News in Brief
LEADERSHIP
 New university calendar captures memorable campus images This photo of ducks in the the UW–Madison Arboretum is among14 full-color images of some of the most beautiful places on campus included in a new calendar produced in a unique partnership between the university and The University Book Store. More than $10 of the $12.95 retail price goes to the Chancellor’s Undergraduate Scholarship Fund. The 14-by-20-inch wall calendars for the year 2000 are now available at all University Book Store locations. Each month’s double-page spread in the “Memories for a Lifetime 2000 Calendar” captures memorable moments in photos from the UW–Madison Office of News and Public Affairs. “Thanks to the generous support of The University Book Store, the Undergraduate Scholarship Fund is growing,” says Peyton Smith, university sesquicentennial coordinator. For more information or to order by phone, call (800) 957-7052. |
Finalists named for DoIT post
Four finalists have been named in the search for a new director of the Division of Information Technology and campus chief information officer.
The finalists are: Lev S. Gonick, university dean, instructional technology and academic computing, California State Polytechnic University; M.S. Vijay Kumar, director of academic computing, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Tad B. Pinkerton, interim director of DoIT and professor of computer sciences at UW–Madison; and Anne E. Stunden, director of academic technology services, Cornell University.
They were chosen by a 16-member search and screen committee chaired by Gregory Moses, professor in the College of Engineering.
The director of DoIT, reporting to Provost John Wiley, develops and carries out strategic plans for information technology applied to instruction, research and administration. The director also manages central information technology services at UW–Madison and oversees a staff of more than 700 and a budget of approximately $70 million to $80 million.
Klemme named associate dean
Richard Klemme, professor of agricultural and applied economics and director of the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, has been named associate dean for Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension, a joint position between the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and Cooperative Extension, UW-Extension.
In his new role, Klemme will be responsible for Extension programming in agriculture and natural resources statewide. Klemme will begin his new duties Jan. 1. He will replace agricultural economist Ed Jesse, who has served in an acting capacity since July 1997.
COMMUNITY
Police investigate threats
University police continue to investigate recent threatening letters containing razor blades apparently sent by animal rights extremists.
Virginia Hinshaw, dean of the Graduate School, says four researchers have received letters that may have originated from the group.
“UW-Madison is one of several research universities targeted,” Hinshaw says. “The university community is appalled by this illegal campaign. The mailings are an ill-conceived attempt to hinder the research environment of UW–Madison and other prominent universities. Such acts will not interfere with the university’s work to fulfill its research mission. We are advising university employees to be aware of this problem and use extra caution with any suspicious letters they receive.”
Infant program to mark opening
The Office of Campus Child Care will celebrate the opening of a new infant care program with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday, Nov. 9.
The infant care program, 1800 University Ave., will host the ceremony starting at 3 p.m. The event will feature Provost John Wiley, Madison Mayor Susan J.M. Bauman and David Edie, director of the state Office of Child Care. Staff from the infant care program, University Child Care Committee members and parents will also be in attendance.
The infant/toddler program, the first at UW–Madison, opened in June and serves eight infants ages six weeks to 30 months. A second infant/toddler program at the Bethany Preschool Site, 3910 Mineral Point Road, opened in September to serve up to 12 children ages six weeks to 24 months. The Waisman Center will open a third infant/toddler program sometime next year.
Funding from a new federal grant to provide child care for low-income undergraduate student parents is helping underwrite the cost of the campus infant/toddler care programs. A state start-up grant, Evjue Foundation and UW administration funds all contributed to the center budget.
ON CAMPUS
Angela Davis to speak about prison industry
Angela Davis, 1960s civil rights activist, will speak on “The Prison-Industrial Complex and Its Impact on Communities of Color,” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 16, in the Wisconsin Union Theater.
Davis, 1980 Communist Party vice-presidential candidate, has also served as co-chair of the National Alliance against Racism and Political Oppression, an organization dedicated to defending minority prisoners. In 1971, Davis published essays offering a Marxist analysis of racial oppression in America. She also has written an autobiography and published a collection of her speeches.
Davis appears as part of the Distinguished Lecture Series. Free tickets will be available at the Union Theater Box Office for UW–Madison students and Wisconsin Union members Wednesday, Nov. 10; remaining tickets will be available to the public Friday, Nov. 12.
Retirement association hosts investment board leader
Patricia Lipton, executive director of the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, will explain the workings of the board Thursday, Nov. 11, at the fall general meeting of the university’s Retirement Association.
The meeting is scheduled at 4 p.m. in the main office of the UW Credit Union, 3500 University Ave. Organized last May, the association is open to all retired and about-to-be retired faculty and staff. President Alma Baron, professor emerita of business outreach, says the group aims to provide a forum for study and discussion of topics of interest and concern to retirees.
 Zinsser |
Author Zinsser to visit Nov. 9-10
Nationally recognized writing expert William Zinsser will visit the university Nov. 9-10 for a series of presentations for faculty and students in areas as diverse as English and engineering.
He will facilitate a public discussion Tuesday, Nov. 9, titled, “Crossing Boundaries: A Conversation with William Zinsser,” at 4:30 p.m., Tripp Commons, Memorial Union. He will also talk with three engineering classes, meet with the Writing Center Fellows and have breakfast with a group of faculty.
Among Zinsser’s most famous works is “On Writing Well,” a book used in English, journalism and communications courses around the country.
For a complete schedule of events and more information about Zinsser, visit: http://www.engr.wisc.edu/elc/zinsser.
Experts focus on children’s health
Two leading experts on children’s health will speak Monday, Nov. 8, at a day-long conference sponsored by We the People/Wisconsin, a statewide media coalition based in Madison.
Richard Keeling, director of University Health Services, will be joined by Patricia Kuhl, a University of Washington professor and author of “The Scientist in the Crib: Minds, Brains and How Children Learn,” in addressing the conference at the Monona Terrace Convention Center.
Keeling is also executive editor of the Journal of American College Health and a member of the National Conference for Higher Education and the Health of Youth. He will speak at 9:15 a.m.
Kuhl is a nationally recognized researcher who spoke at the April 1997 White House Conference on “Early Learning and the Brain.” She will address a luncheon session.
To register, call (800) 871-7176. Fee: $25 includes a continental breakfast, lunch and all sessions. Information: Deborah Still, 833-8545.
School reformer headlines event
A speech by school reformer James Comer, a professor of child psychiatry at Yale University, will cap American Education Week activities sponsored by the School of Education.
Comer will speak on “Waiting for a Miracle: Why Schools Alone Can’t Solve Our Problems and How We Can” in Memorial Union Theater at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18.
An expert on reforming troubled schools, Comer originated the “Comer Process,” which is based on the idea that all stakeholders in a school, including parents, should have a say in how it is run. The process has been adopted by more than 250 schools in 18 states and has been credited with helping to raise test scores, increase school attendance and reduce disciplinary problems.
 Spookable Greeks Seemingly disembodied hands reach out for children from area community centers in a haunted house at the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity this past Halloween weekend. The community event was sponsored by the Panhellenic Council and other Greek system student organizations. Photo: Jeff Miller |
In his latest book, “Waiting for a Miracle,” Comer shares his belief that the problems facing American schools reflect the entire culture and society. He maintains that “rampant individualism and racism” have created a social failure to commit to families, communities and educational institutions.
Other UW–Madison American Education Week activities Nov. 15-19 include a luncheon address on community-based arts education, an evening discussion of popular children’s book- series character Harry Potter and an instructional technology fair. Information: 262-0054.
MILESTONES
George W. Sledge dies at 71
George W. Sledge, 71, a longtime administrator in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences died of cancer Oct. 20. A funeral was held Oct. 26.
Sledge joined the dean’s office at CALS in 1960. From 1966 until his retirement in 1993, he served as associate dean of academic student affairs.
Under his guidance, and with the help of faculty and staff, the college initiated honors degree and internship programs for students, and expanded its scholarship program, personal advising program, and career advising and placement service.
Ling memorial scheduled
The Association of Asian American Graduate Students is sponsoring a memorial to Amy Ling, professor of Asian American studies and English, who died in August after a long struggle with breast cancer. “Remembering Amy Ling: Writer, Scholar, Activist Pioneer Between Two Worlds” will recall the founder of the first Asian American studies program in the Midwest and a national pioneer in the field. The event is planned in the On Wisconsin Room, Red Gym, 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 5, in the On Wisconsin Room at the Red Gym. A potluck will follow.
GOVERNANCE
Group questions Launder review
The contract review of Jim Launder, former university men’s soccer coach, was a special case and should have been handled differently, according to a committee.
The report from the Ad Hoc Committee to Review Athletic Board Relationships says the Athletic Department’s process for evaluating and retaining coaches “generally works well.” But special cases such as Launder’s “call for special procedures.”
“This was apparently recognized by those involved, but was not adequately implemented,” says the report, which was presented to the Faculty Senate Monday.
After Launder’s contract was not renewed by the Athletic Board in February 1997, the Faculty Senate voted to establish the ad hoc committee when several senators and others called for further review of the situation. The ad hoc committee spent more than two years examining a number of issues related to the Athletic Board.
Ad Hoc Committee Chair Norman Fost, professor of pediatrics, says the ad hoc panel specifically examined the process that led to Launder’s removal, and not the decision itself.
The ad hoc committee also recommended that an appeals process for special cases of non-renewal should be considered; that long-term contracts for coaches of non-income sports should be allowed; and that the way student evaluations are used in retention decisions should be reconsidered.
The committee also questioned the Athletic Board’s original decision to include the “non-disparagement” clause in the Reebok contract, which was later dropped.
The University Committee has already begun its review of the recommendations and will report back to the senate.