Good News-April 98

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point’s Accomplishments
For November 1997 - April 1998
Compiled by News Services, April 1998

The Faculty Senate approved the offering of a four-year graduation agreement which enables students to develop and follow a plan to graduate within 48 months of their initial enrollment.

	The UW System’s Board of Regents approved increasing UWSP’s Board of Visitors from 18 to 25 members. Ten new members have officially been appointed to the Board of Visitors, UWSP’s leading ad hoc advisory body.
	Professor of Chemistry Don Showalter continues to receive national attention as he was featured in the September issue of Chemical and Engineering News.
	Several UWSP students are participating in the Think Smart literacy program in which they read children’s books to local youngsters at before-school sessions.
	A fall scene of Old Main which graces the cover of UWSP’s newly published viewbook, has won a $500 prize for photographer Doug Moore of News Services. The prize-winning photo was featured on the cover of the fall Issue of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers quarterly scholarly research journal.
	Christine Thomas, professor of natural resources, author of Becoming an Outdoors-Woman and creator of the nationally-acclaimed program for women was named the 1998 Budweiser Outdoorsperson of the Year. She received a $50,000 grant from Budweiser and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation earmarked for her chosen conservation programs.
	Charles "Corky" McReynolds, associate professor of natural resource management, was elected president of the Association of Nature Center Administrators and gave the keynote address at the 1997 National Interpreters Workshops in Beaumont, Texas.
	Almyra Betlach, a local woman who worked in the claims department of Sentry Insurance for 44 years bequeathed 20 percent of her estate to the UWSP Foundation to be used "to help students."
	David Ray Stehr of Mosinee, a senior art major with a graphic design emphasis, won the Friends of Wisconsin State Parks Logo Design Contest.
	"Internet Resources for Geography and Geology," a web site created by Michael Ritter, chair of the Geography/Geology Department, won an Education Index Award as a best education site.
	According to a recent survey, nearly 90 percent of 2,000 alumni who responded agreed that UWSP "provides quality academic programs, gives good value to students and meets the higher education needs of Wisconsin residents." In addition 88 percent of respondents said they would recommend UWSP to family and friends and 86 percent rated UWSP as "a source of community pride" which possesses "an appealing campus and facilities."
	Earl Spangenberg, professor of forestry and water science, was elected president of the American Water Resources Association.
	The University Store’s new logo, designed by Meg Williams, a senior graphic design student from Port Washington, was profiled in Dynamic Graphics magazine, a national publication.
	Forestry Professor Robert W. Miller was selected by the International Society of Arboriculture to receive the first annual Award for Excellence in Education. He also was invited to teach a course on urban forestry for graduate students at Chapingo Autonomous University in Texcoco, Mexico.
	For the first time in Wisconsin history, a bachelor’s degree in business administration has been made available through UWSP, UW Marshfield/Wood County and UW-Marathon County. "Your time, your place," is the phrase coined by planners to describe the program which uses a combination of distance technology and face-to-face teaching.
	Forestry Professor Hans Schabel was chosen to present a paper on the Menominee’s traditional style of forest management at the 11^th World Forestry Congress in Antalya, Turkey.
	UWSP was ranked sixth in the nation for sending students abroad to study, according to statistics compiled by the Institute of International Education and reported in a recent issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education.
	Professor Jan Seiler, chair of the Department of Foreign Languages, was named one of two Wisconsin 1997 Teacher Educators of the Year. She was recognized by State Superintendent John T. Benson at the Association of School Boards Convention in Milwaukee.
	In collaboration with UWSP, the Portage County Public Library has become the first public library in Wisconsin to use wireless technology to gain access to the Internet.
	The National Environmental Education Advancement Project located at UWSP's College of Natural Resources, received two grants of $245,000 and $240,000 from the United States Environmental Protection Agency to develop environmental education programs in 26 states, including Wisconsin.
	About 40 UWSP students studying abroad in Australia took time out to clean up a creek adjacent to their residence hall.
	Students on the West Indian island of Dominica, as well as American students, benefit from donations of classroom furniture and equipment no longer in use at UWSP.
	Campus-related crime remains on a downward trend, according to UWSP's Uniform Crime Report for 1997.
	UWSP has been reaccredited for the maximum 10-year period by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
	Gary Cumley and Donna Christensen of UWSP’s communicative disorders faculty, in collaboration with St. Michael’s Hospital, have developed Hmong communication boards to facilitate communication between Hmong patients and hospital staff.
	William Deering of communication and Patricia Kluetz of interior architecture were awarded $4,5000 each from the Wisconsin Teaching Fellows Program.
	Mark Boyce, Vallier Chair of Ecology and Wisconsin Distinguished Professor in the College of Natural Resources, was invited to address the Forestry Subcommittee of the House Resources Committee in Washington, D.C.
	UWSP’s Paper Academy, an educational program developed by university and paper industry representative to meet the continuing education needs of industry personnel, received two national awards for outstanding programming from the Universities Continuing Education Association.
	"Music Education and Technology," a UWSP Extension Outreach education program developed by Charles Young of music and Jennifer Young of the Conservatory for Creative Expression, also was nationally recognized by the Universities Continuing Education Association.
	Sandra Madison of mathematics and computing received a $100,000 National Science Foundation award to coordinate Project FOCAL Point, a series of workshops for high school teachers and their female students to help expand computer knowledge and career opportunities for girls.
	Associated Recyclers of Wisconsin selected UWSP as a recipient of the 1998 Waste Reduction Award.
	Harriet Himes of Three Lakes donated several acres of land valued at more than $200,000 to UWSP, making it one of the largest gifts ever received by the university.
	A major leading to a bachelor’s degree in Health Promotion was approved by the UW System Board of Regents. It formerly was under the umbrella of physical education.
	Michael Dombeck, head of the U.S. Forest Service, returned to his alma mater as the keynote speaker for an environmental awareness symposium, conceived and coordinated by a group of students who "want to make a difference."
	State Representative Tom Ourada of Antigo was chosen to receive the 1998 College of Natural Resources Environmental Leader Award.
	Thousands of area residents visited the university on the first weekend in April for the biennial Open House and annual Festival of the Arts.
	More than 11,000 players participated in the world’s largest trivia contest held each April at UWSP.
	Margaret Beeber, senior advising coordinator in the School of Education, Received the Outstanding Chapter Adviser award from the Student Wisconsin Education Association.
	Members of UWSP’s natural resources faculty received five of six consortium research grants awarded throughout the UW System.
	The University Child Learning and Care Center marked its 25^th anniversary this spring.

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