UW In The News

Priced out: Low-income students struggle to meet costs, participate in college community

Demographers forecast that more college students in the future will be low-income adults returning to school. And President Barack Obama is pushing to make college more affordable with a package of proposals that includes providing two free years of college to all high school graduates, expanding the low-income Pell grant program for older students like Atkinson, and giving bonuses to colleges that enroll and graduate significant numbers of low-income students. Meanwhile, student activists pushed for more affordable college on campuses across the country during the Million Student March in November.

For candidates, flying private is the norm

Quoted: While most Americans probably won’t see the inside of a Gulfstream, the campaign plane is a reality of early state primaries, said Ken Mayer, a presidential political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Drinking Water Travels Disparate Paths In Wisconsin Utilities

Noted: Lead also complicates water conservation. When customers use less water, that remaining in the system sits in the pipes longer, offering lead more opportunity to leach into it. “Systems can’t just go blindly into water demand reduction or conservation plans,” said Gregory Harrington, a UW-Madison professor of civil and environmental engineering. Lead’s relatively small part in the water system infrastructure highlights some of the long-term decisions ahead for water utilities — including Madison’s, which has about 900 miles of pipe, much of which is at least 50 years old. “I think the biggest decision they’re going to have to make is how to fund infrastructure over time,” Harrington said.

University of Missouri Struggles to Bridge Its Racial Divide

Quoted: Inclusion starts with ensuring that minority students are “not on campus in token amounts,” said Linda S. Greene, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, who has served in various administrative roles that included diversity work.

Campus, legislative officials promote education on voter ID changes

UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank outlined the university’s efforts to educate students on voter ID information in a Friday blog post.

Blank said in the post that after the 2011 voter ID law was implemented, she and other administrative officials worked with legislators to ensure that students across the UW System could obtain voter ID cards.

Want to end prejudice? Watch a sitcom

Quoted: “We thought the effect might be dampened with the groups actual media exposure prior to watching the program. Typically Muslims and Arabs are shown on television as more violent and aggressive and are shown in more stereotypical ways like as terrorists,” said Sohad Murrar, the study author. Murrar is a graduate student studying social and personality psychology in at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “It was particularly exciting to see this positive shift it was quite a robust effect, and we think if people’s prejudice was dampened in this case, this could be applied to other target groups.”

12 on Tuesday: Hedi Rudd

Noted: As a graduate of the UW Odyssey Project, I have been able to see up close and personal what a game changer education can be. One day, we are going to see the families of those Odyssey graduates changing the game in Madison, as they and their children go on to college. Odyssey exposes us to literature, art, history and philosophy, which is empowering. It might take time, but I believe that we are going to see some serious outcomes as a result of Odyssey and Odyssey Junior.

UW System finances still ‘relatively strong’ as reserves drop

While budget cuts are occurring on campuses across the University of Wisconsin System this year, the system’s own annual report released Monday said its financial standing “remained relatively strong” as of June 30, the end of the last fiscal year. That’s just a snapshot in time, UW System officials said, and it does not account for $250 million in state budget cuts that will come into play between this fiscal year and next.

On Campus: Inspired by popular podcasts, UW-Madison explores people behind research

Inspired by other popular podcasts that bring science to the masses, such as Radiolab from New York Public Radio, UW-Madison’s “Science Narratives” is aimed at “people who aren’t going to be interested in sitting down and reading an academic article,” said Lika Balenovich, who oversees the project.

Zika virus around a long time, yet little is known about it

Dr. Matthew Leota is a University of Wisconsin Madison Research Scientist who studies mosquito borne illnesses. He says they encountered the Zika virus while researching something else in Columbia. “I’ve been primarily working on a virus called Dengue virus and another virus called Chikungunya virus, which are transmitted by a mosquito called Aedes Aegypti, and so Aedes Aegypti is also the mosquito that is currently spreading Zika virus around the Americas, and so it was somewhat coincidentally that we came upon Zika virus working in Columbia.”

Owen Daniels aims for career in weather after football

When Owen Daniels looks to the sky as he discusses plans for life after the NFL, just know that he’s not searching for an answer.

UW Varsity Band coming to Iola

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Varsity Band will perform at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22, at Iola-Scandinavia High School.

This robot changes how it looks depending on your personality

We’ve already got robot receptionists, who respond to human interactions — now we have a robot that changes how it looks depending on your personality. This robot, designed by Sean Andrist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has been developed to respond to ’social gaze’ — essentially the social context in which we look at one another. The robot uses social cues, which it processes via a bespoke algorithm, to figure out what kind of personality you have and respond accordingly.

UW Students Turn To Their Wardrobe To Mark Black History Month

#blackOclock: That’s the social media tag some University of Wisconsin-Madison students are using to share pictures of themselves decked out from head to toe in the color black to celebrate the first day of Black History Month.

Middle schoolers from Wisconsin compete in Science Bowl

Some of Wisconsin’s brightest minds filled the UW Engineering Hall today. They were all there for the Wisconsin Regional Middle School Science Bowl.

Middle school students from across the state traveled to Madison for this. Organizers say the kids impress them every round.

Is Wisconsin lagging nation in support for higher ed?

While much of the nation is steadily boosting state funding for higher education, several recent reports suggest the opposite is true in Wisconsin, though the governor’s office argues that’s not the full story.

Plain Talk: Why a world-class university matters to Wisconsin

Column: The (Epic founder Judith) Faulkner story is one of a kind, to be sure. But there are hundreds like it involving smaller companies that have been formed by men and women who came here because of what the UW had to offer. That’s why it’s so troubling when the university becomes a whipping boy for politicians who profess they want to make it easier for businesses to create jobs when, in fact, one of the largest job creators is the university itself.

Science-Diversity Efforts Connect Grad Students With Mentors

Angela Byars-Winston, a counseling psychologist at the U. of Wisconsin at Madison, is involved in an ambitious training program in “culturally responsive mentoring,” funded by the NIH.

In election year, teachers tackle politics in class

Quoted: “It’s no different than, ’Why do we teach science in school?’ ” said Diana Hess, who has researched civic education and students’ discussion of controversial political issues, and is dean of the school of education at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

Can a TV sitcom reduce anti-Muslim bigotry?

Countering prejudice might be as easy as kicking back with the right sitcom. That’s according to new research that suggests media that depict Muslim characters in a positive, relatable way, can counter prejudiced attitudes toward Muslims. “Entertainment media…are likely to be one of the most effective ways to improve intergroup relations and promote diversity,” says Sohad Murrar, a doctoral candidate in Social Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Can We Stop Mosquitoes From Infecting the World?

Researchers are working on a number of new weapons for combatting insect-borne disease. One potential is a common bacterium, wolbachia. Mosquitoes infected with it in laboratory studies are unable to transmit dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever. Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes are being introduced in Medellin, Colombia, part of a project aimed at eliminating dengue. Matthew Aliota, a research scientist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, will be studying the method’s prospect for controlling Zika and other mosquito-borne diseases.

Greenland

One of the most significant efforts to study changes in the climate has been taking place near the top of the world. It’s a place called Petermann Glacier in Greenland, one of the largest glaciers in the Arctic Circle and a glacier that has experienced dramatic melting. It is a harsh and dangerous environment, and it has drawn some of the world’s leading climate scientists who are only able to work there a little over a month a year.

UW-Madison’s Lori Berquam, Susan Riseling and Dr. Sarah Van Orman: We’re constantly improving sex assault discipline process

A recent article, “UW-Madison sex assault discipline process leaves both sides crying foul,” raised questions about how the university responds to allegations of sexual violence.

Memorial Union reopened after small roof fire

Madison firefighters were at Memorial Union shortly after 3:30 p.m. on Thursday to combat the fire which was extinguished by 4 p.m., said Madison fire Department spokeswoman Cynthia Schuster. According to Schuster, the fire was discovered underneath roof tiles of the Union. A portion of tiles had to be removed to put out the fire and some water damage occurred on the fourth floor of the building as a result. The cause has not been determined and the fire remains under investigation.

Study: Wisconsin’s Rural School Districts Face Declining Enrollment, Less Funding

Wisconsin’s rural school districts are facing a “perfect storm” of declining enrollment and uncertain funding that pose tough questions about their future, according to a new report. A University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher said that the information she compiled in her report are the kind of problems that won’t go away any time soon.

‘How to Haze a Coyote’ video shows scare tactics to keep the animal away

UW Urban Canid Project leader and professor of forest and wildlife ecology David Drake provides strategies and tips for hazing coyotes.

There’s a Secret World Under the Snow, and It’s in Trouble

Quoted: “Typically the way people have predominantly viewed snow was almost like a simplifying agent of the landscape,” says Jonathan Pauli from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A lot of what was known about winter only really considered what happened to the animals traversing its surface, even among ecologists, he adds.

Murdoch v Trump: Fox and The Hair

Noted: The row with the GOP frontrunner arguably lends weight to the notion that Fox News is politically neutral but James Baughman, a professor of journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison says this would not have factored in Mr Ailes’ decision. (Subscription required.)

Marvin Lipofsky, Ceramist Who Elevated Blown Glass to Fine Art, Dies at 77

At the University of Wisconsin in the early 1960s, Mr. Lipofsky was a student of Harvey K. Littleton, a ceramist who created the first glassblowing classes in the United States. “He asked me if I was interested in glass, and I said, well, I’ve never heard of it,” Mr. Lipofsky recalled in an interview at the Oakland Museum of California, describing his first day in Mr. Littleton’s ceramics class.

Energy Experts Are Split On Whether Wisconsin Should Lift Ban On New Nuclear Power Plants

Quoted: Michael Corradini, professor of engineering physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said he hopes the bill will pass because he feels nuclear power is a better alternative to fossil fuels and ultimately help in the fight against climate change.