June 2006
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Mary Campbell Bliss |
Harry M. Kaiser |
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Dr. Aina Galejs |
Vicki Lord Larson |
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Robert Gilberts |
Ann Gunderson Thornburg |
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Brent Alan Hafele |
Andrew F. Neuwald |
Eight receive spring alumni awards
The UW-Eau Claire Alumni Association presented awards to eight alumni and friends of the university May 20 at a special luncheon and ceremony in conjunction with commencement. Mary Campbell Bliss '78 and Harry M. Kaiser '79 received the Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award, which recognizes distinguished service to the community, state or nation that brings credit upon the recipient and the university. Dr. Aina Galejs and Vicki Lord Larson received the Honorary Alumnus Award, presented to nonalumni who have demonstrated great love of and service to UW-Eau Claire. Robert Gilberts '50 and Ann Gunderson Thornburg '71 received the Lifetime Excellence Award, presented to UW-Eau Claire alumni who have demonstrated longtime and successful commitment to their careers and communities and who have made a positive and dramatic impact through enthusiastic dedication to service and living their lives as a testimony to UW-Eau Claire's motto, "Excellence." Brent Alan Hafele '02 received 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. Andrew F. Neuwald '78, '83 received the President's Award, which recognizes outstanding professional or personal achievements or service to UW-Eau Claire. See photos from the awards luncheon in the online Alumni Photo Album. 
Eleven faculty members announce retirements
Eleven UW-Eau Claire faculty members recently retired or have announced they will retire soon. All will receive emeritus status:
- Dr. Gale Crouse, professor emeritus of foreign languages
- Dr. Michael Cunningham, pianist and professor emeritus of music
- Dr. Beverly Dretzke, professor emerita of psychology
- Dr. David Franks, professor emeritus of special education
- Dr. Paul Graber, professor emeritus of kinesiology
- Dr. William Hannaford, professor emeritus of management and marketing
- Dr. Susan Haugen, professor emerita of accounting and finance
- Dr. Yui Tim Ho, professor emeritus of biology
- Dr. Barbara MacBriar, associate professor emerita of family health nursing
- Dr. Larry Morse, professor emeritus of psychology and chair of the psychology department
- Dr. August Rubrecht, professor emeritus of English
Full story.
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UW-Eau Claire photos by Rick Mickelson |
Lawton: Graduates will fare well with UW-Eau Claire education
The most recent Blugold graduates have, by virtue of their UW-Eau Claire degrees, the capacity to succeed in a world that requires the ability to innovate, to exercise strong ethics and social responsibility, and to defend the rights and liberties of individuals in our democracy, said Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton May 20 in her address during UW-Eau Claire's morning and afternoon commencement ceremonies for 1,151 graduates.
"What kind of work world awaits you outside Zorn? One in flux," Lawton said, noting that most jobs in the workplace today will evolve beyond recognition in 10-15 years. "Participation in this creative economy requires entrepreneurial imagination and intellectual agility; a liberal education is just what you need to pivot successfully on this shifting ground."
Read the text of Lawton's address.
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UW-Eau Claire photos by Rick Mickelson |
July alumni event features Lake Superior cruise
 UW-Eau Claire alumni are invited to enjoy a July 10 Lake Superior cruise on the Vista Fleet's King.
Enjoy spectacular views and an appetizer buffet. Boarding will be at 6:30 p.m. with a 6:45 p.m. departure from Barker's Island, Superior (just off highways 2 and 53). The boat will return to port at 8:15 p.m. The cost for this event is $35 per person. Advance registration is required by calling the UW-Eau Claire alumni office at 715-836-3266, sending e-mail to alumni@uwec.edu or submitting the event registration form found in the event brochure. For information on more upcoming alumni events, check the online Alumni Events Calendar.
 Former Blugold coaches among several from WIAC to head Badger teams
Several former UW-Eau Claire coaches now lead teams at UW-Madison, including Mike Eaves (men's hockey, 1986-87), Lisa Stone (women's basketball, 1988-2000) and
Todd Oehrlein
(men's golf, 1997-2003, and former men's basketball assistant coach). They are among many who have moved on from Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schools to coaching positions at UW-Madison, as discussed in a recent Wisconsin State Journal column, "WIAC trains UW talent."
COEHS receives more than $104,000 in federal grants
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Joseph Morin |
Karen Horan |
UW-Eau Claire's College of Education and Human Sciences recently received two grants totaling more than $104,000 from the U.S. Department of Education through the Wisconsin Improving Teacher Quality Grant Program. Both grants -two of 20 funded throughout the UW System - are intended to increase the academic achievement of students in core subjects by enhancing the content knowledge and teaching skills of classroom teachers, particularly in rural school districts. Dr. Joseph Morin, associate professor of special education, and Karen Horan, a UW-Eau Claire professor emerita of art and curriculum and instruction, were the lead grant writers. Dr. David Franks, emeritus professor of special education, and Dr. Robert Hollon, a professor of curriculum and instruction and co-director of UW-Eau Claire's Center for Collaborative Leadership in Education, collaborated with Morin, and Mary Kuzma, a UW-Eau Claire alumna, collaborated with Horan. Full story.
Jazz at Noon, Music on the Mall series begin June 12
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Howard "Guitar" Luedtke |
Outdoor concerts June 12 at noon by the Ben Herpel-Dobay Group and at 7 p.m. by Howard "Guitar" Luedtke and Blue Max will kick off an eight-week series of free Summer Session Programs at UW-Eau Claire. The Ben Herpel-Dobay Group will give Jazz at Noon performances through June 16 from noon to 1 p.m. on the Central Campus Mall. A variety of grilled lunch items will be sold. Jazz at Noon concerts will be presented every weekday in June. The rain site for Jazz at Noon concerts is The Cabin in Davies Center.
Howard "Guitar" Luedtke and Blue Max will present the first of seven weekly Music on the Mall concerts from 7 to 9 p.m. on the Central Campus Mall. Refreshments will be sold. Audience members are invited to bring blankets or folding chairs for lawn seating. The rain site for Music on the Mall concerts will be Schofield Auditorium or The Cabin. Full story.
Graduate certificate program helps professionals
prepare for licensure as long-term care administrators
 In response to the growing demand for leaders and managers in health and aging services, UW-Eau Claire's health care administration graduate certificate program helps professionals develop new skills and competencies, meet the educational requirement for long-term care administration licensure, and learn from other health and aging services professionals. Now in its third year, the 10-graduate-credit program begins in October and ends in December 2007. Applications for the program are now being accepted, and the priority application deadline is Aug. 31. Full story.
New scholarships honor recent UW-Eau Claire alumni
 The families of two UW-Eau Claire alumni recently established scholarships through the UW-Eau Claire Foundation. The gifts in support of the scholarships are recognized as contributions to Fulfilling the Promise of Excellence, the Foundation's ongoing comprehensive campaign to benefit UW-Eau Claire's people and programs:
- David and Nancy Prechel, Hillsboro, have established the Ryan Prechel Scholarship to honor their son's exceptional academic career and leadership activities at UW-Eau Claire.
Recipients of the Ryan Prechel Scholarship must be members of UW-Eau Claire's Honors Program and involved in campus, community or civic activities or organizations.
Ryan Prechel was a UW-Eau Claire honors student who graduated in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in computer science. Full story.
- The family of Brian Stricklin, a UW-Eau Claire alumnus and honor student from Waukesha who died in August 2004, has established the Brian Stricklin Memorial Scholarship. The annual scholarship will go to an outstanding student from Waukesha County planning to attend UW-Eau Claire. Full story.
Alumni success stories
Read about the accomplishments of these and other UW-Eau Claire alumni on the Alumni Success Stories Web pages:
 Show how much you know about UW-Eau Claire — AND win great Blugold prizes! E-mail your answer to this month's question to the Blugold Trivia mailbox (trivia@uwec.edu). Those sending correct responses to this month's question will be entered in a drawing for a UW-Eau Claire alumni sweatshirt, pictured at left. The name of this month's Blugold Trivia winner will be published in the July issue of e-View.
June Blugold Trivia question:
 The photo at right was taken on the UW-Eau Claire campus. Can you identify the image and where the photo was taken?
Know the answer? E-mail it, along with your name and class year, to trivia@uwec.edu. You'll be notified by e-mail if you are this month's winner!
May's winner:
Congratulations to Barb Solfest, a 1989 elementary education graduate currently pursuing her master's degree in professional development at UW-Eau Claire, who has won a UW-Eau Claire alumni fleece blanket. Barb was among those who correctly identified one of the eight outstanding graduates featured on UW-Eau Claire's commencement 2006 Web site. |
