Summer commencement set for 9 a.m. Saturday

Photo by Rick Mickelson, LTS

Summer commencement exercises for 163 candidates for graduation will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 2, in UW-Eau Claire's Zorn Arena.

A total of 139 undergraduate students will receive bachelor's degrees, including 56 from the College of Arts and Sciences, 69 from the College of Business, 12 from the College of Education and Human Sciences and two from the College of Nursing and Health Sciences.

Twenty-four students are master's degree candidates. Of those, 10 are from the College of Arts and Sciences, five are from the College of Business, seven are from the College of Education and Human Sciences and two are from the College of Nursing and Health Sciences.

Dr. Judith Carlson, a retired professor from Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., who will receive UW-Eau Claire's Lifetime Excellence Award at the ceremony, will deliver the "Charge to the Class." A reception for graduates and guests will follow the ceremony on the lawn near the clock tower on the Central Campus Mall. The rain site will be the Spruce-Tamarack Room of Davies Center. Full story.

University Web site to have new look this week

Click on the image above to view a larger version of the updated UW-Eau Claire home page design to be implemented Tuesday, July 29, or Wednesday, July 30.

An updated design for UW-Eau Claire's home page (shown at right) and other top-level Web pages will be implemented this week. Web development staff is working to take the newly designed site live at 4 a.m. Tuesday, July 29, said Lillian Hillis, Web content management system project leader. However, should complications arise, the new site may not be available until Wednesday, July 30, she said.

The pages will be the first on the university's Web site to be created and maintained within a Web content management system (WCMS). Read a Q&A discussing the details of the WCMS implementation, including the benefits of a WCMS, the reasons for the updated Web site design and what changes it will include and which university Web sites will be affected. Also see the WCMS Web site for more background information on the project.

Campus community invited to workshop
on inclusivity in strategic planning
Chancellor Brian Levin-Stankevich invites the campus community to attend a workshop from 9-11 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26, on integrating inclusiveness, equity and diversity with strategic planning.  

The workshop, to be held in the Council Fire Room, Davies Center, will examine our responsibilities in creating an inclusive campus and work on integrating diversity and equity into our strategic planning priorities.  Please direct any questions to Teresa O’Halloran, assistant to the chancellor for affirmative action, at 715-836-2387 or ohallote@uwec.edu.

Reminder: Academic year kickoff is Aug. 19 UW-Eau Claire employees are invited to attend the All-Employee Breakfast and Opening Meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 19, in Zorn Arena. Breakfast will be served starting at 7:30 a.m., and the opening meeting will begin at 8:15 a.m. The meeting will include Chancellor Brian Levin-Stankevich's state-of-the-university address, as well as the presentation of the annual faculty and staff excellence awards. Employees are welcome to come and go to and from the meeting as their schedules require.

Faculty, staff members announce retirements
Seven UW-Eau Claire faculty, academic staff and classified staff members recently retired or have announced they will retire soon:

• Karen Arnsdorf, IS operations technician senior, Learning and Technology Services
• Linda Baumeister, program assistant advanced, Academic Affairs
• Dennis Watton, power plant operator senior, Facilities Planning and Management
• Dr. Judith Blackstone, counseling psychologist emerita, Counseling Services
• Leslie Foster, assistant professor emerita, McIntyre Library
• Elizabeth Richmond, associate professor emerita, McIntyre Library
• Dr. Mehdi Sheikholeslami, professor emeritus of accounting and finance.

Read more about UW-Eau Claire's most recent faculty and academic staff and classified staff retirees.

Seven to receive Alumni Association awards

		Top row, left to right: Judith B. Carlson, Randall Newton, Roberta Poirier; middle row, left to right: Ruth Gullerud, David Joles; bottom row, left to right: Thomas Joles, Jacob Hookum.

The UW-Eau Claire Alumni Association will present awards to seven alumni and friends of the university Aug. 2 at a luncheon and ceremony in conjunction with summer commencement. Judith B. Carlson will receive the Lifetime Excellence Award, presented to alumni who have demonstrated a long and successful commitment to their careers and communities. Randall Newton and Roberta Poirier will receive the Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award, which recognizes distinguished service to the community, state or nation in a manner that brings credit to the recipient and UW-Eau Claire. Ruth Gullerud, David Joles and Thomas Joles will receive the President's Award, which recognizes outstanding professional and personal achievements and service to UW-Eau Claire. Jacob Hookom will receive the Outstanding Recent Alumnus Award, which acknowledges special achievements and great promise of alumni who are within 15 years of their graduation from UW-Eau Claire. Full story.

Continuing Education Web site recognized
UW-Eau Claire Continuing Education's newly redesigned Web site was recognized as a Best Web Site by the Learning Resources Network (LERN) in its July e-newsletter. LERN is the leading association in lifelong learning with more than 4,000 members in 16 countries. The site was selected for:

• professional look of the main page
• testimonials and a short, effective marketing message
• visibility of Contact Us, Search and Register Now links for easy navigation.

The Continuing Education site was launched just over one year ago.

Summer Events Series concludes with music
of alumna Julie Rust, locally produced short films

Julie Rust

UW-Eau Claire music alumna Julie Rust, a vocalist who has been compared to such greats as Diana Krall and Norah Jones, will begin the final week of the University Centers Summer Events series at UW-Eau Claire when she performs a free concert at 7 p.m. tonight on the Central Campus Mall (rain site is The Cabin, Davies Center).

The Summer Events series also will present the final screening of the Summer Shorts film series from Tuesday-Thursday, July 29-31. "The Best of the 48-Hour Video Project," a compilation of some of the best films shot by Chippewa Valley community members, will screen Tuesday and Wednesday, July 29-30, in UW-Eau Claire's Davies Theatre and Thursday, July 31, at The State: Eau Claire Regional Arts Center Gallery in downtown Eau Claire. Films will be presented at 11:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. each day. Admission is free and open to all. Full story.

Summer Sounds to feature guitarist Jaworski
Jeffrey Jaworski, an active guitarist in the Chippewa Valley who maintains a private studio in downtown Eau Claire, will present the sixth concert of the Summer Sounds series at UW-Eau Claire at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 3, in Phillips Recital Hall of the Haas Fine Arts Center.

The program will begin with "Pavana" by Luis Miln and continue with "Fantasia" by Alonso Mudarra. Jaworski will follow with pieces by Fernando Sor, Mauro Giuliani, Napolon Coste, and Matteo Carcassi. The recital will also feature pieces by Heitor Villa-Lobos, Francisco Tarrega and Jorge Gomez Crespo. Full story.

Final issue of Summer Bulletin
This is the last issue of the 2008 Summer Bulletin. The first issue of the University Bulletin will be published Aug. 18 to coincide with the opening of the 2008-09 academic year.

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. Thursday 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.