UW System Clipsheet

June 11, 2009

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Board of Regents

"Student named to Regents to be tested early on,," Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, June 10.

UW-Eau Claire student Aaron Wingad will bring a thoughtful and intelligent voice to the UW System's Board of Regents, according to colleagues...Wingad will be tested on those tuition and budget issues right away. The Board of Regents will vote July 9 on the UW System's operating budget, which deals in part with tuition levels, said David Giroux, the UW System's communications director. It will be the first board meeting where Wingad will cast a vote...

On Campus

"UW-Stout student center among building projects," Stevens Point Journal, June 11.

...UWSP is one of several schools in the UW System interested in implementing a three-year baccalaureate degree program. The idea still is in its infancy and won't be presented to the Board of Regents until the fall, but schools are giving serious weight to the plan...

"UW's share to reduce state's deficit nearly $3 million," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 11.

The University of Wisconsin athletic department's contribution to the state's effort to trim its $6.6 billion deficit will be about $3 million. The state informed the Badgers athletic department that it must pay the state $1.499 million in each of the next two years, said John Jentz, UW's associate athletic director for business operations. That money will cover Gov. Jim Doyle's mandated 16 furlough days, the 2% raise state employees were scheduled to receive as well as a 1% operating expense fee imposed on self-funded state agencies...

"Wisconsin Badgers athletics: Nearly $3 million to state to cover furloughs, pay cuts," Wisconsin State Journal, June 11.

The University of Wisconsin Athletic Department will have to turn over nearly $3 million to the state to cover the cost of furloughs and pay cuts for its employees over the next two years...

"New Jewish center shines on University of Wisconsin-Madison campus," Wisconsin State Journal, June 11.

Replacing an outdated, bursting-at-the seams facility, the new four-floor University of Wisconsin-Madison Hillel has a kosher cafe, a rooftop basketball court and room to grow. The Barbara Hochberg Center for Jewish Student Life, 611 Langdon St., is now the largest Hillel in the country, said Greg Steinberger, executive director...

"University of Wisconsin-Madison dining halls lose kosher menu," Wisconsin State Journal, June 10.

When University of Wisconsin-Madison students return to school this fall, the residence halls will no longer offer kosher dining...(Director of housing Paul) Evans said the endeavor was costly and there wasn't enough demand...

"Wisconsin-La Crosse drops two sports," Inside Higher Ed, June 11.

In a move that is projected to save the institution nearly $60,000 annually, the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse is planning to eliminate its men’s tennis and baseball teams. The proposed cuts are part of a $400,000 trimming of the university’s operating budget...

"UW-L tennis, baseball may survive with donations," La Crosse Tribune, June 11.

...UWSP is one of several schools in the UW System interested in implementing a three-year baccalaureate degree program. The idea still is in its infancy and won't be presented to the Board of Regents until the fall, but schools are giving serious weight to the plan...

"The Pineries Bank commissions UWSP art students for sculpture," Stevens Point Journal, June 11.

When The Pineries Bank contacted the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point about creating an outdoor sculpture, the bank was only hoping the university could recommend a talented artist...But instead of just one artist, the bank ended up with a dozen... As a way to give back to the students, the bank will create an endowment that will pay for a scholarship for an art student every year. The endowment will be between $20,000 and $25,000...

"UW Athletics: Performance bonuses may be altered," Wisconsin State Journal, June 10.

The University of Wisconsin Athletic Department is in the process of changing its Exceptional Achievement Award Policy, which came under fire recently when football coach Bret Bielema earned a $100,000 bonus for leading his team to the Champs Sports Bowl. The proposed changes, which must be approved by the Athletic Board on Friday, would lower the bonuses football coaches receive for the two lowest bowl games...

State

"How the state budget plan would affect you," Wisconsin State Journal, June 11.

If you smoke, if you send your children to public school or if you and your spouse together earn more than $300,000 a year, the $62.2 billion state budget to be taken up today by the Democratic-led Assembly will affect you...Here are highlights...University of Wisconsin System and UW-Madison: Allows faculty and staff to unionize; Provides health insurance benefits to domestic partners of university and other state employees at a projected cost of up to $6.7 million annually; Provides $113 million for tuition grants for System students, reducing grants by about $300 per student this fall from Gov. Doyle's proposal; Borrows $978 million for construction projects, including a new nursing school building at UW-Madison; Provides $15 million to retain talented faculty...

"Assembly Democrats don't want nursing school," Associated Press, June 10.

A new $47 million nursing school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison would not be funded in the state budget if Assembly Democrats get their way. Democrats voted to remove funding for the project from the budget during a closed door meeting Wednesday night. The full Assembly is to take up the budget on Thursday followed by the Senate next week...

"Economic downturn causes upswing for Fox Valley Technical College," Post-Crescent, June 11.

...FVTC reports that its enrollment, which includes traditional students and those seeking continuing education, the past year rose 5.8 percent, the highest increase in six years. Officials project enrollment will continue rising...

National

"6 lessons one campus learned about e-textbooks," Chronicle of Higher Education, June 11. 

Northwest Missouri State University nearly became the first public university to deliver all of its textbooks electronically. Last year the institution's tech-happy president, Dean L. Hubbard, bought a Kindle, Amazon's e-book reading device, and liked it so much that he wanted to give every incoming student one...Then the university ran a pilot study with the Sony Reader, a device much like the Kindle (Sony was more responsive to the university's calls than Amazon was). University officials learned some sobering lessons about electronic books. Students who got the machines quickly asked for their printed books back because it was so awkward to navigate inside the e-books (though a newer version of the device works more gracefully)...

"Academic and scientific groups recommend steps to ease visa delays," Chronicle of Higher Education, June 11.

A number of academic, engineering, and scientific organizations are urging the federal government to take more-aggressive steps to speed up the delay-plagued visa-application process for foreign students and scholars, including the creation of a high-level panel to review the more-restrictive policies and procedures put in place after the 2001 terrorist attacks...

"Don't bank on it," Inside Higher Ed, June 11.

...While few states have made outright declarations that they may end major aid programs altogether -- California being a notable exception -- several are tweaking eligibility requirements or changing the scope of aid programs to reduce costs...

"Panel to investigate admissions at U. of Illinois," New York Times, June 11.

Gov. Patrick J. Quinn of Illinois appointed a panel on Wednesday to investigate accusations that the University of Illinois admitted hundreds of applicants based largely on their political connections...

"Great Caesar’s ghost! Are traditional history courses vanishing?," New York Times, June 10.

To the pessimists evidence that the field of diplomatic history is on the decline is everywhere. Job openings on the nation's college campuses are scarce, while bread-and-butter courses like the Origins of War and American Foreign Policy are dropping from history department postings. And now, in what seems an almost gratuitous insult, Diplomatic History, the sole journal devoted to the subject, has proposed changing its title. For many in the field this latest suggestion is emblematic of a broader problem: the shrinking importance not only of diplomatic history but also of traditional specialties like economic, military and constitutional history...