THE UNIVERSITY OF - MADISON AND THE UW FOUNDATION

SUMMER 2007

University in Washington, D.C., where he taught for Front Page News nearly 53 years.

Sunny day, bright future greets grads Alan G. MacDiarmid (‘52 MS L&S, ‘53 PhD inorganic chemistry) received the Nobel Prize for chemistry in If the weekend of May 18-20 was a harbinger of things 2000 for his discovery that enables lightweight, flex- to come for the approximately 5,000 undergraduate ible material to conduct electricity. Applications of his and graduate students of the University of Wisconsin- discovery include anti-static film and computer screen Madison, their futures are bright. Among the students shields that guard against electromagnetic radiation. celebrating spring commencement were 12 members MacDiarmid, who died in February 2007, was the of the first class of the Pre-College Enrichment Blanchard Professor of Chemistry at the University of Opportunity for Learning Excellence, or PEOPLE Pennsylvania-Philadelphia. He is only the second Program. recipient of a posthumous honorary degree. The PEOPLE Program gives minority students a jumpstart on college by allowing them to take college- Legislators reject Union redo level classes throughout high school and to move to The state Legislature nixed plans for a major reno- campus to begin summer school. They also provide vation of Memorial Union and the replacement of minority students with a critical support network. in May when the budget committee re- In his commencement message Chancellor John Wiley jected the proposed bond funding for the projects in reminded graduates that while their tuition paid for the 2007-09 state budget. what they learned in classrooms, “your time here has In October, UW-Madison students voted to increase allowed you to grow and learn new ways to apply student fees to pay for the projects, but construction that knowledge to make this a better and more can’t begin unless the state issues $126.2 million in vigorous society.” bonds. Students, not state money, would pay for the Broadway, film and TV actor Andre De Shields (‘70 buildings. Construction was scheduled for 2009. There BA L&S) punctuated his remarks with song lyrics is hope that the bonds could be issued at a later date. ranging from the Rolling Stones to a traditional Negro The Joint Finance Committee also cut $67.2 million in spiritual. He charged graduates “to keep close to your bonding for projects at the Lakeshore dorms. hearts the idea that an essential event is about to happen. We are on the cusp of a great awakening, a Governor Jim Doyle’s budget proposal called for tremendous transformation of consciousness, the light about $540 million in new bonding for academic of which shall be so exquisite as to be almost buildings at the UW-Madison, UW-La Crosse, UW- unbearable... . You are the bearers of that light.” Oshkosh, UW-Parkside and UW-Superior; renovations at student unions at UW-Madison and Honorary degrees were awarded to two outstanding UW-Eau Claire; and suite-style dorms at UW- scientists. Leslie H. Hicks (‘52 MA L&S, ‘54 PhD L&S) Madison, UW-Parkside, UW-River Falls, UW-Stevens was one of the first African-Americans to earn a PhD Point and UW-Whitewater. The committe approved in behavioral neuroscience. He founded the first the academic buildings on a 16-0 vote. doctoral program in clinical psychology at Howard Page 2 Digest

University lands major bioenergy award UW honors Sterling Hall victim “In the last 100 years, we’ve gone through a signi- Thirty-seven years after UW-Madison researcher ficant fraction of the oil it took hundreds of millions of died in the , years to create,” said Tim Donahue, professor, the Physics Department honored him with a plaque in department of bacteriology, College of Letters and the courtyard between Sterling and Chamberlin Halls, Science, “so we have to come up with some new near the site of the bombing. strategies.” On the night of August 23-24, 1970, the bombers With the UW-Madison leading, a consortium of targeted the building’s Army Math Research Center, universities, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), where research for the military was being conducted. national laboratories and businesses will explore the Chancellor John Wiley, who knew Fassnacht from his vast potential of bioenergy with funding from a $125 days as a graduate student, expressed embarrasment million, five-year grant. The award establishes the that it took so long to honor the 33-year-old graduate DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center student and father of three. He added that there are (GLBRC), where scientists and engineers will conduct lessons in this violent episode and the plaque will basic research toward a suite of new technologies to help us remember them. help convert cellulosic plant biomass, such as cornstalks, wood chips and perennial native grasses, The bombing was the culmination of a time of anti- to sources of energy for everything from cars to protest that often turned the campus electrical power plants. into the scenes of tear-gas filled riots. The blast at 3:42 a.m. was so powerful that pieces of the stolen The new grant, the largest federal grant in UW- van containing the ammonium nitrate bomb landed Madison history, is part of a larger Wisconsin Bio- on an eight-story building three blocks away. Twenty- energy Initiative, a statewide effort focused on the six buildings in the area sustained damage. development of fuel and energy resources from non- food sources in ways that promote regional economic growth and responsibly steward the enviroment. The Helping parents stay connected new center and the larger Wisconsin Bioenergy Initia- The new UW-Madison Parent Program, which debuts tive will put the state and its partners in the vanguard this summer, will take more active steps to keep of bioenergy research nationally and internationally. parents informed about their offspring’s key mile- The Great Lakes region and the Midwest represent the stones, provide bulletins on urgent campus messages third largest economy in the world (after the United and be a central point of contact for parent services. States as a whole and Japan). They have a rich The program is based on a 2005 survey of UW- scientific and technological legacy, a productive cor- Madison parents that indicated more support was porate structure and one of the world’s great concen- needed. Parental interest is increasing largely due to trations of biomass in their agricultural and northern their bigger financial stake in a successful college forest lands. experience. According to program director Nancy Cellulose makes up the walls of plant cells and is the Sandhu, assistant director of Visitor and Information main constituent of plant tissues and fibers. It is Programs, parents had a good experience with the typically used to make paper and textiles, but vast admissions and campus visits process and summer quantities of material containing now unusable orientation, but “felt like they dropped off the map cellulose, ranging from cornfield stubble to paper after the freshman year started.” pulp waste, are readily available. Some new communications initiatives include a Parent Program Web site (www.parent.wisc.edu), a monthly newsletter, Parent Notices and a Parent Hotline and e-mail service. Digest Page 3

Tuition reciprocity agreement reached research in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. Regenerative medicine is an emerging The 40-year tuition reciprocity agreement between multidisciplinary field that seeks to develop Minnesota and Wisconsin will remain intact. This technologies to repair or replace diseased or defective means that Wisconsin residents wishing to attend a tissues and organs. public college in Minnesota can still pay the lower Wisconsin in-state tuition fee. Minnesota students will Kamp and Svendsen estimate that as many as 50 UW- pay a slightly higher in-state tuition to attend Madison faculty are engaged to varying degrees in Wisconsin public colleges. stem cell research and regenerative medicine. The new center will serve as a focal point for research by Minnesota threatened to pull out of the agreement helping to develop core facilities, a seed grant this year because the tuition differential that program, funding for post-doctoral fellows and Wisconsin pays Minnesota annually was put in educational and outreach programs. The new center Minnesota’s general fund rather than being also will help attract the best faculty and students to distributed to the state’s schools. The money will now Wisconsin. go into Minnesota’s University fund. The center currently is a virtual one with no building but with administrative and support capacity to Health & Biotech News effectively serve key areas of research and education.

New Stem Cell and Regenerative A honey of a healer Medicine Center opens When one of her diabetic patients developed an open To further strengthen and sustain its leadership in the sore that refused to heal, Dr. Jennifer Eddy, assistant companion fields of stem cell research and professor, family medicine, UW Health Eau Claire regenerative medicine, the UW-Madison established a Family Medicine Clinic, suggested that she try a new Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center dollop of honey. Within months, the sore had healed. (SCRMC) this spring. Eddy has successfully used honey therapy before. The announcement of the new center was timed to Now with funding provided by the Wisconsin coincide with a public lecture by famed devel- Partnership Fund for Health and the American opmental biologist Ian Wilmut, creator of Dolly, the Academy of Family Physicians Foundation, Eddy is cloned sheep. The lecture set the stage for a critical conducting the first randomized, double-blind central entity under which the UW-Madison campus controlled trial of honey for diabetic ulcers. can enhance its programs of stem cell research Experts believe honey therapy has potential for training and education. treating the 15 percent of diabetics who will develop The new center will be co-directed by Clive an ulcer, usually because of impaired sensation in Svendsen, professor of anatomy and physiology and their feet. In 2001, treating diabetic ulcers and noted stem cell authority, and Dr. Timothy Kamp, amputations among patients in the United States cost cardiologist and stem cell researcher. The SCRMC will $10.9 billion. Honey therapy is significantly less operate under the joint auspics of the Graduate School expensive. and the School of Medicine and Public Health. Diabetic ulcers treated with long courses of antibiotics The SCRMC will encompass existing programs in can become colonized with drug resistant organisms. regenerative medicine and an interdisciplinary stem Because honey fights bacteria in numerous ways, it is cell post-doctoral training program, and will serve as essentially immune to resistance. Honey’s low acidic a focal point for basic, pre-clinical and clinical pH, low water content (which dehydrates bacteria), and the hydrogen peroxide secreted by its naturally Page 4 Digest

occurring enzymes make it ideal for combating Martina Gast, are leading a sustainability bus tour organisms resistant to standard antibiotics. this summer. They will travel the country in a “green- certified” biodiesel-fueled motor coach equipped with Internet access, computer workstations, video cameras In scientists we trust and a media center. According to a study co-authored by Dominique After departing from Washington, D.C., the students Brossard, assistant professor, School of Journalism will stop at 32 cities, colleges and universities, tribal and Mass Communication, Americans show a strong reservations and national parks and participate in 20 deference to the views of the scientific community. public service projects. Between stops they will write For many citizens, scientific authority serves as a con- a collective blog about their experiences, create video venient shortcut that replaces information from the documentaries and coordinate media. At one stop, for mass media or a technical knowledge of issues such as example, they will help the Replant New Orleans genetically engineered foods. project and work with plants that suck toxins from the “We trust scientists to the point that we defer to soil. them,” said Brossard. She notes that few citizens have Gast, the only Native American on the tour and a the motivation or ability to go beyond deference when tribal events coordinator, organized several stops at judging the potential of new technologies. Scientists Native American reservations. Curti explained that need them to make sure to use the trust granted them one goal is to make the bus carbon-neutral. Even responsibly when engaging the public on contro- though the bus will give off carbon emissions, carbon versial science. offsets will be purchased from Native Energy, a Native American-owned carbon-offset company.

Around Campus The bus tour is in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Morris K. Udall Foundation, which was established by Congress to honor the legacy of the U.S. repre- Farewell, Ogg Hall. Greetings, Ogg Hall. sentative who championed environmental preser- The last of tens of thousands of students to live in vation issues, Native American health and tribal two-tower, 13-story, 1,000-bed Ogg Hall packed up public policy. The students received merit-based and left the dorm to the wrecking crews this spring. scholarships and fellowships for their study of the Old Ogg Hall will be demolished to make way for environment and Native American policy in the green space along the East Campus Mall. United States.

A new 600-bed Ogg Hall will open in August. The new Ogg and he 425-bed Smith Hall were built to High school students get hi-tech diplomas replace the outdated structure that had been a fixture This June, 14 area high school students received on the campus skyline since it opened in 1965. certificates of graduation for completing an intensive New Ogg will feature a cluster-style floor plan with information technology training program through the bathrooms shared by no more than eight residents. It UW-Madison called the the Information Technology also will have kitchenettes on each floor, central air Academy (ITA). conditioning, classrooms, a music practice room, ITA is a four-year pre-college program that provides computer lab space and state-of-the-art security hands-on training and access to students of color and systems. academically disadvantaged students attending Madison public schools. ITA students meet biweekly Summer on the “green” bus during the academic year to learn Web design, animation, graphic design and other technology skills. Thirteen students from across the United States, led by UW-Madison Udal Scholars Julie Curti and Digest Page 5

They also participate in summer technology camps, The bus trip is part of the curriculum for the LGBT short-term internships and community service certificate, first offered in 2003. projects. Students are matched with mentors who support their involvement in the program. SoHE’s right in style All of this year’s graduating class will attend higher Executives of Fair Indigo, the fair trade retail start-up education institutions this fall. To date, 51 students company that sells “style with a conscience,” gave have graduated from ITA; 49 of them are now students in the School of Human Ecology’s retail and enrolled at the UW-Madison or other postsecondary textile apparel design programs and insider’s view of educational institutions. the company’s retail strategy, plans and operations ITA is made possible by the UW-Madison Division of during a spring Retail Leadership Symposium. Textile Information Technology, the Office of the Vice and apparel design students also had an opportunity Chancellor for Administration, the Pre-College to create garments for potential inclusion in the Enrichment Program for Learning Excellence, Berbee company’s product line and catalog. Information Networks Corporation, Dell Computers Garments created last fall by two student design and other sponsors. teams appeared in Fair Indigo’s spring catalog. Jody Fossum (‘82 BS HEC) teaches the Apparel III class Students explore LGBT civil rights sites and also is director of product development for Fair Indigo. She directed students working in small teams With an itinerary that included the site of the Stone- to pull together a line. Based on information about the wall Rebellion, 17 students in a two-week, five-city company’s customers, the team members chose summer intercession course explored people, places fabrics, colors and silhouettes. Using computer-aided and issues of the Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights design software, the students illustrated their work, Movement from 1950-1970. then constructed the garments. The designs featured The class was developed by Scott Seyforth, a grad- in the catalog included a jacket and a flower- uate student in educational leadership and policy embellished dress. analysis, who also serves as a residence life coord- Leaders from other national and local retailers, inator for University Housing. including Kohl’s Department Stores, Target, Crate & The learning journey began in Madison with lectures Barrel and Orange Tree Imports, also shared industry from UW-Madison alumni and local lesbian, gay, information with students during the spring semester. bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights activists. In Washington, D.C., the group met with activists Why some mice become party animals who organized the first gay and lesbian civil rights UW-Madison researchers have found evidence that demonstrations and others who successfully social interactions among young mice result from advocated the American Psychiatric Association to basic motivations to be with one another. The extent remove homosexuality from the list of mental of a young mouse’s gregariousness is influenced by illnesses. its genetic background. The group met participants in the 1969 Stonewall The work, reported in the journal Public Library of Rebellion in New York City, when citizens resisted Science (PLoS) One, is important because it provides police harassment agains the gay and lesbian the first scientific insight that genes contribute to the community at the Stonewall Inn. pleasure of interacting with other juveniles. At a According to Susan Zaeske, associate professor of practical level, the findings provide a foundation for communications arts and faculty advisor for the trip, understanding the motivations that underlie acts of there was an even mix between LGBT and hetero- altruism. This work, in turn may also help influence sexual students in the group. Page 6 Digest

the development of new, more effective drugs to treat Engineers race to victory...twice depression, addiction and autism. Racing and exhibiting a 20-foot, 176-pound boat As the mice got older, they became much more christened “Descendent,” the UW-Madison Concrete responsive to gender clues and the genetic disposition Canoe team earned its fifth consecutive title at the toward socialization was masked by reproductive American Society of Civil Engineers 20th annual maturity. This is crucial because it suggests that the National Concrete Canoe competition. As a result of genetic influences on juvenile social behavior may be its win, the team was invited to participate in the 30th quite distinct from genetic factors that affect adult annual Dutch Concrete Canoe Challenge in the social behavior, a finding important for understand- Netherlands in September. ing social development as well as devising more The U.S. competition, which drew 22 teams and more realistic animal models of developmental disorders than 700 students, faculty and alumni to the Uni- such as autism. versity of Washington, Seattle, was a real nail-biter according to Steve Cramer, professor of civil and National Academy of Sciences elects two environmental engineering and the team’s advisor. Sean Carroll, professor of molecular biology and The UW-Madison team beat runner-up University of genetics, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Florida by 2.3 points out of a possible 100 points. On (CALS), and Laura Kiessling, professor of chemistry the water, the team earned first place finishes in the and biochemistry, College of Letters and Science and men’s and women’s endurance races and the women’s CALS, are among the new fellows admitted to the sprint, and third place finishes in the men’s and co-ed 144-year-old National Academy of Sciences in re- sprints. cognition of their distinguished achievements and The students also design and build their canoes. The ongoing contributions to original research. Election to Badgers tied for first place for its design paper, earned the academy is considered one of the most prestigious third place of its formal oral presentation and fourth honors that can be bestowed on an American scientist. place in the final product category. Carroll, an investigator in the Howard Hughes The UW-Madison SAE Formula Racing Team took Medical Institute, has been a member of the UW- first place at the international competition in Detroit, Madison faculty since 1987. He studies how genes and Michigan. With the prestigious SAE Foundation Cup genetic regulation drive the development and at stake, 130 schools from 11 countries on five evolution of diverse animal forms. His work on continents battled it out. insects has revealed some of the key genetic players underlying major events in animal development, such Sponsored by SAE Internation, Formula SAE is a as limb growth and coloration patterns. collegiate engineering competition where students design, build and race a formula-style racing car. The Kiessling joined the UW-Madison faculty in 1991. She competition is divided into static and dynamic events. is a pioneer in research at the interface of chemistry The static events consist of a business presentation, and biology. Through studies of how cells and mole- cost report and design judging. In the dynamic events, cules interact, her research has provided insights into teams race and the cars are tested in skid-pad, the processes underlying a range of human diseases acceleration, autocross and endurance. from inflammation and tuberculosis to cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. She also is a MacArthur After finishing second, third and fourth in the last 10 Foundation Fellow and was awarded one of the years, the Badgers finally brought home their first foundation’s genius grants in 1999. win. The team consists primarily of undergraduate engineering students advised by Glenn Bower, faculty associate of mechanical engineering. Digest Page 7

Montreal Canadiens and Badger Brendan Smith was Sports Roundup taken 27th by the Detroit Red Wings.

Thomas and Tucker have both exhausted their eligi- Revenue rankings predictable bility at Wisconsin; the three hockey draftees will be Based on financial 2005-06 revenue reports sent to the incoming freshmen this fall. U.S. Department of Education, the UW-Madison In 1980, the Badgers were the first school to have one athletic program ranked seventh in the nation. The player from each sport drafted in the first round. Ray top 10 schools are: Ohio State, Texas, Virginia, Snell was chosen by football’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Michigan, Florida, Georgia, Wisconsin, Notre Mike Blaisdell, hockey, went to the Detroit Red Dame,Texas A&M and Penn State. Wings; Wes Matthews, basketball, was drafted by the Washington Bullets. Badgers to debut on Big Ten Network Only three other schools belong to this elite club: The Badger football team will play its first game on Michigan, Boston College and Michigan State. the Big Ten Network on September 15 against The Citadel. The home game will start at 11 a.m. CDT. Wisconsin finishes 16th in Directors’ Cup All games produced by the Big Ten Network will be The UW-Madison captured its second-best finish in available to cable and satellite operators nationwide the U.S. Sports Academy Directors’s Cup, making it as part of their agreements to carry the network. the 12th time in the 14-year history of the Cup to Whenever the Big Ten Network is producing more finish among the top 25. The Badgers placed 16th in than one game airing at the same time, the network 2006-07 standings with a total of 913.25 points, will split the feeds regionally among cable operators topping its 22nd place finish last year. The UW- to allow Big Ten fans to watch the game with the most Madison finished third among Big Ten schools behind regional interest. Cable and satellite providers that Michigan and Ohio State. have agreed to carry the network will be offered the chance to cary the additional games via “overflow” The U.S. Sports Academy Directors’ Cup was channels. developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and The conference’s remaining home games will be se- USA Today. Points are awarded based on each lected as the season progresses. The majority of games institution’s finish in up to 20 sports, 10 women’s and airing on the Big Ten Network will be shown in high 10 men’s. definition.

First round all around Foundation News At the conclusion of the professional sports draft sea- son, Wisconsin was in elite company for the second Tina Weintraub (‘67 BS EDU) is a retired teacher, time in school history. The 2007 draft season marked teacher trainer, museum docent, playwright and only the sixth time that a university has had a first- winner of a competition for New York’s funniest round draft pick in football, basketball and hockey in teacher. A summer camp counselor job working with the same year. children with cerebral palsy changed this one-time math major into an extraordinary special education Joe Thomas, football, was drafted third by the teacher. Now she has made a deferred gift to the UW- Cleveland Browns. Alando Tucker, basketball, was Madison School of Education to help prepare taken 29th by the Phoenix Suns. Kyle Turris, hockey, tomorrow’s special education teachers. was chosen third by the Phoenix Coyotes, while team- mate Ryan McDohagh was picked 12th by the Page 8 Digest

According to Julie Underwood, dean of the School, We welcomed new employees Mia Kahl, human special education is one of the areas where the need resources coordinator; Jamie Spruyt, investment for new teachers is most critical. portfolio analyst, Finance; Dominic Moore, intern, Finance; Eric Yin, Finance and Ben Wright, Finance. After graduation, Weintraub returned to her New York City home, where she taught and earned her In June, Don Gray, vice president, retired from the master’s degree in special education from Teachers University of Wisconsin Foundation after 23 years of College at Columbia University. After 11 years of service to the Foundation the University, its donors working with developmentally disabled students and friends. in the classroom, she became a teacher trainer, creating workshops for new classroom teachers, special education teachers and parents. In addition, In Remembrance she authored an origami book to incorporate into classroom curricula. She recently retired after 31 Douglas Beard, associate athletic director, Division years in the field. of Intercollegiate Athletics, June 22; Edwin Traisman, A UW art history course piqued her interest in study- program administrator, Food Research, College of ing in Florence, Italy. Today, Weintraub volunteers at Agricultural and Life Sciences, June 5; Sharon Pero the Whitney Museum of Art, serves as a docent at the (‘71 BA L&S), administrator, PeopleSoft Student National Academy Museum and takes drawing Center System, April 15; Nick Polczinski (‘91 BS classes. She wrote and produced two off-Broadway CALS), 1990 Badger football co-captain, February 16. plays and spends summers in Colorado, where she teaches freshman composition at the local college.

Digest is published by the University of Wisconsin Foundation for alumni, friends and faculty of the UW-Madison. Address comments or questions to Merry Anderson, editor, at 608-263-4545 or [email protected]. Digest is printed on FSC certified100% Post Consumer Waste (PCW) fiber. This paper is manufactured with renewable non-polluting wind- generated electricity.

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