Featured Articles

First Blugold Family Weekend set for April 24-26

Researchers seek women ages 45-60 for study

Two receive Classified Staff Grant Fund awards

Foster Gallery exhibit explores drawing approaches

Jabali Afrika to perform Tuesday night

Viennese Ball tickets to go on sale Friday

Tickets still available for Aldo Leopold Banquet

First Blugold Family Weekend set for April 24-26
Faculty/staff members invited to present activities
UW-Eau Claire's Blugold Family Connection Office will present the first Blugold Family Weekend April 24-26 and invites faculty and staff members to present activities during the weekend. 

"Our goal is to have the participation of everyone who is integral to students’ growth," said Jennifer Lee, Blugold Family Connection director. "We want to provide family members the opportunity to experience some amazing lectures, participate in classroom discussions or experiments, enjoy a variety of dining experiences and see entertainment showcasing our students. After the Blugold Family Weekend families will walk away with a good taste of campus life at UW-Eau Claire."

Session times will be on Friday, April 24, and Saturday, April 25.  Please register your presentation using the online form. Those with questions should contact the Blugold Family Connection Office at 836-5110 or family@uwec.edu.

Researchers seek women ages 45-60 for study

A new study by Dr. Lee-Ellen Kirkhorn and senior nursing student Jill Tapper builds on a literature review the pair conducted last year with graduate student Sarah Parsch. Above, in April 2008 Tapper presented a poster she created about the literature review at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research at Salisbury University in Maryland.

Dr. Lee-Ellen Kirkhorn, UW-Eau Claire associate professor of nursing, and undergraduate researcher Jill Tapper hope to recruit as many as 120 area women, 45 to 60 years old, to participate in a collaborative study that will investigate the relative benefits of both exercise and other forms of leisure activity or social engagement on the research subjects' mood and general sense of well-being.

Tapper said they would like to find 30 women who are already following an exercise program of some regularity; 30 women who aren't currently exercisers but would like to begin exercising; 30 women who consider themselves socially engaged with others in pursing hobbies or volunteer activities; and 30 women who feel they are not currently socially engaged and consider themselves sedentary.

Anyone interested in being screened for participation in the study may contact Kirkhorn at 715-836-5005 or kirkholc@uwec.edu. Full story.

Two receive Classified Staff Grant Fund awards
Faculty, staff can support fund through Campus Campaign

Vlcek	Duerre
Faculty and staff who would like to help other classified staff members pursue their degrees can specify that their 2009-10 Campus Campaign contributions go to support the Classified Staff Grant Fund.

Two UW-Eau Claire classified staff members pursuing college studies recently received scholarships from the UW-Eau Claire Foundation's Classified Staff Grant Fund.

Receiving the awards were Stephen Duerre, craft supervisor for facilities planning and management, and Kimberly Vlcek, office manager in the Academic Skills Center and clerical staff member in Counseling Services. Vlcek is working toward a degree in counseling at Chippewa Valley Technical College, and Duerre is completing the online facilties management certificate program at Ferris State University.

The Classified Staff Grant Fund was established by retired UW-Eau Claire employees Linda Haag and Susie Warden, who completed bachelor's degrees at UW-Eau Claire while working as full-time members of the university's classified staff. They created the Classified Staff Grant Fund through the UW-Eau Claire Foundation after completing their degrees to make certain other classified staff members have a similar opportunity. Full story.

Foster Gallery exhibit explores drawing approaches

Works by Amanda Hughen (top) and Edward Mayer (bottom) are among the pieces on display in the Foster Gallery "Drawing Beyond Edges" exhibit through Feb. 19.

A new exhibit, "Drawing Beyond Edges," currently is on display in the Foster Gallery at UW-Eau Claire's Haas Fine Arts Center. The exhibit runs through Feb. 19.

Curated by UW-Eau Claire painting faculty Jill Olm and Scott Robertson, the show examines the importance that materials and process play in contemporary drawing approaches in the large-scale drawings and work of Amanda Hughen, Edward Mayer, Cal Lane and Fraser Taylor. Taylor and Mayer visited the gallery to create their large scale installation works.

See the Foster Gallery Web site for gallery hours.

Jabali Afrika to perform Tuesday night

Jabali Afrika

Jabali Afrika will return to UW-Eau Claire for a performance Tuesday, Feb. 3. Doors will open at 7 p.m. for the show in Schofield Auditorium. Admission is free and and the event is open to all ages.

From Kenya, Jabali (Kiswahili for "rock") Afrika is a multifaceted group with a unique blend of fusion and African rhythms. Some of its members beloned to the Kenya National Theatre Dance Troupe before breaking away to form Jabali Afrika. Their traditional adaptations have earned recognition throughout Africa, Europe, Japan and the United States. Full story.

Viennese Ball tickets to go on sale Friday
The 35th annual Viennese Ball will take place April 17-18 at UW-Eau Claire. The doors of Davies Center will open each evening at 6:30 p.m. for the ball, which is the largest social event hosted annually by the university.

Proceeds from the event have provided $1 million in music scholarships and international study awards for deserving UW-Eau Claire students.

Tickets still available for Aldo Leopold Banquet
There is still time to purchase tickets for the fourth annual Aldo Leopold Banquet, set for 5-10 p.m. Feb. 27 at the Westgate Sportsman Club in Eau Claire.

The banquet — collaboratively hosted by UW-Eau Claire's Environmental Adventure Center — honors the conservation legacy of Aldo Leopold, celebrates his life and writings, and aims to further foster the idea of developing a land ethic.

The banquet's rustic-themed menu includes wild game dishes as well as vegetarian options. The acclaimed Chris Silver Bluegrass Band will perform, and the predinner program will feature Matt Frank, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources; Tex Hawkins, a watershed biologist representing the National Fish and Wildlife Refuge in Winona, Minn.; Kenny Salwey, author and star of the Emmy-award-winning film "Mississippi: Tales of the Last River Rat"; Dr. Sean Hartnett, UW-Eau Claire professor of geography; Dr. John Hildebrand, UW-Eau Claire professor of English and author of "Reading the River: A Voyage Down the Yukon" and "Mapping the Farm: A Chronicle of a Family"; and UW-Eau Claire sophomore Amy Brickheimer, a student employee at the EAC. Full story.

University Bulletin
Published weekly during the fall and spring semesters by the UW-Eau Claire News Bureau. News items and notices should be sent to the News Bureau, Schofield 201, by 10 a.m. Wednesday to ensure 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.