Featured Articles

Kiplinger's best-values list includes UW-Eau Claire

Blugold Marching Band returns from Italy, Greece

Kimberly Barrett accepts position in Alabama

Marc Goulet named to interim associate dean post

Draft strategic plan preview breakfast set for Feb. 5

New home page design unveiled as conversion to Web content management system continues

Students receive prestigious Gilman scholarships

2008-09 faculty sabbatical assignments announced

Scott Hartsel to serve on ACS commitee

CIE honors international student host families

Kiplinger's best-values list includes UW-Eau Claire
Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine has again included UW-Eau Claire among its 100 best values in public colleges. UW-Eau Claire is ranked 64th in the magazine's national 2008 rankings for in-state students and 62nd in best value for out-of-state students. The "100 Best Values in Public Colleges" lists are published online and in the magazine's February issue.

To create its top 100 lists, Kiplinger's reviews data from more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities throughout the country. Researchers narrow the list by using several measures of academic quality, including freshman class ACT scores, admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios, and graduation rates. The magazine then ranks each school based on cost and financial aid. Full story.

Blugold Marching Band returns from Italy, Greece

The Blugold Marching Band entered St. Peter's Square for its New Year's Day performance. (Photo by Andrei Strizek)

One hundred twenty members of UW-Eau Claire's Blugold Marching Band played the gig of a lifetime Jan. 1 when they performed in St. Peter's Square in Rome for Pope Benedict XVI's New Year's Day blessing. The performance before an estimated crowd of 100,000 was part of the group's tour of Italy and Greece from Dec. 28 through Jan. 6. See a recent e-View story and more online information about the band's tour.

Kimberly Barrett accepts position in Alabama

Kimberly Barrett

Dr. Kimberly Barrett, UW-Eau Claire's associate vice chancellor for student development and diversity since 2003, has accepted the position of vice president for student affairs at the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Alabama. She will begin her new position Feb. 1.

As the chief student affairs officer for UW-Eau Claire, Barrett has supervised a range of student support services and provided leadership for campus diversity efforts. In addition to her work on campus, Barrett has been involved with several UW System initiatives, including the advisory committees of the Liberal Arts/Liberal Education and Admissions. She also was a member of the Inclusivity Initiative Advisory Board and worked with the WISCAMP and Mentor Net programs. Last spring she was named a recipient of the UW System's Outstanding Women of Color in Education Award.

In the Chippewa Valley, Barrett was a member of the Eau Claire Human Rights Commission, the Options Fund and Fair Wisconsin. She was nominated to become a member of the Wisconsin Women in Higher Education Leadership board. Barrett was featured in a recent Leader-Telegram article.

Marc Goulet named to interim associate dean post

Dr. Marc Goulet, professor of mathematics, has been named UW-Eau Claire's interim associate dean of student development and diversity. Goulet, who began his duties Jan. 7, replaces Mary Ryan-Miller, who is retiring.

Goulet joined UW-Eau Claire's faculty in 1993 as an assistant professor in the department of mathematics. He was promoted to professor in 2006.  Goulet has engaged in numerous student/faculty research projects, and his research interests are in probability and statistics, computational science and the underrepresentation of women and people of color in science and mathematics.  He is currently a co-principal investigator of a National Science Foundation grant, “Opportunities for Wisconsin Women in Science, Technology and Engineering.”  He has served on a number of departmental, college, university and UW System committees, including most recently co-chairing a strategic planning subcommittee on campus community and serving on committees reviewing general education and working toward the creation of a bachelor of liberal studies degree. Goulet earned his bachelor's and master’s degrees from the University of Maine, and master's and doctoral degrees from Oregon State University.

Draft strategic plan preview breakfast set for Feb. 5
UW-Eau Claire faculty, staff and students are encouraged to reserve Tuesday, Feb. 5, from 7:30-9 a.m. for breakfast with the chancellor and the University Planning Committee for a first look at the draft strategic plan.

The University Planning Committee created the draft plan based on the ideas of the strategic planning work groups and feedback from faculty, staff and students during the charrettes last fall. (See the strategic planning Web site for more information.) On Feb. 5 the committee will share copies of the draft plan, outline the key ideas and invite questions and comments. A continental breakfast will be served.

All faculty, staff and students are welcome to come when they can and stay as long as they like. Additional information and discussion sessions with the committee will be scheduled in February. Those planning to attend the breakfast should RSVP to Jan Sloan, sloanj@uwec.edu.

New home page design unveiled as conversion
to Web content management system continues

Click on the image above to view a larger version of the updated UW-Eau Claire home page design to be implemented later this semester.

Work continues on the implementation of CommonSpot, a Web content management system (WCMS), for UW-Eau Claire public Web sites. As part of the CommonSpot implementation, a work group including representatives from across campus has finalized an updated design for the university's home page (shown at right), which will be implemented later this semester. The workgroup also is nearing completion on updates to the design of other top-level university Web pages.

Read a Q&A discussing the details of the CommonSpot implementation, including the benefits of a WCMS, the reasons for the updated Web site design and what changes it will include, which university Web sites will be affected and the timeline for the implementation. Also see the WCMS Web site for more background information on this project.

Students receive prestigious Gilman scholarships

Rebecca Mai	Tamar Reim

Two UW-Eau Claire students have received $5,000 scholarships to study abroad this semester through the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program. Sophomore Rebecca Mai, Kaukauna, will visit the Czech Republic through the International Student Exchange Program, ISEP-Direct. Junior Tamar Reim, Vernon, British Columbia, will study in Germany through a UW-Eau Claire program at the Institute for German Language and Culture in Wittenberg.

2008-09 faculty sabbatical assignments announced
Fifteen UW-Eau Claire faculty members have received sabbatical assignments for all or part of the 2008-09 academic year. Their assignments were formally announced in December to the UW System Board of Regents. The faculty members receiving sabbaticals are as follows: Janice Bogstad, McIntyre Library; Michael Carney, chemistry; Michael Dorsher, communication and journalism; Mohamed Elgindi, mathematics; Robert Hooper, geology; R. Michael Howe, mathematics; David Jones, English; Paul Kaldjian, geography and anthropology; Karen Loeb, English; Jane Pederson, history; Jill Prushiek, College of Education and Human Sciences; Reiko Shinno, history; Judy Sims, communication and journalism; Jefford Vahlbusch, foreign languages; and José Valero, foreign languages. Read a more detailed list including project titles and leave periods for each faculty member.

Scott Hartsel to serve on ACS committee

Scott Hartsel

Dr. Scott Hartsel, UW-Eau Claire professor of chemistry and chair of the chemistry department, has been appointed to the American Chemical Society's Committee on Professional Training, which is a joint committee of the ACS council and board of directors. The Committee on Professional Training develops guidelines and approves (and reapproves every five years) U.S. collegiate chemistry programs for ACS certification.

Hartsel said his experience evaluating chemistry programs as a consultant for the Council on Undergraduate Research and his background as a biochemist will be helpful to his work on the committee.

"It's a very exciting time to be involved with ACS, as there are pretty radical new guidelines coming out that will allow chemistry departments to define creative interdisciplinary tracks while maintaining the rigor of a certified major," Hartsel said. "This committee directly affects chemistry education across this country and throughout the world. So for me it is an incredible honor and responsibility to be asked to contribute. I think the historical strength of the UW-Eau Claire chemistry department helped them to make their decision."

CIE honors international student host families

The Jerry Shea and Heidi Atkins family was among those recognized in December at a reception for host families of UW-Eau Claire international students. Shea, Atkins and their two daughters are pictured here with international student Jiezhi Zhou, center, who is from Guangdong, China. (Contributed photo)

UW-Eau Claire's Center for International Education in December held its annual reception for international students and their host families, where 10 host families received a commemorative award in recognition of their support for international students. The hosts honored were David and Barbara Geissler, Chuck and Jean Holmen, Jean and Brendan Pratt, Paul Kaldjian and Meg Nord, Mark and Annis Williams, Bill and Pat Henke, Donna and David Lehmkuhl, Jeff and Kathy White, Jerry Shea and Heidi Atkins, and Dan and Laurie Norstedt. The Center for International Education recognizes these families and its other host families for their commitment to furthering ties to the international community and their care for their students, said Kathryn Hurd, host family recruitment coordinator. For more information on becoming a host family, contact Hurd at 715-836-4411 or hostfriend@uwec.edu.

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. Wednesday to ensure 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.