Vol.
54,
No. 8
• Eighth
Week • Fall
Semester • Oct. 9, 2006 |
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Featured Articles NSF grants $500,000 to support ESTEAM program Eberth Alarcon memorial service, benefit set Dual Choice enrollment starts today UW System regents oppose marriage amendment Burning River Brass to perform Wednesday Colloquium to examine Iowa town's "neo-Hindu" transformation Artists show world from macro/micro levels in "SUPERvision" exhibit Muslim, Jew to share comedy on Forum stage Event honors faculty, staff publishing successes Professional development opportunities Speaker to discuss proposed marriage amendment |
NSF grants $500,000 to support ESTEAM program The ESTEAM initiative will provide approximately 20 students who major in science or mathematics and demonstrate financial need and academic potential with scholarships of up to $10,000 a year (renewable up to four years) and opportunities to enhance their academic programs. Science majors include biochemistry/molecular biology, biology, chemistry, computer science/software engineering, geology, physics and pre-engineering. Dr. Michael Howe, associate professor of mathematics, is the program director and author of the grant proposal. "This NSF program was very competitive and the success of our proposal is a clear affirmation of the strength of UW-Eau Claire's programs in science and mathematics," Howe said. Full story. Eberth Alarcon memorial service, benefit set
A memorial service celebrating the life of Eberth Alarcon, UW-Eau Claire associate professor of mathematics, who died Sept. 26 after a battle against acute leukemia, will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, in Schofield Auditorium at UW-Eau Claire. At approximately 4 p.m. the service will move in a silent procession from the auditorium to the Council Fire Room of Davies Center for a more informal gathering. A benefit to assist with the medical and related costs of Alarcon's illness will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, in the upper level of Stella Blues, 306 E. Madison St., Eau Claire. The suggested donation for the benefit is $10. The event will include a silent auction. Bids for the auction can be placed at the benefit or online at http://naranjadia.blogs.com/benefit/. The Eberth Alarcon Memorial Scholarship Fund, as well as a benefit fund to assist with expenses, also have been established through the UW-Eau Claire Foundation. Gifts to either of these funds can be directed to the Foundation, Schofield Hall Room 214, with either "Alarcon Help Fund" or "Alarcon Scholarship Fund" specified. Checks should be made payable to the UW-Eau Claire Foundation. Read Alarcon's full obituary. Also read recent Spectator and Leader-Telegram articles in which colleagues and students remember Alarcon. Dual Choice enrollment starts today A benefits fair will be Wednesday, Oct. 18, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Tamarack Room of Davies Center.
Several changes taking place in 2007 could affect UW-Eau Claire employees. Insurance vendors will be available at the benefits fair to answer questions. For additional information on Dual Choice enrollment and other insurance open enrollments, see the Human Resources online newsletter. UW System regents oppose marriage amendment
A clause in the proposed amendment would not allow Wisconsin to recognize a legal status “identical or substantially similar” to marriage, UW System Legal Counsel Patricia Brady told a regent committee on Thursday. This could lead to “uncertainty” about what benefits the university or state would be able to provide to employees, Brady said. Current state law prohibits the UW System from offering domestic partner benefits, putting the state at a competitive disadvantage in recruiting and retaining university employees. UW-Madison is the only member of the Big Ten that does not offer such benefits to its employees. In introducing the resolution to the full board, Regent Charles Pruitt of Shorewood reminded fellow regents that, two years ago, the board took a strong position in favor of offering domestic partner benefits as "critically important for this university to be able to compete in a global economy.” The resolution was approved by the board's Business, Finance and Audit Committee on Thursday. For more information on this and other actions and discussion by the Board of Regents, see the Day 1 and Day 2 news summaries from its October meeting at UW-Platteville.
Burning River Brass to perform Wednesday Burning River Brass, a chamber ensemble comprising 12 of the finest brass and percussion players in the country, will give a UW-Eau Claire Artists Series performance Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 7:30 p.m. in Gantner Concert Hall of Haas Fine Arts Center. Burning River Brass has been heard on National Public Radio's "Performance Today" and "Sunday Baroque" as well as radio stations throughout the United States and abroad. The group has four CDs on the Dorian Recordings label "Of Knights and Castles" (1999), "Russian Carnival" (2000), "Romanza Espana" (2004) and "Christmas Around the World" (2005). Full story.
Colloquium to examine Iowa town's 'neo-Hindu' transformation Artists show world from macro/micro levels Muslim, Jew to share comedy on Forum stage
Rabbi Bob Alper and Azhar Usman will present an evening of nonpolitical laughter Monday, Oct. 16, at the second event of the 65th season of The Forum at UW-Eau Claire. Their program, titled "One Muslim. One Jew. One Stage," will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Schofield Auditorium. Rabbi Alper performs his comedy nationally and has appeared on CNN's "American Morning" with Paula Zahn, "The Today Show," "Good Morning America," "Showtime," "Comedy Central" and "Extra." He is the author of "Life Doesn't Get Any Better Than This," an inspirational book now in its fifth printing, and the award-winning full-color cartoon book "A Rabbi Confesses." He also has produced two best-selling comedy CDs. In 2004, Usman co-founded "Allah Made Me Funny: The Official Muslim Comedy Tour," profiled in over 100 major world media including The New York Times, Time and Newsweek magazines and "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." Usman was the subject of an entire episode of "ABC News Nightline" in March 2005. That summer he was interviewed on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered," and he became a regularly featured on-air personality on Viacom's newly established "MTV Desi." Full story.
Professional development opportunities Expert to offer strategies for response to student writing: Series to focus on milliennial tools in the classroom: The first session will feature Weblogs (blogs). After a quick overview of blogs, Manny Fernandez and Julie Adler from the foreign languages department will describe how they use blogs with their students. Participants also will view some sample blogs and discuss curricular uses for blogging. Future sessions in the series will feature image sharing and video streaming (Oct. 27) and podcasting (Nov. 10). Participants may bring a lunch to the sessions. Speaker to discuss proposed marriage amendment Freund's presentation, "The Constitutional Amendment to Ban Civil Unions and Same-Sex Marriage: A Risky Experiment?," will explore the legal, economic and other ramifications of the second sentence of the proposed amendment to ban civil unions and same-sex marriages. The talk is free and open to anyone. Refreshments will be served. Women on Wednesdays is sponsored by Women in Higher Education with support from the office of the provost.
Alumnus to promote Teach for America
UW-Eau Claire 2004 alumnus Zachary Verriden, the first UW-Eau Claire graduate accepted into Teach For America, will return to campus Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 11 and 12, to talk to current students from all majors about the advantages of the program, describe his experiences teaching in Camden, N.J., and invite them to apply to Teach For America. Thursday he will be available to talk to students at the Career Conference in Zorn Arena, and he will make a presentation that evening at 7:15 p.m. in the Eagle Room of Davies Center. On Wednesday, Verriden will be available to speak to students during the first five minutes of classes. Those who would like Verriden to visit their classes and talk briefly about the Teach For America mission of striving for equality in education can contact him at zachary.verriden@corps2005.tfanet.org. Read more about Verriden's Teach for American experience.
Homecoming weekend includes Blugold victories Below are some images captured during the weekend's Homecoming festivities:
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Julie Poquette, Editor, UW-Eau Claire News Bureau, Schofield 201, (715) 836-4741
Diane Walkoff, Editorial Assistant.
Updated:
October 11, 2006
UW-Eau Claire has received a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop the "Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics" scholarship program. 
"SUPERvision: Responding to the Rise of Surveillance Technology," a new exhibit at UW-Eau Claire's Foster Gallery in the Haas Fine Arts Center, will open Oct. 12, with a reception in the gallery from 7:30 to 9 p.m. The national juried exhibition curated by Theresa Downing, associate curator of the Minnesota Museum of American Art in St. Paul, explores how advances in mapping and surveillance technologies provide new ways of seeing and interpreting our world on macro/micro levels. Nineteen artists from across the nation, including Gail Schellinger of Eau Claire, will exhibit works in a variety of media, from paintings, photography and works on paper to sculpture, video projection, interactive art and installation art. 
Faculty and academic staff members are invited to bring a lunch and samples of their students' writing to a campuswide writing-in-the-disciplines workshop on Friday, Oct. 13, from noon to 2 p.m. in the Tamarack Room of Davies Center. Dan Melzer, university reading and writing coordinator at California State University, Sacramento, will present “Responding More Effectively and Efficiently to Student Writing in Any Discipline.” To register contact Karen Welch (
The Computing Assistance and Training, McIntyre Library and Network for Excellence in Teaching staffs will present the first session in a three-part series titled "Millennial Tools for Classroom Use: Taking Advantage of What Your Students Already Use" from noon to 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, in Old Library Room 1132. 
