Featured Articles

Math department receives $269,740 NSF grant

Chancellor moves forward with initiatives

Event to focus on U.S. health care system

Memorial service planned for student Josef Gapko

Presidential powers to be Constitution Day topic

Alum to perform as guest at Big Band Era concert

Changes make Experts Directory easier to use

WUEC program showcases faculty, staff talent

United Way 'Day of Caring' Set for Friday, Sept. 15

Farmer's market comes to campus

Math department receives $269,740 NSF grant

Mohamed Elgindi	Michael Howe

UW-Eau Claire's department of mathematics has received a $269,740 grant from the National Science Foundation to fund the "Summer Undergraduate Research Experience in Pure and Applied Mathematics," under the direction of Mohamed Elgindi, professor of mathematics, and Michael Howe, associate professor of mathematics.

The four-year grant will provide $2,000 summer stipends for undergraduate students from UW-Eau Claire and other campuses to live on campus and conduct research with UW-Eau Claire faculty during an eight-week summer program. The program, which will get under way in the summer of 2007, also pays travel, housing and meals. Howe said the NSF-Research Experiences for Undergraduates program is extremely competitive, with only 3 percent of proposals funded on the first try.

"The reviewers cited the UW-Eau Claire mathematics department's strong record of successful student-faculty research collaboration when recommending this proposal for funding," Howe said. "We are thrilled to be funded the first time through." Full story.

Chancellor moves forward with initiatives

Chancellor Brian Levin-Stankevich

Chancellor Brian Levin-Stankevich is moving forward with two initiatives he outlined during his first State of the University address in August:

   1. Engaging UW-Eau Claire in inclusive and effective strategic planning. To guide the initial and continuing strategic planning effort, Levin-Stankevich has authorized creation of the position of Assistant to the Chancellor. The assistant will report directly to the chancellor, will organize and implement communication and logistical arrangements in support of institutional planning, and will serve as lead staff to the University Planning Committee, which will continue to play a role in the strategic planning process.

"Broad-based, participatory strategic planning requires considerable organization and management to assure openness, participation, good use of time, strong communications, avoidance of duplication, and continued refinement of our ideas into workable form, Levin-Stankevich said. “This position will be critical to achieving our strategic planning goals.”

Recruitment for the position will begin immediately, Levin-Stankevich said.

   2. Creating cultural competence and enhancing and improving efforts to create a diverse environment. The chancellor is continuing a series of meetings and discussions with key faculty, staff and students regarding inclusiveness and diversity. In addition, he has invited Dr. William Ponder, vice president for student affairs at Eastern Washington University, to visit UW-Eau Claire Sept. 27-30 to serve as a consultant.

Ponder will examine the effectiveness of the way resources are currently expended for recruitment and retention of minority students. He also will review the effectiveness of the current organizational structure of student life functions in relation to supporting diversity on campus.

“We need to understand what resources across campus are being devoted to student life and the creation of a diverse environment, define what it is we wish to accomplish, and then align our organization and resources to meet those goals,” Levin-Stankevich said.

During his visit, Ponder will meet with UW-Eau Claire faculty, staff and students to gather their observations and recommendations. He will submit a report outlining his findings and recommendations to Levin-Stankevich by the end of October.

Regular updates about these initiatives and others outlined in the chancellor's address will be published in the University Bulletin.

Event to focus on U.S. health care system
UW-Eau Claire will present a Health Care Forum and Service Learning Resource Fair from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13, in the Council Fire Room of Davies Center.

Dr. Eugene Farley and Jim Kellerman of the Coalition for Wisconsin Health will present "The U.S. Health Care System: Problems and Possible Solutions" to examine the problems of the U.S. health care system and the uninsured. A reception and continued discussion will follow from 5:30 to 6 p.m.

Several community organizations will be represented with resource tables providing information on available service learning opportunities for students, and many of the political representatives and candidates for political office for the local area and surrounding region are invited. Full story.

Memorial service planned for student Josef Gapko

Josef Gapko

A memorial service for UW-Eau Claire student Josef Gapko, who died July 10, will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17, in Gantner Concert Hall of UW-Eau Claire's Haas Fine Arts Center. All students, faculty, staff and friends are welcome to attend.

Gapko was a senior with majors in music-vocal performance and economics. He sang with the Symphonic Choir, The Singing Statesmen and the Concert Choir and was an active member of the UW-Eau Claire student chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. In spring 2006 he was recognized as an outstanding student in vocal music, receiving the Colleen Ferg Memorial Scholarship, the George C. Barland Scholarship in music and the Robert R. Southard Memorial Scholarship. In 2005-06 Gapko received the Lynne Oyen Memorial Scholarship in Economics, and in spring 2006 he was selected as an outstanding senior in economics. He was a member of the Omicron Delta Epsilon economics honor society, Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society, the Golden Key International Honor Society and Mortar Board. He also participated in the Honors Program and many other campus and community groups and activities.

Josef Gapko's parents are Andrea Gapko, director of UW-Eau Claire's Academic Skills Center and Educational Support Services, and Laurie Gapko, emeritus University Centers and Programs technical services manager. His brother, Jacob Gapko, is a 2001 UW-Eau Claire alumnus.

Presidential powers to be Constitution Day topic
UW-Eau Claire will celebrate Constitution Day, the anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution at the Philadelphia Convention, with a presentation by Dr. James Tubbs of the department of political science. "Presidential Power in Times of War and Danger: Are There Limits on the President's Discretion to Act?" will begin at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 18, in Schofield Auditorium. (The actual anniversary of the signing, Sept. 17, falls on a Sunday this year.) The presentation will last 30-45 minutes, with another 15-30 minutes allotted for a question-and-answer period. Full story.

Alum to perform as guest at Big Band Era concert

Michael Andrew

A surprise guest artist has been added to the lineup for this year's popular Big Band Era concert.

"A Salute to the Big Bands and Tony Bennett," with special guest artist and 1987 UW-Eau Claire alumnus Michael Andrew, will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, and at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, in Zorn Arena. Andrew, an accomplished actor, singer and composer, will perform the Tony Bennett salute with UW-Eau Claire's Jazz Ensembles I and II.

Currently Andrew performs all across the nation with his 18-piece big band and smaller ensembles. He's performed as a singer and bandleader in the movies "Heartbreakers" and "Stroke of Genius," and he was the headline singer and bandleader at the world famous Rainbow Room atop Rockefeller Center in New York City.

Proceeds from "A Salute to the Big Bands and Tony Bennett" will provide support for activities in UW-Eau Claire's jazz studies area. Full story.

WUEC program showcases student, faculty talent

"Blugold Performance of the Air" producer Jake Kolstad

"Blugold Performance of the Air," a weekly WUEC-FM radio program broadcast from UW-Eau Claire's Haas Fine Arts Center, can again be heard at 6 p.m. Sundays during the academic year. The Sept. 17 broadcast will feature the Blugold Marching Band, said Jake Kolstad, the UW-Eau Claire student who produces the program. Student Abby Richards is the assistant producer. "Blugold Performance of the Air" first aired in February 2002. According to the program's Web site, it was specifically designed to feature UW-Eau Claire students and faculty presenting music, readings, forensics and other types of performances. The program is completely edited, produced and broadcast by UW-Eau Claire students. The schedule of featured groups and individuals for the fall semester will be posted on the program Web site.

United Way 'Day of Caring' set for Friday, Sept. 15

This Blugold basket from the UW-Eau Claire Foundation and Alumni Association was among the baskets included in the 2005 campus United Way theme basket raffle.

UW-Eau Claire's United Way "Day of Caring" will be Friday, Sept. 15, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the Central Campus Mall. Faculty, staff, students and community members are invited to this fun (and fund-raising) event coordinated by UW-Eau Claire's United Way/State Employees Combined Campaign (SECC) Committee. Enjoy music and enter for your chance to win one of the wonderful theme baskets provided by university employees.

It's not too late for your department, office or unit to create a theme basket for the raffle. Following are some of the baskets to be included in the raffle:

• "'Jitter Jitter Bang Bang" basket, College of Education and Human Sciences
• "Your Information Advantage" basket, McIntyre Library
• "Chocolate Factory" basket, University Centers and Programs
• "B is for _________" basket, Business Services
• "All Sports, All the Time" basket, athletlics.

Click here to find out how you and your coworkers can become involved in this effort. For more information and/or to volunteer, contact Jodi Thesing-Ritter (thesinjm@uwec.edu or 836-2325) or Jacqueline Bonneville (bonnevjk@uwec.edu or 836-3487).

Above left, locally grown produce and flowers are among the items available at Jeremy's Market, a mini farmer's market to be available Thursday mornings through October on the UW-Eau Claire campus. Above right, UW-Eau Claire Registrar Sue Moore purchased fresh flowers from vendor Youa Xiong at the market last Thursday. (Photos by Bill Hoepner, LTS)
Farmer's market comes to campus
A little bit of the Phoenix Park Downtown Farmer's Market has come to the UW-Eau Claire in the form of Jeremy's Market, a mini farmer's market featuring fresh produce, flowers and cheesecake. The market will be on campus from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. Thursdays, Sept. 7 through Oct. 26, rain or shine, on the north sidewalk in front of Zorn Arena. Paula Stuettgen, senior coordinator, Student Development and Programs, said the market was the brainchild of several students and staff members who thought it would be great to bring a little bit of a special part of the Eau Claire community right to campus and introduce students to the fresh, locally grown foods available and the people who grow them. "I hope everyone will patronize the market and prove this experiment successful so it can continue in future years," said Stuettgen.

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.