Featured Articles

Campus says thank you to Vicki Lord Larson

Blugolds play at noon today for berth in national softball tournament

Regulations designate new smoke-free zones

Computational science program promotes interdisciplinary approach to problem solving

Minnesota Book Award goes to John Hildebrand

NET offers institute on collaborative learning

Student receives 2006 Classified Staff Scholarship

Mayo Clinic visit highlights student opportunities

Trip will explore geology of the Chippewa Valley

University Bulletin Special Edition coming Thursday

Summer Bulletin to begin June 12

Photos by Steve Kinderman, Eau Claire Leader-Telegram

Campus says thank you to Vicki Lord Larson
Words of thanks and farewell were shared May 10 by UW-Eau Claire students, faculty and staff with Interim Chancellor Vicki Lord Larson, whose term as UW-Eau Claire's chief administrator will end May 30. Dr. Brian Levin-Stankevich will begin June 1 as UW-Eau Claire's chancellor. Above right, Larson received a group hug from News Bureau staff members during the Wednesday morning reception. Below right, Larson stands next to the gift she received from the university community, a sculpture titled "Trestle" by UW-Eau Claire alumnus Robert Gehrke, a 1973 art graduate. Read a Leader-Telegram story about the farewell reception.

Leslie Huntington	Mallory McKinney

Blugolds play at noon today for berth in national softball tournament
The UW-Eau Claire softball team climbed to within one victory of a berth in the national tournament with a 1-0 triumph over Hope College of Michigan in the NCAA Rock Island Regional here Saturday. With the win, the Blugolds are now the only remaining unbeaten team in the eight-team, double-elimination regional.

The Blugolds' Mallory McKinney pitched a masterful three-hitter against Hope, walking one and striking out five. She retired the first eight Hope batters in order and the final seven. Only three Hope batters managed to get the ball out of the infield and only two runners got as far as second, both on stolen bases.

Fifth-year Blugold coach Leslie Huntington said the Blugold win "wasn't flashy. We did just enough to win. We played well but could have played better." Full story and tournament schedule.

Regulations designate new smoke-free zones
Interim Chancellor Vicki Lord Larson recently approved revisions to campus smoking regulations based on recommendations of the University Senate, Student Senate and University Centers Advisory Board. The new regulations, which go into effect after spring commencement, designate as a smoke-free area the entire courtyard bounded by Schofield Hall, Davies Center and the library. In addition, all entrances to Davies will become smoke free with exception of two: the upper level veranda entrance near the Council Fire Room and the south entrance to the Marketplace food court on the lower level. Signage, benches and ash receptacles will be in place as soon as they can be ordered and installed. The cooperation of everyone in the university community is requested to make these new regulations successful in creating an environment that is considerate of everyone's needs.

Computational science program promotes interdisciplinary approach to problem solving

Students and faculty in UW-Eau Claire's interdisciplinary computational science program discuss real-world problems to include as subject matter in the program curriculum and, potentially, in curricula for computational classes across the country through UW-Eau Claire's membership in the Keck Undergraduate Computational Science Education Consortium. (Photo by Rick Mickelson, LTS)

UW-Eau Claire is one of a handful of schools across the country at the forefront of the development of new undergraduate programs in computational science, thanks to the efforts and foresight of faculty members who have taken to heart UW-Eau Claire's designation as the UW System's Center of Excellence for Faculty and Undergraduate Research Collaboration.

According to physics and astronomy professor Dr. Paul Thomas and associate professor of mathematics Dr. Marc Goulet, computational science has emerged as a new multidisciplinary field over the past decade. At UW-Eau Claire, computational science is offered as a minor to complement students' majors. Most students choosing the computational science minor at UW-Eau Claire have been physics, biology or mathematics majors interested in solving complex real-world problems.

UW-Eau Claire is a part of the Keck Undergraduate Computational Science Education Consortium, a group of institutions from around the country collaborating to develop class-tested materials and curricula for a variety of computational science classes. The consortium is funded by a grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation, one of the nation's largest philanthropic organizations.

"There is a national trend toward emphasizing interdisciplinary connections between the traditional science disciplines, because some of the most significant advances in science occur at the interfaces between those fields," said former computer science department chair Andrew Phillips, now associate vice chancellor and dean of graduate studies. "That's what computational science is really about: bringing the power of mathematical modeling and computation to bear on the major challenges in science." Full story.

Minnesota Book Award goes to John Hildebrand
John Hildebrand, UW-Eau Claire professor of English, has been awarded the Minnesota Humanities Commission's Minnesota Book Award for "A Northern Front: New and Selected Essays," published by Borealis Books, 2005.

The Minnesota Book Awards recognize, honor and celebrate the best in Minnesota literature. The award finalists represent what some call "the best reading list in Minnesota." The essays in Hildebrand's book "address, from different vantage points, the need to preserve our natural places. The writing is rich in metaphor, expansive in its treatment of universal human themes, and full of literary references," commission judges wrote. "The result is a work that involves the reader and offers an everyman's view of environmental issues, rather than an elitist or academic perspective." Full story.

NET offers institute on collaborative learning
UW-Eau Claire's Network for Excellence in Teaching staff will facilitate the third annual Faculty Summer Institute June 6-8. The topic for the institute is "Collaborative Learning: Facilitation Group Work in the Classroom." Dr. Renee Meyers, UW-Milwaukee communications professor, will share tips for helping students improve their group learning skills. Proposals from faculty and teaching academic staff who would like to participate must be submitted by Wednesday, May 17. More details and an online proposal form are available on the NET Web site.

Student receives 2006 Classified Staff Scholarship

Sheridan Pabst, a UW-Eau Claire junior criminal justice major from Eau Claire, is the recipient of the 2006 Classified Staff Scholarship. Pabst was nominated for the $500 scholarship by Connie Olson, Publications Office. Pictured above (left to right) are Olson, Pabst and Classified Staff Scholarship Committee members Cindy Mudrak, Mary Hayden and Tim Candell. Each year, any permanent classified staff member may nominate an eligible student for the award, and the recipient is randomly selected from the pool of nominees. More information about the Classified Staff Scholarship is available online. (Photo by Rick Mickelson, LTS)

Mayo Clinic visit highlights student opportunities

UW-Eau Claire participants in a recent trip to Mayo Clinic College of Medicine included (back row, left to right) Jerry Ejuwa, Ernest Ruiz, Elizabeth Smith, Brittany Peterson, Kong Yang, Stephanie Zighelboim (student services coordinator, Multicultural Affairs); and (front row, left to right) María Paulina Duarte, Sara Woychik amd Kang Yang. (Contributed photo)

Top photo: UW-Eau Claire students attended a session with Dr. Yvonne Romero, a consultant with the Mayo Clinic gastroenterology division, who talked about her experiences as a Latina in the medical field. Bottom photo: UW-Eau Claire alumna Rachel Issaka, center, a 2005 pre-med graduate who is now completing a Mayo research internship, also met with the UW-Eau Claire students. She's pictured here with Kang Yang and Kong Yang. (Contributed photos)

High-achieving UW-Eau Claire students with majors in the sciences recently were invited by the Office of Multicultural Affairs to spend a day at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. The students met May 2 with multicultural faculty and staff from the medical school and the School of Health Sciences to learn about internship possibilities as well as postgraduate studies and the medical program.

The group spent a full day of presentations, panels, tours and one-to-one visits with Mayo professors, researchers, admissions staff and current students.

Stephanie Zighelboim, Multicultural Affairs student services coordinator, accompanied the UW-Eau Claire students on the trip and is hoping to make the trip an annual event.

Trip will explore geology of the Chippewa Valley
UW-Eau Claire geology professor Kent Syverson will conduct a daylong field trip to discover the geology of the Chippewa Valley on Saturday, June 10. Participants on the field trip, sponsored by UW-Eau Claire Continuing Education, will see evidence for ancient mountains, oceans and glaciers, plus learn how geology impacts life (for example, garbage disposal and hydroelectric power generation) in the Chippewa Valley. Stops will include Dells Dam, the Onyx Sevenmile Creek Landfill, Big Falls County Park, Jim Falls along the Chippewa River, the Popple Lake pit and the Chippewa Moraine Visitor's Center, New Auburn. Advance registration is required for the field trip. Details and registration information are available on the Continuing Education Web site.

University Bulletin Special Edition coming Thursday
The spring semester of the 2004-05 academic year is winding down, and with that comes a lot of news about commencement, retirements and accomplishments. You can read all about it in a Special Edition of the University Bulletin that will be e-mailed to you Thursday, May 18.

Stories in the Special Edition will include:

• UW-Eau Claire commencement set for May 20
• Eleven faculty and staff members retire
• Fourteen members of classified staff retire
• Alumni Association to present awards
• and more.

This abbreviated issue will not include Calendar items, Faculty/Staff News, In The News items or Notices.

Summer Bulletin to begin June 12
Following publication of the May 18 University Bulletin Special Edition, the Summer Bulletin will be published weekly during the eight-week summer session beginning Monday, June 12. The summer publication will carry official notices, calendar items, faculty and staff news and other news briefs.

Items for the Summer Bulletin should be sent by mail or e-mail to Julie Poquette, News Bureau, Schofield 201, by 10 a.m. Monday for publication in the following week's issue.

Publication of the University Bulletin will resume Aug. 21 to coincide with the official opening of the 2006-07 academic year.

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 Julie Poquette at poquetjm@uwec.edu are encouraged. Faculty/staff news items are published on a space-available basis.