UW-Madison in the Media

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

• Badger Nation heads south Wisconsin State Journal March 24, 2011 A group of 22 first-graders near New Orleans will don their “Teach Me How to Bucky” T-shirts today for a morning pep rally with UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin, Badgers cheerleaders, band members and their favorite Wisconsin mascot. Badger Nation can thank Woodmere School teacher and Madison native Alissa Schneeberg, 24, for this youthful outpost in Harvey, La., on the west bank of the Mississippi River across from the Big Easy. Schneeberg, a La Follette High School and UW-Madison graduate, is in Louisiana with Teach For America and exposed her class to the Badgers before the football team’s Rose Bowl appearance.
• Computer Chips Wired With Nerve Cells Science News March 24, 2011 Nerve cell tendrils readily thread their way through tiny semiconductor tubes, researchers find, forming a crisscrossed network like vines twining towards the sun. The discovery that offshoots from nascent mouse nerve cells explore the specially designed tubes could lead to tricks for studying nervous system diseases or testing the effects of potential drugs. Such a system may even bring researchers closer to brain-computer interfaces that seamlessly integrate artificial limbs or other prosthetic devices.
• Cronon: Wisconsin’s Radical Break New York Times March 22, 2011 Now that a Wisconsin judge has temporarily blocked a state law that would strip public employee unions of most collective bargaining rights, it’s worth stepping back to place these events in larger historical context.
• Libya releases detained UW grads, other journalists Milwaukee Journal Sentinel March 21, 2011 Four New Your Times reporters, including two graduates of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, were released Monday to the custody of Turkish diplomats, according to the Times.
• UW-Madison ranks high among world's top universities, survey says Capital Times March 14, 2011 UW-Madison’s reputation as a world-class university has been cemented, according to a survey conducted by a higher education publication in England.
• Still: Give UW-Madison a crack at autonomy Milwaukee Journal Sentinel March 14, 2011 Frayed tempers. Strained relationships. And the end of an era in Wisconsin public policy. That’s a fair description of the struggle between Gov. Scott Walker and Wisconsin’s public employee unions, but it also describes what’s happening these days in the emerging fight over whether the University of Wisconsin-Madison should be granted the freedom to run its own affairs.
• The Science Behind Japan's Earthquake and Tsunami LiveScience.com March 14, 2011 Quoted: In this area, the Pacific Plate, the plate beneath the Pacific Ocean, is moving almost due west and being pushed down into the Earth’s interior along a trench off Japan’s east coast. On average, the Pacific Plate is moving at 3.5 inches (8.9 centimeters) per year, but this process is not continuous, according to Keith Sverdrup, a professor of geophysics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. [The Science behind Japan’s Deadly Earthquake]
• Last Chance in Côte d'Ivoire Huffington Post March 10, 2011 While international attention has been focused on North Africa and the Middle East in recent weeks, the electoral crisis in Côte d’Ivoire has worsened and is entering a new and dangerous phase. [A column co-authored by Scott Straus, UW-Madison professor of political science and international studies.]
• Could gene tests tell if kids can be sports stars? USA Today March 9, 2011 Scientists have identified several genes that may play a role in determining strength, speed and other aspects of athletic performance. But there are likely hundreds more, plus many other traits and experiences that help determine athletic ability, said Dr. Alison Brooks, a pediatrician and sports medicine specialist at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
• Wisconsin’s Legacy of Labor Activism and Conservative Pushback New York Times March 7, 2011 Quoted: “I don’t think there’s a particularly anti-union tradition that doesn’t exit in other states,” said William Powell Jones, a professor of history at the University of Wisconsin in Madison who is writing a history of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and public employee unions. “I think it’s that there’s a progressive, pro-union trend that doesn’t exist elsewhere, and there’s been conflict over that tradition.”
• Editorial: Biddynomics 101: Solving for axe Badger Herald March 4, 2011 There is much to be made of Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed budget and the effects it will have on the University of Wisconsin. But considering the state’s present $137 million budget deficit and Walker’s blunt crusade to tackle it, one thing is clear: It could have been much worse.
• University officials promise TAs tuition remission under budget Badger Herald March 4, 2011 In an effort to recruit top-tier graduate students from around the world, University of Wisconsin officials have offered an assurance that tuition remission for teaching assistants will continue under the new budget proposal.
• The New Badger Partnership is still good for Wisconsin Idea Badger Herald March 7, 2011 If you have any doubt that now is the time for the New Badger Partnership, turn to the Wisconsin Idea.
• Surgery Saves Face of Girl With Parry-Romberg Syndrome ABCNEWS.com March 2, 2011 Quoted: After the unsuccessful treatment with methotrexate, Honeycutt found Dr. John Siebert, professor of surgery at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine in Madison. Siebert has performed a special type of microsurgical reconstruction on about 120 people with Parry-Romberg Syndrome.
• Watt's Journey Leads To Bright NFL Future WISC-TV 3 Feb. 28, 2011 INDIANAPOLIS – Dream Big, Work Hard.For J.J. Watt, it’s not just a snappy catchphrase. (Or, you’re following him on Twitter, his signature hashtag of #DBWH.). The former University of Wisconsin defense end is living proof of what you can accomplish when you do both.
• Sit-ski developed at UW helps skier continue his dream Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Feb. 24, 2011 It took a collaborative effort to make Scott Bachmeier feel simultaneously like "death warmed over" and "a rock star." The 49-year-old skier from Madison relished that combination of exhaustion and exhilaration as he pushed himself toward the finish line of the 2010 American Birkebeiner in Hayward. The effort and the cheers wiped away remnants of the depression he felt after a series of neurological and spinal problems left him without use of his legs. As he struggled through the emotional valley, the glimmer that he could ski again, and ski in the Birkebeiner with a sit-ski developed through the University of Wisconsin, provided valuable motivation.
• 1 in 9 people aged 45-54 is hearing impaired: study Reuters Feb. 22, 2011 A new survey of mostly middle-aged adults reveals that among people aged 45 to 54, one in nine shows signs of hearing impairment. The authors, led by Scott Nash of the University of Wisconsin, determined someone was hearing impaired if at least one ear had trouble hearing various sounds within the range of human speech.
• Hansen to coach U.S. swimmers Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Feb. 10, 2011 University of Wisconsin men's and women's swimming and diving coach Eric Hansen has been chosen as the head coach of the U.S. women's team at the 2011 World University Games in Shenzhen, China.
• Private alumna leaves millions to UW Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Feb. 14, 2011 The daughter of Czech immigrants, Martha Pavcek lived simply and apparently frugally. She taught in Milwaukee schools for many years and never married. You wouldn’t take her for a multimillionaire. Yet the University of Wisconsin Foundation has just announced that Martha left $2.7 million to the school in her estate.
• Franco's Faded Vistas Wall Street Journal Feb. 3, 2011 Quoted: Stanley Payne, now professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, uses a lot of historiography and a bit of autobiography to consider Spain’s fate, which has long been held hostage to evocative, distorting myths. Spain may be unique, suggests Mr. Payne, but not for the reasons we think.
• UW professor watching Egypt Wisconsin Radio Network Feb. 4, 2011 A professor at UW Madison is among those closely watching events in Egypt. Jennifer Lowenstein is a faculty associate in Middle Eastern Studies at UW. She thinks it’s unlikely President Hosni Mubarak can remain in office until September when – he’s said – he won’t seek reelection.
• Pets treated to cutting-edge therapy at UW vet school Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Jan. 27, 2011 Lying on a soft white blanket while waiting to get prepped for his medical treatment, Clyde looked bummed as he softly moaned. It wasn’t clear whether he knew what lay in store for him. Clyde is a basset hound. Like most members of his breed, he always has a "hangdog look." On this day, 10-year-old Clyde was undergoing one in a series of TomoTherapy treatments for the cancerous tumor in his nose. He is one of the first pets to be treated by the relatively new radiation therapy at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, the first veterinary school in the nation to open a TomoTherapy clinic.
• White House honors UW professor for mentoring Badger Herald Jan. 24, 2011 While the lasting positive effects of having a true mentor are hard to quantify, President Barack Obama’s decision to award a University of Wisconsin professor for his mentoring efforts provides recognition for years of a job done well.
• Why The GOP Chose Paul Ryan To Respond To Obama National Public Radio Jan. 25, 2011 David Canon, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, seconds the motive. "Paul Ryan is clearly viewed as one of the rising stars of the Republican Party," Canon says.
• President Obama to Push Jobs & Economy in Wisconsin in First Post State of the Union trip ABCNEWS.com Jan. 26, 2011 Quoted: "I think it’s the Democrats’ nightmare, a state that Obama won quite handily has suddenly switched at all levels," said Charles Franklin, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "This really puts the fear of God in Democrats that Wisconsin might stay in Republican mode, in which case for the 2012 Obama reelection campaign is particularly frightening."
• From frozen Lake Mendota, Hongtao Zhou conjures up ice furniture Isthmus Jan. 26, 2011 Hongtao Zhou requires temperatures below freezing through at least the end of this month. An MFA candidate at UW-Madison, he is accustomed to profound chill. He studied furniture design and wood science in Harbin, the northeast Chinese megalopolis renowned for its spectacular ice festival and brutal winters, with January high and low temperatures averaging nine degrees and -12°.
• Our nation's fear of political complexity Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Jan. 20, 2011 Were the Tucson shootings simply an outcome of a single person’s struggle with mental illness or was the shooter driven - at least in part - by the hostile political climate in the U.S.? Most likely it was a combination of both those factors and many others. That doesn’t let anyone in the political arena off the hook. But it does highlight the need for a much more nuanced debate than we’ve had so far about this tragedy. Unfortunately, even commentators who tried to reintroduce some reason to the post-shooting debates by pointing to the problem of mental illness did so by offering just another monocausal explanation and relying on the same rhetorical tools that got us to into this mess in the first place. [A column by Dietram A. Scheufele, professor of life sciences communication at UW-Madison]
• UW student Colin Tucker balances snowboards and books Isthmus Jan. 19, 2011 Balance. This is the key to Colin Tucker’s pursuit of a pro snowboarding career while working toward an undergraduate degree in legal studies from UW-Madison. Balance is essential to his competition results but also to chasing twin ambitions — one academic, the other sporting — at the same time.
• Macular degeneration may be on the decline Reuters Jan. 12, 2011 A disabling eye condition that typically strikes in older age may be less common than in the past, suggests a large new study.Researchers estimate that macular degeneration -- which involves damage to the center of the retina, making it difficult to see fine details -- affects less than seven percent of the U.S. population aged 40 and older.
• The Most Buzzed-About University? Wisconsin Time NewsFeed Jan. 6, 2011 The Badgers may have lost the Rose Bowl Saturday, but they can still boast that they’re the coolest school in America. The University of Wisconsin at Madison beat out the University of Chicago and Harvard to be the top national university by internet brand equity, according to the Global Language Monitor’s 2011 TrendTopper MediaBuzz internet rankings.