Featured Articles

Commencement ceremonies to be held at
UW-Eau Claire

UW-Eau Claire Alumni Association to present awards Dec. 18

UW System lauds UW-Eau Claire Rhodes Scholar

Regents endorse strategies to expand bachelor's degrees in state

Two UW-Eau Claire academic staff members announce retirement

Seven members of university's classified staff retire

'Tis the season

"Let's Do Lunch!" noon-hour lecture series set for Dec. 29

UW-Eau Claire students work to bring school supplies to kids in D.C.

A tribute to Blugold troops

Merry Blugolds!

Happy Holidays!

Commencement ceremonies to be held at
UW-Eau Claire
Winter commencement exercises for 661 students at UW-Eau Claire will be held Saturday, Dec. 18, in Zorn Arena.

Candidates from College of Business, the College of Education and Human Sciences and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences will receive degrees during a 9:30 a.m. ceremony. Candidates from the College of Arts and Sciences and candidates for master's degrees will receive degrees during a 2 p.m. ceremony.

A total of 642 students are candidates for bachelor’s degrees, 17 students are candidates for master’s degrees and two students are candidates for education specialist degrees. Of the candidates for bachelor's degrees, 285 are from the College of Arts and Sciences, 164 are from the College of Business, 147 are from the College of Education and Human Sciences, and 46 are from the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Full story.

UW-Eau Claire Alumni Association to present awards Dec. 18
The UW-Eau Claire Alumni Association will present awards to 10 alumni and friends of the university Dec. 18 at a special luncheon and ceremony in conjunction with winter commencement.

Dr. Ralph and Peggy Hudson		Dr. Sharon Weber
Dr. George Arndt	Juli Ann Buehler	Dr. Jorge Won

Stuart Knoll	Lisa Stark	Brent Willi	Casey Sylla

Dr. Ralph and Peggy Hudson, will receive the Honorary Alumnus Award, presented to a non-alumnus who has demonstrated great love of and service to UW-Eau Claire.

Sharon Marie Weber, M.D., 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.

Dr. George Arndt, Juli Ann Buehler and Dr. Jorge Won, each will receive the President's Award, which recognizes outstanding professional or personal achievements or service to UW-Eau Claire.

Stuart Knoll, Lisa Stark and Brent L. Willi will receive the Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award, which recognizes distinguished service to the community, state or nation that brings credit upon the recipient and the university.

Casey Sylla will receive the Lifetime Excellence Award which is presented to UW-Eau Claire alumni who have demonstrated longtime and successful commitment to their careers and communities. Full story.

UW System lauds UW-Eau Claire Rhodes Scholar
UW System President Kevin Reilly last Friday congratulated UW-Eau Claire student and recently named Rhodes Scholar Chauncy Harris during the system board of regents December meeting, citing Harris as "one among (the UW System's) 160,000 students for whom higher education has indeed been a life-changing experience." In addition to recognizing Harris' individual accomplishment, "we take pride in knowing that Chauncy credits UW-Eau Claire for preparing him for the Rhodes program," Reilly said.

Chancellor Donald Mash also spoke at the regents' meeting, noting that while the media have focused on the fact that Harris is UW-Eau Claire's first Rhodes Scholar, there is a much more remarkable aspect to the story. "The real story here is that a regional public university anywhere in the country has a Rhodes Scholar," Mash said, noting that the honor almost exclusively goes to students at private and much larger public institutions. He added that through Harris, UW-Eau Claire faculty and administrators are learning more about the process of applying for awards like the Rhodes Scholarship. "We're going to take a look at how we prepare and nurture our promising students for these prestigious awards," he said.

Regents endorse strategies to expand bachelor's degrees in state
The UW System Board of Regents endorsed several recommendations of a joint committee representing the state's two public higher education systems during the Regents meeting Dec. 9.

The Committee on Baccalaureate Expansion, which includes representatives from the UW System and the Wisconsin Technical College System, recommended several ways the systems can work together to enable more Wisconsin citizens to earn four-year college degrees. Full story.

Two UW-Eau Claire academic staff members announce retirement
Two UW-Eau Claire academic staff have announced their recent or upcoming retirements.

Betty A. Hanson, better known as "Twink," will retire in January 2005 after approximately nine years of service to UW-Eau Claire. She is currently interim director of Educational Access Programs, which is part of the division of Student Development and Diversity. Hanson has held a number of different administrative positions at UW-Eau Claire, including director of the Upward Bound Program, director of the Educational Opportunity Center, interim director of Student Support Services and interim director of Grants and Special Programs.

Charles Rumpel, bursar-emeritus, retired in November after 34 years of service to UW-Eau Claire. As bursar for the past 17 years, he was instrumental in effectively leading UW-Eau Claire's Business Office through an extraordinary number of complex technological and operational changes. He was responsible for management of cashiering operations, tuition and fee collection, financial aid disbursement and campus loan administration and was recognized for his fair and equitable treatment of student financial issues. Full story.

Seven members of university's classified staff retire
Seven members of the UW-Eau Claire’s classified staff have announced their retirements.
    • Carol Beaudette, a groundskeeper and facilities repair worker 2, retired in October after 30 years of service to the university.
    • Mary Brenden, a program assistant 1 and financial specialist 1 in Admissions, retired in December after 22 years at UW-Eau Claire.
    • Thomas Bye, an administrative telecommunications specialist, retired in July after 11 years at the university.
    • James Gibson, a maintenance mechanic 1 in University Recreation, will retire in January 2005 after 36 combined years of service at UW-Eau Claire and UW-Madison.
    • Rodney Hicks, a custodial services supervisor in Housing and Residence Life, retired in October after 22 years of service.
    • Suzanne Kelly, a program assistant 3 in McIntyre Library, will retire in January 2005 after 36 years of service to the university.
    • Audrey Mueller, nurse clinician 2 and program assistant 2, will retire in January 2005 after six years at UW-Eau Claire. Full story.

'Tis the season
The 30th annual UW-Eau Claire Holiday Concerts showcased the musical talents of hundreds of students during two performances Dec. 5 in Zorn Arena. More than 3,100 community members attended the free concerts, presented by the department of music and theatre arts and the UW-Eau Claire Foundation as the university's annual holiday gift to the community.

The concerts included performances by the Wind Symphony, conducted by Richard Mark Heidel; the Symphonic Choir and the Women's Concert Chorale, conducted by Alan Rieck; the University Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Nobuyoshi Yasuda; and the Concert Choir and The Singing Statesmen, directed by Gary Schwartzhoff.

(Above, student violinist Steven Ethington played with the Symphony Orchestra. Below, members of the Concert Choir. Photos by Rick Mickelson, TLTDC.)

"Let's Do Lunch!" noon-hour lecture series set for Dec. 29
"Geoarcheological Adventures in the Holy Land " will be the topic of the December session of the "Let's Do Lunch" noon-hour lecture series sponsored by the UW-Eau Claire Alumni Association. Harry Jol, geography and anthropology, will speak from noon to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 29, at Sweetwaters Restaurant in Eau Claire. Tickets for the event, which is open to the public, are $10 per person and include Jol's presentation, the Sweetwaters buffet, beverage, tax and tip. To reserve tickets, send e-mail to alumni@uwec.edu or call (715) 836-3266.

UW-Eau Claire students work to bring school supplies to kids in D.C.

Nancy Amdahl, geology, made a donation of school supplies to Sara Foster (left) and Hannah Cusick, members of the Association of Student Social Workers. Her generosity was rewarded with a cookie. (Photo by Rick Mickelson, TLTDC.)

UW-Eau Claire's Association of Student Social Workers is leading an effort to gather school supplies to be donated to an elementary school in Washington, D.C. Sara Foster, president of the ASSW and Hannah Cusick will be among a group of social work students, faculty and community members traveling to Washington, D.C., in January 2005 as part of an alternate winter break event. Participants spend the week volunteering in schools and shelters. For the second year in a row, ASSW is gathering supplies to take to Marie Reed Learning Center, one of the project sites. If you're interested in making a donation, e-mail Foster at fostersm@uwec.edu.

A tribute to Blugold troops
Web page to honor alumni, students, faculty/staff in military or with family who serve

Maj. Douglas Torbert and his wife, UW-Eau Claire alumna Tammy (Greer) Torbert '89 (business administration), were pictured with their children before Douglas' deployment to Afghanistan on Sept. 22 with the Army Reserve's 13th Psychological Operations Battalion based in Arden Hills, Minn.

Blugolds across the United States are among the many Americans affected in a very personal way by our nation's involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan and other military operations around the world. If you are a UW-Eau Claire alumnus, student or faculty or staff member who is serving in the military or who has a spouse or child on active duty, you are invited to send information about you or your family member for inclusion on a new UW-Eau Claire Web page. Please e-mail the following information to eview@uwec.edu: the alumnus' name, class year and degree from UW-Eau Claire; the military member's name, military branch, rank and unit; the location where the military member is serving; and the date he or she was deployed. Digital photos of military members also may be submitted as e-mail attachments. A link to the new Web page will be provided in the January issue of e-View.

Merry Blugolds!

Blugold fans sport some red and green to cheer on the Blue and Gold at Wednesday's Women's Basketball game against UW-Oshkosh. Read more. (Photo by Rick Mickelson, TLTDC)

Happy Holidays!
This is the last issue of the University Bulletin for fall semester. The first issue for the 2005 spring semester will be dated Jan. 24, 2005.

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. Monday for publication in the following week’s issue. E-mail submissions to Liz Wolf Green at greenew@uwec.edu are encouraged. Faculty/staff news items are published on a space-available basis.