The UW System’s use of eminent domain to acquire a downtown Madison building is prompting a legislative call for more oversight of the process. But the bill that would create that oversight focuses only on the UW System and its use of eminent domain, or condemnation. “I think our real question is that there’s a long list of government entities that have the statutory authority to use condemnation,” said David Miller, UW System vice president of capital planning and budget. “Why are we being singled out? It just seems very odd”...

Last week, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point played host to a "Celebration of Undergraduate Research." Our university and others in the University of Wisconsin System took a moment to call attention to the remarkable, relevant applied research being carried out throughout the state. Our work here campus and with other state universities serves the needs of discovery and the rich academic experiences we promise to our students, and it also serves the needs of our state's economy... (Author: Mark Nook, interim chancellor at UW-Stevens Point)...

A well-known University of Wisconsin-Madison residence hall is long gone, but a multimillion dollar dispute over its demolition, which culminated when a falling concrete block crushed a car, lives on.  Dore&Associates of Bay City, Mich. is asking the state for $1.7 million in damages for losses stemming from its work tearing down Ogg Hall, a campus fixture that had housed generations of students. The state caused expensive delays in its work and then unfairly fired Dore from the job, the company claims...

A second round of testing has been completed on a freight elevator in Price Commons at the University of Wisconsin's Stout campus. The elevator, suspected of containing asbestos, has now been shown to be free of detectable levels of the substance...

The new state-of-the-art Hillel building at the University of Wisconsin, Madison was officially dedicated with a series of special events during UW Homecoming Weekend, Oct. 16-18. The building is named the Barbara Hochberg Center for Jewish Student Life in recognition of a gift from Larry and Sue Hochberg named in memory of Larry’s late wife, Barbara Hochberg of Chicago...

Using self-portrait photos, a Milwaukee artist has posted a time-lapse summation of his last decade -- and a day -- to the video site YouTube. The more than 4,600 images are pictures Marc Tasman took of himself during 3,653 days and then compressed into a 5-minute, 27-second video, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Saturday. "It's all there," said Tasman, who lectures on media, technology and culture at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee...

A judge has delayed a civil trial for a former University of Wisconsin-Whitewater dean who claims he was audited and demoted because of his race. U.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller set the trial in the racial discrimination lawsuit filed by Howard Ross for Feb. 8. The trial had been set for next month, but lawyers representing university officials asked for a delay...

...The seminar, "Climate Change Wisconsin: What it Means for Us," will be presented at 7 p.m. in Mary Ann Cofrin Hall 208. Graduate students from the UW-Green Bay Capstone Seminar in Environmental Science and Policy will present their work on the topic of climate change, covering the most current science projections...

The University of Wisconsin-Parkside's Theatre Arts Department was recently named recipient of the 2009 Regents Teaching Excellence Award by the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents. The award, for which academic departments from all 13 UW campuses are eligible, is given annually to a department, program or other academic unit which demonstrates exceptional commitment to and effectiveness in teaching...

Friends are remembering University of Wisconsin-Parkside advocate Rita Tallent Picken as energetic with an encouraging, likeable disposition...Picken, 90, died reportedly on Nov. 16 in Chicago. She had fallen and broken some ribs, preventing her from attending a Parkside event on Nov. 7 honoring her, Jaeschke and Harriet Wyllie for their support for establishing the campus...

...This incident with Nike is no exception to previous policies and decisions, and the administration needs to act accordingly. Rather than just sending a scathing letter to Nike, we must take the steps necessary to terminate our contracts with the company...

After closing on Thursday for Thanksgiving, the University of Wisconsin-Madison also will be shut down Friday as a state-mandated furlough day for most of the school's employees.

Rick Marolt will be giving a talk titled "Why Primate Research at the UW is Unethical" on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m...Marolt told the Cap Times in September that he has spent parts of the past three years trying to get someone associated with UW-Madison to answer one question: Is experimenting on monkeys ethical?...

Now in its second year, the University of Wisconsin’s Entrepreneurial Residential Learning Community continues to foster innovative spirits by clustering students and faculty with a common interest in entrepreneurial pursuits...

Eight University of Wisconsin-La Crosse students were recently cited for underage drinking based off pictures a police officer took from their Facebook profiles...

UW-Stout's University Dining Services started the semester working toward going more "green." The service switched to commercially compostable packaging for all food and beverages served in disposable containers...

UW-River Falls officials are expected to announce a “significant partnership” with Racine-based Case IH and Value Implement of Menomonie and Osseo Wednesday morning. The deal is said to greatly benefit the university’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences (CAFES)...

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle will speak at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's commencement next month...

In the midst of a legislative investigation into whether private consulting firms cost more than using state workers for transportation projects, new numbers show the amount of money spent on contracts has declined. According to a recent Department of Administration report sent Monday to members of the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee, the dollar amount for contracted services across all state agencies and the University of Wisconsin System decreased about 3 percent from a year ago...

Wisconsin has lost a bigger percentage of its work force during the current recession than it did during other recent recessions, in 2001, 1990 and 1981, according to a report from the UW-Madison’s Center on Wisconsin Strategy...

Since the summer, 211 state workers have been given notice that they are at risk of being laid off -- a number that will rise in the coming months, state officials said. "We are headed toward some layoffs in state government. How far and how deep they'll go, I really can't predict," said Jennifer Donnelly, director of the Office of State Employment Relations. "That number is going to continue to rise"...

...Studies have shown that family engagement matters when it comes to student achievement, especially among economically disadvantaged learners. And yet education schools rarely require teachers - the primary link to families - to receive any training on how to build quality school-home relationships...

...Cassels, 18, is one of an increasing number of high school graduates who pass over top-drawer public and private universities to become honor students at community colleges. Recession-wary students are flocking to selective two-year programs, which allow students to complete half of their college education for about $8,000, then transfer to a more prestigious four-year institution...

Students aren't the only ones benefiting from the billions of new dollars Washington is spending on college aid for the poor. An Associated Press analysis shows surging proportions of both low-income students and the recently boosted government money that follows them are ending up at for-profit schools, from local career colleges to giant publicly traded chains such as the University of Phoenix, Kaplan and Devry...

...For many reasons, dual-degree programs that allow students to earn two degrees in less time and with less expense than they could pursuing the degrees consecutively have grown in popularity at Chicago-area colleges and universities. The appeal to students of less time and expense is obvious and understandable. But the programs are also popular with university administrators, who see them as drawing cards and tools to retain particularly gifted students at their institutions...

Most college students expect to receive their diplomas on the basis of grades, but at a Pennsylvania school, physical fitness matters too. Students at Lincoln University with a body mass index of 30 or above, reflective of obesity, must take a fitness course that meets three hours per week. Those who are assigned to the class but do not complete it cannot graduate...