Almanac

(Almanac lists facts, figures and miscellany of campus interest. Know something, or want to know? Call us: 262-3846, or e-mail: wisweek@news.wisc.edu.)

Spring enrollment finalized
There are 38,576 students enrolled this spring, according to the Office of the Registrar. The total includes 26,508 undergraduates, 8,258 graduate students, 2,268 professional students and 1,542 special students. Spring 2001 enrollment is 1.4 percent higher than spring 2000, when 38,053 students attended UW–Madison.

UW marks 5,000 kidney transplants
Brittani Walker, 11, recently become the 5,000th recipient of a kidney transplant at UW Hospital and Clinics. Anthony D’Alessandro, a transplant surgeon, performed the operation. UW Hospital’s kidney/transplant program is one of the nation’s largest, with surgeons performing more than 300 kidney transplants a year.

Scholarships deadline March 1
Thursday, March 1, is the deadline for the Single-Parent Undergraduate Student Scholarships including several for $1,000 each, and the $2,000 Nancy W. Denney Scholarship. Applicants for any of these scholarships must be single parents who are current or newly admitted UW–Madison students. Application forms are available at the Adult Career and Educational Counseling Center, 905 University Ave., and at the Office of Student Financial Services, 432 N. Murray St., as well as on the Web: http://www.dcs.wisc.edu/ac3/faguide/cover.htm.

Information: 263-6960 or 262-3060.

Catch a cold for science
A new cold treatment, if proven effective, may revolutionize how we treat the common cold. The new treatment is a nasal spray, and an upcoming trial will test whether use of the new medication can prevent or lessen the severity of colds. The Medical School’s James Gern hopes to recruit 40 study participants between the ages of 18 and 60 who are willing to get a cold and use the new medication. Information: 262-7169.

Sign up for Austen fest
Registration is now open for the Center for the Humanities first Humanities Festival, “Jane Austen in the 21st Century,” April 23-29. The festival will feature more than 30 events and speakers covering topics including Austen as a teenager, Austen and war, and Austen in cyberspace. Information: Joan Strasbaugh, 263-3409, info@humanities.wisc.edu, or Emily Auerbach, 262-3733. To request registration materials: 263-3409, info@humanities.wisc.edu.

SLIS receives accreditation
The American Library Association’s Committee on Accreditation voted at their midwinter meeting to continue the School of Library and Information Studies‘ accreditation for the maximum seven years allowed. The Accreditation Committee especially lauds SLIS’s “strong continuing education program” and its support for the Wisconsin Idea; the school’s “diverse and productive faculty”; and its “efforts to raise funds for scholarships and research.” Director Louise Robbins says: “It is gratifying to know that our extensive efforts in planning and evaluation, our involvement of our alumni and friends, as well as our efforts to align ourselves with the goals and objectives of the university and the College of Letters and Science have been affirmed by the COA.”

Backward glance
From Wisconsin Week, Feb. 27-March 4, 1991: UW System President Kenneth Shaw warns that the state budget plan could force staff, program and enrollment cuts. …Robert Drechsel is named director of journalism and mass communications. … The university begins construction of Grainger Hall March 20. … Teaching performance should be tied to merit pay evaluations, says the UW System. … John Harrod is named Physical Plant director.