UW System Clipsheet

June 12, 2009

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On Campus

"UWSP faculty members raise concerns about furlough plan," Stevens Point Journal, June 12.

Gov. Jim Doyle's plan for state workers to take furloughs has those within the UW System questioning its effects and whether it will save money...At UWSP, 93 faculty positions are paid for by outside grants, some federal and some private. Some people might be funded by multiple sources. Another 272 positions are paid through university revenue such as fees, not the state's General Purpose Revenue. UWSP has about 1,300 employees...

"On Campus: Legislators say University of Wisconsin-Madison officials lobbied to remove nursing school from budget," Wisconsin State Journal, June 11.

In unusual move, UW-Madison officials apparently asked legislators to remove a $47 million School of Nursing building from the state budget, said Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison...

"On Campus: DeLuca to be new University of Wisconsin-Madison provost," Wisconsin State Journal, June 11.

UW-Madison’s No. 2 post will be filled by Paul M. DeLuca Jr., vice dean of the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, the university announced today. Chancellor Biddy Martin chose DeLuca as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs after an internal search, citing the significant growth he has helped achieve in the School of Medicine and Public Health and his “great sense of humor,” according to a university news release...

"UW-Madison names physicist, medical school official as provost," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 11.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has named the vice dean of the School of Medicine and Public Health as the new provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, officials announced Thursday. Paul M. DeLuca Jr., who joined the university faculty in 1973, will replace former provost Patrick Farrell as the chief academic officer. The provost helps the institution toward its long-term goals in research and education by working with the chancellor and deans of UW's 13 schools and colleges...

"Comprehensive plan sought for Pieces of Eight site," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 11. 

The Board of Harbor Commissioners wants the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to submit a comprehensive plan for its proposed use of the former Pieces of Eight restaurant site before the panel will discuss a new lease, officials said Thursday. UWM officials want to construct a signature building to house the headquarters of the planned School of Freshwater Sciences on the lakefront...

National

"U.S. faculty members feel a lack of clout, international survey finds," Chronicle of Higher Education, June 12. 

Compared with their peers in many other nations, faculty members at four-year colleges in the United States stand out in their insularity from the international academic community and their sense of a lack of power over their institutions' leadership and budgets, according to the unpublished results of a study involving surveys of faculty members around the world...

"New U of M stadium likely to be booze free," Associated Press, June 11.

University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks will recommend Friday that regents ban alcohol from its new football venue after state lawmakers demanded that fans in the TCF Bank Stadium cheap seats get as much access to booze as those in the suites. He is extending the no-alcohol policy to the hockey team's Mariucci Arena and the basketball team's Williams Arena. While alcohol isn't broadly sold in either, it has been available in suite and reception areas...

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...