Vol.
54,
No. 16
• Sixteenth
Week • Fall
Semester • Dec. 4, 2006 |
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Featured Articles Dr. Katherine Grote receives $234,000 USDA grant Research analyzes teens' use of MySpace University ranks high in number who study abroad Foundation board names new officers, members Nursing departments to reorganize by fall 2007 Calling all experts: Participants sought for UW-Eau Claire Experts Directory Athletics to hold Faculty-Staff Appreciation Night Initiative seeks funding for ensemble music Reading Partners to celebrate literacy Dec. 5 |
Dr. Katherine Grote receives $234,000 USDA grant
Dr. Katherine Grote, assistant professor of geology at UW-Eau Claire, has received a $234,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for research to improve the capability of ground-penetrating radar techniques to measure soil water content over a large area, such as a farm field. The research, which will involve students in all aspects, will allow farmers to apply irrigation water more efficiently so less water is wasted, which is especially important in areas where water is scarce and irrigation is common, Grote said. It also will let farmers apply the optimal amount of water to crops so they don't wilt or become water-logged. Finally, the research may also reduce the negative environmental impacts of agriculture by limiting the amount of fertilizers and pesticides that reach the water table. Full story. Research analyzes teens' use of MySpace
A majority of teenagers are responsible when using the online social networking site MySpace, but a number of adolescents still share personal information that could put their safety at risk, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis of teenagers' MySpace profiles. Dr. Justin Patchin, UW-Eau Claire assistant professor of criminal justice, and Dr. Sameer Hinduja, an assistant professor of criminology and criminal justice at Florida Atlantic University, randomly selected 2,423 adolescent MySpace profiles to analyze for the study. "The results of our research show that problems with MySpace are not as widespread as most people assume," Patchin said. "The media and many parents have demonized MySpace, but we found that an overwhelming majority of adolescents are using the site responsibly." Of concern, however, is the small percent of the adolescent MySpace users who put themselves at risk by including personal or private information in their profiles, Patchin said. Full story. University ranks high in number who study abroad "Our students are continuing to recognize the value of having a quality international experience during their undergraduate years," said Karl Markgraf, director of the UW-Eau Claire Center for International Education. "Nearly a quarter of our undergraduate students study abroad. An international experience has become an integral component of our students' liberal arts education." The 2006 Open Doors Report indicates that 440 UW-Eau Claire students studied abroad during the 2004-05 academic year. The university currently offers study abroad programs in nearly 30 countries throughout the world. Full story.
Foundation board names new officers, members
Bert Colianni has been elected chairman of the UW-Eau Claire Foundation board of directors. Colianni, a 1976 UW-Eau Claire accounting graduate, is executive vice president and chief operating officer of Marquette Financial Companies, headquartered in Minneapolis. He succeeds David Anderson, who had served as board chairman since October 2003. Also elected as Foundation board officers were Dan Market, vice president; Jo Ellyn DeCesare, treasurer; and Dean Olson, secretary. Market is chief executive officer and president of Market & Johnson Inc., Eau Claire; DeCesare, a 1984 UW-Eau Claire graduate, is a retired CPA from McMahon, Schleifer & Wood, Eau Claire; and Olson is president and CEO of Charter Bank, Eau Claire. New board members include Steve Bien '87, managing partner of the Eau Claire office of Larson Allen; Peter J. Fremstad '72, retired vice president and regional manager of Wells Fargo Bank, Pigeon Falls; Richard Gannon '59, retired senior vice president, Firstar Bank (U.S. Bank), Eau Claire; Charles Grossklaus '69, president Royal Credit Union, Eau Claire; David Lassek, honorary Blugold 2005, vice president of the armament division for United Defense LP, Minneapolis, Minn.; Scott A. Peterson '90, practice manager for Hudson Global Resources, Minneapolis, Minn.; Casey Sylla '66, chairman and president of Allstate Financial, Barrington, Ill. and Ann Gunderson Thornburg '70, retired partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Boston, Mass. Full story. Nursing departments to reorganize by fall 2007 The reorganization will help the college respond to students and adjust curricular offerings in a more expedient and efficient manner, and it will bring increased flexibility in teaching assignments, said Elaine Wendt, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. "We anticipate a better use of faculty time in reduction of redundant meetings and coordination efforts for the work of three departments," Wendt said. "The reorganization will allow us to redistribute resources to address high priority student and program service needs. I also anticipate that we will be able to be fast, fluid and flexible in responding to requests of our internal and external constituents." Calling all experts: Participants sought The hope is to offer a more extensive list of topics and a wider representation of UW-Eau Claire's faculty/staff expertise, said Ann Hoffman, senior editor in the News Bureau and Experts Directory coordinator. "By signing on as experts in their fields of interest and areas of knowledge, faculty and staff members will help make the Experts Directory a more comprehensive and valuable resource for the news media and members of the area community," she said. Those wishing to participate can do so by visiting the "Submit News and Information" Web page and selecting "Experts Directory form." For more information, contact Hoffman at hoffmaa@uwec.edu or 836-2029. Athletics to hold Faculty-Staff Appreciation Night Blugold athletics officials have designated the night as Faculty-Staff Appreciation Night and will allow one admission per university faculty or staff ID, said Director of Athletics Scott Kilgallon. The benefit will be available to both current faculty and staff and emeriti faculty. "Our faculty and staff do a tremendous job of working with our coaching staff and student-athletes, and this is just a small token of our appreciation," Kilgallon said. The Blugold men will play the first game at 6 p.m., with the women scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. or 30 minutes following the men's game, whichever is later. Initiative seeks funding for ensemble music People can participate in the fundraising effort at a variety of levels. A complete listing of the initiative's giving opportunities and background information on each of the university's music ensembles are available online. A brochure about the effort also is available by contacting the UW-Eau Claire Foundation at 715-836-5630 or fdn@uwec.edu. Reading Partners to celebrate literacy Dec. 5 Each family attending will receive a bookshelf created by a local Eagle Scout as his project. Along with the bookshelf , the children will receive books from a First Book grant, UW-Eau Claire students and the Reading Partners program. Through Reading Partners, university student volunteers go to the homes of participating children for at least an hour a week to provide reading opportunities as well as mentoring. For more information, contact Lucianne Boardman, Reading Partner program director, at 836-5964, lboardman@ecasd.k12.wi.us or boardml@uwec.edu. Scholarship memorializes student's father
A nontraditional UW-Eau Claire student has established a scholarship in memory of her father. Jennifer Thomas, an art major from Eleva, wanted the scholarship to reflect the support her father, Frank Thomas, provided to her. Frank Thomas died in 1997. The Frank A. Thomas Memorial Scholarship will benefit nontraditional art students at UW-Eau Claire. "As a nontraditional student, I recognize how much effort is required to achieve a degree. My father was a strong believer in higher education. I just want to share some of the generosity, encouragement, and support that he showed me with others who are pursuing self-improvement through education." Full story. Library exhibit features 'Experiments in Collage' Senior Dagny Pedersen (in pink) and junior Britanni Funk recently looked at works in the student art exhibit "Experiments with Collage" now on display on the fourth floor of the McIntyre Library. The survey of collage work from advanced students in the department of art & design will be shown through Dec. 19. The exhibit, on the east side of the library's fourth floor,
explores the ideas of collage and juxtaposition through material, process, and concept, said the students' instructor, art & design lecturer Jill Olm.
Includes are pieces by students Clayton Brice, Reyna Collura, Rick Conlin, Joan Crane, Samantha Gund, Theo Howard, Amy Krause, Kim Peterson, Aaron Schasse, Andrea Seeley, Kathleen Spaeth, Zach Stensen and Sara Stone. (Photo by Rick Mickelson, LTS)
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Julie Poquette, Editor, UW-Eau Claire News Bureau, Schofield 201, (715) 836-4741
Diane Walkoff, Editorial Assistant.
Updated:
October 12, 2007
UW-Eau Claire sends more students abroad than any other master's level institution in Wisconsin, and it ranks 14th nationally among all master's schools in the number of students who study abroad, according to the 
UW-Eau Claire faculty and staff will be admitted free to the Wednesday, Dec. 6, Blugold basketball doubleheader against UW-River Falls in Zorn Arena. 
The cost to purchase music for the more than 60 performances each year by UW-Eau Claire music ensembles is a significant financial challenge for the university's department of music and theatre arts. In recognition of this challenge, the UW-Eau Claire Foundation has developed a fundraising initiative to purchase new music. 
More than 190 UW-Eau Claire and community volunteers, as well as more than 200 Eau Claire Area School District students and their siblings who participate in the Reading Partners program, will celebrate literacy at an open house from 5 to 8 p.m. Dec. 5 at the Chippewa Valley Museum. 
