College of Letters and Science

Student/faculty research collaboration

In 2007-2008, the College of Letters and Science continued to emphasize the significance of student/faculty collaborative research, supporting student travel for research presentations, highlighting such collaboration in a public forum on campus and engaging students through special grant funded projects. The value of discovering and sharing new knowledge was actively promoted through learning and engagement outside the classroom.  

As a result of a program funded by both a Differential Tuition grant and by match funding from departmental budgets, the College was able to send 20 students to regional and national conferences for the purpose of highlighting their research results to an audience of professionals. Papers and posters were presented from students of varying disciplines across the College.

Additionally, two students who worked collaboratively on set production in the Department of Theatre participated in a presentation to campus faculty, staff and students and to community visitors at a College of Letters and Science Dean’s Symposium. At the Spring 2008 forum, titled “Setting the Stage: The Process of Creating a Theatrical Environment,” these students along with their faculty mentor discussed the process of set design.

Likewise, several students presented collaborative research at the fifth-annual UW System Research Day in Madison. Their research, including issues involving green mats of algae, seed dispersal by rodents and the largest star-forming field in the Milky Way, was included in the Posters in the Rotunda event at the state Capitol. Their faculty collaborators attended the event as well.

Various faculty members also obtained grant funding that supported undergraduate student research participation. Two professors from the Department of Biology and Microbiology obtained $380,000 from the National Science Foundation to support their “Research Experience for Undergraduates in Genomic and Proteonomics” proposal that brought underrepresented students, including Native Americans, African Americans and Hispanics, to campus to conduct collaborative research over the summer. This program will continue through 2012.

The same department has continued to garner external grant and contract support to examine water quality issues. Taking place along the beaches of Lake Superior, Lake Michigan and several inland waters, this research is a collaborative effort involving faculty and graduate and undergraduate students. Another grant awarded from NSF will fund the interdisciplinary study of biology, microbiology, chemistry and computer science by eight to 10 undergraduates from economically underprivileged backgrounds.

Faculty members from the Departments of Geology and Religious Studies and Anthropology led a field study trip to Belize, centering their work on issues of ecology and conservation there.  Along with their students, they presented the results of their study during the annual Earth Day celebration on campus. 

In sum, the College remains committed to supporting such research opportunities for the invaluable personal growth and experience they provide our students. Seeking and providing funding as well as offering a spotlight hopefully will result in continued collaborative growth.   Unquestionably, these experiences are invaluable, building confidence in ways that cannot be duplicated inside the classroom.

International and ethnic studies and diversity initiatives

The College of Letters and Science continued its tradition of innovation in the area of international and ethnic studies. Faculty members from the College were instrumental in bringing actors from Britain’s AandBC Theatre Company to Oshkosh and the Fox Valley in fall 2007. 

The annual event “Shakespeare on the Fox” (SOF) included 10 performances of “The Tempest” by the AandBC Company. The play has rich multicultural implications: By considering the encounter of European civilization with the indigenous inhabitant of a fictional island, the play opens questions about the differences in cultures and the displacement or enslavement of one culture by another. The 2007 SOF season also included workshops by the American Players of Spring Green for students and community members, performances of “The Merchant of Venice” by the American Players Theatre, and dozens of other workshops by teachers and professors from both local high schools and colleges.

The African-American Studies Program, in collaboration with the Department of English, hosted a two-day Hip-Hop Symposium that featured a nationally renowned specialist in hip-hop culture. The African-American Studies Program also collaborated with the Journalism, English and Music departments in sponsoring two additional events. The first, with Journalism, was a panel discussion on race and the media that featured four guests from local Milwaukee-based press organizations, including two award-winning senior editors from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The second collaborative event, involving the African-American Studies Program and the English, Journalism and Music departments, brought to campus the famous columnist, novelist and cultural critic Stanley Crouch, who spoke on “Blues for America.”

Through successful grant funding, staff in the Department of History developed over two years the Black Thursday Oral History Project. As a result of numerous interviews and extensive research, the project documents dramatic demonstrations on the UW Oshkosh campus during the civil rights movement. The culmination of this work is a commemorative exhibit and series of campus-wide activities in fall 2008 that illustrate the complex history of race relations as they played out in Oshkosh 40 years ago.
 
The Women’s Studies Program offered its second-annual “A Day without Feminism” to highlight the dramatic changes brought about by the Women’s Movement. Several student interns researched pre-feminist era policies and developed a Web site to display examples of life before feminism. Highlighting women’s issues on an international front, the Women’s Studies Brown Bag Lunch Seminar series featured a faculty and staff presentation on women in poverty in Tanzania, based on their research during a study abroad trip there. Other College study abroad initiatives included international locations such as Belize, Edinburgh, London and Rome.

The Women’s Studies Program also was successful in its entitlement to plan a Women’s Studies major. Work on the proposed curriculum was ongoing throughout the year with implementation expected in fall 2009. At the same time, special initiative funding for a director of the Social Justice Program allowed advancement of its minor under her leadership. Interest in the minor has increased significantly among students.

In the arts, several exhibits and performances featured international and ethnic themes. The Radio-TV-Film Program continued to complement its curriculum by offering the International Film Series to its students and the broader community alike. At the same time, successful grant funding in the Department of Biology and Microbiology once again brought Native American, African-American and Hispanic students to campus in summer to conduct collaborative research, while also encouraging them to consider professional training in the sciences. The College further developed its links with tribal colleges, in particular with the Wind River Tribal College in Wyoming. This relationship has laid the groundwork for developing research opportunities for staff and students alike.

The study of less-often taught languages has seen additional growth in 2007-2008. In response to an increasingly global society, the Chinese curriculum has been expanded. Likewise, additional sections of Japanese classes have been added as students of the language have increased in number. The Model United Nations program furthered its remarkable run of success, and the African-American Studies program has over the last two years doubled the number of students in its program minor. Efforts to increase the number of minority groups and women in the faculty have been successful as well.

Collaborative efforts with PK-12 schools

In its ongoing efforts to assume both leadership and collaborative roles with PK-12 schools, the College offered a variety of programs in the arts and sciences for this group of students and their teachers.

The Department of Art hosted the High School Art Exhibition and Awards Day, bringing students and teachers from 38 schools to campus to celebrate the talents of their peers. 198 works by high school students were exhibited for three weeks in the Priebe Gallery, with 21 students receiving awards for their efforts.

Hosted by the Department of Music, the annual Wisconsin State Music Association Solo and Ensemble Festival also provided a venue for both supporting and showcasing high school talents and education arts programs. Under the leadership of several Music staff members, this event provided important support for secondary school music education programs in the area.

Likewise, approximately 500 high school students and their journalism advisors participated in the annual spring conference of the Northeastern Wisconsin Scholastic Press Association, coordinated by the Department of Journalism. Local and state media professionals along with educators gave presentations in 45 sessions over the course of the conference.

The Environmental Studies program organized its annual Earth Week celebration on campus, offering events and activities also attended by students from local schools. Environmental issues and strategies for sustainability were featured in a variety of presentations and venues. The week-long Earth Charter Summit, involving faculty and staff from across the College, also drew students and teachers from throughout the community.

Two members of the Department of History received a $998,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education/CESA 6 to continue the Northeast Wisconsin Teachers Academy for the Study of American History, a collaborative summer institute for area high school history teachers.

The Science Outreach program continued its work with PK-12 schools, offering a wide variety of sessions, programs and camps for students at the elementary, middle and high school levels. In conjunction, the Department of Computer Science offered short classes on computer science related topics for 30 middle school girls, provided half-day presentations to students during Science Summer Day Camp and taught fourth through sixth grade students how to create simple Web pages.

Center for Aquatic Studies

The Center for Aquatic Studies continues to grow and expand the range of services that it provides to the University and community. The first stage of the renovation of the Aquatic Laboratory building is complete, and efforts to obtain external grants, contracts and gifts of equipment continue with ample success. The Center’s outreach to teachers is ongoing, providing training about aquatic ecosystems and water resource issues. With improved facilities and a full-time technician, the Center’s capacity to offer educational and technical services to the Lake Winnebago and Fox Valley region has been significantly enhanced over the past year.

Promotion of the liberal arts

In 2007-2008, the College continued to highlight the value of a liberal arts education by weaving the message in the curriculum collegewide. Emphasizing interdisciplinary connections, faculty and staff have promoted the mission and significance of the liberal arts in the classroom. Course offering across the curriculum also expose students to a broad spectrum of knowledge about the human experience and the natural world. The College continued, as well, to explore new ways for students and faculty to engage in the wider community through research and other learning opportunities that benefit members of both the campus and Fox Valley communities.

Departments across the College responded to evolving environmental and international issues by developing educational programming, both here and abroad, to prepare students to live responsibly and to contribute to the ever-changing global society in which they live. The College also has fully embraced the mission and outcomes of the Liberal Education Reform Team, promoting its conclusion that “liberal education is a philosophy of education that empowers individuals with broad knowledge, transferable skills, and a strong sense of values, ethics and civic engagement.” At the same time, continuing relationships with organizations such as healthcare agencies, correctional institutions, tribal colleges and performing arts centers have helped to extend the liberal arts mission of the College beyond our campus.

Enhancing the connection between scholarly research and effective teaching, College faculty continued to be productive in their respective areas of specialization, publishing more than 150 journal articles, books and book chapters, presenting more than 200 papers at professional conferences, and exhibiting their artwork and performing musically and theatrically, regionally and nationally. Whenever possible, students collaborated with faculty on research associated with these publications and presentations.

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