UW System Clipsheet

July 7, 2009

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On Campus

"UWSP volunteer program gives more with fewer participants," Stevens Point Journal, July 7.

Despite a slight decline in numbers, the volunteer program at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point was able to donate more during the 2008-09 school year. By offering more opportunities, the program, to be renamed Students Engaged in Rewarding Volunteer Experiences, volunteered more than 6,200 hours with about 90 fewer students than last year. The drop was because of one less blood drive and a decrease in the number of education students, which typically provides a big volunteer base, officials said.

"UWM student murdered in Riverwest," WTMJ, July 7.

Police are searching for the suspect, or suspects, who murdered a University of Wisconsin Milwaukee student in the Riverwest neighborhood. Nathan Potter, 21, was found shot near the corner of North Dousman and West Wright Streets, just east of Humboldt Boulevard. The shooting happened just after 1:00 a.m. Monday...

"UW class teaches about water, fly fishing," Wisconsin State Journal, July 6.

…To Andrew Winterstein, fly fishing is all about water -- and the respect it deserves. "I share my angling passion and talk about some of the conservation issues. If someone is going to be an angler, that person has to understand, and care, about water resources," said Winterstein. a clinical professor in the Kinesiology Department at the University of Wisconsin, who teaches a two-week summer course on fly fishing. For Winterstein, what better way to understand the threats against water, and to us, than to learn about organisms -- the fish, specifically -- who spend their existence in Wisconsin's streams and lakes…

"Mashed-up genomes could produce biofuels," MSNBC, July 6.

…Scientists from the University of Wisconsin, the Joint Genome Institute and Emory University are sequencing the first-ever community genome, searching for clues to how what's essentially a 50 million-year-old bioreactor operates…

"Chiwaukee Academy offers teachers chance to learn," Journal Times, July 6.

The University of Wisconsin-Parkside hosts the 11th annual Chiwaukee Academy Aug. 10-14. A collaborative effort with Carthage College and the Kenosha and Racine school districts, Chiwaukee Academy gives K-12 teachers' standards-based instruction in seven major study areas from arts, math and science to technology, reading and language, social studies and professional development. All classes are held at the UW-Parkside campus...

State

"Universities using CityWatch to alert students of emergency," La Crosse Tribune, July 7.

When a student was robbed at gunpoint near Viterbo University last November, inaccurate messages ricocheted around campus. Students called their parents, and parents called the university about the attack, said Diane Brimmer, Viterbo's vice president for student development...While such incidents are rare for local college campuses, it would have been helpful to get the message out correctly with something the university has invested in -- an electronic notification system, CityWatch.Viterbo recently joined the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and the city's police department in using the program, which can immediately send out emergency messages to people via phone, text messaging and e-mail, said Pat Kerrigan, vice president for communications and marketing at Viterbo...

"State's schools moving toward firmer standards," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 7.

Wisconsin education officials are aiming to move into the national mainstream by setting firmer standards for what children should learn in school and finding better ways to measure achievement.
A new report from the American Diploma Project praises Wisconsin's proposed new set of standards for high school English and math. The report is the latest of several indications that changes are being made when it comes to student expectations - and that others are noticing...

National

"Experts assess consequences of global surge in demand for higher education," Chronicle of higher Education, July 7.

Higher-education systems around the world have experienced tremendous growth in recent years, in a phenomenon a new report calls an unprecedented global “academic revolution.” But despite the enrollment of nearly 153 million students at universities worldwide—a figure that represents a 53-percent increase in just nine years—fundamental challenges remain in ensuring the quality and accessibility of higher education, participants at an international conference here said this week. National education ministers and other delegates are attending the World Conference on Higher Education, sponsored by Unesco, the United Nations' education-and-science agency...Philip G. Altbach, one of the report's three authors, said that two dominant trends—the response to "massification," and the requirements of a global knowledge economy—have been central to all other major developments in global higher education. The expansion of demand was not unanticipated, but the sheer volume of new students and the range of responses, from governments and the private sector, were largely unforeseen. (paid subscription required)

"Rules on stem cell research are eased," Washington Post, July 7.

Hundreds of embryonic stem cell lines, whose use in the United States had effectively been curtailed by the Bush administration, can be used to study disorders and develop cures if researchers can show the cells were derived using ethical procedures, according to new rules issued by the federal government yesterday...

"New funding rules issued on stem cell research," National Public Radio, July 7.

The Obama administration has lifted some restrictions on stem cell research. Scientists say the new rules will give them a lot more freedom to do research that could one day lead to better treatments for injuries and disease…

"University of Illinois admissions: Chancellor says 'we have to fix' system," Chicago Tribune, July 7.

The University of Illinois' favoritism toward students backed by powerful sponsors must come to an end, the principal enforcer of the campus' secret admissions system testified Monday. Chancellor Richard Herman took responsibility for the special treatment given to students with political connections but weak academic credentials. He also acknowledged trying to mitigate damage to the law school by seeking jobs for graduates and thereby improving the school's job-placement rate.