Student Points of Pride

• UW Oshkosh has the most successful Model United Nations Program in the world, receiving 25 consecutive Outstanding Delegation awards at international competitions.
• In 2009, the College of Nursing graduated its 5,000th nurse.
• For four years in a row, MBA students at UW Oshkosh taking the Educational Testing Service business knowledge assessment test ranked in the top 5 percent nationwide.
• UW Oshkosh students who took the CPA exam placed the University in the top 10 of schools nationally.
• The Advance-Titan has won the top national award for student newspapers five times.
• More than 200 College of Education and Human Services graduates have received the Herb Kohl Teacher Fellowship of the Year Award for excellence and innovation in teaching.
• The best graduate programs in the nation covet College of Letters and Science graduates.
  
• Over the past five years, 72 undergraduate students have received summer or year-long grants to support collaborative research projects with faculty. The University’s annual undergraduate research journal, Oshkosh Scholar, made its debut in April 2006.
• UW Oshkosh has won 41 national championships, including 27 NCAA Division III competitions.

Campus Points of Pride

• UW Oshkosh has won more Regents’ Teaching Excellence Awards than any other UW institution. Five individual faculty members and three departments have received this award.
• With well over 2,000 graduates, the 2008-2009 class was the single largest graduating class in the history of UW Oshkosh.
• UW Oshkosh’s recruitment program, which has increased student diversity dramatically, won the State Council on Affirmative Action 2005 Diversity Award.
  
• UW Oshkosh sponsors one of the world’s largest annual Earth Charter community summits, promoting ecological integrity, social and economic justice, democracy, nonviolence and peace.
• UW Oshkosh is recognized as a national model for developing and highlighting exemplary campus-wide liberal education programs.
• In 2008, UW Oshkosh became the first university in the U.S. to become a Fair Trade University by making a commitment to do its part toward ending trade injustices. The University also was among the first in the nation to analyze its carbon footprint.
• The National Science Foundation allocated nearly $600,000 to the University’s Alternative Careers in Teaching program, funding 50 stipends for professionals who have an advanced degree in science, technology, engineering or mathematics and who want to become K-12 math or science teachers.
  
• UW Oshkosh is a founding member of NEW ERA and NEW North, organizations committed to uniting the region for a more vibrant economy and quality of life.
  
• UW Oshkosh was one of 25 institutions nation-wide named a founding member of the Higher Education Steering Committee of the American Council on Renewable Energy. It was one of three Wisconsin organizations honored in 2006 for voluntary efforts to improve air quality in the state.
• The total UW Oshkosh economic contribution to the state is more than $500 million. The campus is responsible for directly and indirectly creating more than 9,000 jobs, generating more than $37.5 million in tax revenue and giving more than $4 million in time and money to local charities.
• Since 1999, the College of Nursing graduate students’ pass rate on the American Nurses Credentialing Center– Family Nurse Practitioner Exam has been above 99 percent.
   
  

Alumni of Pride

• Carla Altepeter (MBA ’98) is president and CEO of CitizensFirst Credit Union.
• Kristopher Brown’s (BA, radio-TV-film ’88) first feature film Drillbit Taylor, starring Owen Wilson and Leslie Mann, opened in mid-March.
• Craig Culver (BS, biology ’73) is chairman and chief executive officer of Culver Franchising Systems Inc.
• Danae Davis (BS, political science ’77) is executive director of PEARLS for Teen Girls Inc., a Milwaukee-based program committed to maximizing girls’ self-development. She serves on the UW System Board of Regents. 
• Robert Fale (BSN ’79) is president and CEO of Agnesian Healthcare.
• James (BS, political science ’69) and Janine (BS, English ’70) Geenen have spent nearly 30 years working to improve the lives of the poor in Third World countries, most recently in Paraguay where Jim serves as Peace Corps director and Janine teaches English. 
• Stephanie Hagstrom-Gaymon (BS, biology ’91) earned her doctorate and is a researcher at Harvard Medical School’s Department of Ophthalmology.
• Norbert Hill (BS, sociology ’69, MSE ’71) is vice president of the College of Menominee Nation’s Green Bay campus.
• Robert Keller (BS, economics ’69) is chairman and chief executive officer of J. J. Keller and Associates Inc., Neenah.
• Gerald Kons (BA, mathematics ’61) is a retired American Airlines pilot. He operates and flies for “American Dream Flite,” a service that provides round-trip airfare and a vacation at Walt Disney World with medical service pro bono for children with serious illnesses.
• Patrick Roetzer (BS, psychology ’70) is a consultant in restorative dentistry at the Veteran’s Administration Medical Center in Martinez, Calif. As a dentist and inventor, he holds seven patents for products and materials used in restorative dentistry.
• Donald Smiley (BS, radio-TV-film ’84) is CEO of Summerfest and Milwaukee World Festival Inc.
• Todd Teske (BBA, accounting ’87) is executive vice president and chief operating officer at Briggs & Stratton Corporation in Milwaukee.
• Jim VandeHei (BS, journalism, political science ’94) is co-founder and executive editor of The Politico in Washington, D.C.  
• Stephen Vander Ark (MS, industrial psychology ’93) recruits astronauts for NASA.
• Phil Whitebloom (BBA, marketing ’80) is vice president of sales for government and corporate accounts at Sony Electronics Inc. 
• Peter Wick (BBA, accounting ’05) is one of only 10 nationwide to receive the Elijah Watt Sells Award from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The award honors the highest cumulative scores on the four sections of the Uniform CPA Examination, which is taken by 40,000 people.
• Learn more about UW Oshkosh's Distinguished Alumni Award recipients throughout the years.