GOOD NEWS!
University
of Wisconsin-Stevens Point�s Accomplishments
April - November 2000
Compiled by
News Services
About 135
students were initiated into Phi Kappa Phi, the oldest and largest
interdisciplinary honor society in the country.
The local chapter awarded Tara Armstrong, Wausau, and Jessie Rowe, Arpin
$300 sophomore scholarships. Andrew
Lynch, Fall Creek, was nominated for a $7,000 fellowship to be awarded by the
national chapter. Faculty receiving
recognition locally for accomplishments in their disciplines were Provost
William Meyer and Gary Cumley of communicative disorders and Henry St. Maurice
of education.
Robert Miller
of forestry was given an honorary life membership by the Wisconsin Arborist
Association. In 1998 he received
the society's first annual award for excellence in education.
U.S.
Congressman David Obey was honored as an Outstanding Contributor and 120
students were recognized by the college of Natural Resources at its annual award
ceremony.
An inaugural
event, CNR Student Research Symposium 2000, showcased student research projects
in the College of Natural Resources.
Dr. Bill
Hettler, director of Health Services, accepted the national Volunteerism Award
on behalf of the YMCA of the USA's Medical Advisory Committee.
Hettler is the longest serving member of the committee.
Eddy and Tracie
Oroyan of Green Bay created and performed a piece at the American College Dance
Festival. The dance was chosen to
be performed at a Gala Concert during regional competition in Detroit, Mich.
An oak gavel
carved from a log once owned by environmentalist Aldo Leopold was donated to the
Museum of Natural History.
Two new awards
to recognize outstanding teachers and students were established in honor of the
late Thomas Hayes, a faculty member in education for nearly 30 years.
A $56,000
annual gift from Sentry Insurance benefits numerous programs and a distinguished
professorship at UWSP.
Dean Gerard
McKenna of the College of Fine Arts and Communication was given the 2000
Wisconsin Alliance for Arts Education Arts Career Award.
It recognizes an individual who has made sustained contributions to art
education at all levels.
More than 235
students from 39 foreign countries attend UWSP.
A delegation of
students received several awards at the Wisconsin United Residence Hall
Association conference in Milwaukee.
Marcia Parker
of foreign languages is one of three authors of a textbook for French
composition and conversation published by Harcourt College Publishers.
Melvin Rousseau
of Educational Support Programs has been named to the executive board of the
Wisconsin Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel as
president-elect of the organization.
Nancy Bayne of
psychology has agreed to serve another one-year term as acting special assistant
to the chancellor for equity and affirmative action.
Mary Kay
Hamilton of foreign languages was presented the Carolyn Rolfson Sargis Award, an
annual recognition of a classified staff member for outstanding and dedicated
service and special contributions to the university.
The firm of
Hammel, Green and Abrahamson was selected as the designers of the proposed $21.5
million Fine Arts Center remodeling and addition project.
Five faculty
members have completed a semester as the university's first participants in a
new Teacher/Scholar in Residence Program. The
individuals chosen by their respective deans were Jim Stokes of English, Leslie
Wilson of Education, Stan Szczytko of Natural Resources, Jeff Morin of Art and
Design and Alice Keefe of Philosophy.
John Roberts of
history has co-authored a book, "The Sacred and the Secular
University" published by Princeton University Press.
The book seeks to explain the forces and events that transformed
religion, taking it out of the schools and many other aspects of public life.
Twenty-three
students under the leadership of Jianwei Wang of political science participated
in the 2000 National Model United Nations Conference in New York City.
Deborah
Anstett,
a self-employed financial planner, was named director of development for the
College of Professional Studies. A
1974 graduate of UWSP, she plans fund raising in the college.
Holly
Voll, a
fundraiser at North Central Technical College, became the new development
specialist for UWSP's College of Letters and Science. She coordinates development activities, edits a newsletter
and raises funds for the college.
Steve
Menzel, was named public relations and development coordinator for the College of
Natural Resources. His duties
include coordinating CNR communication activities, managing the college's Web
site, editing the CNR newsletter and facilitating fund raising for the college.
Mike Fahey,
former press secretary for U.S. Congressman Ron Kind, accepted the position of
development coordinator for the College of Fine Arts and Communication.
His responsibilities include coordinating fund raising, editing a
newsletter and helping to develop priorities for the college.
Susan Young,
manager of the Student Employment Office, was recognized by the National
Association of Student Employment Administrators for her outstanding work as a
coordinator of the program committee for the group's annual meeting in San
Diego.
UWSP has added
a peace studies minor to its curriculum. Eric
Yonke of history and coordinator of the 18-credit minor, is also associate
director of the Wisconsin Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies,
headquartered at UWSP.
Charles Young
of music had two of his original works premiered in Michigan and accepted for
publication. He also led workshops
for more than 750 public school music students and educators, served as an
adjudicator and as a guest composer and authored an article for the SOUNDTREE
Resource Guide.
Economist Larry
Weiser has incorporated the World Wide Web into his teaching.
He was awarded a $12,000 grant from the Wisconsin Council on Economic
Education to develop statewide programming and he co-authored a chapter in the
book, "Surfing Social Studies: The
Internet Book," published by the National Council for the Social Studies.
The Association
for Community Tasks (A.C.T.) held its 13th annual Hunger Cleanup in
April. Participants raised money by
getting people to sponsor three hours of labor at a community work project.
Half of the proceeds benefit Operation Bootstrap of Portage County.
David
Berkey, a
UWSP alumnus and professor at the University of Iowa, returned to campus to
choreograph a piece for Danstage and work with student dancers.
Music major Ben
Peterson of Wisconsin Rapids released �All my Joy,� his first compact disc
of songs he wrote and performed.
�Voices
of the Desert,� a symposium featuring presentations by experts in the field,
was coordinated by students in Professor Doug Post�s biology class with the
assistance of Julie Hein-Frank, a naturalist educator with the Department of
Natural Resources.
The third
annual UWSP Peace March for Unity, an effort by concerned students to combat
cultural ignorance and discrimination, was held on April 19.
Bunmi O.
Olatunji, a graduating senior and Albertson Award winner, was the first student
in recent memory to represent his class at the podium at spring commencement.
His remarks followed those of commencement speaker, Bob Whitsitt, '77,
president and general manager of the Portland Trail Blazers and president of the
Seattle Seahawks. Whitsitt and Mary
Williams, former UW System Regent and special assistant to Chancellor Lee
Dreyfus, were named UWSP Distinguished Alumni.
Fifty-two
veteran elementary and secondary teachers from Central Wisconsin graduated in a
new master�s degree program, the Learning Community, offered by UWSP and UWSP
Extension.
The American
Water Resources Association gave its first Distinguished Service Award to Byron
Shaw, professor of soil and water resources in the College of Natural Resources.
Shaw, who was among the first in the state to prove that pesticides were
getting into the groundwater, was honored for his contributions to education,
outreach, public service and research.
Lowell
Klessig,
resource management specialist in the College of Natural Resources, was given
the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Wisconsin Lakes Partnership and the
Visionary Leadership Award from the Wisconsin Chapter of Extension Service
Professionals.
Jianwei Wang of
political science, recipient of a prestigious Mac Arthur Foundation grant, has
written "Limited Adversaries, Post-Cold War Sino-American Mutual
Images," a 300-page book published by Oxford University Press.
The student
chapter of the Wisconsin Education Association received the Student Local
Excellence Award and several of the chapter's members were recognized at the
organization's statewide representative assembly.
Mary Mattison
of Merrill was named Outstanding Teacher by the Wisconsin Council of Teachers of
English and Language Arts and received a Chancellor's Leadership Award upon her
graduation this spring. She was a
student teacher at Lincoln Hill prison, the state's most secured setting for
young males in trouble with the law.
Doug Moore, a
UWSP photographer and instructor in natural resources, won first place in the
University Photographer's Association of America "science" category
for his photo of a blue damselfly.
The Governor's
Task Force on Racial Profiling held a public forum at UWSP.
The guest speaker was Steven H. Rosenbaum, chief of Special Litigation
Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice.
The life story
of 92-year-old Cate Wagner of Antigo was the basis for one of four dances
created and produced by her grandson, Jamie Beckland of Stevens Point. A
graduating senior international studies and Spanish major, he was supported by a
$450 student research grant. The
dances were staged by the choreographer at UWSP this spring.
A 46 percent
increase in unrestricted gifts was announced at the UWSP Foundation's spring
meeting.
International
Programs marked 30 years of service and sent 427 students in 17 programs to 10
countries this year, a record number.
Jim West, a
26-year veteran protective services officer, became the second person at UWSP
granted law enforcement authority by Chancellor Thomas F. George.
The College of
Letters and Science Undergraduate Research Symposium , a forum to showcase
student research, was held for the first time this spring.
UWSP�s
Student Government Association (SGA) was named Delegation of the Year by The
United Council of University of Wisconsin Students.
Andrew Halverson of Stevens Point was SGA�s president during the
1999-2000 academic year.
Constance Fang
of UWSP�s Foreign Student Office, coordinator of the Host Family Program,
International Dinner, foreign student orientation, and International Club
adviser, received a statewide award given to women of color who have initiated
change within their communities and campuses.
Gary Cumley of
Communicative Disorders has received a $20,000 grant from St. Michael�s
Hospital Ministry Health Care Fund to establish a communication equipment
lending library for adults who have been diagnosed with degenerative diseases.
John Curtis of
biology spent part of the summer doing hands-on research in China searching for
plant fossils up to 400 million years old.
His trip was financed by a $2,700 UPDC grant.
About 120 high
school students from throughout the state gathered for the sixth annual
community problem solving and leadership seminar sponsored by UWSP�s Divisions
of Communication and Multicultural Affairs and Wisconsin Department of Public
Instruction.
The Special
Needs Aquatic Program (SNAP), founded and directed at UWSP by Professors Rory
and Joanne Suomi, was the featured subject in Palaestra, a national quarterly
publication for people with disabilities.
Funds from the
Copp�s 21st Century Endowment Fund were used to support a mapping
project of the Ice Age Trail by the Department of Geography/Geology and the
Central Wisconsin Archeology Center and to buy team uniforms and upgrade
equipment in athletics.
Professor
Alexander �Sasha� Popov of the Siberian Division of the Russian Academy of
Sciences in Krasnoyarsk, East Siberia, will work with Chancellor Tom George and
other faculty members on research sponsored by a $13,000 National Research
Council grant awarded to George.
This summer
Diane Bywaters of art and design had a solo exhibition at a Charlotte, N.C.,
gallery, was a featured artist in a new book of artists in residence and their
works published by Isle Royale Natural History Association and was honored with
a residency at Voyageurs National Park, her eighth National Park residency.
Project
Forward, a joint effort between UWSP and UW-La Crosse to assist Central
Wisconsin Hmong students and paraprofessionals to become certified teachers, was
funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
Charles Young
of music was selected as one of two outstanding teachers from the UW System to
receive the ninth annual Regents Teaching Excellence Award.
Aaron Felske, a
May graduate in musical theatre and dance, was cast in the Broadway production
of �Fosse� at the Broadhurst Theatre in New York City.
The Central
Wisconsin Environmental Station on Sunset Lake in eastern Portage County marked
its silver anniversary with an open house.
The facility has served more than one half million people in its 25-year
history.
A juried art
show with a $2,000 prize memorialized the late Dan Favor, a Stevens Point native
who attended UWSP. A surrealist and
Da-Da artist, Favor was a self-employed graphic artist in Wausau until his death
last year at age 37.
The UWSP
Toastmasters Club received the President�s Distinguished Club designation, the
highest annual award given by Toastmasters International.
A key finding
of the first ever ergonomics survey at UWSP is that 93 percent of personnel who
received recommendations to improve the design of their workplace followed
through and made the improvements. About 190 employees participated in the
ergonomic evaluations over the past two years.
Explore Your
World, the first collaboration among UWSP Extension, Multicultural Affairs and
United Migrant Opportunity Services, brought students from migrant families to
campus to explore career options, assess their skills and learn about
educational opportunities at UWSP and other post secondary institutions.
During the past
school year, the Association for Community Tasks, helped UWSP students
contribute more than 9,000 hours of community service to 90 programs in 34
agencies and 20 schools.
A Teacher
Education Summit, a meeting to give school administrators and university
education personnel the opportunity to work together to improve the success of
future teachers, was held at UWSP.
The Becoming an
Outdoors-Woman (BOW) program marked its 10th anniversary in August.
The BOW workshops to introduce women to outdoor pursuits were begun in
1990 at Treehaven by professor Christine Thomas and are now offered throughout
the country.
�Striving
to be the Best� was the title of Chancellor Tom George�s welcoming address
to faculty and staff. In the
speech, he outlined three major themes which will drive campus planning during
the next few years: Student-centered
Excellence, Technology�Enhanced Learning and Partnerships.
Chancellor Tom
George chaired a regional task force of 35 area leaders to prepare for a summit
at Milwaukee in early December to map the state�s economic future.
UW System sponsored the summit to address how Wisconsin can become a
leader in the new knowledge based economy.
UWSP offers a
new online program leading to a certificate of expertise in the use of
technology and leadership in the workplace sponsored by UWSP Extension and the
Division of Communication.
A campus
allocation committee, under the leadership of Provost Bill Meyer, awarded
$79,000 in unrestricted gifts from the 1999 Annual Fund drive.
Among items purchased with the money was a defibrillating unit for use by
Protective Services.
Rosario
Alemparte, a native of Chile, was hired as a student outreach specialist in the
Office of Multicultural Affairs.
United States
Senator Herbert Kohl and Congressman David Obey secured $1 million for the
College of Natural Resources Global Environmental Management Education Center
(GEM) to launch the international component of its watersheds program.
Jarek Rokicki,
a professor of sociology from Poland, came to campus to mark 25 years of
international education and cooperation between UWSP�s International Programs
and Jagiellonian University of Krakow.
The Indian
residents of a small town in Ecuador are drinking clean water thanks to the
efforts of anthropologist Barbara Butler and the support of her parents�
philanthropic foundation in repairing the town�s water system.
Residents of a
13-county region participated in a videoconference �listening and discussion
session� at sites throughout the region in preparation for the Wisconsin
Economic Summit.
An inaugural
recital featuring trumpeter Robert Kase, organist Barbara Harbach and soprano
Mary Hofer was performed in the newly refurbished Old Main Founders Room.
Morris Dees,
founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center who has made it his life�s work to
bankrupt white supremacists, was the speaker at UWSP�s annual fall assembly.
The fourth
edition of Essays from Contemporary Culture, a textbook edited by Professor
Kathy Ackley and published by Harcourt Brace College Publishers, includes
material by several writers intended to spark discussion and encourage students
to develop informed opinions.
The
International Reading Association published Creating a Newspaper in the
Classroom, a book co-edited by Leslie McClain-Ruelle, head of the School of
Education, and retired language arts and reading Professor Emerita Kathleen
Buss.
McClain-Ruelle
and Maggie Beeber, education advising coordinataor, received a $60,000 grant
from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to help refugees and the
children of refugees to become teachers.
The student
chapter of the Wisconsin Education Association (SWEA) was selected as the best
chapter with the best newsletter among universities in the nation.
At its fall
meeting, the UWSP Foundation announced a 50 percent increase in unrestricted
giving.
Chancellor Tom
George, professor of chemistry and physics, has co-edited a book with Vadim A.
Markel of Washington University entitled Optics of Nanostructured Materials,
published by John Wiley & Sons.
UWSP has been
awarded $6 million to provide environmental education training to teachers and
professionals throughout the country. The award, which was garnered by
Distinguished Professor Richard Wilke, College of Natural Resources, includes a
$5 million federal grant, the largest competitive grant in the institution�s
106-year history, combined with about $1 million of in-kind support from partner
institutions across the United States.
On Halloween,
about 75 �trick-or-canners� from UWSP raised 2,000 pounds of food to help
feed area people. The students
donated the ton of goods to St. Vincent DePaul, a nonprofit organization which
helps about 400 households a month in Portage County.
Professor Henry
Lin of CNR, soils and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), was awarded a
three-year $265,500 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study water
quality in the Tomorrow/Waupaca River. He
will be assisted by Byron Shaw, retired director of UWSP�s Environmental Task
Force Program and two professors at UW-Madison.
The UWSP
Chapter of the Student Wisconsin Education Association (SWEA) received a $1,000
grant from the National Education Association to provide two backpacks filled
with books and games to every public elementary school in the Stevens Point
area.
Emeritus
Professor of Communicative Disorders Gerald Chappell and his late twin brother
wrote Corpsmen: Letters from Korea,
published by Kent State University Press. It
is a personal account of the Korean conflict told through letters written to
their parents.
An American
Profession of Arms: The Army
Officer Corps, 1784-1861, by Professor William Skelton, was named to a reading
list of 11 books recommended by the U.S. Army Chief of Staff for the
professional development of senior U.S. Army generals.
According to
the Chronicle of Higher Education, one of the nation�s leading voices on
higher education in the U.S., UWSP�s International Programs ranks 11th
nationally for master�s institutions sending students abroad.
Three of
Professor Doug Henderson�s psychology students published their research
findings on adoption and presented the results of their work at national
conferences.
Professor Susan
Brewer of history was elected chair of the Wisconsin Humanities Council and
presided over the fourth annual Governor�s Humanities awards event at the
Elvehjem Museum of Art in Madison. The
group awarded more than $55,000 to humanities projects from around the state.
As part of the nationwide �America Reads Challenge,� students from UWSP tutored kindergarten through sixth grade students at four local elementary schools.
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