On Campus: People, Places, Pride

People

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s College of Business welcomed Kathleen Hagens ’94 and ’98 (MBA), as its new MBA program director in June. Hagens brings extensive corporate marketing experience with her to UW Oshkosh and is excited to work with area businesses, community leaders and the University community.

Loucas Petronicolos, a College of Education and Human Services associate professor, was recently awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and will spend the spring 2012 semester at the University of Tuzla in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Overseas, Petronicolos will develop a master’s degree program and establish a scientific journal, as well as teach seminars on social justice and inclusion.

Peter Westort is packing up his life and classroom for the 2011–2012 academic year and heading to Egypt. There, the UW Oshkosh College of Business professor will teach accounting through the Fulbright Scholarship program.

The United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association selected UW Oshkosh’s Pat Ebel as its 2011 NCAA Division III Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year.

UW Oshkosh professors Andrew Robson and David Siemers were named as winners of the American Democracy Project 2011 Community Engagement Award. Both were honored in April during the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation’s Evening of Stars. The Community Engagement Award is given to UW Oshkosh faculty or staff members who have created exceptional educational experiences for students that also address areas of public concern.

Places

Environmental Research and Innovation Center

Construction begins this fall on the Environmental Research and Innovation Center (ERIC), formerly known as the aquatics lab. Renovations to ERIC will include updating lab and staff work spaces and adding room for visiting scientists. Biogas testing in the updated facility also will begin.

A newly created Titan Transfer Center has been developed to help the more than 1,400 to-be UW Oshkosh students with the transfer process. The Titan Transfer Center, a partnership between UW Oshkosh, UW–Fox Valley and UW–Fond du Lac, is designed to meet the unique needs of transfer students.

Biodigester

As a leader and partner in building a strong and sustainable northeastern Wisconsin, UW Oshkosh dedicated a first-of-its-kind, commercial-scale dry fermentation anaerobic biodigester in May and will produce energy this fall. The renewable energy facility includes heat and power generators, which will initially produce up to 5 percent of the campus’ electricity and heat. The majority of the 8,000 tons of organic biowaste needed per year will be provided by campus and community sources with the remainder being supplied from other area partners. The biodigester is located adjacent to the Campus Services Center on Dempsey Trail.

Pride

In the midst of Earth Week in April, The Princeton Review announced UW Oshkosh, for the second year in a row, earned a place in its Guide to 311 Green Colleges, a spotlight of colleges and universities in the United States and Canada “that demonstrate a strong commitment to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities and career preparation.” The book is a collaboration between The Princeton Review and U.S. Green Building Council.

International Dual Degree Program

UW Oshkosh signed its first international, dual degree program with Chungnam National University in Daejeon, South Korea. The agreement, will allow students to earn degrees from both universities.

UW System’s first-ever integrated marketing and communications conference, I.M. Comm 2011, was held at UW Oshkosh, attracting about 200 UW System colleagues. The conference emphasized the value of a strong, compelling brand, authentic storytelling and collaboration as key ingredients in the successful marketing of institutions.

UW Oshkosh has more solar thermal panels than any other state institution, private or public. The sun’s energy heats Albee Hall’s swimming pool, water in residence halls and the dishwashing water at Blackhawk Commons by the more than 170 panels throughout campus. UW Oshkosh’s newest academic building — Sage Hall — features both thermal and photovoltaic solar panels on its roof.

A new collaboration will expand the number of elective and advanced courses at UW Oshkosh. A new Japanese studies major began this fall and aims to engage students in an innovative, rigorous, multidisciplinary program that focuses on the language and culture of Japan and its significant role in the global economy. The partnership with UW–Whitewater is the only undergraduate Japanese Studies Program in the state.

UW Oshkosh finished first in Wisconsin and 14th in the United States out of 288 colleges and universities in the Grand Champion competition of “RecycleMania” earlier this year. The 10-week, waste reduction challenge annually pits campuses big and small against one another in a test of their campus recycling and waste-reduction efforts.

UW Oshkosh is the first campus in Wisconsin to achieve Tree Campus USA recognition for its dedication to campus forestry management in 2010. The basic requirements include establishing a campus tree advisory committee, creating a campus tree-care plan, dedicating annual expenditures to the campus tree care program, becoming involved in an Arbor Day observance and instituting a service-learning project. Oshkosh has been a Tree City USA for 30 years.

With the growing number of smartphone and tablet users around the world and on campus, UW Oshkosh responded to the demand and developed a mobile app, which launched in April. The mobile app — the first in the UW System to become available for the Android Market. The free application has a simple user interface and is also available for the iPhone. Download the app at www.uwosh.edu/go/mobile.

Tags: American Democracy Project biodigester Bosnia-Herzegovina Chungnam National University College of Business College of Education and Human Services Egypt Environmental Research and Innovation Center Fulbright Scholarship I.M. Comm Princeton Review Recyclemania Titan Transfer Center Tree Campus USA U.S. Green Building Council