Featured Articles

Alumni make impressive showing at Miller Park

Summer programs bring youths to campus

Concert to feature Keith Scott

Internship fund pays off for Hope Gospel Mission

'Wish lists' help departments, programs communicate needs

Alumni Association connects departments, alumni

Alumni make impressive showing at Miller Park UW-Eau Claire alumni accounted for 230 of the 638 UW System alumni in attendance at Saturday's UW System Big Reunion 2 at Milwaukee's Miller Park. UW-Eau Claire's Singing Statesmen, along with Statesmen alumni, sang the national anthem before the the Milwaukee Brewers vs. Washington Nationals game. Blugold alumni from the 1950s through 2005 attended the event. "This was another great showing of Blugold spirit by UW-Eau Claire alumni, who consistently show outstanding support for our alumni events," said John Bachmeier, UW-Eau Claire director of alumni relations. Among the 230 UW-Eau Claire alumni who attended Saturday's UW System Big Reunion 2 at Miller Park were (left to right) Peg (Peterson) Banks '96, Eau Claire; Jim Hoffmann '96, St. Paul; Karianne (Weir) Carr '96, Appleton; and Kari Young '97, Milwaukee. The Miller Park event was the first occasion for the four alums and others in their group to get together since their UW-Eau Claire days. (Photo by John Bachmeier, Alumni Office) Campers scrimmaged July 15 during UW-Eau Claire's second of three weeklong basketball camps for boys in grades 5-12. (Photo by Rick Mickelson, TLTDC) Summer programs bring youths to campus More than 5,000 youths will visit UW-Eau Claire this summer as participants in the many precollegiate programs and camps offered across campus. More than 2,000 will participate in Continuing Education summer youth programs such as the Summer Institute, SmArt and the Science Institute; the university's sports camps will draw approximately 2,200 participants; precollegiate programs through the Office of Multicultural Affairs will include close to 140 young people; 43 area high school students participated in the Upward Bound summer program; and 615 attended the National Youth Sports Program. See an online listing of all youth programs offered at UW-Eau Claire.
Left: A participant in the summer Upward Bound program took time out to study. Top right: Students painted portraits based on photographs in one of eight courses offered during SmArt, Continuing Education's two-week summer art program. Bottom right: Eberth Alarcon, associate professor of mathematics, conducted an "Algebra for Every Day" class with participants in the Opening Doors/Abriendo Puertas program offered by the Office of Multicultural Affairs. (Contributed photos)

Concert tonight to feature blues artist Keith Scott
Chicago-area blues artist Keith Scott will present a free outdoor concert at 7 p.m. tonight on the Central Campus Mall as part of the university's Summer Session Programs. Over the past 20 years Scott has built a reputation as a sizzling blues guitarist, dynamic performer, noteworthy songwriter and bandleader. He has toured throughout the United States and Europe, both with his band and blues great Jimmy Dawkins. Full story.

Internship fund pays off for Hope Gospel Mission

Elizabeth Meyer

A regional initiative to develop and sustain internship opportunities for UW-Eau Claire students paid off for Elizabeth Meyer, Tomahawk, and her new employer, Hope Gospel Mission in Eau Claire. After a one-year internship with the non-profit agency, Meyer, a May UW-Eau Claire graduate, will begin a full-time position there as stewardship associate in August. Meyer was Hope Gospel Mission's second intern. The first was sponsored by the Bill Boyken/Charter Bank Fund and was so successful that the Mission decided to offer Meyer an internship, said Brent Hafele, stewardship director at Hope Gospel Mission. "Having an intern has proven to be really valuable," Hafele said. "We wouldn't have begun hiring interns without the Charter Bank Fund serving as the catalyst." Full story.

New 'wish lists' help departments, programs communicate needs to alumni and friends

Thirteen campus departments and programs have worked with the UW-Eau Claire Foundation to create "wish list" cards like the one above and Web pages to more effectively communicate fundraising needs to alumni and friends. (Card design and Summer Bulletin graphic by Mindy Merryfield, Publications)

Thirteen departments and programs at UW-Eau Claire have taken advantage of new fundraising tools offered by the UW-Eau Claire Foundation: "wish list" cards and Web pages that allow departments and programs to present their funding needs to interested alumni and friends. The need for these tools became apparent after talking with department chairs and program coordinators who had nothing tangible to show alumni and others when asked about fundraising needs, said Kimera Way, UW-Eau Claire executive director of development. Through the printed cards and Web pages, "we're trying to translate interest in program and department needs into action," Way said.

Departments and programs that have developed the cards are finding a variety of uses for them, including distributing them personally when visiting with alumni at conferences or during alumni campus visits, and including them in alumni mailings, Way said.

Including the information on Foundation Web pages will be helpful to prospective donors determining how to designate their gifts, Way said, and the pages facilitate easy and immediate giving by including a link to the Foundation's online giving feature.

The department of communication and journalism plans to begin distributing its cards in the fall whenever it has contact with alumni, said department chair Karen Kremer. "We collaborated with the Foundation for our departmental 'wish-list' card to make somewhat intangible, invisible needs more visible," Kremer said. "Potential donors who understand that education is a gift to a young person can see on this card how they can help us help students."

Departments and programs wishing to develop "wish list" cards and Web pages can contact Way at waykk@uwec.edu.

Alumni Association connects departments, alumni

The UW-Eau Claire Alumni Association invites departments across campus to avail themselves of its services that help the university stay connected to its alumni and friends, said John Bachmeier, alumni relations director. University departments and programs can:

• Alumni show off their door prizes at a reception in Arlington, Va., hosted in April by Paula Kleintjes, biology, and Don Christian, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. (Photo by Paula Kleintjes, biology)

  recognize outstanding alumni by nominating them for alumni awards, which are presented each spring, summer and winter in conjunction with commencement (see online nomination form).
• share expertise of faculty and staff by encouraging them to speak at the Alumni Association's monthly "Let's Do Lunch" programs (more information).
• have the Alumni Association set up alumni gatherings in locations where faculty and staff members will be attending professional conferences and meetings. The Alumni Association does the planning for these gatherings and provides door prizes and materials to hand out to attendees. Faculty and staff members serve as hosts at the gatherings and have the opportunity to talk one-to-one with alumni about what's new at UW-Eau Claire (see event-planning services the Alumni Association provides).

"Our aim is to facilitate lasting relationships between the university and its alumni and friends," Bachmeier said. "These services help cultivate those relationships and ensure we don't lose those precious ties with those who know us best."

Summer Bulletin
Published weekly during the summer session by the UW-Eau Claire News Bureau. News items and notices should be sent to the News Bureau, Schofield 201, by 10 a.m. Monday for publication in the following week’s issue. E-mail submissions to Julie Poquette at poquetjm@uwec.edu are encouraged. Faculty/staff news items are published on a space-available basis.