNews.com Sept. 8, 2011 Many people think of the city lifestyle as unhealthy, associating it with noise, pollution, crime, dense populations, a fast pace, and high stress levels. Many aspire to leaving the city for the country and the healthier lifestyle they think more tranquility brings. Fresh air, open spaces and chirping birds should be conducive to a much healthier lifestyle, or so the thinking goes. But, reports CBS News correspondent Elaine Quijano, a new study seems to dispel those notions.Cities once infamous for pollution, crime, crowding and infectious diseases have cleaned up their act. "They may have a better educational system," says Patrick Remington, project director of County Health Rankings, a report published by the University of Wisconsin that ranks more than 3,000 counties nationwide against others in their states.
• The 9/11 Decade - Lessons Differ Around the World New York Times Sept. 8, 2011 Noted: Diana E. Hess, an education professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, analyzed nine American high school textbooks that together are used by almost half of American students. She found that while they used dramatic labels (“horrendous plot” or “crime against humanity”) to describe the attacks, they provided little information about what actually happened. Most of the textbooks did not even say how many people were killed or who was responsible for the attacks.
• When law takes effect, guns will be legal on UW campuses, but not in buildings Wisconsin State Journal Sept. 6, 2011 Come November, Badger fans may tailgate while armed but will still be forbidden from bringing their guns inside stadiums, classrooms or any other buildings at the flagship UW-Madison campus and the University of Wisconsin System’s 26 campuses statewide, officials confirmed Thursday. "I would like that," said UW-Madison sophomore Roxolana Sklepova of keeping buildings weapon-free. "You would hope people wouldn’t bring guns to those places anyway." The shift — currently guns are barred on system campuses — comes to accommodate the state’s concealed carry law and will likely change the look of campuses, with large "Firearms Prohibited in Building" signs expected to adorn every entrance to every campus building in accordance with the new law.
• 5 Other Surprise Attacks That Changed History National Public Radio Sept. 7, 2011 Noted: Compiling such a list can be a complex undertaking. "Issues of scale, era and location complicate the question, as do the criteria for a ’sneak attack’ — which is often viewed as a preemptive strike by those who launch it," observes military historian John W. Hall at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. "Rarely are such affairs complete and total surprises. In hindsight, it often emerges that the indicators for an attack were present but overlooked, or not placed in the proper context."
• Ask the Weather Guys: Was the forecast of Irene a success? Wisconsin State Journal Sept. 6, 2011 Quoted: Steven A. Ackerman and Jonathan Martin, professors in the UW-Madison department of atmospheric and oceanic sciences.
• Walking could power your next cell phone, researchers say CNN.com Aug. 25, 2011 Will you be able to charge your next mobile phone simply by walking around? A group of researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison hope so.