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UW-Madison School of Education Online News - February 2006
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Welcome to the UW-Madison School of Education Online News, a monthly update on School and campus news and resources.

IN THIS ISSUE: FEBRUARY 2006

• A Conversation with the New Dean
• Web Resources for Celebrating African-American Heritage Month
• “What’s the Research On . . .?”
• Ladson-Billings Discusses Teacher Quality
• New Book Examines Funding Fate of Public Universities
• Finding the Top 10 Websites in Occupational Therapy
• WISCAPE Announces Programs on Higher Education
• Dancing with Our Stars
• Tandem Press Exhibit Featured at the Chazen
• Art Department Invites Grads to Reception in Boston - Feb 23
• Forum on Standards-Based Reform and the Poverty Gap - Feb. 23
• International Education Conference - March 20-21
• Web Gem: Facts Galore about UW-Madison

A CONVERSATION WITH THE NEW DEAN
Raised as a “superintendent’s kid,” Julie Underwood has a deep commitment to public education. In a recent interview with Campus Connections, she expressed her excitement about leading one of the nation’s top schools of education and discussed her vision for the institution. Underwood became the eighth dean of the School in August 2005, and is the first woman to hold that position.
Read the interview

WEB RESOURCES FOR CELEBRATING AFRICAN-AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
Even though your Google search will discover a multitude of websites on African-American culture, finding the most useful ones can be challenging and time-consuming. Thanks to the School’s Center for Instructional Materials and Computing, many of the best sites have been identified and are just a click away. The center’s webliography links to top educational sites such as “The African-American Mosaic,” “Civil Rights Photos by Charles Moore,” “Education First: Black History Activities,” and many others.
View the webliography

“WHAT’S THE RESEARCH ON . . .?”
Specially designed for educators and others who want easy access to current research on PK-16 education, this new website summarizes the School’s studies in numerous fields (assessment, child care, math education, professional development, etc.) and then links to specific studies in each field. All of the research has been conducted at the School’s Wisconsin Center for Education Research, which also developed the website.
Visit the site

LADSON-BILLINGS DISCUSSES TEACHER QUALITY
Curriculum and instruction professor Gloria Ladson-Billings tackles the issue of defining and evaluating teacher quality in an interview in Rethinking Schools. Ladson-Billings, who holds the School’s Kellner Family Chair in Urban Education, was recently named UW-Madison’s recipient of the UW System Outstanding Women of Color award.
Read the article

NEW BOOK EXAMINES FUNDING FATE OF PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES
The True Genius of America at Risk: Are We Losing Our Public Universities to de Facto Privatization? offers a candid discussion of the future of public higher education in America. Recently published, the book was written by Katharine Lyall, UW System president emerita, and Kathleen Sell, UW System’s former chief budget officer and senior staff affiliate at the School’s Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education (WISCAPE). Details and order information are available on WISCAPE’s research website.
Check it out

FINDING THE TOP 10 WEBSITES IN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
Better than Letterman’s list, at least if you’re an OT grad, is the Wisconsin Occupational Therapy Association’s “Top 10 Web Resources” page, which connects to sites it considers the top 10 in each of 13 areas, such as community assessment, child & adolescent health, and medicare issues. The page is just one of the resource links on the website of the School’s Occupational Therapy Program.
View the Top 10 OT sites
Visit the OT Program website

WISCAPE ANNOUNCES PROGRAMS ON HIGHER EDUCATION
The Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education (WISCAPE) has put together a full schedule of public forums and professional development courses for the spring semester. Among its upcoming forums are “The Consequences of Merit-Based Student Aid” and “Higher Education and the State’s Economy.” Professional development courses include “Demystifying the Budget Process” and “Promoting Success for Administrators of Color in Higher Education.” Details are available on the WISCAPE calendar.
Check it out

DANCING WITH OUR STARS
So it’s taken the public a few decades to discover what those in the Dance Program have known forever - that dance requires hours of training, works a body to its limits, but can be incredibly entertaining and fun. If you’re a dance fan in the Madison area, you’re in for a treat because the Dance Program’s spring schedule includes regular Friday forums, a February 25 Overture Center performance, an interarts and technology festival, a spring concert, and many other performances throughout the semester. All are described on the Dance web calendar.
Check it out

TANDEM PRESS EXHIBIT FEATURED AT THE CHAZEN
“Tandem Press Highlights: 1995-2005" is a featured exhibit at Madison’s Chazen Museum of Art (formerly the Elvehjem) from January 21 to April 9. Tandem Press is a printmaking facility affiliated with the Department of Art that is known for the technical expertise of its master printers and for its innovative printmaking processes. Over the years, nationally acclaimed artists such as Sam Gilliam and Judy Pfaff have come to the press to produce some of their major works. The Chazen show draws from more than 200 prints created at Tandem during the last decade.
Get the details

ART DEPARTMENT INVITES GRADS TO RECEPTION IN BOSTON - FEB. 23
If you live in the New England area, you won’t want to miss the Department of Art's alumni reception during the College Art Association Conference in February. This year’s reception will be held February 23, 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at the Marriott Copley Place Hotel, 110 Huntington Avenue, Boston. All alums are welcome - if you have questions, contact department chair Jim Escalante at escalante@education.wisc.edu.

FORUM ON STANDARDS-BASED REFORM AND THE POVERTY GAP - FEB. 23
The public is invited to a forum that will examine the question, “Will standards-based reform education help close the poverty gap?” Barbara Foorman, professor of pediatrics and director of the Center for Academic and Reading Skills at the University of Texas-Houston, will present. William Clune, professor emeritus of the UW-Madison Law School, will respond. The event will take place from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m., in the Gale VandeBerg Auditorium of the Pyle Center, 702 Langdon Street, Madison. No registration is required.
Read more

2006 INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE - MARCH 20-21
You’re encouraged to register by March 1 for the 2006 International Education Conference, “Making Connections in a Diverse World.” The event will offer stimulating sessions, thought-provoking keynote speakers, and a full afternoon of workshops that focus on teaching social studies and global education. Co-sponsors include the Wisconsin Council for the Social Studies and the School of Education. Conference site is the Marriott-Madison West Hotel in Middleton. A registration form is available online.
Get the details

WEB GEM: FACTS GALORE ABOUT UW-MADISON
Do questions such as these keep you up at night? How many UW-Madison students are from Wisconsin? (25, 557 in 2004-05, or 62.5 percent of the student body). What percentage of students receive financial aid? (57.6 percent of undergrads; 52.4 percent of all enrolled). How many volumes are in campus libraries? (7.2 million). Who are notable alumni? (Eudora Welty, Jim Lovell, among others). You can rest easy knowing that answers to many University-related questions can be found on the University of Wisconsin-Madison “Facts” website.
Check it out

HAVE YOU MOVED OR CHANGED YOUR NAME?
You can easily update that information via the School’s website. And we’ll make sure that your University records are updated as well as ours. See “Staying in Touch” on the School’s alumni page. Update your record

NEXT ISSUE
The next issue of the School of Education Online News will be delivered in March.

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