Andrea Mitchell to be Devroy Forum speaker
Andrea Mitchell, chief foreign affairs correspondent for NBC News, will be the featured speaker at UW-Eau Claire's seventh annual Ann Devroy Memorial Forum on Thursday, April 22. Her presentation, “The 2004 Presidential Campaign: New Challenges for Broadcast News,” will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Zorn Arena. The Ann Devroy Memorial Forum was established to recognize the outstanding journalistic work of the 1970 UW-Eau Claire graduate who died of cancer in 1997. Ann Devroy, a Green Bay native, was a White House correspondent for more than 15 years. She covered the Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton administrations. The forum event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required for admission. Reserved seating tickets are available at the University Service Center, (715) 836-3727. Remaining tickets will be available at the door.

Report: UW-Eau Claire exceeds goals for excellence
UW-Eau Claire provides its students with an outstanding living and learning environment, even during these fiscally challenging times, according to the university’s annual accountability report, “Achieving Excellence at UW-Eau Claire.” The report is part of the UW System’s 2003-04 “Achieving Excellence” accountability report, which was presented by UW System President Katharine Lyall to the Board of Regents during its February meeting. (Read the UW-System and UW-Eau Claire reports online.) Areas where UW-Eau Claire met or exceeded its targets included improved student retention rates, study abroad opportunities and faculty/student collaborative research. Full story.

UW-Eau Claire hosts Fulbright scholar from Palestine
UW-Eau Claire is hosting Fulbright Visiting Scholar Mohamed Riffi from Gaza, Palestine, for the current academic year. Riffi, an associate professor of mathematics at Islamic University of Gaza in Rimal, Gaza, is one of approximately 800 foreign faculty and professionals brought to the United States this year to teach and do research through the Fulbright Scholar Program. Riffi teaches probability theory and mathematical statistics courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels at his home university. While at UW-Eau Claire, he is researching the use of technology as a tool in the teaching of mathematics. In addition, he is teaching a statistics course this semester. Full story.

Alexandre Dossin to perform on campus March 11
Alexandre Dossin, UW-Eau Claire assistant professor of music, will perform his first solo concert in Eau Claire since winning the first and special prizes at the prestigious second Martha Argerich International Piano Competition in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The solo concert will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 11, in Gantner Concert Hall of the Haas Fine Arts Center. Full story. Dossin’s CD recording of works by Mozart, Schubert, Chopin, Liszt and Prokofiev were reviewed recently in the American Record Guide, one of the most important publications in the recording industry. “It is doubtful listeners will be able to resist once they have listened,” the review said. Full story.

Alumni couple leave at least $150,000 to education leadership center
The UW-Eau Claire Foundation will receive at least $150,000 from the estate of two UW-Eau Claire alumni, both longtime educators who wished to make a difference for current and future teachers. The Foundation has received a gift of $84,000 from the estate of Clifford and Mollie Rayment for the university’s recently created Center for Collaborative Leadership in Education. A second distribution also will go to the Foundation for the CCLE at the time the Rayments’ estate is fully settled, bringing the total gift to at least $150,000. Clifford and Mollie Rayment both earned teaching certificates from UW-Eau Claire (then the Eau Claire State Teachers College) in the 1930s. Their teaching careers spanned five decades. Mollie Rayment died in September 2001, and Clifford Rayment died in December 2003. Full story. The Rayment estate gift is recognized as a contribution to the UW-Eau Claire Foundation’s comprehensive fund-raising campaign, Fulfilling the Promise of Excellence. The five-year campaign, which seeks private support for UW-Eau Claire’s people and programs, runs through June 2005.

Alumni success stories
Married alums receive prestigious Fulbright awards
Todd and Amy (Minor) Schendel, 1998 UW-Eau Claire music performance graduates, are spending the 2003-04 academic year as Fulbright scholars, studying the German style of orchestral and opera playing at two universities in Germany. Read the full story about their achievement and their time in Germany.

Andrew Neesley receives national jazz honor
Andrew Neesley, a December 2003 music graduate of UW-Eau Claire and former member of the university's Grammy-nominated Jazz Ensemble I, recently received the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Foundation Young Jazz Composer Award. The award recognizes outstanding American composers ages 12-30. Full story.

Mike Cleary recognized for small business success
Mike Cleary, a 1985 UW-Eau Claire marketing graduate, and his Chanhassen, Minn., company, Coridian Technologies, have been getting frequent media attention. Coridian was recognized in October 2001 as one of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in America by Inc. magazine, and in September 2003, Cleary and Coridian were featured in the cover story of small business magazine Upsize Minnesota. (Read the Upsize Minnesota article—free online registration required.) More recently, Cleary got some press in an article closer to his hometown of Cable, Wis., when he was featured in the Washburn, Wis., County Journal. (Read County Journal article.)

New online store offers alumni apparel, gifts
Alumni looking for a way to show their Blugold spirit now have a convenient way to purchase UW-Eau Claire alumni apparel and gifts. The UW-Eau Claire Alumni Association has created the online UW-Eau Claire Alumni Store. “Our alumni live all across the country, and many have said they wish they had a convenient way to purchase UW-Eau Claire merchandise,” Bachmeier said. “The online store provides a secure site for them to purchase some great UW-Eau Claire alumni clothing and other items." Among the items offered on the site are T-shirts, sweatshirts, golf accessories and caps. Shipping is free on all orders through March 31. Additional items will be added in the future, and alumni are welcome to send item suggestions to the Alumni Association by sending e-mail to alumni@uwec.edu.

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