THE UNIVERSITY OF - MADISON AND THE UW FOUNDATION

Winter 2010

• Division of International Studies: International Internship Program to cultivate international internship experiences for students. “Digest” going online in 2010 • Offices of the Dean of Students: Online Interactive Beginning in spring, 2010 Digest will be available exclusively International Student e-Tutorial to provide basic online. This means we will be able to send you a greater information about life in Madison and compliance variety of timely news from the UW-Madison. You also will with federal visa rules for international students. have the opportunity to comment on stories. • College of Letters and Science: Expansion of First-Year Interest Groups (FIGs) to increase FIGs to 60 groups If we already have your e-mail address, Digest will come to across campus. you automatically. If we do not have your e-mail address • College of Letters and Science: Expansion of Chemis- and you wish to continue receiving Digest, please go to try and Physics Learning Centers to increase staff at the www.uwfoundation.wisc.edu/survey and add your learning centers. e-mail address. • Wisconsin School of Business: Faculty lines to add Madison Initiative proposals chosen faculty in finance. Chancellor Biddy Martin (‘85 PhD) and the Madison • College of Agricultural and Life Sciences: Globalizing Initiative for Undergraduates (MIU) Oversight Undergraduate Education to fund short-term interna- Committee identified eight proposals from 29 submis- tional experiences and internationalized course content. sions to become the first recipients of funding from MIU. • College of Letters and Science: Faculty 2010-11 to add faculty. The process included an initial review in the provost’s In addition, some MIU funds were spent to open office and the Offices of the Dean of Students. Then the additional sections of bottleneck courses in fall 2009 and Oversight Committee, with representatives from the spring 2010 and to hire an institutional researcher to faculty, staff, students and administrators, reviewed all support campus-level data analysis and accountability proposals. Simultaneously, a student oversight board and to report development and dissemination related to reviewed all proposals except those that focused on MIU. About $3.8 million have been allocated from the faculty hiring. $10 million available this year and next.

Members of both committees came together to share To view the complete proposals and descriptions, visit thoughts and meet with Chancellor Martin and Provost madisoninitiative.wisc.edu. Paul DeLuca to discuss the proposals and make recommendations. Happy birthday, “On, Wisconsin!” John Philip Sousa called “On, Wisconsin!” the “finest The following were selected to receive funding: marching song ever written.” At least 18 other colleges • College of Agricultural and Life Sciences: Campus have adopted the rousing melody as their own. And this wide Shared Adviser Notes to capture notes of interac- year, “On, Wisconsin” celebrates its 100th birthday. tions between students and advisers so the information can be used as a resource. Written by roommatesWilliam T. Purdy (music) and Carl Beck (lyrics), the song was originally intended as an entry in a competition for the University ofMinnesota. Page 2 Digest

Beck, who attended the UW in 1908-09, wrote new Campus construction builds pride lyrics and convinced Purdy to send his tune to Madison. The Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research (WIMR) “On, Wisconsin!” made its official debut on November 13, was named the higher education research project of the 1909, in Camp Randall when the Badger football team year by Midwest Construction magazine. The seven-story hosted Minnesota. facility, part of a three-phase project, opened in 2008.

UW-Madison Libraries has created a Web site on all WIMR’s goal is to break down traditional barriers to things “On Wisconsin!” with sections on history, photos, collaboration and synergism, speeding the search for the composers’ biographies, different lyrics and even treatments and cures for human disease. The first WIMR a 1915 recording. Visit archives.library.wisc.edu/uw- tower is largely devoted to cancer research and houses archives/exhibits/onwisconsin/. the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center.

At onwisconsin.wisc.edu, alumni and friends can listen The Best of 2009 Awards were judged by an independent to a 1926 UW Glee Club recording, download lyrics, buy panel of six industry experts who ranked each project the Wisconsin Alumni Association’s anniversary T-shirt based on criteria teamwork, project management, safety, and record their own versions of “On, Wisconsin!” innovation, construction quality and craftsmanship, and T-shirt sales benefit Great People scholarships. the contribution to the community or industry.

Top ten in study abroad The UW-Madison also was named “Developer of the According to the Open Doors report released in Novem- Year” by Wisconsin Builder magazine. Much of the work ber 2009, by the Institute of International Education, the that is currently under way was laid out in the 2005 cam- UW-Madison ranks in the top five for student participa- pus master plan for upgrading campus buildings. Some tion in yearlong and mid-length study abroad programs, historic structures are being renovated while 1960s-era placing third and fourth, respectively, among all U.S. buildings characterized by poor construction and research institutions for the 2007-08 academic year. excessive energy use are being replaced.

The University ranks sixth for overall study abroad par- “In this year particularly, UW-Madison was noted for ticipation, up three spots from the previous year, with keeping many members of the state construction indus- 2,216 participants. UW-Madison students received credit try working at a time when so few projects were going for study in 74 countries around the world, compared on,” said Caley Clinton, editor of Wisconsin Builder. to 60 countries the previous year. Increasingly, students also are choosing to study in non-traditional countries, Alan Fish (‘01 MS L&S), associate vice chancellor for including China and India. Nationally, the number of facilities, noted that funding for these projects does not Americans studying abroad increased 8.5 percent. At the come from tuition and generally less than one-third of UW-Madison, 20 percent more students traveled abroad construction costs are supported by taxpayers. “We have compared to 2006-2007. benefited by great, forward-looking partnerships with state government and generous donors,” he said. Consistent with national trends, European countries dominate the top five most popular destinations for UW-Madison named military-friendly UW-Madison students. However, China is the third The UW-Madison has been named to the first-ever list of choice for Badgers, up two spots from the previous year. military-friendly schools. Created by G.I. Jobs, a maga- China is in fifth place nationally. zine produced by veterans, the 2010 list honors the top 15 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools in UW-Madison also has remained in the top 20 research recruitment, retention and services for veteran students. universities for numbers of international students This list also is intended as a resource for veterans enrolled, hosting 3,910 students from more than 105 pursuing higher education. countries in 2007-08. Digest Page 3

Currently, the UW-Madison has more than 600 students vagina and prevented the onset of cancer in mice that with military experience. John Bechtol, assistant dean had precancerous lesions. of students for veterans, works with the Center for the First-year Experience to ensure that student veterans The lab studies, which should take one to two years to make a smooth transition into campus life. He provides complete, could be followed quickly with phase-two current students with information on benefits, services or phase-three clinical trials. Early-phase trials would and employment opportunities. Bechtol also contacts not be necessary because the drugs have already been veterans who were denied admission to advise them on approved for clinical use. what they can do to be accepted. His position was cre- ated in fall 2008, to address the unique needs of veterans. Paul Lambert (‘85 PhD ALS), professor of oncology, SMPH, McCardle Laboratory for Cancer Research and Science & Technology the UW-Madison Carbone Cancer Center, is the senior author of the study. Engineering students accept UN award Two students from the UW-Madison chapter of Engi- Detroit alumni host vehicle rally neers Without Borders (EWB) accepted a prestigious A group of eight faculty and students, led by Mechanical engineering award in Stuttgart, Germany, from the Engineering Faculty Associate Glenn Bower, hauled five United Nations for the chapter’s work in rural Haiti. The vehicles to Detroit, Michigan, in October for the first students constructed a hydroelectric power generator to Motor City Badgers’ Road Trip Rally. The goal of the help supply electricity to a school, library and church. event was to connect students with automotive EWB-UW Haiti co-project manager Kyle Ankenbauer, industry members. a civil engineering student, and UW-Madison chap- ter president Eyleen Chou, a mechanical engineering The Detroit chapter of the Wisconsin Alumni Association student, received $22,400 and a gold medal Mondialogo organized and hosted the event, which also marked the Engineering Award, a UNESCO (United Nations Educa- launch of a $10 million endowment campaign to ensure tional, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and Daimler the UW-Madison remains a source of innovative, well- initiative to recognize engineering achievements aimed trained engineers into the future. at meeting United Nations millennium development goals and fostering intercultural dialogue. The University’s vehicle teams have built an impressive record. Most recently, the two snowmobile teams won This is the second time the EWB-UW group has won a their respective categories in the 2009 Society of Auto- Mondialogo award. In 2005, the Rwanda project won a motive Engineers Clean Snowmobile Challenge. Since bronze award and $7,000. 1998, the UW-Madison has won 16 different interna- tional automotive competitions. Hundreds of former vehicle team participants go on to work in the automo- New drugs for cervical cancer tive industry. Under Bowers’ mentorship over the past 15 Researchers at the UW-Madison School of Medicine and years, the teams have produced more than 1,500 gradu- Public Health (SMPH) have eliminated cervical cancer in ates with real world, hands-on experience in innovative mice with two FDA-approved drugs currently used to vehicle design and development. treat breast cancer and osteoporosis.

Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of What Darwin’s contemporaries knew Sciences, the findings offer hope for the 500,000 women Darwin was not the only scientist making discoveries around the world who are diagnosed each year with in the mid-19th century. His contemporaries explored cervical cancer. Half of them will not survive. the origins of animals and humans, made advances in electricity and industry, and developed ways to make The drugs, which keep estrogen from working in cells, science more understandable to the public. also cleared precancerous growths in both the cervix and Page 4 Digest

An exhibit titled “Science Circa 1859: On the Eve of paper that looks at the genetic roots of this type of hear- Darwin’s Origin of the Species” opened in Memorial ing loss, which is not due to noise exposure. Library’s Department of Special Collections in late November. The exhibit explores the state of science The study has identified a gene that is essential to age- before Darwin’s ground breaking book and is the work related hearing loss, a condition marked by deaths of of students in Robin Rider’s History of Science 350. sensory hair cells and spiral ganglion neurons in the Rider is senior academic librarian and senior lecturer, inner ear. These cells are at the heart of the conversion of history of science. vibrations into nerve impulses that the brain can deci- pher; however, they cannot be regenerated. Students helped plan and install the exhibit. Each student had a display case to fill, including writing a The study shows that in mice the damage starts with one-page caption to describe the importance of scientific free radicals, the key suspects in many harmful changes research and popularizations of the period. of aging. Free radicals trigger a process called apopto- sis, or programmed cell death, by which damaged cells “The course gives students a reason to look through “commit suicide.” Apoptosis is often beneficial, as it books of the 1850s—assessing the different styles of eliminates cells that may become cancerous. scientific illustrations, plowing through 19th century prose and thinking about ways to engage visitors to the In mice, Prolla and the study’s first author,Shinichi exhibit,” explained Rider. Someya, a postdoctoral researcher, found that the sui- cide program was operating in hair cells and spiral gan- For Ben Schneider, a junior majoring in chemistry and glion neurons, and the suicide program relied on activity chemical engineering, putting together his portion of the in a suicide gene called bak. The strongest evidence for exhibit was a lesson in when science intersected with in- this finding was the fact that a strain of mice lacking the dustry. His case includes books on how the dye industry bak gene did not show expected hearing loss. was key to the creation of the modern chemical industry, along with texts that show laboratory experiments used The new results, obtained with collaboration from the to analyze chemicals during the period. universities of Florida, and Tokyo, hint that oxidative stress and hearing loss may be preventable. “It was amazing to see the beginning of chemical engi- Although antioxidants have been used to prevent free- neering during this time,” he said. “I had no idea this radical damage in aging, the results so far are disap- topic was going to connect to my major as much as I pointing. Someya and Polla, however, found that two discovered through research.” oral antioxidants, alpha lipoic acid and coenzyme Q10, were effective. The exhibit runs through March 12, 2010, and an online version will be posted in 2010. For more information, Bak may play a role in other age-related conditions, said visit specialcollections.library.wisc.edu. Polla. “This study focused on hearing loss, but there is evidence that other diseases associated with the loss of Did you hear about this? neurons, like Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s, are associated Becoming hard of hearing is a part of aging. A syndrome with oxidative stress, and it’s possible that the bak pro- called age-related hearing loss affects about 40 percent of tein plays a role in apoptosis in those diseases as well.” people over age 65 in the United States and will affect an estimated 28 million Americans by 2030. Computer team heads to world finals A UW-Madison computer team, named “Wrong Answer,” Tomas Prolla, professor of genetics and medical genetics, is headed to the world championship programming School of Medicine and Public Health and College of finals in Harbin, China, in February. The University has Agricultural and Life Sciences, is senior author of a sent a team to the world finals for nine years running, Digest Page 5

says Dieter van Meklebeek, team coach and associate Jutt and Taylor acknowledge that the class is an experi- professor of computer science, College of Letters and ment that explores the productive and creative interplay Science. among artistic intent, business practice and community connections. They want students to clarify their creative “Wrong Answer” came in first among 201 teams at the and career goals, connect these goals to community North Central North American Regional Programming opportunities by developing business skills and gain Contest Finals held at UW-Parkside. The event is orga- insight into the creative opportunities that are possible. nized by the Association of Computing Machinery and sponsored by IBM. The UW-Madison had four teams Students also learn from guest speakers, including in the regional competition. Of the approximately 7,000 alumni working on Broadway and in the film and music teams that competed, only 100 teams made it to the industries, who share real-world experiences, both good finals in China. and bad, in forging a creative career. Students in the class include instrumentalists, vocalists, visual artists, Competitive programming involves teams of three mem- designers, actors and writers. bers. Each team gets 10 problems to solve in five hours. They must write their solution into computer code that NPR’s ATC theme composer dies will crank out the correct answer within an allotted time For listeners to National Public Radio’s popular “All period. Team members can only work on one computer, Things Considered” (ATC), the eight notes of the pro- so they must work together. gram’s theme are immediately and reassuringly identifi- able. The composer of the theme, Don Voegeli (‘41 BM, A Arts & Humanities ‘50 MM L and S), emeritus professor of music, College of Letters and Science, died at age 89 on November 21. No more starving artists? Voegeli, a pianist and composer, was teaching music at The UW-Madison is one of the nation’s top 25 campuses the UW-Madison when National Public Radio was born for entrepreneurship. Now, a new course is showing in 1970. He was asked to come up with a theme. In a students in the arts the range of creative possibilities May 2002, interview for ATC’s 31st anniversary, Voegeli available and giving them the tools they need to advance explained that he had “no great direction,” so he wrote their career goals. and performed the original theme on a synthesizer. Voegli also won a Grammy award in 1983. The Arts Institute (www.arts.wisc.edu/artsinstitute/) has created a course titled Art as Business as Art to build on To hear the 2002 interview, go to www.npr.org/blogs/ the success of the Arts Enterprise initiative (www.artsen- thetwo-way/2009/11/voegeli_all_things_considered.html. terprise.wisc.edu) on campus, which includes a student organization devoted to nurturing enterprising arts stu- dents, a Web site and the New Arts Venture Challenge. Chazen, WPT honor Vietnam vets Eyes that have seen humanity at its worst and at its Stephanie Jutt, professor, School of Music, College of best stared back at visitors to the “Back in the World: Letters and Science, andE. Andrew Taylor (‘94 MA BUS), Portraits of Wisconsin Vietnam Veterans” exhibit at the director of the Bolz Center for Arts Administration in the Chazen Museum of Art. The exhibit of nearly 30 large- Wisconsin School of Business, are co-teaching the course. format color portraits of Wisconsin veterans included Their collaboration is a tailor-made match of skills. Jutt is excerpts of interviews from a three-hour documentary a celebrated musician and innovative entrepreneur, most being produced by Wisconsin Public Television (WPT). notably as co-director of the Bach Dancing and Dyna- The exhibit was a partnership between WPT, the Wiscon- mite Society. Taylor is a leading scholar on the business sin Veterans Museum and the Chazen Museum. of the arts. Their goal is to help students learn how to make a living while making art. The documentary is part of WPT’s “Wisconsin Stories” Page 6 Digest

project, which has produced award-winning documen- much of what has happened in the world since then has taries about the experiences of Wisconsin veterans in flowed from that decision,” writes Cooper. World War II, Korea and now Vietnam. It is scheduled to air in May 2010. Cooper joined the UW-Madison faculty in 1970. He also is the author of two other books on Woodrow Wilson. James Gill, WPT staff photographer, took the 30-by- 40 inch photos as part of the documentary. The works are mounted on acrylic without frames. “Not having a Sports Roundup frame removes some of that distance you can get in a gallery and makes them more intimate and immediate,” National cycling competition coming said Gill. The National Collegiate Cycling Association (NCCA) has tapped the UW-Madison cycling team to host the On Veteran’s Day, November 11, the Chazen hosted a 2010 and 2011 Collegiate Road National Championship reception and panel discussion with five veterans races. The NCCA is a division of USA Cycling, the U.S. featured in the exhibit and documentary. The exhibit branch of the International Cycling Union. will travel to LaCrosse and Superior before heading to Green Bay’s Lambeau Field, May 21-23, as part of LZ “To see that USA Cycling recognized Madison as the Lambeau Weekend, a celebration for the state’s Vietnam premier collegiate cycling venue in the nation speaks to veterans. our bicycle-friendly atmosphere, our immense commu- nity support and our progressive bicycling agenda that For more information: is our city, our state and our university,” said Jason Carr, WPT documentary—www.wisconsinstories.org cycling team president. LZ Lambeau weekend—www.lzlambeau.org

The national championship, May 7-9, will include a road History professor pens Wilson bio race, a criterium through downtown Madison and a After a meteoric rise to the nation’s highest office, the team time trial. Nearly 300 teams and an estimated 800 new president works to make major structural changes athletes will attend. to government and the economy, enjoys majorities in Congress but faces vocal opposition. Sound familiar? The UW-Madison cycling team is part of the UW-Mad- This is Woodrow Wilson’s America in 1912. In his latest ison Division of Recreational Sports and is the Univer- book, John Milton Cooper, Jr., emeritus professor of his- sity’s largest club sport. For more information, visit tory, College of Letters and Science, shows how Presi- www.uwcycling.com. dent Barack Obama resembles Wilson more than other recent political figures. Four Badgers honored in Hall of Fame The Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame now includes four “Woodrow Wilson: A Biography,” the first major biogra- more Badgers. Induction ceremonies were held in Mil- phy of the nation’s 28th president in nearly two decades, waukee in November. The 2009 class includes Ab Nicho- has received praise as a masterful work about the con- las (‘52 BS L&S, ‘55 MBA BUS), UW men’s troversial president whose eight years in office ushered All-American; Barry Alvarez, coach of back-to-back Rose in a new era of American foreign policy. Bowl championships and the UW’s current director of athletics; John Powless, currently top-ranked senior ten- Wilson’s career as a political scientist and president of nis player in the world and former UW men’s basketball Princeton University, then two years as New Jersey gov- coach; and Lee Kemp (‘79 BBA, ‘83 MBA BUS), three- ernor, left him with little foreign policy preparation for time NCAA wrestling champion at the UW-Madison. the presidency. Yet, Wilson’s legacy is his decision to Induction into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame intervene on behalf of the Allies in World War I, “and occurs every two years. Potential inductees are sought Digest Page 7 from the public for consideration and members must have made a significant contribution or compiled a Foundation News record of achievement in sport that has benefited or enhanced sports in Wisconsin or elsewhere. The indi- q UW-Madison Great People update vidual must be or have been a resident of Wisconsin or The Great People Scholarship Campaign is gaining have substantial ties to Wisconsin and sports in the state. momentum. To date, more than $4.5 million has been Nominees are presented to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall raised to support need-based scholarships. The UW of Fame Committee, which recommends the class to the Foundation has committed up to $20 million to match board of the Wisconsin Sports Development Corpora- unrestricted gifts to Great People Scholarships, which ef- tion for approval. fectively doubles the impact of an unrestricted gift. Gifts restricted to a specific school or college are matched 50 In addition to celebrating Wisconsin’s athletic heritage, cents to the dollar. the ceremony is a fundraiser for the Wisconsin Sports Foundation, an organization that provides participation The Great People Scholarship Web site includes informa- scholarships to youth athletes to compete in the Badger tion on the match, a new video, inspirational stories and State Games. a gift link. Visit www.uwgreatpeople.org, to learn more.

Football Badgers earn Big Ten honors q School of Nursing building announces major gifts. Wisconsin Badger sophomore running back John Clay Two gifts, announced during the Power of Nursing was the consensus Offensive Player Summit in October, provided a major boost to the School of the Year, as selected by both the media and coaches. of Nursing’s $20 million building campaign. The new Linebacker Chris Borland was the consensus freshman building will give the School its first dedicated home of the year. since the Nurses Dormitory was built in 1924.

Clay is the third Badger to be named the conference’s Gifts fromConnie Curran (‘69 NUR) and the Oscar top offensive player, joining running backsBrent Moss Rennebohm Foundation will help build and equip the (1993) and Ron Dayne (1999). Despite starting only one 93,000-square-foot nursing science center. The building of the first six games, Clay led the Big Ten in rushing, will be located in the heart of the health science campus, averaging 111.3 yards per game, and in touchdowns adjacent to the School of Pharmacy and across from the with 13. Health Sciences Learning Center and the Wisconsin In- stitutes for Medical Research. The building, scheduled to Borland is the sixth player in school history to be named break ground in 2011, will enable the School to educate the top freshman. He played on special teams and didn’t more nurses, nursing faculty and nurse researchers. become a starter until redshirt freshman Mike Taylor suffered a season-ending knee injury against in the Curran is a prolific scholar in the field of health care seventh game. Borland tied for the conference lead with and is editor of Nursing Economic$. She has led national three fumble recoveries and tied for second in the league studies on nursing staff recruitment, retention and labor with five forced fumbles. market participation. She has written books on hospital- physician integration, hospital redesign and home care. Including Clay, the Badgers had five first-team selec- Most recently, Curran founded “Best on Board,” a na- tions: junior guard John Moffitt, junior tackle Gabe tional organization focused on education and certifica- Carimi, senior tight end Garrett Graham and senior tion of health-care trustees. defensive end O’Brien Schofield. Schofield was the only UW player selected to the first team on defense. Former Madison businessman and Wisconsin governor Oscar Rennebohm established the Rennebohm Foun- dation in 1949 to support education, research, health care and recreation in the Madison metropolitan area. PRESORT

Non-Profit 1848 University Avenue Organization PO Box 8860 U.S. Postage PAID Madison WI 53708-8860 Permit No. 810 Madison, Wisconsin

Over the past 60 years, the Rennebohm Foundation has q Continuing its strong tradition of global engage- provided several million dollars in grants for people and ment, the University once again ranked in the top 10 programs at the University. of research institutions nationwide in the number of Fulbright Fellowships awarded to students. Seventeen q We welcomed Steve Hudson, Controller, Finance; UW-Madison students received Fulbright U.S. Student Eric Salisbury, Director of Development, Law School. Program fellowships for 2009-10 and 14 accepted.

q UW-Madison is ranked first among public universi- Points of Pride ties in the number of professors who have won pres- tigious awards and grants (Source: The Top American q According to statistics compiled by the National Sci- Research Universities) ence Foundation, the UW-Madison is the nation’s third largest research university as measured by dollars spent q Seventeen Nobel Prize-winners and 29 Pulitzer Prize- on research, with expenditures totalling $882 million in winners have taught or studied at the UW-Madison. 2008 (the most recent figures). Johns Hopkins University and the University of California-San Francisco round q Forbes magazine named Dr. James Thomson one of out the top three institutions. the most powerful people in medicine for his work with stem cells. Thomson is professor of anatomy, UW School Only Johns Hopkins and the UW-Madison have ranked of Medicine and Public Health and also director of re- among the top five research universities for each of the generative biology, Morgridge Institute for Research. past 20 years.

You can now easily update your contact information by going to www.uwfoundation.wisc.edu/survey Use the ID number located above your name on the mailing label above to log into the Web site. Thank you!

Digest is published by the University of Wisconsin Foundation for alumni and friends of the UW-Madison. Address comments or questions to Merry Anderson, editor, at 608-263-4545 or [email protected].