News and Announcements

Scholarship in memory of Lina Vergara helps education majors

Kempen, Kayde L — 2013-05-09T13:45:00Z

The Lina Vergara Memorial Scholarship was established to assist students who share her teaching ambitions and her compassion for others, especially those at the University who are facing challenges in their academic ventures.

The first-time recipients of the Lina Vergara Memorial Scholarship, Cindybel Arias-Castañeda and Elizabeth Cookle, both aspire to become educators.

Arias-Castañeda, a 21-year-old junior, was inspired to become a teacher because she found it hard to learn English as a bilingual child from a Hispanic background and could not relate to her mostly Caucasian teachers.

"I felt like when I would get older I could be a role model to a lot of the minority students in our area," Arias-Castañeda said.

For Arias-Castañeda receiving this scholarship is also personal. She knew Lina Vergara since her freshman year and was close to her, both sharing the same major and minor.

"I have to do it for her," Arias-Castañeda said. "Because I know she would have been a good teacher."

She said she is grateful to receive the scholarship as it will help her financially and let her continue her friend's legacy, Arias-Castañeda said.

Eventually she wants to teach middle school students and hopes to become a principal after obtaining a master's degree in administrative work, Arias-Castañeda said.

Cookle, the second recipient of the Lina Vergara Memorial Scholarship, is a fifth-year senior at UW Oshkosh with a dual major in special education and early childhood. Cookle said she chose education because she loves to work with kids.

"I feel very blessed and honored," Cookle said about receiving the scholarship.

Cookle said she appreciates the Vergara family’s willingness to help future educators finance their careers, working as many as three part-time jobs each semester to pay for her education.

“It is very helpful,” Cookle said. “This money will allow me to focus more on my education and less on my time put in to work to pay for my education.”

Alejandro Vergara said he decided to help education students like his daughter and keep her dreams alive as he kept learning about the positive impact she had on the campus community.

“Lina touched the hearts of so many people,” he said. “Her warm and caring heart never saw color, race, sex or economic status in anyone.”

At the time of her death Lina Vergara had posted the quote “don’t let the world change your smile, let your smile change the world” on her Facebook page, Alejandro Vergara said.

Her family has “decided to perpetuate this wonderful motto,” by arranging the Glowing Smiles 5K run/walk and Kids Fun Dash, Alejandro Vergara said. The fundraiser, which will benefit the scholarship fund, will be held Saturday, May 11 at Orchid Heights Park Shelter in Middleton, Wis.

For more information, visit glowingsmiles.org or linavergara.com.

Nominations for Collaboration in Action Award due June 19

Kroening, Lori J — 2013-04-19T22:38:13Z

The award will be presented at the Foundation's eighth annual Community Breakfast on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013.

Keynote speaker Patrick Stiegman ’88, ESPN vice president and editor-in-chief of digital media will present “Simplified Complexity: ESPN Digital Media and Innovation” at the event.

The award is annually given to an individual or an organization in Wisconsin who advances the mission of the University and whose efforts impact educational, cultural and economic change.

Previous award recipients include the city of Oshkosh, BIOferm Energy Solutions, Oshkosh Area Community Foundation, Door County Government, Affinity Health System and J. J. Keller and Associates.

Collaboration in Action Award Nomination Form

Colleagues Create Scholarship in Memory of Ellie Maslowski

Kroening, Lori J — 2013-03-01T21:41:02Z

Ellie Maslowski was as devoted to the development and success of students as she was to her colleagues at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh for nearly two decades.

As her friends in the UW Oshkosh community describe her, she treated them like extended family.

After Maslowski’s unexpected passing in January, coworkers and friends within the University staff ranks (formerly Classified staff) at UW Oshkosh have developed a scholarship in honor of her – a scholarship designed to fuel the academic journeys of those colleagues pursuing their educations here.

“Ellie was much loved and a well-respected colleague, and I think there will be many people wanting to honor her memory,” said Cindy Schultz, academic department associate in the UW Oshkosh journalism department.

The Ellie Maslowski Memorial University Staff Scholarship was established in February at the UW Oshkosh Foundation. Maslowski’s friends and colleagues created it, with the Foundation’s guidance, as a reflection of Maslowski’s long-lasting contributions helping create the Classified Staff Advisory Council on campus. Now known as the University Staff Council, that group’s formation in 2001 immediately became a model for similar employee groups that formed at institutions throughout the UW System.

The new scholarship honoring Maslowski will support part-time and full-time “permanent University staff (or equivalent) at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.” The University Staff Council Grants Committee will help coordinate selection of the recipient and determine the number of scholarships awarded annually. Applicants must achieve a “C” grade or better on applicable courses.

UW Oshkosh has approximately 400 University staff within the 1,700-employee institution.

Maslowski, 65, was well-known in the UW Oshkosh community. She worked in the Dean of Students office, helping organize the annual Odyssey program, an integral program designed to welcome incoming students, acclimate them to campus life and prepare them to take the first steps on their academic journeys at UW Oshkosh.

Within the last year, Maslowski received multiple honors for her 19 years of dedicated service to fellow employees and UW Oshkosh students.

She earned the 2011 Wisconsin College Personnel Association’s Support Staff Recognition Award and a 2012 UW Oshkosh Outstanding Performance Award, given to the University staff members whose activities, accomplishments and service are most deserving of acknowledgement.

It was her deep commitment to and support for friends and family that made Maslowski extra special to colleagues in the UW Oshkosh community.

“Ellie was a friend, an educator, a proud mother and a grandma,” said Susan Fojtik, academic department associate in the UW Oshkosh Department of Kinesiology. “She loved her family, adored her husband, loved to travel and spent summer vacations watching her children create family feasts and grandchildren swim in the lake. Ellie was an amazing seamstress, an avid reader and willingly shared her knowledge– from cooking to computer programs.”

“She was a dear friend who will long be remembered, as staff benefit from this educational opportunity,” Fojtik said. “This scholarship is a perfect way to recognize the many talents that Ellie shared with all of us over the years.”

To contribute to the fund, visit the Foundation's online giving page and enter "Ellie Maslowski Scholarship" in the notes box.

Watch Alumni Welcome and Conference Center Construction Live

Kroening, Lori J — 2013-02-15T17:05:00Z

A live feed of construction progress on the Alumni Welcome and Conference Center is available here.

Oshkosh Premier Waterfront Hotel and Convention Center Accepting Reservations

Kroening, Lori J — 2013-02-13T18:45:00Z

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Foundation and local hoteliers Richard Batley of RB Hospitality in Neenah and John Pfefferle of Pfefferle Companies, Inc. in Appleton purchased the hotel from Nashco Hospitality Group LLC, in 2012 and are in the final stages of a $12 million renovation.

The 179-room waterfront property has been transformed into a full-service, state-of-the-art business hotel, anchoring the city’s downtown and serving as an economic catalyst for the entire community. The hotel's central location on the waterfront offers skywalk access to the adjoining Oshkosh Convention Center.

Nearly every hotel room has a scenic view of the Fox River and many overlook Lake Winnebago in the distance. Guests will enjoy a complimentary hot breakfast, indoor swimming pool and whirlpool, fitness center and free wireless Internet access throughout the hotel. In-room amenities include microwaves, refrigerators, hard-wired Internet access and 42” flat screen HDTVs.

Casual indoor and outdoor dining will be available at the Ground Round at River's Edge.

Visit the Oshkosh Premier Waterfront Hotel and Convention Center website

UW Oshkosh Foundation purchases home as future residence for institution’s chancellors

Reineck, Allison A — 2013-01-25T19:45:00Z

The Foundation’s Board of Directors voted to purchase the property and closed on the sale of the architecturally distinct home on Friday, Jan. 25. The property has been owned by current Chancellor Richard Wells and his wife Christie Charbonneau Wells since 2001. While no date of leadership transition has been cemented, Chancellor Wells, 65, expects to retire from his chancellorship at UW Oshkosh within the next three to five years.

“The decision of the UW Oshkosh Foundation board to acquire the Alberta Kimball House from the Wells makes strategic sense for many reasons – all them benefitting UW Oshkosh and its home city of Oshkosh,” said Thomas Kell, president of the UW Oshkosh Foundation Board of Directors.

“This action enables the Foundation to offer our next chancellor a distinctive and quality house proximate to campus – a home well suited to host events that help advance the institution,” Kell said. “It also ensures our next UW Oshkosh leader will call the city of Oshkosh home -- a community in which the Foundation and the University are stakeholders, collaborating with both public and private partners and investing in the city’s future. It is not uncommon for University foundations to provide residences for their presidents and chancellors as a means to provide a long-lasting, friend-and-fundraising home base that will help grow their institutions.”

The UW Oshkosh Foundation is a separate, distinct nonprofit organization supportive of UW Oshkosh. Established in 1963, the Foundation was created to promote, receive, invest and disburse gifts to meet the goals and needs of UW Oshkosh. It consistently motivates donors to become increasingly involved in the development of the University.

For nearly a quarter century, UW Oshkosh has remained one of several UW System institutions without an officially-designated chancellor’s residence.

In 1912, after the death of its second owner, physician and surgeon C.W. Oviatt, the gray stone house still standing on the UW Oshkosh campus off Algoma Boulevard – the Oviatt House -- was purchased by the Oshkosh Normal School for use as a women’s dormitory. During the Great Depression, it became the school’s president’s home.

In the late 1980s, that ended. Oviatt House was purchased by the University and state when the property amassed a long list of costly and necessary renovations. It ceased serving as the chancellor’s residence; however the UW Oshkosh Foundation revitalized the property with sensitivity to its historic significance. In the early 1990s, the Foundation adopted Oviatt as its offices from which to coordinate all University fundraising, school scholarships distributions and other advancement activities.

Since that time, Chancellors John Kerrigan and his successor, Wells, have applied University of Wisconsin System-approved housing allowances toward their private homes. They have offered and used their residences to host numerous official University functions over the years.

Now, 23 years after the last official UW Oshkosh-owned chancellor’s residence (Oviatt) closed its doors, the UW Oshkosh Foundation has once again stepped up to help the University pursue a new direction. Kell said the UW Oshkosh Foundation Board of Directors appreciated the many events Chancellor and Mrs. Wells hosted over the last 12 years in Alberta Kimball House, demonstrating the tremendous asset that the residence is for UW Oshkosh.

“Through their hospitality in this significant, one-of-a-kind home, Chancellor and Mrs. Wells have provided UW Oshkosh a place to host countless and diverse celebrations for visiting alumni, legislators, officials, dignitaries, Commencement honorees, guest artists and award-winning students, faculty and staff,” Kell said. “This home’s proximity to campus has also proven, on a weekly basis, its great benefit to the University, situated just blocks away. Our board agreed that it was strategically important to secure this residence as our official Chancellors’ home for years to come.”

About Alberta Kimball House

The private residence of Chancellor Richard H. Wells and his family at 1423 Congress Ave. since 2000 (formerly the home of Miles Kimball Co. matriarch and beloved community philanthropist Alberta Kimball), the home’s construction was completed in 1969. It is a classic example of American Mid-Century Modernism. The house was designed by American architect/designer/writer George Nelson and built by the August Pitz & Sons Construction Company.

Learn more about the Alberta Kimball House’s history.

Viessmann Endowed Chair in Sustainable Technology announced

Kroening, Lori J — 2012-12-19T16:15:00Z

Renewable-energy and academic partners with UW Oshkosh, Viessmann Group CEO Martin Viessmann, Ph.D., and his wife Annette have pledged a generous gift to the UW Oshkosh Foundation to create the university’s first endowed chair, which will support UW Oshkosh’s new Sustainable Technology program.

Lina Vergara Memorial Scholarship

Kroening, Lori J — 2012-11-23T18:55:00Z

A tragic rafting accident in July 2012 took the life of the 20-year-old. Her family has established the Lina Vergara Memorial Scholarship to assist future teachers who share Lina's warm and caring nature.

The Vergara family has organized the annual Glowing Smiles 5K Run/Walk to pay tribute to their daughter and raise money for the Lina Vergara Memorial Scholarship. The first annual Glowing Smiles Run/Walk will be held on Saturday, May 11, 2013 at Orchid Heights Park Shelter in Middleton, Wis. To read more about Lina’s story, register for the run/walk or learn about the other focus of her family’s efforts—advocacy for increased safety regulations of companies that rent rafts on the Wolf River— visit www.linavergara.com

To make a contribution to Lina's scholarship fund, visit the Foundation's online giving page and type "Lina Vergara Memorial Scholarship' in the Notes box.

John Kerrigan, ninth UW Oshkosh Chancellor, dies at age 76

Kroening, Lori J — 2012-11-14T06:10:00Z

His warm, outgoing personality and accessible nature helped him build strong relationships with students, alumni and community friends. The personal connections he developed and nurtured led to many noteworthy contributions to the UW Oshkosh Foundation.

Following his retirement Kerrigan remained an enthusiastic supporter of the University and continued to lend his support to the Foundation's efforts. With his death, the Foundation has lost an esteemed ambassador and a good friend.

Kerrigan's legacy endures through the John and Pat Kerrigan Scholarship, awarded to sophomore students with academic and leadership potential, and the John E. Kerrigan Professorship.

Groundbreaking Held for Alumni Welcome and Conference Center

Kroening, Lori J — 2012-10-15T20:30:00Z

Alumni, campus and community leaders gathered on Homecoming Saturday, Oct. 13 to break ground on the $12 million UW Oshkosh Alumni Welcome and Conference Center.

City of Oshkosh Honored at Community Breakfast

Kroening, Lori J — 2012-04-05T23:25:00Z

The UW Oshkosh Foundation's seventh annual Community Breakfast was held on Tuesday, September 18, 2012. The featured speaker was Blois Olson, principal of Fluence Media, a Minneapolis-based strategic communications firm. Olson is seen as a leading innovator in media and content strategies in all channels of media and marketing. He has spent time managing political campaigns and is the co-founder of MN-Politics.com and the former co-publisher of "Politics in Minnesota." Olson graduated from UW Oshkosh in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in political science and journalism.

The breakfast also included the presentation of the Collaboration in Action Leadership Award to the City of Oshkosh. The award is annually given to an individual or an organization in Wisconsin who advances the mission of the University and whose efforts impact educational, cultural and economic change. The most recent example of collaboration between UW Oshkosh and the city is the purchase and revitalization of the downtown City Center Hotel.

Watch a video of the breakfast below.

Video Platform Video Management Video Solutions Video Player

Chancellor Wells: UW Oshkosh’s, Foundation’s catalyst value evident in hotel partnership

Reineck, Allison A — 2012-02-14T22:38:37Z

In the press conference video below, Chancellor Wells talks about the multifaceted, catalytic value of the hotel renovation project and the University in helping revitalize Oshkosh’s downtown, enhance campus-based academic conferences and programs and promote job growth and economic development in the broader Oshkosh community.

Downtown Oshkosh hotel officially under new ownership

Reineck, Allison A — 2012-02-14T22:33:47Z

Oshkosh’s City Center Hotel is under new ownership, and the local partnership holding the keys is reenergizing revitalization plans.

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Foundation and local hoteliers Richard Batley of RB Hospitality in Neenah and John Pfefferle of Pfefferle Companies, Inc. in Appleton announced their new ownership of the hotel, finalized Feb. 14. The partners have officially closed on the sale of the property, purchasing it from Nashco Hospitality Group LLC, which owned it since 2009. They plan to transform the 179-room waterfront property into a full-service, state-of-the-art business hotel, anchoring the city’s downtown and serving as an economic catalyst for the entire community.

“This local partnership’s vision, diligence and perseverance will result in great benefit to all of Wisconsin’s Event City,” said Oshkosh Area Community Foundation President and CEO Eileen Connolly-Keesler, who, in 2010, helped rally a local partnership around the hotel revitalization concept. “I’m pleased that the revitalized hotel will serve as one more successful example of how high-impact collaborations are improving our city’s economy and quality of life.”

2011 Community Breakfast

Reineck, Allison A — 2011-12-15T22:37:48Z

The event included presentation of the Collaboration in Action Leadership Award to BIOferm Energy Solutions of Madison and featured speaker Alexa Posny, assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitative services.

Read more or watch a video of the event.

Collaboration in Action Leadership Award Goes to BIOferm Energy Solutions

Reineck, Allison A — 2011-12-15T22:35:00Z

The 2011 award recipient is BIOferm Energy Solutions of Madison, which was recognized for helping the Foundation and the University establish the first-ever dry fermentation anaerobic biodigester in the Americas. The award was presented at the sixth-annual UW Oshkosh Foundation Community Breakfast, Friday, September 23, 2011. The event featured keynote speaker Alexa Posny, assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitative services.

Watch a video of the event here.

Past winners of the Collaboration in Action Leadership Award are:

2010 Oshkosh Area Community Foundation
2009 Door County Government
2008 Affinity Health System
2007 J. J. Keller & Associates