July 2008

New alumni Web site goes live UW-Eau Claire alumni now have a new Web site with an updated look, streamlined navigation and a news-oriented home page. "We're excited about the new site," said John Bachmeier, alumni relations director. "It has a fun new look, and our alums will find improvements in the way it's organized. I think it's a resource our graduates will find very useful and informative. " Visit the new alumni Web site.

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 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.

UW-Eau Claire 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.

Upcoming Blugold events abound
UW-Eau Claire alumni are invited to numerous events in the coming days, with activities planned daily from July 30 through Aug. 4:

• Wednesday, July 30: A gathering at Milwaukee's Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin from 6-8 p.m.
• Thursday, July 31: The Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago Cubs game at Milwaukee's Miller Park (Tickets for this event are sold out.).
• Friday and Saturday, Aug. 1-2: Golden Blugold Days, a Class of 1958 reunion and celebration open to all who have been a Blugold for 50 years or more.
• Saturday, Aug. 1: Summer alumni awards presentation.
• Sunday, Aug. 3: Packers Training Camp Family Night (a limited number of tickets are still available!)
• Monday, Aug. 4: Support Blugold athletics by participating in the Blugold Booster Golf Outing.

Find details about these and other upcoming alumni events on the Alumni Gatherings Web page.

Softball coaches receive national recognition

Huntington	Baker	Buss

For the first time in UW-Eau Claire history, the Blugold softball coaching staff has been named the 2008 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III National Coach Staff of the Year.

This year head coach Leslie Huntington, who is in her seventh season with the Blugolds, along with assistant coaches Robin Baker and Billie Buss, led the team to its first national title and finished with a 36-11 mark. Full story.

External grants fund chemistry faculty/student research

Wiegel	Hati
Gengenbach	Hartsel

In the UW-Eau Claire chemistry department, recent external grants totaling more than $420,000 are funding faculty/student research that could contribute to the development of better computer monitors, more effective antibiotics and improved cleanup of fuels and toxic waste sites.

Dr. Kurt Wiegel, assistant professor of chemistry, has received a $180,000 National Science Foundation grant; Dr. Sanchita Hati, assistant professor of chemistry, has received a $150,000 Academic Research Enhancement Award from the National Institutes of Health; Dr. Alan Gengenbach, associate professor of chemistry, has received just over $60,000 from the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund; and Dr. Scott Hartsel, professor and chair of the chemistry department, has received a $34,500 Research Corp. grant. Read news releases dated July 2 and July 18 for more information.

Free UW-Eau Claire summer concerts, films continue
UW-Eau Claire's Summer Events series concludes with its final Music on the Mall concert July 28 and the last screening of the Summer Shorts film series July 29-31. The university's Summer Sounds series will present its last concerts Aug. 3 and 10. Admission to all events is free.

Rust

Music on the Mall will present UW-Eau Claire alumna Julie (Schroeder) Rust, a 1985 music graduate and a performing songwriter for more than 20 years, at 7 p.m. July 28 on the Central Campus Mall (rain site is The Cabin, Davies Center). As a vocalist, Rust has been compared to such greats as Diana Krall and Norah Jones. She currently has three CDs available and is working on her fourth.

The Summer Shorts film series will conclude July 29-31 with "The Best of the 48-Hour Video Project." Some of the best films shot by Chippewa Valley community members will be shown Tuesday and Wednesday in

Davies Theatre and Thursday at the State Regional Arts Center Gallery in downtown Eau Claire. Screenings are at 11:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. each day. More Music on the Mall and Summer Shorts information.

The Summer Sounds series will present classical guitarist Jeffrey Jaworski Aug. 3 and pianist Barbara Young, UW-Eau Claire lecturer of music and theatre arts, Aug. 10. Both performances will be at 2 p.m. in Phillips Recital Hall of the Haas Fine Arts Center.

Alumni success stories
Read about the accomplishments of these and other UW-Eau Claire alumni on the Alumni Success Stories Web pages:

	Susan Caya '08 (MA), who received a UW-Eau Claire master's degree in history, is curator of interpretation and collections at Villa Louis in Prairie du Chien. Full story.
	Briana Hardyman '05, a UW-Eau Claire theatre arts graduate, is touring as part of the country music duo Good Souls. She and fellow performer Dave Isaacs recently completed their first, self-titled album. Full story.
	Troy Ward '85, a UW-Eau Claire physical education graduate, has been named assistant general manager of the American Hockey League's Houston Aeros. Full story.
	Shawn LaPean '83, a UW-Eau Claire political science graduate, is director of dining at the University of California-Berkeley. Full story.
	Reggie Bicha '92, a UW-Eau Claire social work graduate, has been appointed by Gov. Jim Doyle as secretary of Wisconsin's new Department of Children and Families. Full story.
	Gregory Effertz '85, a UW-Eau Claire accounting and information systems graduate, has been named chief financial offier of Verisae, a web-enabled, clean technology software and services company. Full story.
	Mark Kuula '93, a UW-Eau Claire information systems graduate, has started an online business selling lead-free fishing lures and sinkers. Full story.
	Lisa (Wirth) Benson '91, a UW-Eau Claire information systems graduate and president and co-owner of Ledgeview Partners in Grand Chute, was featured as a business innovator in the July 22, 2008, Appleton Post-Crescent. Full story.

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 sweatshirt. The name of this month's Blugold Trivia winner will be published in the August issue of e-View.

July Blugold Trivia question:

What are the destinations of the travel opportunities offered by the UW-Eau Claire Alumni Association in September and October?

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!

June's winner:
Congratulations to Kevin Zinsmaster, a 2001 UW-Eau Claire kinesiology graduate! Kevin has won the June Blugold Trivia prize in a drawing from among those who correctly identified the men's golf team as the winner of UW-Eau Claire's first NCAA championship, in 2001.