As her May 2013 graduation from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh approaches, Sonia Singh is counting on her experience with three psychology studies to help her land either a research position or a spot in one of 12 doctoral programs she has applied to across the country.

“My goal is to become a cognitive science researcher,” she said. “UW Oshkosh is a modest but very friendly place to start.”

Singh has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in psychology and personnel management, both from the University of Pune, India.

One of eight psychology graduate students at UWO, Singh’s master’s thesis work is supervised by UWO associate professor James Koch. For her thesis, she is conducting a cognitive neuroscience study that looks at the effects of training on attention.

As a graduate research assistant, Singh also is helping Koch with his study of the effects of social networking on emotions. This work involves collecting and analyzing data with an electroencephalogram. She also assisted with the literature review and content analysis for the study.

Last summer, Singh had an internship at Duke University in North Carolina, where she also had the opportunity to visit her extended family.

“I worked on an ongoing project examining the effects of fear on time perception,” she explained. “As part of the project, we used a shock stimulus to simulate threat and collected galvanic skin response or sweat gland activity along with heart rate variability. It was super exciting.”

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

Once upon a time, I had it all figured out.

We were going to be busy and fulfilled.
And we were going to love it, because it would be simple.

And then I found out I didn’t love it.
Didn’t love it, because it wasn’t simple and I couldn’t do it.

I sought answers by looking outside my current lifestyle.
I dusted 2010 off my shoulders and welcomed 2011, leaving two days
later for northwest Haiti, one of the poorest places in the world.

They had friends, family, projects, jobs, schools, extra-curricular
activities. Just like us. But it sure looks different here.

I won’t forget the day I returned. I missed my family
and lacked sleep, but that wasn’t the reason my eyes were
dizzy with all that cluttered my home. It is too much,
too unnecessary to my happiness.

We have great gifts, opportunities here.
But I’ll choose the gift Haiti gave me—
simplicity.

The UW Oshkosh essay project—in collaboration with the national This I Believe public dialog about belief—invites the entire campus community of students, faculty, staff and alumni to participate. To learn more, visit uwosh.edu/go/believe

The old-school theme will set the stage for Homecoming activities, such as the Alumni Awards Dinner, the Tour de Titan bike ride, Tent City, the football game versus UW-Platteville and much more.

Meanwhile, all alumni who were part of a UW Oshkosh Greek organization are invited back to campus to reunite and celebrate Greek life at their alma mater. Special activities include a reunion at Reeve Memorial Union on Saturday night as well as a continental breakfast Sunday morning.

Get the scoop on the All-Greek Reunion at uwosh.edu/go/greek

Without Kevin Kropp, many home-bound senior citizens in the area would not get the food assistance they rely on each month.

Kropp, a University of Wisconsin Oshkosh senior, is part of the team that volunteers for the Oshkosh Area Community Pantry’s home delivery program. Each month, Kropp shows up to sort and deliver food to designated assisted-living facilities in Winnebago County.

“It’s important because it’s a reoccurring activity and it allows us to see how much of a contribution we can make over a longer period of time,” said Kropp, who has been involved with the program for two years.

Mike Lueder, program adviser for volunteerism at UW Oshkosh, feels a certain sense of pride over the time and energy Kropp spends focusing on helping others—both at the food pantry and through his involvement in other initiatives on campus.

“Kevin is an outstanding young man,” said Lueder, who nominated Kropp as 2012 Volunteer of the Year.

Kropp earned the honor in April at the Student Leadership Involvement Awards, but that isn’t where his story of doing good for others and his community starts or ends.

“He not only serves as a student leader, but also as a volunteer who makes a major impact locally and globally,” Lueder said.

Kropp became interested in volunteerism early in his college career at UW Oshkosh through Greek life. He went on to become co-chair of the UW Oshkosh Titan Volunteers program, a student leader for a Washington D.C. alternative spring break trip and a planning team member for Hands on Oshkosh.

“I find the idea of self-improvement to be very important,” Kropp said. “I try really hard to do good work and take the opportunities that are presented to me.”

Read more Beyond the Classroom stories.

When the 2010 earthquake hit just west of Haiti’s capital city, Port-au-Prince, Lindstrom wanted to serve. But despite her six years of experience as a full-time humanitarian, she was denied access to Haiti because only doctors and nurses were allowed.

That’s when Lindstrom decided to return to UW Oshkosh and earn a degree in nursing.

“I chose to come back to UW Oshkosh because it has a such a good nursing program. In all the places I had worked, I saw this huge need for medically trained personnel,” Lindstrom said. “There weren’t enough doctors, nurses, anybody to help, so I said, ‘I can do something about that.’”

Lindstrom first graduated from UW Oshkosh in 1993 with degrees in Spanish and business administration. This time around, she said, she’s got an unwavering determination founded on her need to help others.

“It’s really different to be 40 and going to college. Now I know what I want to do, as opposed to when I was 17 and wasn’t sure,” Lindstrom said. “I love my classes, and I love learning. My teachers have become supporters.”

At 17, Lindstrom said she did not have the confidence to approach her professors for help, but now she realizes her professors are such assets.

“My professors are people I turn to and say, ‘How do I do this? Where do I get this information? What do I do next?” Lindstrom said.

While she is waiting to be accepted into the Accelerated Nursing Program, Lindstrom is taking classes on campus, though her heart is with the children she left in India when she returned to Oshkosh in 2010.

“There are people dying every day in the places that I am going to work,” Lindstrom said. “As much as I love learning, I also know the need hasn’t changed out in the world.”

While Lindstrom values her education, she said her real focus is on other people.

“They’re waiting. They’re dying waiting for me,” Lindstrom said. “Everyone should travel to a Third World country and experience what it’s like, because our lives are so sheltered and we don’t understand what it’s like.”

Lindstrom continues to help others here in Oshkosh. She works with foreign exchange students who live on the UW Oshkosh campus and attend local schools.

“I tutor 10-18-year-olds from Korea,” Lindstrom said. “I’m like a parent to them—it’s more than tutoring. It’s sitting down and doing homework with them to answering questions about life.”

Lindstrom’s passion for humanitarian work also shines in her classes.

“In my Introduction to Nursing class we had to give presentations on what field of nursing we want to get into, so I was able to share with the class what kind of work in Third World countries I am already doing,” Lindstrom said. “From that presentation, students saw things they hadn’t seen before or thought about, and some even said it was something they would be interested in doing.”

Because Lindstrom is coming back to UW Oshkosh after already completing two majors, she said she has some idea of what to expect. But what really gives her the confidence to finish her nursing degree is her experience in Third World countries.

“I always wanted to work in the medical field, but I never dreamed I was smart enough,” Lindstrom said. “This time around, I know I can do anything.”

Contributed by Kayde Kempen

Any university campus is bound to look different to an alumnus 23 years after his graduation. However, when Patrick Stiegman is impressed with UW Oshkosh’s growth since his graduation day, you give him a bit of extra cred.

Stiegman ’88, is the Emmy-award-winning vice president and editor-in-chief of digital media for global sports giant ESPN. So, he knows a thing or two about growing, thriving organizations in the 21st century. He punches the clock at one every day.

“It’s transformative,” Stiegman said of UW Oshkosh’s evolution last October just before receiving a UW Oshkosh Distinguished Alumni Award.

“I’ve been at ESPN for six years, and we’ve never stopped building buildings there,” he said. “It’s a campus. So I’m kind of used to this sense of things growing up all around you all over the place. And the first thing I thought of when I came on campus was, ‘This is very much like ESPN. There’s growth here.’ You see that it’s moving ahead for the future, and that’s a wonderful thing for the University and the students.”

After completing more than $150 million worth of capital projects over the last decade, including the $48-million, 191,000-square-foot academic center Sage Hall, which opened last September, the University isn’t slowing down or losing focus in this persistent economic murk. UW Oshkosh has another $60 million of capital projects either in design or under construction to carry the campus’ continued evolution deep into this decade.

But there also is plenty of evidence of UW Oshkosh’s courageous growth and attitude beyond the new bricks and mortar and silhouettes of construction cranes arching over campus.

Equally important is the entrepreneurial and academic architecture transforming the institution. It is driving creative community partnerships with area business owners in downtown Oshkosh and at the state’s largest dairy farm just 20 miles from campus. It is helping preserve the University’s successful, high-impact Student Titan Employment Program (STEP). And it has fueled the first, forward-thinking redesign of general education requirements in 40 years.

“UW Oshkosh is a catalyst: No question,” UW Oshkosh Chancellor Richard H. Wells said. “In this challenging economic atmosphere, everyone feels some strain and shares in the experience of that proverbial uphill climb. So, it takes courage for an institution like ours to resist the conditions and the currents out there—to, in a way, defy gravity and accelerate our growth and our learning and what we can provide to our community, region and state in the way of catalytic energy and entrepreneurial value.”

Incredibly challenging economic conditions last year resulted in a more than $12-million state biennial budget cut to UW Oshkosh, followed by an additional $2.2 million state “lapse” cut to the institution, necessary by July 1 this summer. That came on the heels of a 2009-2011 biennial budget shortfall of nearly $8 million. Tough decisions were made through each budget planning process.

However, the cuts did not derail strategic plans to upgrade, renovate and innovate facilities and programs amid an ongoing, decade-long stretch of record student enrollments. Nor did they slow the collaborative process to update and reconfigure the University’s general education requirements—a monumental effort that involved numerous listening sessions, academic department meetings and a sweep through hundreds of UW Oshkosh courses. The result is the “University Studies Program” proposal reengineering and better aligning our students’ academic core of credits with UW Oshkosh’s Essential Learning Outcomes.

“These projects and programs have been key these last couple of years—demonstrating that it not only takes a confident, caring, committed and competent campus community to achieve what we achieve but also a courageous one,” Wells said.

“We are doing more with less. Compensation for our faculty and staff has, frankly, not come close to keeping up with comparable university systems in the Midwest. There are plenty of excuses for an institution and its people to slow down. However, UW Oshkosh is resolute, following through on the plans we developed and reshaping those that need modification.”

Bright horizons

You cannot fault Stiegman for noticing the campus’ remarkable makeover. With new infusions of state, student and donor support, the UW Oshkosh skyline continues to morph. A handful of projects remain under construction, and a few more are on the drawing board.

Horizon Village, a five-story, 340-bed, state-of-the-art, suite-style residence hall will open this fall. The $34-million hall, funded through student fees, is another striking, modern structure redefining the shape of campus. It will feature apartment-like spaces with private bathrooms and living areas for sophomore, junior, senior and graduate students.

The Horizon Village complex is long overdue. UW Oshkosh has subsisted without a new residence hall building for 40 years. That’s despite posting new or maintaining record enrollments over the last decade. The total student population continues on a march toward 14,000.

Meanwhile, design work has begun for the estimated $26-million renovation of Clow Social Science Center. Shortly after Sage Hall opened its doors to the College of Business and a number of departments of the College of Letters and Science last fall, University leaders pushed to keep the refit of Clow on the state Building Commission’s to-do list. The project earned the panel’s support as part of a $50-million package of academic building upgrades at four UW System campuses. Clow is currently in line for construction to start in 2013, with a 2014 planned reopening.

Both Horizon and Clow will be built to meet specific Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards, feature eco-friendly construction materials and incorporate technology to harvest and use alternative energy sources. As these on-campus projects evolve, yet another prominent project is in the works: The UW Oshkosh Alumni Welcome and Conference Center.

The UW Oshkosh Foundation is leading a new fundraising campaign for the multimillion dollar center, planned at the foot of the Wisconsin Street bridge along the Fox River. Flooding destroyed the University’s River Center conferencing complex in 2008. The new, 22,000-square-foot center is billed as “the University’s new front door,” featuring enhanced conference and gathering spaces for alumni and the campus and extended Oshkosh community.

While disaster insurance payments will defray some of the new center’s cost, the Foundation is leading an $8-to-$10 million fundraising campaign in economically tenuous times.

This is more evidence of the University’s resolve to “fight the recession rather than be defined by it,” as UW Oshkosh Foundation President Arthur H. Rathjen noted at Sage Hall’s September dedication. “We undertake multiyear initiatives during which the economy is sure to ebb and flow.”

A hotel makeover and Biodigester 2.0

You can wander either two blocks or 20 miles off campus and you will run into two intersections where UW Oshkosh’s courage merges with its commitment to serving as a community catalyst.

In February, the UW Oshkosh Foundation and hoteliers Richard Batley and John Pfefferle (involved in Neenah’s BEST WESTERN PREMIER Bridgewood Resort and Conference Center and downtown Appleton’s CopperLeaf Boutique Hotel and Spa) teamed up to buy and revitalize downtown Oshkosh’s waterfront City Center Hotel.

Why? Especially in an economic crunch? The partnership is working with city leaders to help create a revitalized  downtown. The waterfront hotel’s physical connection to the recently renovated Oshkosh Convention Center, and its proximity to UW Oshkosh (just two blocks away from the academic-conference-hosting dynamo), will serve as a crucial, catalytic boost for the campus and local economy.

It promises a direct return on investment, too. The partners are committed to using a portion of the annual revenue generated by the hotel to fund UW Oshkosh scholarships for Oshkosh-based high school graduates and new academic programs. They also have proposed potentially using the hotel to house a future, high-impact, collaborative academic hospitality program, answering the call for more entrepreneurial, career-ready degree programs in Wisconsin.

“In so many ways, the hotel project will be a benefit to the University, our broader community and the regional economy,” UW Oshkosh Vice Chancellor for Administrative Services Tom Sonnleitner said.

… Cut to rural Fond du Lac County. There, another of UW Oshkosh’s most entrepreneurial and, Wells believes, courageous endeavors in its 140-year history pushes ahead.

German-based Viessmann Group and its subsidiary BIOFerm Energy Systems of Madison have collaborated with the UW Oshkosh Foundation, the College of Letters and Science’s environmental studies and microbiology faculty and University sustainability team members to build a state-of-the-art, dry fermentation anaerobic biodigester facility. Dedicated in May 2011, it is
operating off Witzel Avenue in Oshkosh.

Now, the two companies, the Foundation and Milksource, owner of the 8,000-cow Rosendale Dairy, the largest dairy farm in the state of Wisconsin, are partnering to build a second biodigester at the farm south of Pickett. The project is still taking shape.

This “wet” biodigester will be fueled by Rosendale Dairy’s annual, millions of gallons of livestock manure (an unavoidable byproduct and environ-mental challenge for the huge, state-of-the-art milking operation). Ultimately, the dairy’s biodigester will produce a startling 2.8 megawatts of electricity each year. That energy revenue, or equivalent carbon credits, can cut in half the University’s original 2025 carbon-neutrality target.

“The commitment to technology and green energy that the UW Oshkosh Foundation and the University are making, even in what are challenging economic times, is the result of intense research and studies on their parts,” said Jim Ostrom, Milksource cofounder and partner. “We could not have asked for a better partner to work with as we bring a digester to our farm. It is a true testament to the environment, the
education of our future leaders and to the community.”

As with the hotel project, the Foundation and Milksource also want to channel some revenue from the operation into creation of an attached public education center. Students and faculty would educate PK-12 student visitors and community members about how bio-solids and runoff prevention science and research are driving a green energy solution.

Wells also has been bullish on development of a “Center for University Rural Development and Sustainability Studies,” or “CURDSS.”

Get it?

“We’re serving our state by confronting an environmental challenge for Milksource and its Rosendale Dairy neighbors by reaching a clean, cost-cutting, rural-America-preserving solution,” College of Letters and Science Dean John Koker said. “This also enhances our area’s identity as a hub of environmental studies activity and further develops our niche as a global destination for enterprises eager to learn more about renewable energy innovations.”

New academic architecture

UW Oshkosh journalism senior Sheng Lee’s academic home is the new Sage Hall, but it took not a single piece of construction equipment to create the innovative internship program that is helping propel her academic career.

Launched in 2009, STEP channeled $500,000 in University reinvestment funds toward high-impact, hands-on student internships. They have given a few hundred students practical, career-connected, collaborative learning experiences on campus with faculty, staff and peers. Conversely, through STEP, faculty and staff members get student assistance in areas from research to media services to academic computing support and Web page development.

Lee, at one point in 2011, juggled three STEP internships with UW Oshkosh Career Services, Alumni Relations and the journalism department as a writer and social media and marketing strate-gist. She said her STEP jobs helped cut the cost of attending college while honing her career skill set. The income also helped her move from Neenah to Oshkosh to be closer to school and work.

“It’s been a lot better than commuting, and I’m able to be more involved with campus activities,” said Lee, who anticipates graduation in June.

She said working in concert with journalism and communication faculty also helped her see the deeper, analytical, business value of social media. “If you’re just a casual (social media) user, you don’t pay attention to that kind of stuff,” Lee said.

While helping keep STEP thriving, faculty members at UW Oshkosh also have concentrated on reforming the core academic experience. They have designed, and are integrating, a reformed, 41-credit general education program that is as innovative as it is elegant.

The proposed University Studies Program is structured around three themes—Question, Exploration and Connection. The themes, in turn, have been phrased as “Signature Questions” that connect to the University’s four-year-old Essential Learning Outcomes: “How do people understand and create a sustainable world?” “How do people understand and engage in community life?” and “How do people understand and bridge cultural differences?”

The University Studies Program also is the result of the Liberal Education Reform Team’s 2010 examination of more than 1,000 UW Oshkosh courses. Plans are on track for its implementation in fall 2013.

Within their first four semesters at UW Oshkosh, students will have completed four streamlined “quests,” each centered on the “big questions” and containing a mix of general education courses connecting the signature questions to learning outcomes and specific fields of study. The quests even consider the essential skills desired by employers.

Faculty and administrators involved in the initiative believe they have collaboratively developed a new program that authentically reengineers and reenergizes the nucleus of the academic experience at UW Oshkosh for years to come.

“I have been surprised again and again by constructive people during this enormous and collaborative process of reform,” said communication studies professor Lori Carrell, director for the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and a co-leader in the development of the University Studies Program. “This is an amazing place filled with extraordinary people who are doing courageous work to benefit students and the community—in spite of a season in which we could be propelled toward discouragement.”

One life, many tales of courage

Buddhists believe in reincarnation, the ebb and flow of life and death. For many, it takes more than a lifetime to truly exhibit one of the most commendable characteristics of all—courage. University of Wisconsin Oshkosh alumna Saran Batchuluun ’10, already has lived many lives of courage in her 40-something years.

Batchuluun was born to a nomadic family in Mongolia, where she learned to ride a horse at age 4 and herd cattle, sheep and goats. As a little girl, she dreamed of wearing a uniform to school.

In 1996, Batchuluun graduated from the Health Sciences University of Mongolia. She spent the next two years working as a family physician, but her salary couldn’t even pay for a good pair of winter boots.

In 2002, she and her husband at the time decided that she should move alone to the U.S., where she could make a better living and send money back to her family, including three daughters.

After working as a caretaker for the elderly, Batchuluun walked into Sue Clark’s office in 2007. Because it was the last day for admissions, Clark, the adviser for the Accelerated Online Bachelor’s to BSN Program, immediately helped Batchuluun get the process underway.

“I was truly grateful to her from all my heart and spirit,” Batchuluun said. “I walked out of her office with big hope.”

Batchuluun worked hard to earn her nursing assistant certificate and her nursing degree and get a job at St. Nicholas Hospital in Sheboygan.

“When nursing students graduate, they need to study for a national board exam, a very language-intensive exam,” Clark said. “She got that exam done. She got a job before many of her peers.”

But three weeks later, Batchuluun was involved in a horrific car accident that required extensive treatment.

To support her, UWO’s College of Nursing faculty collected a small amount of money to include in a greeting card. Brent MacWilliams ’95 and MSN ’03, Batchuluun’s first clinical instructor, even brought her a bike to encourage her recovery.

After six months of painful physical and emotional recovery, Batchuluun remarkably improved and returned to work. The day after Christmas 2010, Batchuluun joyously greeted two of her daughters at the airport.

“Nine years of my mission accomplished,” she said. “My kids are with me, and I can see a nice future for them, like a good ending to a movie.”

Read more of Batchuluun’s story in her own words.

For myTEAM TRIUMPH captains, it’s having the opportunity to feel the energy of crossing the finish line.

myTEAM TRIUMPH (MTT) is an athletic ride-along program developed for individuals with disabilities who would not normally be able to experience events like 5Ks, half marathons and triathlons.

With nine chapters across the country, the Wisconsin chapter was one of the first outside of Michigan. The chapter consists of participants with disabilities, who are known as “captains,” and athletes who push or pull the captains and are known as “angels.”

Working with patients undergoing rehabilitation, physical therapy and personal training has brought a new perspective on joy and courage to Christian Jensen ’07, who founded the MTT Wisconsin Chapter in 2008.

“These patients wake up every day with a positive attitude,” Jensen said. “Waking up every day, despite our circumstances, and moving forward is courageous.”

Meeting an inspiration
While Jensen was working at Bellin Health Care, he met Mary Cox, a patient with multiple sclerosis (MS), who was carried into his office. He asked her what had happened and she told him her story.

Cox, a 58-year-old, strong-willed and positive woman, explained to Jensen that she began noticing symptoms in her 20s. Due to limited mobility and because she lives on her own, Jensen was blown away by her stories of perseverance.

“One day I asked Mary, ‘What do you do when you have fallen in the kitchen with no cell phone, Life Alert or means to contact someone?’” Jensen recalled. “And she said, ‘I take a look at that ketchup stain while I’m down there and decide I should really clean that up.’”

With Cox’s positive attitude and sense of humor, it was easy for Jensen to be both inspired and motivated to do more with his own life.

“It’s not about what you can physically do, but what’s in our hearts,” he said.

An ‘ah-ha’ Moment
A few years ago Jensen saw a video essay about Team Hoyt, an inspirational story of a father and his physically disabled son who compete together in marathons and triathlons around the country. The two focus on helping those who are physically disabled become active members in the community.

“I saw this video and had a huge ‘ah-ha’ moment,” Jensen said. “My wife Tiffany and I became so inspired by this video and by Mary Cox that we decided to do the Bellin Run with her.”

Jensen pushed Cox during the entire race, which gave her the opportunity to experience the feeling of crossing a finish line. Afterwards, Cox was full of happiness and told Jensen she wished more people in her situation could participate in these events. That’s when he decided to contact an MTT representative and start a chapter in the state.

Jensen spread the word about MTT to friends and family and by 2010 the chapter consisted of 20 captains who participated in 11 events over the year.

One of the “angel” athletes Jensen recruited was Brian Gruender, an Appleton resident whose child had undergone several surgeries and a stay at the Ronald McDonald House in Chicago.

“Because of Christian, I was introduced to myTEAM Triumph and the Fox Cities Marathon. There was no way I could say ‘no’,” Gruender said. “When I first participated, I felt amazing because it’s not about me or how I do, it’s about them and making someone smile.”

Gruender said he started running to get into better shape. He also trained with his dad for the Wisconsin Ironman competition.

“When you think about it, running is a little bit of a selfish sport. It’s selfish to be out there just to run when you can be doing so much more for other people,” Gruender said. “There was no way you can pass this by and not be inspired by others.”

Looking ahead
Late last year, Gruender committed to run in Promises to Keep, a 135-mile benefit, to raise funds for MTT. He said it always has been his goal to run 200 miles.

“I shared the idea of running from Kenosha to Appleton with Jensen and now it’s happening,” Gruender said. “The goal of the run is to raise $10,000 for MTT, and people can join me on the run whether they want to run a mile or 10 miles.”

MTT angels and captains also train for the upcoming season. The Cellcom Green Bay Marathon, the first event of the year, takes place May 19-20. Prior to this run, Cox and Jensen promoted MTT at events throughout the state.

“Mary and I will be running in 5Ks, 20Ks and half marathons to promote and build awareness of MTT,” Jensen said. “Our goal is to build groups in Madison, the Fox Cities and Milwaukee.”

Both Jensen and Gruender agree that participating in MTT is a one-of-a-kind, truly unique athletic experience. Not only because of the run itself but also because of developing new relationships and being surrounded by people who have a positive outlook on life.

“Courage is in the captains’ attitudes and dispositions. They have this aura that is so infectious and are true examples of courage,” Jensen said. “It’s about our joy in life, our relationships and our focus on what we can do and what is possible.”

Watch the video.

“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