Featured Articles

Fine flippered friends: Student works with marine mammals during internship

UW-Eau Claire celebrates Homecoming 2008

New 2008 faculty/staff appointments, recent promotions and grants of tenure

Alcohol use surveys indicate improvements

Foundation reception to honor major donors

Banned Books Week exhibit starts today

University Senate to hold PEEQ open discussion

Authors Celebration set for Oct. 1

Campus groups host election-related events

GE review group to host town meetings, lecture

Winterim, spring 2009 class schedules now online

Fine flippered friends
Student works with marine mammals during internship

Kristine Funk has known since she was 6 years old that she wants to pursue a career as a marine mammal trainer. (Contributed photo)

Online directory helps UW-Eau Claire students find area internships: A new online directory, created through a partnership between UW-Eau Claire and the city of Eau Claire, helps students find internships in the Chippewa Valley. Full story.

A UW-Eau Claire senior psychology major spent the summer working with sea lions and dolphins at the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program in San Diego, Calif.

"It was incredible," Kristine Funk said of her internship. "I loved everything about it. It was hard work but it was a great experience. It was a blast."

Funk was one of 16 interns selected from throughout the country to participate in the 16-week program.

Interns provide support to marine mammal program staff while gaining experience in the field of marine mammal care and training, said Erika Putman, coordinator of volunteer opportunities for the program, noting the internship provides students with knowledge and hands-on experiences that they can't get in a classroom or lab setting. Full story.

UW-Eau Claire celebrates Homecoming 2008
Thousands of UW-Eau Claire alumni, students, faculty, staff and community members will join in this week's celebration of Homecoming 2008, themed "Zeus Is on Our Side … Strike Down the Titans." Events for both students and alumni are planned throughout the week, culminating on Saturday, Oct. 4, in the traditional 10 a.m. Homecoming parade, immediately followed by the Blugold Fever Fest in Carson Park (featuring tailgate cuisine, beverages and the music of the Blugold Marching Band) and the 1 p.m. Blugolds vs. UW Oshkosh Titans football game. The fun will continue after the game with the Fifth Quarter postgame celebration in Carson Park. Full story.

New 2008 faculty/academic staff appointments, recent promotions and grants of tenure
Click here to find out who's new on campus among faculty and staff. Also see faculty and academic staff promotions and tenure designations.

Alcohol use surveys indicate improvements
Recent surveys indicate that UW-Eau Claire students have shown a marked reduction in high-risk behaviors relating to alcohol use, said Jennifer Lee, director of the university's Center for Alcohol Studies and Education.

"Clearly our efforts to better educate students about alcohol-related issues and outcomes are paying off," said Lee, who shared survey information with members of the BRIDGE Campus Community Coalition on Sept. 24. "While there is still much work to be done, many students are making more responsible choices when it comes to alcohol."

The BRIDGE Campus Community Coalition is a group of neighbors, community leaders, law enforcement officials, health care providers, public school officials, tavern owners and alcohol distributors, who have volunteered to work together with university students, faculty, staff and administration to reduce high risk drinking and its negative effects on campus and in the community. Full story, including selected survey findings.

Foundation reception to honor major donors

Kimera Way

The UW-Eau Claire Foundation will celebrate a successful fundraising year — the second best year in Foundation history — and the conclusion of its Fulfilling the Promise of Excellence campaign during an Oct. 3 reception honoring its Circle of Excellence donors.

The Circle of Excellence includes individuals whose cumulative gifts to the Foundation total $10,000 or more and corporate donors who have given $25,000 or more.

The Foundation ended the 2007-08 fiscal year with $4,040,900 in gifts, with contributions from Circle of Excellence members representing more than 60 percent of the total gifts received for the year, said Kimera Way, Foundation executive director.

Gifts from Circle of Excellence members also represented a significant portion of gifts to the Fulfilling the Promise of Excellence campaign, which ended in December 2007 with nearly $54 million in total commitments, Way said. Full story.

Banned Books Week exhibit starts today
In observance of the American Library Association's Banned Books Week, UW-Eau Claire's McIntyre Library will display "Censorship in Schools and Libraries," a new exhibit opening today in the Instructional Media Center on the library's lower level.

The exhibit, which will be on display through Dec. 19, was developed by the Long Island Coalition Against Censorship. Through narratives and illustrations, it chronicles incidents of censorship dating back to the 19th century, as well as frequently challenged books and creative works. Full story.

University Senate to hold PEEQ open discussion
The University Senate will host an open discussion session for all faculty and staff regarding the PEEQ process at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30, in the Tamarack Room of Davies Center. (PEEQ, UW-Eau Claire's Program to Evaluate and Enhance Quality, will involve the entire campus in helping to identify priorities and allocate resources.)

PEEQ co-chairs Marty Wood, interim provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, and Beth Hellwig, vice chancellor for student affairs and dean of students, will moderate the discussion. Information on the PEEQ process will be presented, including an update on the self-study questions.

“More than 300 faculty and staff have participated in PEEQ charrettes and provided feedback on the questions,” Wood said. “The PEEQ Task Force has reviewed all the comments to date and begun to make revisions based on suggestions from campus. More comments are welcome.”

At the Senate’s open discussion, the revisions will be shared and there will be time to provide more suggestions and ask additional questions. Review PEEQ charrettes feedback submitted as of Sept. 25.

Authors Celebration set for Oct. 1

Janice Berry, left, associate professor nursing, discussed her publication with Catherine Berry, clinical instructor of nursing, during the 2007 Authors Celebration. (Photo by Bill Hoepner, LTS)

UW-Eau Claire will recognize the hard work and self-discipline it takes for university faculty and staff to bring scholarly work to the level of publication or performance with an Authors Celebration from 4:30-6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1, in the Tamarack Room of Davies Center.

The work of 36 UW-Eau Claire faculty and staff authors will be featured, but the event celebrates the publishing accomplishments of all university staff by highlighting representative successes. Interim Provost Marty Wood will speak briefly at 5 p.m. and hors d'oeuvres and drinks will be served. Faculty and staff are invited to join their colleagues for conversation and celebration.

The event is sponsored by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, McIntyre Library and Academic Affairs.

Campus groups host election-related events
• Panel discussion: "Are U.S. Elections Fair?" — A panel comprised of community members and UW-Eau Claire faculty members and students will present "Are U.S. Elections Fair?" at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1, in Room 103 of Hibbard Humanities Hall. The presentation will explore local, state and national concerns, and what voters can do about these issues. The Chippewa Valley Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and the UW-Eau Claire Student Alliance will sponsor the program. Full story.

• Vice Presidential Debate Forum — The UW-Eau Claire political science department and the Society of Politics, a UW-Eau Claire student organization, are sponsoring a Vice Presidential Debate Forum at 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, in Room 102 of Hibbard Humanities Hall. Anyone who would like to watch and then discuss the televised vice presidential debates with other interested citizens is invited to attend.

• Debates research project — UW-Eau Claire faculty, staff and students are invited to participate in an international research project led by UW-Eau Claire communication and journalism faculty members Mike Dorsher, Jack Kapfer and Jan Larson, along with participants at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Those interested should arrive by 7:45 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2 (before the televised vice presidential debate) and/or Tuesday, Oct. 7 (before the televised presidential debate), in Room 102 of Hibbard Humanities Hall. Half the participants will be randomly assigned to listen to the debate without any video and the other half will watch the full televised version. More information.

GE review group to host town meetings, lecture
UW-Eau Claire's General Education Review Work Group continues a series of town meetings seeking feedback from faculty and staff on the group's draft for discussion,"The General Education Program at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire: Creating Informed and Effective Minds." The work group also will host a public lecture, "Informed and Effective General Education Transformation," with Paul Gaston, Trustees Professor at Kent State University, at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, in Room 101 of Hibbard Humanities Hall.
 
Upcoming town meeting dates, times and locations include:

• Friday, Oct. 3: 10-11 a.m., McIntyre Library Room 2023
• Monday, Oct. 6: 1-2 p.m., Phillips Science Hall Room 276

Winterim, spring 2009 class schedules now online
The 2009 Winterim and spring semester class schedules are now available online. They can be accessed anytime through the UW-Eau Claire home page by going to "Quick Links" and choosing "class schedule." The schedules are available for printing in both Microsoft Word and PDF formats.

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.