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.)
UW-Madison ranked eighth best in nation …
The university has been named the eighth-best public university in the 2002 “America’s Best Colleges” guidebook published by U.S. News & World Report.
Other Big Ten universities in the top rankings this year are Michigan (third), Illinois (ninth), Penn State (14th), Minnesota (19th) and Ohio State (21st). The University of California-Berkeley ranked first and the University of Virginia ranked second. Those rankings are similar to rankings of the past several years.
Among 249 national universities, including private institutions, UW–Madison ranks 32nd. Princeton ranked first, and Harvard and Yale tied for second.
“As in past U.S. News rankings,” says Vice Chancellor John Torphy, “UW-Madison continues to rank among the nation’s top five public universities in terms of academic reputation.”
“While the U.S. News rankings can be a starting point, it is important that prospective students consider a variety of factors, not just rankings, in selecting the program and the campus that best fits their goals,” Torphy adds.
U.S. News also published national rankings of some individual UW–Madison schools and specialty programs:
- The School of Business ranked 12th in the nation, tied with the University of Southern California’s Marshall School. The business school’s insurance/risk management program ranked fourth.
- The School of Engineering ranked 12th among engineering schools nationally that grant doctorates. The school’s chemical engineering and nuclear engineering programs ranked fourth.
More rankings: http://www.usnews.com.
… and among the most active
Mother Jones magazine recently returned UW–Madison to its Top 10 list of activist college campuses. In its September/ October 2001 issue, the magazine ranked the university 10th, citing students for involvement with Ecopledge, an organization that attempts to persuade corporations to become more environmentally conscious. The group’s 9,000 signers have vowed not to buy products from or work for certain companies until they improve their environmental records.
UW–Madison has been a staple of the 25-year-old Mother Jones rankings, appearing every year except 2000. The university was ranked first as recently as 1997, after students helped persuade the university to divest from certain American companies doing business in Myanmar, also known as Burma. Yale University ranked first on the 2001 list. Penn State University, which ranked third, was the only other Big 10 School on the list.
Spear is here
Nationally recognized neuroscientist Peter Spear officially started work Monday as the university’s new provost. Spear has served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of psychology at the University of Colorado-Boulder since 1996. He also held various leadership positions during his 20 years as a professor of psychology at UW–Madison, including Department of Psychology chair from 1990-94 and associate dean for the social sciences in the College of Letters and Science from 1994-96.
Look for a more detailed article about Spear and his plans in the Wednesday, Oct. 10, Wisconsin Week.
Backward glance
From Wisconsin Week, Sept. 18-25, 1991: Botanist Folke Skoog receives the National Medal of Science from President George Bush. … Almost no freshmen were locked out of introductory courses this year, the registrar says. … A Milwaukee Magazine article, “Something’s Rotten at UW–Madison,” raises hackles among faculty. The article charts a decline in quality that the magazine links to diminished public funding.