Civility: It’s a concept most think they are familiar with. It is synonymous with courtesy and politeness. It includes good manners and the absence of rudeness.

But in the midst of all that is stirring, and has stirred, politically across the state and nation in the last couple of years, there is a deeper examination underway of civility’s intersection with democracy and how we, as a people, live within its definition. How can we differ and disagree without letting larger, splintering forces rip apart our democracy? One clear takeaway is that nothing is clear.

The pursuit of civility often raises more questions than it offers answers.

And perhaps the biggest question of all is: At a time when communities and the country are often pushed and pulled toward polar extremes on controversial issues and topics, can we strongly disagree with one another yet seek to pursue and preserve a much larger tract of common ground?

It’s a question members of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh community and the greater Oshkosh community are examining as they work hard to strengthen this nexus of civility and democracy.

Civility in the community

These days, civility is the buzzword in communities across the country and on campuses like UW Oshkosh.

Perhaps the call for civil behavior is a symptom of the politically fueled times and the nationwide trend has seeped into our cities and towns. Others argue that civility creeping its way into communities and institutions is not a trend at all, but instead something that’s always been there.

Oshkosh’s Civility Project, led by the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation, is a community-based initiative that pledges to “build a stronger and more diverse community by actively sharing our ideas and opinions with others in thoughtful and considerate ways.”

The project has spread into schools, businesses and book clubs. More than 800 community members have pledged to be a part of the initiative since its inception last year and vow to uphold nine principles rooted in the original golden rule—treat others how you’d like to be treated, respectfully.

“I feel a deep connection to the project’s language and message,” said Liz Hebbe, one of the core team members of the Oshkosh Civility Project. “The nine principles make sense and are easy to support. As members of a successful community, we have a responsibility to raise the bar on civility.”

The Oshkosh Civility Project, aimed at encouraging better practices of interpersonal communication, is modeled after a campaign that originated in 2003 in Duluth, Minn. In 2009, in Truckee, Calif., a similar initiative had the same goals: Get people talking, but also get them listening and respecting each other’s perspectives and diverse backgrounds; strike a better balance between free speech rights and responsibilities.

“Being good is good for you,” said P.M. Forni, Choosing Civility: The Twenty-Five Rules of Considerate Conduct author and professor who has become one of the nation’s leading civility scientists.

Forni also is the cofounder of the Johns Hopkins Civility Project, an initiative developed in 1997 that assesses the significance of civility, manners and politeness in contemporary society. He spoke at UW Oshkosh in early 2011.

Civility on campus

UW Oshkosh’s on-campus civility initiative, CivilityWorks, is similar to and is governed by the same principles and practices embraced by the citywide initiative. It is a grassroots effort to strengthen and enhance every aspect of working, studying and interacting with others. It was spearheaded by Chancellor Richard H. Wells and is now coordinated by Tom Grogan, special assistant to the Chancellor.

“What it really means is: You speak up, you show up, you give encouragement, you show support to colleagues,” Grogan said. “Peer-to-peer exchange is so powerful.”

CivilityWorks, founded in late 2011, facilitates on-campus events and discussions for anyone who’d like to be involved. An opt-in email listserve also is a component to encourage conversation throughout the campus community.

“Civility isn’t new. It’s just that we have to remind ourselves when things are challenging to stop, look and listen,” said Carleen Vande Zande, UW Oshkosh assistant vice chancellor for curricular affairs and student academic achievement.

In this heated—and in Wisconsin, continuous—election cycle, there are the every-segment attack ads on TV and over-the-top Facebook posts, noxious yard signs, never-ending robo calls, oversized buttons and continuous “junk” mail, many of which skew negative.

A civil nation?

All of the negativity is a catalyst for Americans to make changes through civilized action.

Civility, like democracy, is a system of compromise. In any situation, compromise—a middle, the gray area, common ground—is so very hard to find.

“I’m not so sure reaching the center is the place to be. My world doesn’t divide into polar poles,” said David Siemers, UW Oshkosh political science professor.

But with the at-your-fingertips exchange of information that happens in today’s world paired with the billions of dollars spent on elections these days, the “complex” understanding of the issues—mostly polarized—comes from 30-second attack advertisements, in 140 characters or less, via the constant news ticker of your News Organization of Choice.

That—the inability to turn it off, to back away—is what fuels the decision to pick a very extreme side and then have to subsequently defend it. The 24-hour news cycle and information can’t be turned off.

“It’s terrible for getting a deep, complex understanding of the world,” Siemers said. “If politics are about money, as they seem to be, whoever raises the most is doing well.”

The ability to raise the funds, Siemers said, is what allows for candidates to be loud with their messaging. Money, not necessarily a strong voice or a civil opinion, is what allows for swamping the masses with messaging.

“Communication is so instant, access to so much news and many opinions and voices does not stop,” Vande Zande said. “Giving students opportunities for reasoned dialog is something to be preserved.”

Together, Siemers and Vande Zande advocate for exactly that as leaders of UW Oshkosh’s American Democracy Project (ADP), an initiative focused on higher education’s role in preparing the next generation of informed, engaged citizens.

The project at UW Oshkosh began in 2003 and offers a wide array of forums for members of the campus community to gather and discuss.

Siemers described the nonpartisan ADP as “students leading students to a realistic and full understanding of American politics.” It’s giving students a chance to learn the facts and figure out a stance, Siemers said.

“Part of the problem is that our political system is set up so you have to pick a side,” said Samantha Zinth, a UW Oshkosh master’s student studying educational leadership. Zinth also is involved with CivilityWorks. “There are pieces of things people would cross the aisle on, but we are conditioned to say ‘you are on one side or the other.’ If we stop looking at it as left-wing, right-wing, there is more room for common understanding.”

Finding common ground is possible, but sometimes difficult, said Tony Palmeri, professor of communication at UW Oshkosh.

“Every individual has to find others with like opinions. People have to find a way to unite, that’s social change,” Palmeri said.

The tricky part, though, is each generation must define civility—and address how to find common ground—for themselves.

“We need citizenship education. And, a huge part of that education has to be the idea that being a good citizen is more than voting. It’s working with other people and looking for productive ways to find problems and solve them,” Palmeri said.

Yes, there is a spot for protest signs and flag-waving, for those who want to occupy, recall and/or just vote; there’s a place for discourse and a place for disappointment, especially on a university campus like UW Oshkosh.

“A college is a great place to practice this stuff. It’s a meeting of all kinds of people,” Siemers said. “Within reason, we reward dialog. It would be much less interesting with one point of view. That, of course, does not mean everyone agrees.”

“Disagreements are a part of life,” Siemers added.

From everyday quarrels about parenting and relationships to the big geo-political issues, disagreements happen.

“I think it’s interesting to engage with people who don’t think like you do,” Zinth said. “It helps you better understand your own environment and hear others.”

Zinth, like many, admits she actually welcomes discussion among family and friends who don’t necessarily agree with her. She believes in the civil exchange of thoughts, where feelings are actually considered and voices are heard, she said. For Zinth, it really starts with opening her ears to listen.

“Just because you believe in something doesn’t mean you need to put someone else down for not believing the same thing,” Zinth said. “Certainly we need a position, but you can do it in a way that doesn’t attack.”

Others, like Amanda (Kowald) Bain ‘02, program associate from the UW Oshkosh Center for New Learning, and one of the founding members of CivilityWorks, agrees.

“If you discuss an actual issue, you’ll find some commonalities. We aren’t going to change each other’s minds and that’s OK. People don’t have to change, either. It’s good to have diversity,” Bain said. “People in a group really need to find what they agree on and branch out from there.”

Civility initiatives—both on campus and throughout the nation—aren’t necessarily aimed at making something better. Instead, their aim is to proactively encourage the conversation, lay out the rules, and in the case of Oshkosh’s city-wide campaign to “Speak your Peace.”

“So much of the discussion of civility is clouded by myth. Most change happens through a clash,” Palmeri said.

He argues that sometimes finding middle ground, something in common, doesn’t result in civility at all.

“As a group, you find your voice together … that’s when common ground is found. And historically, the groups that find common ground won’t look civil, they will look angry,” Palmeri said.

Finding a middle-point is something that’s been practiced and taught on college campuses throughout history, Vande Zande said.

“We must preserve this work and not let it get pushed to the back with our competing agendas,” Vande Zande said. “This work—to teach civility—has been a part of the purpose of education since ancient Greece. Through different eras of time, prepping people to be citizens has been at the heart of higher education.”

But how?

Well, it starts with distinguishing between opinions and facts, educators agree. Siemers recommends finding facts and using voice to articulate them. Palmeri teaches his students to lead rational arguments. Vande Zande encourages and welcomes dialog, which she defines as “something that brings a lot of ideas together.”

Siemers knows, and teaches, that part of having an open and honest dialog is to come to grips with the fact that everyone isn’t always going to agree. Instead, he encourages students to learn the facts in any way possible.

“Once in the realm of factual evidence, you’re in a less contestable realm. Opinions are a by-the-seat-of-your-pants reaction; we want to move beyond this in all ways,” he said.

Learn more:

• Oshkosh Civility Project
• UW Oshkosh Civility Works 
• American Democracy Project

Slated to open April 1, Oshkosh’s downtown hotel (the former City Center Hotel) will re-open its doors with a brand new everything. The 176-room waterfront property is currently undergoing from-the-ground-up renovations. Upon its reopening, it will be a state-of-the-art business hotel anchoring the city’s downtown and serving as an economic catalyst for the entire community.

The UW Oshkosh Foundation and local hoteliers Richard Batley of RB Hospitality in Neenah and John Pfefferle of Pfefferle Companies Inc. in Appleton took over ownership of the hotel last February. The dedicated partners—with the rallying efforts of the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation—are bridging campus and the Oshkosh community, said UW Oshkosh Foundation President Arthur H. Rathjen.

To complement the downtown hotel,another state-of-the-art facility—a 22,000-square foot Alumni Welcome and Conference Center—will be built just blocks away along the water on the southern edge of the UW Oshkosh campus. A groundbreaking ceremony will be held Oct. 13.

“Both projects expand the synergy of the partnership between the University and the community,” Rathjen said. “A renovated, full-service convention hotel will enhance our community, serve area businesses, support scholarships and internships and complement our plans for the Alumni Welcome Center.”

To-date, the hotel has been gutted of its original interiors, the elevator has been modernized and the lobby has been opened up for a living room area and business center, said Mark Spielbauer, construction project superintendent.

The interior design phase begins this fall; individual hotel rooms, the ballroom and the restaurant along the waterfront will be beautified with a modern-day look.

Once up and running, the UW Oshkosh Foundation, in collaboration with its private sector partners, will oversee and manage the investment in the project. No state or tuition dollars will be used in the renovation or the project’s financing, Rathjen said.

To learn more about the UW Oshkosh Foundation, visit uwosh.edu/foundation

Why do you feel using Twitter in your classroom was a creative execution of learning?

• “Using @Twitter in the classroom doesn’t just provide one professor to learn from but the millions in the #twitterverse become teachers”  – @Derek_Schroeder
• “It allowed us to interact with each and have respectful side conversations that 99% of the time sparked class discussions–great way to learn.” – @christine_dkrt

What did you learn from using Twitter in the classroom?

• “I’ve learned that @Twitter in the classroom can provide #quickresponsivelearning and more depth than could ever be printed in a textbook” – @Derek_Schroeder
• “You can connect with anyone, anywhere, at anytime.” – @christine_dkrt

Now that your class is over, how will you continue to creatively use Twitter?

• “I use @Twitter daily to network, share information I find relevant, research my #hobbies and to find what’s new with the world” – @Derek_Schroeder
• “Sharing articles, awesome blogs, and keep connected with my old classmates.” – @christine_dkrt

Check out @UWOshkosh on Twitter.

Read Teaching with Twitter.

Hansen worked for 15 years as a creative-type, director, manager and consultant in strategic communication with high-tech and Fortune 500 companies. Today, she teaches courses in public relations, marketing, advertising and social media in the journalism department @uwoshkosh. But more importantly, she teaches her students to be creative and innovative through up-to-date, real-world tools like Twitter.

Preparing her students, whom she politely refers to as “colleagues,” to enter a high-tech and continuously changing job market has always been important to her. Not only does it encourage her to think outside of the box about classroom lessons, but it also teaches her and her students how to be creative in thinking and learning.

“To be competitive, they should know how to use Twitter and how it fits into public relations, advertising and other communication fields,” Hansen said.

And so, Hansen opens her classroom up to the Twittersphere quite regularly and encourages her students to participate in the online conversation—right from their classroom seats—via their mobile phones or computers. Screens at the front of the classroom even provide up-to-the-second lessons as students tweet about class or use the made-for-class hashtag.

Integrating Twitter into her lectures, Hansen said, changed many things. She said it teaches her students about the importance of being transparent in a public scenario, addresses the intimidation factor of using social media tools and encourages students to learn from each other and be creative.

The times—and teaching—are changing, Hansen said.

“The change is happening so fast that it’s really challenging for a traditional academic program to adjust,” she said. “I’m not just doing this for fun. Don’t get me wrong; it is fun, but I guess I’d rather take a chance and give my students the opportunity to experiment … part of using these tools is knowing how to manage yourself online.”

Learn more about Twitter in the classroom from Hansen’s students.

“It’s a very dynamic, growing campus,” said Steve Buss ‘86, president of the UW Oshkosh Alumni Association. “It’s a great place to learn, it’s a great place to come back to.”

The center—“the University’s new front door”—is slated to be built along Oshkosh’s Fox River, adjacent to the Wisconsin Street Bridge, on the southern edge of campus. It will offer the more than 80,000 UW Oshkosh alumni a home away from home.

Alumna Linda Bailey Boilini ’74, who also is a board member, gets excited when she thinks about a finished UW Oshkosh Alumni Welcome and Conference Center.

“If we utilize the beauty of the Fox River and build along it, we can make this campus even more spectacular than it already is,” she said.

The center will house a 460-person ballroom, four breakout rooms for 70 to 80 people and a 48-person executive board room, making it the ideal spot for meetings, educational conferences, lectures, weddings, corporate dinners and receptions.

The facility also will house the UW Oshkosh Alumni Relations, Foundation and Business Success Center offices.

• UW Oshkosh Alumni Welcome and Conference Center
• New UW Oshkosh Foundation Funds
• UW Oshkosh Foundation

Shawn Monroe ’08, feels he has always had a connection to the armed forces; his family ties to the military go all the way back to the Civil War.

And because Monroe, a member of the Wisconsin National Guard pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, didn’t ever want to miss the opportunity to serve his country, he courageously volunteered to head to Iraq in 2004.

“Every military person wants to serve their country. I never want to do it again, but I wouldn’t change anything,” Monroe said.

Upon returning from Iraq in 2005, Monroe knew his situation: He hadn’t yet finished college, and he was struggling with the after effects of fighting a war.

Being military-minded, Monroe thought about the challenges and obstacles in his life as missions. For him, completing his undergraduate degree was just one of them.

“You take on the mindset that your next mission in life will be school; I wanted to learn,” he said.

In 2008, Monroe finished the year of college he had left and earned degrees in geography and international studies with an emphasis on global and national security.

Now, he wants to help others learn and have successful college experiences, too.

Last fall, Monroe started a new position at UW Oshkosh as the Veterans Resource Center coordinator, where his job is to help fellow veterans find their way in what can be a complex educational journey.

“If someone chooses this path as their mission, I want to be here to help them,” Monroe said.

He assists students by helping them connect to services and navigate finances. He also helps coordinate veteran benefit counseling and puts students in touch with other much-needed resources on and off campus.

“Without knowing every resource available, it makes it harder to navigate school. And it shouldn’t be,” Monroe said. “I think our vets have earned the right to have someone help them through the process, and I’m here to ease the transition from duty to campus life.”

Sage Hall, which refers to wisdom, boasts four stories of classrooms, study spaces and features built for and around students of the millennium, will house administration, faculty and program offices for the College of Business, along with several College of Letters and Science departments and programs.

“Sage Hall is a great step into the future at UW Oshkosh,” said Chad Cotti ‘00, associate professor of economics who now has an office and will do much of his teaching at Sage Hall.

Construction of the $48-million academic center began in 2009. The new building, which provides more than 13,000 section seats per day, helps UW Oshkosh address an academic space shortage, in part due to record-breaking enrollment increases. More than 13,600 students attended the University in the last academic year.

“With our continual increase in student enrollment, the building has eased up a bit on room scheduling constraints,” said Lisa Danielson, UW Oshkosh registrar.

Beyond 27 new classrooms, the largest lecture halls on campus integrates an enhanced audio system to support the hearing impaired and dozens of unique breakout study spaces, Sage Hall also offers students features like individual laptop plug-ins at their lecture seats, high-tech equipment and natural lighting in each classroom. “I think it’s a huge step forward for the University,” said Nathan Stepanek, of Oshkosh, a junior radio-TV-film major.

Faculty members agree. “I think this shows a reinvestment in campus,” said Denise Robson, head of the Faculty Senate at UW Oshkosh.

Aesthetics, efficiencies given equal weight
Warm colored paint on the walls, an oversized entrance off High Avenue, designated areas for student organizations and even an Einstein Bros. Bagels are among the amenities that will make those who use the building comfortable.

“I’m a real believer in the importance of aesthetics. The way it looks matters,” said Franca Barricelli, history professor and associate dean of the College of Letters and Science. “It’s more important than just being pretty. It changes the way we interact. It will change the way people feel here.”

Barricelli, who was part of the initial planning team for Sage Hall, is excited to finally see the building ready for use. Because the needs of those who will use Sage Hall now and into the future are so diverse, Barricelli said placement of classrooms, lab and study spaces were well thought out to encourage the collaboration among colleges and departments.

“The demands of a modern education aren’t well met by the existing classrooms we have,” said Cotti, who previously taught many of his classes in Clow Social Science Center, the Nursing Education building and Swart Hall. “The University has done a fantastic job of taking classrooms from the 1960s and making them useful, but older classrooms weren’t designed with multiple visual options in mind.”

Cotti said he firmly believes the way a classroom is set up affects student learning. He’s excited to teach in a setting where he can use multiple areas of his classroom to show a projection of something online while also using a white board. Plus, the size and shape of the new classrooms will allow him to see nonverbal communication cues his students are putting out easier.

“The ability to look across your classroom into somebody’s eyes and see what they are thinking matters,” Cotti said.

Navigation also is less challenging in Sage Hall than it was in the old College of Business setting.

“Students (had) a hard time finding my office, so that’ll be easier,” said Cotti, who had a small office on the top floor of Clow with many others from the College of Business. “It will be easier for students to find all of us in the College of Business. We’ll have a genuine sense of, ‘my office is right down the hall.’”

John Koker, dean of the College of Letters and Science at UW Oshkosh, agrees Sage Hall will become a great new home to the departments housed there.

“The professional colleges will now have a single identity instead of being everywhere,” Koker said. “Plus, once we make this move, the domino effect of other renovations will begin and bring other spaces into the 21st century.”

Sage Hall goes green
Features like a live green roof, sustainable landscaping and rain gardens helped Sage Hall qualify for a gold LEED rating from the U.S. Green Building Council. To read more, visit UW Oshkosh Reinvented.

Rebecca DuFour believes teaching literacy to middle school students brings out a lot of creativity and imagination.

That alone makes DuFour, a June University of Wisconsin Oshkosh graduate with a degree in elementary education and a minor in language arts, excited for her future as a teacher. She hopes to teach at the middle school level.

DuFour didn’t start her educational journey thinking she’d be a teacher, however. Instead, she wanted to be a nurse.

“I always had the urge to improve people’s lives,” she said.

Unsure of where her career path pointed, she transferred to UW Oshkosh as a sophomore and began to pursue teaching. In June, she finished her second stint as a student teacher.

DuFour, who spent a semester teaching at two different schools — Carl Traeger Elementary and Perry Tipler Middle — within the Oshkosh Area School District, said connecting with students was her favorite part of the student-teaching experience. It was one more tool to prep for her future.

“I think the connection she makes with students is key,” said Amber Tritt, a literacy teacher at Perry Tipler Middle School, who DuFour spent nine weeks teaching with. “That and her drive, plus the fact that she’s prepared, will make her successful.”

In the future, DuFour said she hopes to inspire students to read and write.

“My mother always read to us as kids. I got such enjoyment from that,” she said. “I want to end up somewhere there is a need, and want, to improve literacy.”

The funding hybrid of public and private dollars that made it possible for Sage Hall to open its doors this fall is a first-of-its-kind for UW Oshkosh. Launched in 2006, a multifaceted, comprehensive pride.purpose.promise. campaign targeted donors to make the project a reality.

In total, approximately $5 million in private funds were raised in support of Sage Hall.

UW Oshkosh alumni and sisters Carol (Pawer) Sanders ’89, and Terri Pawer ’79 and ’89 MBA, couldn’t think of a better way to honor their parents than to have a space in the new building — Pawer Accounting Faculty Office — named after them.

“It was an extremely emotional time, but after my mother passed away, Terri and I decided to give,” Sanders said. “We got a beautiful letter thanking us, which we gave to our dad. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a more proud moment for him than when we presented him with that letter. Unfortunately, he passed away last February so he won’t be able to see the room, either.”

Ultimately, Sanders said she and her sister decided to give to the Sage Hall effort because they are believers in public education and products of a UW Oshkosh education. Their dad, Donald, was an educator in the Appleton school system for more than 35 years who put his four daughters through college on a teacher’s salary.

“We had a wonderful education and then we were populated right back into the community,” said Sanders, who works for Jewelers Mutual Insurance. “We couldn’t be more impressed with how far the UW Oshkosh experience has gotten us in our careers.”

Others, like UW Oshkosh alumnus Dave Geurden ’71, and his wife, Sharon, also gave in memory of a loved one.

The Titan-colored signage that reads, “Geurden Group Room” was an appropriate way for the Geurdens to honor their late daughter, Tammy, a 1993 graduate who loved UW Oshkosh.

“When you lose a child, you just want to keep their memory out there,” Sharon Geurden said. “My husband always felt that because he went to school there, it was important to give back. School gives you the tools for your future livelihood, and you have a responsibility to give back.”

• New UW Oshkosh Foundation funds
• UW Oshkosh Foundation

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.