Ross Freshwater has a PhD in education leadership and policy analysis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a masters degree in teaching and curriculum from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Ohio State University.
Wisconsin’s representatives should back Bowman’s legislation and join him in recognizing that, “All students deserve an equitable opportunity to gain admission to institutions of higher education, but students whose parents didn’t attend or donate to a university are often overlooked in the admissions process due to the historically classist and racist legacy and donor admissions practices at many schools across the country.”
Column by Jonathan Patz, the John P. Holton chair of Health and the Environment and professor in the Nelson Institute and Department of Population Health Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Letter to the editor: Over the years, I worked with farm students who needed classes that started after the morning milking, bilingual Latino students who were the linguistic bridge for their families, returning adult students who supported aging parents, students with disabilities who needed accommodations, refugee students and veterans who had seen too much, LGBTQ students who struggled with families that disowned them, African American students who wanted to see themselves reflected in the curriculum, students who struggled with depression after family trauma, liberal and conservative students, well-to-do and homeless students, and students with many other unique backgrounds. DEI initiatives helped me understand who our students were, and that is a good thing.
Column by Russ Castronovo, director of the Center for the Humanities and the Tom Paine professor of English at UW-Madison.
Guest column: But perhaps the worst part of the proposal is the Republican plan to cut UW System funding using the pretext that campuses must eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives.
Letter to the editor: One who has already been indoctrinated wouldn’t see the indoctrination for what it is.
Letter to the editor: Since 1988, I have mentored many hundreds of students, had a great scientific and professional career and gotten to know many other Latino Ph.D. graduates in STEM. We know Albert(a) Einstein can be anywhere, if welcomed and given a chance, and diversity at UW is how valuable careers begin.
Letter to the editor: Now comes a decision by the Legislature to dismantle efforts to increase diversity, equity and inclusion on UW campuses. It seems strange, when they are concerned with greater freedom of expression and exposure to a wider range of views, that legislators have targeted DEI initiatives for cuts.
Letter to the editor: In this current budget cycle, Wisconsin has a very large surplus. But instead of using the surplus to support one of our great economic engines, the University of Wisconsin System, the Wisconsin GOP wants to cut millions of dollars from its budget.
Letter to the editor: The decision of the Republicans on the state Joint Finance Committee to withhold $32 million from the University of Wisconsin System for diversity, equity and inclusion could be a very good decision — if the funds are properly reallocated.
Letter to the editor: I’m sure many readers reacted with disbelief to the decision of UW-Madison’s Music School to axe the Choral Union, the 130-year-old partnership of students, alumni and community members, ostensibly to maximize “opportunities for UW students.”
Letter to the editor: It does matter to the minorities who are a part of the university. For them, removing these programs says, “You are not wanted here. If you want to be here, you will have to expect to be kept in your place. This is a white man’s campus. Deal with it.”
Why would anyone want to end what is a success story for the Wisconsin Idea? The school of music says that this decision is necessary to promote the interests of students, but its interests and the interests of community members are not mutually exclusive.
No, Robin, I think it’s the other way around. I suspect that thousands of my fellow UW grads are embarrassed that our alma mater saw fit to grant you a degree. After four years of college, you’d think a little bit of human compassion would have rubbed off on even the most narrow-minded student at UW-Whitewater.
Column by Jenny Higgins, PhD, MPH, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health and director of the Collaborative for Reproductive Equity (CORE), and Amy Williamson, MPP, the associate director of CORE.
Letter to the editor: Some observers think the Joint Finance Committee’s refusal to contribute state funding to a new engineering building on the UW-Madison campus is a Republican reaction to the university’s “woke-ism.” If this is so, it may be a less-than-optimal response.
Republicans on the committee voted down the long-anticipated and much-needed new engineering building on the UW Madison campus. Not so long ago that would have been a slam dunk Republican priority.
Letter to the editor: The 130-year-old UW Choral Union will no longer be a part of the School of Music outreach to the community. I am so very disappointed.
Aware of this risk, in 2021 the University of Wisconsin studied this issue and found that the dumping of subsidized Chinese amino acids into the U.S. could destroy nearly 30,000 American jobs and reduce U.S. GDP by $15 billion per year.
Letter to the editor: I had the privilege attending two classes as a senior auditor at UW-Madison, from which I graduated many years ago. One was African American history, the second American Indian history. Both would probably be considered “woke” — whatever that means? Certain people would be uncomfortable with the material covered in these courses.
Letter to the editor: One of the finest aspects of UW-Madison is its diversity, equity and inclusion. All are now under attack by GOP legislators who seek to defund efforts for these worthy goals toward enriching lives and fostering understanding.
The year is 2028, and a state-of-the-art building has opened in the heart of UW-Madison’s College of Engineering campus. It’s six times larger than the Depression-era building it replaced and designed to last a century or more.
Studies have pointed to the critical importance of developing a diverse health care workforce that reflects the patient population and can deliver culturally competent care to help reduce disparities. That’s why the Dane County NAACP is calling on UW Health, the largest medical provider in our area, to show leadership on this issue by declaring Juneteenth — Freedom Day — a paid holiday for all employees.
Republican political strategists have a new target. They are going after the diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that are making colleges and universities across the country more welcoming to faculty, staff and students from all backgrounds.
Letter to the editor: So what does the microwave of the future look like? Ask an engineer. She’s probably working on it now at the UW-Madison College of Engineering.
But she needs the support of the Legislature in the state budget for a new College of Engineering facility. The Joint Finance Committee unfortunately removed this proposed funding. This additional facility space will allow her and many more bright students to invent the “microwaves and computers of the future.”
Column by John P. Gross, a clinical associate professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School and director of the Public Defender Project. He teaches courses in criminal law, criminal defense and trial practice.
Letter to the editor: So let me get this straight: It’s more important to spend state tax dollars to attract better talent to have a competitive Badgers football team than contribute to fund a new engineering building to produce more engineers to keep the Wisconsin economy competitive? Hmm. What am I missing here?
State Republicans have a long-standing tradition of supporting economic development in Wisconsin, but – bafflingly—they missed the boat recently when the powerful GOP-controlled state-budget-writing committee axed a proposal for a much-needed new engineering building on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.
Football or education? The priorities for our right-wing, gerrymandered Legislature seem to fit nicely with the UW-Madison athletics department’s desire for a new training facility and hopeless dreams of a national championship.
Wisconsin has other fine engineering campuses, public and private, but demand for UW-Madison graduates is stronger than ever at a time when industry needs well-trained engineers in all disciplines. Let’s hope negotiations breathe new life into a project that will help Wisconsin’s economy for decades to come.
Advice for taking the road less traveled.
My hope is that I can be an advocate for all Indigenous college students to receive the support they need to thrive in college and beyond.
-Gresham D. Collom is a research affiliate at University of Wisconsin at Madison, an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and an incoming assistant professor of higher education administration at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota.
I hope our Legislature revisits correcting this putting education where it belongs: ahead of sports.
What was the reason for denial? Penny-pinching foolishness or partisan bias against UW-Madison? Surely not one legislator took a walk down to UW-Madison to see the crowded and inadequate facilities.
And in keeping with Walker’s hostility toward the UW, just last week, Republicans axed $350 million for a new engineering school at UW-Madison, a top priority for the university that officials say is needed to keep the school competitive.
No one is ever going to accuse the Republicans who run Wisconsin’s legislative Joint Finance Committee of being the sharpest tacks in the box. And their failure to approve funding for a new College of Engineering facility for the University of Wisconsin-Madison is another example of their profound cluelessness.
This $347.3 million building is a top priority with $150 million being raised by private donors. Yet at the same time, the UW athletic department got the go ahead for a $285 million indoor practice facility. I am a sports fan, and I understand that the 67-year-old Camp Randall Sports Center (also known as the Shell) is probably showing its age.
Written by Mark Copelovitch, a professor of political science and public affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Michael, a native speaker (which is what the group calls its English-speaking volunteers) mentions how inclusive the organization is to volunteers as well. Students at the University of Wisconsin, referred to as Badger speakers, often join these events to help in any way they can.
And student swapping filters down from flagships. Within the University of Wisconsin system, out-of-state enrollment has grown 63 percent in the past decade, while in-state enrollment has decreased by 20 percent. Crowded out, at-risk students leave to dine at places where they’re less likely to complete their meal and more likely to get sick.
Written by Kevin P. Reilly, president emeritus of the University of Wisconsin system.
Column authored by Katherine Cramer, professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Editor’s Note: This is the part of a series of three essays on free speech in the University of Wisconsin system. Look for other perspectives from Rep. Dave Murphy, chair of the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities, and former UW System President Kevin Reilly.
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of three essays on free speech in the University of Wisconsin system. Look for other perspectives coming this week from former UW System President Kevin Reilly and Katherine Cramer, a political science professor at UW-Madison.
Phil Hands’ illustration in the May 3 State Journal featuring UW Athletic Director Chris McIntosh with recently hired UW football coach Luke Fickell and UW men’s hockey coach Mike Hasting told quite story. The illustration also featured former athletic directors Barry Alvarez and Pat Richter. But one important person was missing: Donna Shalala.
If Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, had his way, Charleston would be the one removed from campus. Just days after the video emerged, triggering outrage, Vos called for cutting all positions focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion across the University of Wisconsin System.
The Wisconsin study, by UW-Madison’s Center for Communications and Civic Renewal, surveyed 3,031 demographically representative Wisconsinites to explore the civic consequences of political conflict.
Letter to the editor: As an electrician who works for the state of Wisconsin at UW-Madison, I and all other state employees in the building trades have been and are being treated as second-class citizens. After Act 10 was enacted we were informed that we could ask of negotiate, and I use the term negotiate lightly because there is no attempt by the state government to negotiate.
Letter to the editor: Until these students fully comprehend what viewpoint diversity means and can allow it to exist, UW-Madison could provide safe spaces for closet conservatives who are afraid to speak out, along with employing security for invited speakers who are perceived as right-wingers.
Letter to the editor: The turnout in student wards on UW campuses was unusually high for a spring election. And the winning candidate, Janet Protasiewicz, received the vast majority of the student vote.
L.A. Times columnist: Back in 2015, Wisconsin’s Republican Gov. Scott Walker tried to burnish his culture warrior cred in advance of a bid for the presidency by targeting UW-Madison and other University of Wisconsin System campuses.
Walker cut the state university’s budget. His hand-picked UW Board of Regents gutted tenure protections for its faculty.
That’s OK, because Madison’s economy isn’t dominated by state government and UW-Madison the way it used to be. Technology companies such as Epic Systems and Exact Sciences employ thousands of young professionals, many of whom live Downtown.
Letter to the editor: People are not born with hate. They are taught to hate. To counteract this, we should be teaching compassion and empathy through engagement and education. We need to get out of our silos and open our ears and hearts for one another. We must unite to fight our true enemies — fear, anger and hate.
Guest column authored by Nathan Kalmoe, executive cirector of the Center for Communication and Civic Renewal, Michael W. Wagner, professor of Journalism and Mass Communication and faculty director of the Center for Communication and Civic Renewal, and Dhavan Shah, Maier-Bascom professor and research director of the Center for Communication and Civic Renewal, all of UW-Madison.
Following racist video on campus, The Badger Herald Editorial Board extends support to Black community, calls on UW to undertake anti-racist efforts.
Letter to the editor: This incident demonstrates that these professionals are necessary.
Letter to the editor: Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, is wrong about wanting to remove budget support from UW programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion.
Guest column by Anthony Hernandez, a teaching faculty in educational policy studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a member of the Scholar Strategy Network.
Unfortunately, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, decided last week to declare war on these programs. Vos’s timing could not have been worse, and his thinking could not have been more wrongheaded.
Column by Susan Webb Yackee, professor of public affairs and director of the La Follette School of Public Affairs at UW-Madison.
