News Releases

News Releases for January 2002

News Release #1-5
CONTACT: Edward Linenthal, (920) 424-4407
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/Jan. 7, 2002

Linenthal Appointed Fellow at Trinity College

OSHKOSH-Edward T. Linenthal, the Edward M. Penson Professor of Religion and American Culture at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, has been named the 2001-2002 Leonard E. Greenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. He will lecture and teach there in March.

Calling him a "leading expert on civil religion," Trinity said Linenthal "has opened a dialogue of historical reinterpretation involving some of the most consequential and controversial episodes of the 19th, 20th and early 21st centuries."

Previous scholars appointed in the Trinity distinguished fellows program have been faculty from the London School of Economics and University of Pennsylvania and the co-director of the American Jewish Congress Commission on Law and Social Action.

Last spring Linenthal became the first selected for the UW Oshkosh Chancellor's Public Scholars Program. The program gives UW Oshkosh scholars the opportunity to speak out and provide input into debates on major contemporary public policy issues.

It allows faculty to demonstrate the university's commitment to scholarly activity and the public importance of that activity, said Chancellor Richard H. Wells.

Linenthal's most recent book - The Unfinished Bombing: Oklahoma City in American Memory - was published in October. Television stations and major newspapers nationwide have interviewed him extensively following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

In an interview with a Trinity College publication, Linenthal said, "What we learn from studying sites of violence is who we are and what we think is important."

News Release #1-1
CONTACT: Alan Lareau, (920) 424-4015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/Jan. 4, 2002

Professor's Research Will Lead to CD of Early Greta Keller Songs

OSHKOSH-A University of Wisconsin Oshkosh foreign language professor is conducting research in Germany this month that will lead to a CD of the earliest recordings of famous Vienna-born cabaret singer Greta Keller.
Alan Lareau will conduct his research in the German Cabaret Archives in Mainz.

Keller, who sang in a style reminiscent of Marlene Dietrich, made recordings throughout the world. She spent many years in the United States and had a famous nightclub in the basement of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
Lareau's CD will include Keller's "German Classics of Swing," in which she sings Franz Schubert lieder, a German art song, with a jazz combo.

Funding for the project comes from Vienna's Orpheus Trust, a nonprofit organization supporting research and publication of music by musicians, composers and musicologists lost to Austria as a result of the Nazis.
Specifically, the funding comes from the trust's Fred Spielmann fund. Spielmann, who fled Europe in 1938, eventually wrote music for Broadway. His songs include "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." He won a Grammy in 1973 for "Paper Roses."
The Keller CD will appear in fall 2002 in the series KLEINaberKUNST by Bear Family Records in Germany. It follows the CD Lareau co-developed for the KLEINaberKUNST series of rare early recordings of operetta and popular song star Fritzi Massary of Germany that was issued earlier this year.

News Release #1-2
CONTACT: Susan Schierstedt, (920) 424-2257
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/Jan. 4, 2002

Wisconsin Family Business Forum Program Jan. 31

OSHKOSH-Developing a compensation package to help you retain good employees will be covered in a program sponsored by the Wisconsin Family Business Forum at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh on Thursday, Jan. 31.

The program will run from 3 to 6 p.m. in Reeve Memorial Union, 748 Algoma Blvd.

UW Oshkosh professor of resource management Dale Feinauer and executives with H.G. Weber & Co., Kiel; J.J. Plank Corp., Neenah; and Badger Mining Corp., Berlin, will present the program.

The WFBF is the largest family business organization, and the first of its kind, in Wisconsin. It includes 33 members and eight sponsoring organizations.
The WFBF is a partnership of family businesses, professional service organizations and the UW Oshkosh College of Business Administration that provides avenues for learning, sharing and creating effective solutions on critical issues facing family businesses.

Family business owners interested in joining may attend one breakfast program as a guest. Contact director Sue Schierstedt, (920) 424-2257 or e-mail schierss@uwosh.edu. Guests pay a minimal fee applicable to membership within 60 days of the program.

News Release #1-3
CONTACT: Bruce Atwell, (920) 424-4228
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/Jan. 21, 2002

International Horn Quartet Set for Concert, Midwest Workshop

OSHKOSH-The TransAtlantic Horn Quartet (TAHQ), its British and American players acclaimed on the international concert stage, will come to the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh for two events in February.
After its debut at London's Royal Academy of Music in 1998, the French horn quartet has developed a reputation as one of the world's premiere horn ensembles.

At UW Oshkosh, the TAHQ will:
· Perform at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21, in the university's Chamber Arts Series. The event will be in the Music Hall, 926 Woodland Ave. Tickets at the door are $6, $5 for students 12 and under and $4 for seniors and non-UW Oshkosh students. UW Oshkosh students are admitted free with campus identification.
· Participate as featured guest artists in the 2002 Midwest Horn Workshop scheduled Feb. 22-24 at UW Oshkosh. They will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23 as part of the horn workshop and offer master classes.
With internationally recognized artists Michael Thompson and Richard Watkins of Great Britain, and David Ohanian and Skip Snead of the United States, the quartet features a unique blend of styles.
Thompson, one of the world's leading horn soloists, was principal horn of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London at the age of 21. He has made major appearances on every continent and performed with many of the world's top ensembles. He is one of the most widely recorded horn players in history.

Watkins, an internationally known soloist and chamber musician, also was principal horn of the Philharmonia Orchestra. He has been featured worldwide with many prominent conductors.

Both Thompson and Watkins hold major chairs and are fellows at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Ohanian, from the Boston Conservatory of Music, performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra before he became a founding member of the Empire Brass Quintet and went on to become the horn player with The Canadian Brass. He has recorded more than 30 albums and played live performances in virtually every major music venue on every continent in the world.

Snead has been a featured artist with many groups and recently was a guest soloist with State Orchestra of Transylvania in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. He has recordings with the "Classic Brass" and a solo release on the Centaur label. Snead is on the faculty at the University of Alabama School of Music.

The TAHQ's CD is "Spontaneous Combustion." It expects to release another in the fall.
Also at the Feb. 22-24 horn workshop, there will be high school and college competitions for solo, orchestral and horn quartets, two regional artist recitals, a college horn choir concert and a host of other events.
A Wisconsin High School Honors Horn Quartet, selected through auditions at UW Oshkosh, will perform and receive coaching from the TAHQ.
For additional information about the horn workshop contact Bruce Atwell, (920) 424-4228. Atwell, a member of the UW Oshkosh music faculty, is principal horn with the Fox Valley Symphony, the Oshkosh Symphony and the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra.

News Release #1-15
CONTACT: Christine Gantner, (920) 424-0625
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/Jan. 22, 2002

"Changing Face of UW Oshkosh" Reception Jan. 30

FOND DU LAC-"The Changing Face of UW Oshkosh" is the topic for a Jan. 30 reception for UW Oshkosh alumni living or working in Fond du Lac.

The event will be from 5 to 7 p.m. at South Hills Country Club, 1175 Fond du Lac Ave.

Chancellor Richard H. Wells and UW Oshkosh Foundation President Thomas Keefe will attend the event sponsored by ep>direct Digital Printing Services and Schenck Business Solutions, both of Fond du Lac.
Wells, who became the university's 10th chancellor in October 2000, has guided development of new program and facility plans for the 11,000-student university.

Keefe, former executive director of the Catholic Aid Foundation of St. Paul, and associate vice president of institutional advancement at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, began last fall.

More than 1,500 UW Oshkosh alumni live and/or work in Fond du Lac.

"Your university is poised to achieve measurable greatness under the leadership" of Wells, new Provost Keith Miller and Keefe, said an invitation to UW Oshkosh alumni in Fond du Lac from Mike Kuechler of Schenck Business Solutions and Ronald Langacker of ep>direct.

The reception is free. RSVP by calling the Alumni Office toll-free at 1-800-896-2586 or e-mail alumni@uwosh.edu.

News Release #1-12
CONTACT: Sarah Hadley, (920) 424-1230
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/Jan. 18, 2002

ComedySportz Set for Reeve Union Grand Opening Feb. 9

OSHKOSH-ComedySportz, a fun, fast-paced comedy show that the whole family can attend, will be part of the Reeve Memorial Union grand opening Feb. 8 and 9.
The improvisational event, which features two teams battling for laughs and points as they make up scenes, games and songs on the spot, will be at 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, in the ballroom of the "new" union at 748 Algoma Blvd.

Tickets are $1. UW Oshkosh students with ID are admitted free.

ComedySportz began in 1984 in Milwaukee. The next team began in Madison in 1985. The first Comedy League of America National Tournament was in 1988, with 10 teams participating. The CLA now has 25 teams.
ComedySportz is one of many events scheduled Feb. 9 as part of a daylong "Cruise the New U" festival celebrating the completion of the $16.3-million addition and renovation of the UW Oshkosh student union, 748 Algoma Blvd.

At 12:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8, university representatives and community residents will participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the project, part of the largest construction project in UW Oshkosh history. Tours and refreshments will follow.

From noon to midnight Saturday, Feb. 9, people of all ages can "Cruise the New 'U'" and enjoy music and food and participate in a variety of activities at Reeve. All events are open to the public.

News Release #1-11
CONTACT: Sarah Hadley, (920) 424-1230
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/Jan. 18, 2002

Feb. 9 Show at Reeve Union May 'Weird You Out!'

OSHKOSH-Craig Karges, whose show has been called "a fantastic display of illusion and psychic happenings," will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9 at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. Tickets at the door are $2.
Karges is one of the main acts in a Feb. 8-9 grand opening celebration for the university's "new" Reeve Memorial Union, 748 Algoma Blvd. He will entertain in a new ballroom added in the $16.3-million addition and remodeling project at Reeve.

He calls his show a blend of mystery, humor, psychology and intuition.
"You don't just watch this performance, you experience it, through total audience participation," he said.

In a typical appearance, he reads minds and makes predictions that are verified. Tables "walk" on stage and levitate into the air. Blindfolded, he is able to call off the serial number on a dollar bill.

Emmy-winning, late-night comedy host and Monday Night Football personality Dennis Miller said after a Karges performance, "this weirds me out."

Karges' many national television appearances include the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Larry King Live." His numerous awards include being named Entertainer of the Year an unprecedented six times by the National Association for Campus Activities and twice by Campus Activities magazine.

For more on Karges go to www.craigkarges.com/text/direct_text.html.

News Release #1-1
CONTACT: Alan Lareau, (920) 424-4015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/Jan. 4, 2002

Professor's Research Will Lead to CD of Early Greta Keller Songs

The Keller CD will appear in fall 2002 in the series KLEINaberKUNST by Bear Family Records in Germany. It follows the CD Lareau co-developed for the KLEINaberKUNST series of rare early recordings of operetta and popular song star Fritzi Massary of Germany that was issued earlier this year.

News Release #1-6
CONTACT: Chris Haywood, (920) 424-2242
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/Jan. 9, 2002

Furniture Art First Exhibit at New Reeve Gallery Feb. 7-March 6

OSHKOSH-Works by Wisconsin furniture artist Tom Loeser, nationally recognized for his functional designs, will be the first exhibit in the new Reeve Memorial Union Art Gallery. The exhibit runs from Feb. 7 through March 6.
The opening reception will be 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9.

The Loeser exhibit - "Functionally Challenged: Furniture by Tom Loeser" - is the first of three scheduled this spring in the new gallery. It opens a day before the Feb. 8-9 grand opening celebration for the $16.3-million expansion and renovation of Reeve.

Loeser's artwork has been in more than 150 national and international exhibitions. He recently had a one-person show at Leo Kaplan Modern art gallery, the latest of five one-person shows he has had in New York.

His work is in the permanent collections of museums and universities such as the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Renwick Gallery; the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum; Yale University Art Gallery; Milwaukee Art Museum, and the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

Loeser has taught at UW Madison since 1991.
Innovative design and lighting make the new gallery a unique art venue for Oshkosh and the Fox Valley. The 1,343 square-foot gallery provides a picturesque view of the nearby Fox River from a carpeted setting on the union's third floor.

Other exhibits scheduled this spring in the Reeve Memorial Union Art Gallery:

· Steven Haas, "Metal, Mobiles and Sculpture," March 8 - April 9, closing reception Friday, April 5. Works include mobiles fabricated from stainless steel and aluminum, and spanning up to 26 feet. Haas connects art and whimsy in his airborne creations. His stationary sculptures are abstract, closed forms made of brass, with elements of copper, stainless steel and/or marble.

· Jeff Crisman, "Tattoo Photography," April 11 - May 6, opening reception Saturday, April 13. Crisman's fascination with tattoos led him on a five-year odyssey across the United States and Canada photographing striking images of tattooed bodies. The result is a compelling exhibition of body art accompanied by text and quotations from his subjects. Crisman's photos portray tattoo art at its finest.

News Release #1-13
CONTACT: Gail Panske, (920) 426-0249
Christie Charbonneau Wells, (920) 303-9637
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/Jan. 22, 2002

Art Exhibit Features Works by 2 from UW Oshkosh

OSHKOSH-Works by two artists from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh - Gail Panske of the art faculty and Christie Charbonneau Wells, wife of Chancellor Richard Wells - will be featured in the exhibit "Two Views: News Works" Feb. 2-23 at ArtSpace Collective, 7 Merritt Ave.

There will be an opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2.

Panske's work was in the first invitational art exhibit in the official residence of UW System President Katharine Lyall last fall. She was one of four from UW Oshkosh among the 17 artists from throughout the UW System featured in that exhibit.

The curator for that exhibit was Christie Wells, an oil painter and former curator of the Indiana State University Permanent Art Collection.

The exhibit will include prints by Panske and paintings by Wells. Panske's prints will be primarily etchings and relief prints.

Gallery hours at ArtSpace are 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

The works by Panske are part of her "Templum - Sequences Series." Recent exhibits by Panske include a solo exhibit at Lakeland College and an exhibit of works by her and another artist at the University of Dayton (Ohio). She also had a piece in the 2001 Mid America Print Council's annual exhibit at Indiana University Southeast.

Wells has taught at West Chester and Indiana State universities and has had exhibits throughout the United States. She has a studio in downtown Oshkosh.

News Release #1-4
CONTACT: Linda Freed, (920) 424-1415
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/Jan. 10, 2001

6 International Projects Funded for Faculty, Students

OSHKOSH-Research involving fungal spores and rodents in French Guiana and establishment of music faculty exchange programs with conservatories in Russia and Kazakhstan are among projects funded by a program to expand international opportunities at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.

Nine faculty members have been awarded $26,490 from the Vander Putten International Fund, set up to "substantially enhance the international dimensions of the university."

The fund was established by Roy Vander Putten, formerly of Appleton and a 1961 graduate of UW Oshkosh who has been a successful senior executive and leader in a variety of business and civic ventures.
The recipients of the funding and their projects are:

· Greg Adler, biology, who will take graduate students to northern French Guiana to study the dispersal by rodents of a particular fungal spore important to trees growing in nutrient-poor soils. Adler is a world-recognized ecology biologist.

· Kay Gainacopulos, Dmitri Novgorodsky and Andrea Gullickson, all members of the music faculty, to establish a music faculty exchange program with the Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory in St. Petersburg, Russia.

· Novgorodsky, to establish a faculty exchange program between UW Oshkosh and the Almaty National Conservatory of Music, a prominent musical institution inKazakhstan. A native of Russia and a graduate of Yale, Novgorodsky will lecture and perform at the Kazakh National Conservatory, and the director of Kazakh will do the same at UW Oshkosh.

· Ralph Gunderson, economics, to present a lecture to students and faculty at Ricardo Palma University in Lima, Peru. Future outcomes could include programs for UW Oshkosh students to study at Ricardo Palma and the University of Lima.

· Donald Hones, education, and Jenna Graff, coordinator of international programs in the College of Business Administration, to establish an English as a Second Language methods course for UW Oshkosh students in Japan. They will also explore future exchanges involving the UW Oshkosh College of Education and Human Services and Japanese schools and universities.

· Kathleen Stetter, psychology, to establish a field study course and home stay for UW Oshkosh students in Salvador, Brazil.

News Release #1-17
CONTACT: Michael Briley, (920) 424-7104
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/Jan. 24, 2002

Student's Work Will Help Reveal Secrets of Milky Way Galaxy

OSHKOSH-University of Wisconsin Oshkosh physics major Daniel Bush of Waconia, Minn., is the first Oshkosh astronomer to take images using a newly refurbished telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory.

The work comes after UW Oshkosh signed a four-year agreement last spring with the WIYN consortium - UW-Madison, Indiana University, Yale and the National Optical Astronomical Observatories (NOAO) - to upgrade and operate the 0.9-meter telescope atop Kitt Peak, Ariz.

As part of the agreement, UW Oshkosh student and faculty astronomers will receive about 12 nights a year on the telescope.

Bush and UW Oshkosh astronomy professor Michael Briley used the telescope to observe a nearby satellite galaxy of the Milky Way located in the constellation Sextans. They took images of the galaxy through filters, which will enable Bush to determine the chemical compositions of its stars.

Bush's project is sponsored in part by the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium and the F. John Barlow endowed professorship at UW Oshkosh.

"The long-term goal is to better understand how galaxies recycle material from dying stars into new ones, and in the process build up heavy elements," Briley said.
In February, Briley and UW Oshkosh physics/astronomy professor Nadeja Kaltcheva will use the telescope to map out the positions of stars in a star-forming cloud.
Last spring, Briley also was awarded a $115,801 grant from the National Science

Foundation to continue studying the chemical makeup of star clusters in the Milky Way and other galaxies.
That grant gives Briley and his students observation time at several major telescopes, including in Hawaii and Chile later this semester. The work could provide clues about how the Milky Way galaxy was formed.

The three-year grant grew out of research Briley and his undergraduate students conducted under a four-year grant of $126,611 from NSF in 1996.

Briley and his students are doing work related to that project with astronomers at California Institute of Technology, University of California-Santa Cruz and the University of Aarhus in Denmark.

"All of these projects benefit students by putting them on the front lines of research with faculty and better preparing them for life outside the classroom," Briley said.

News Release #1-18
CONTACT: Carl Chapman, (920) 424-2272
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/Jan. 29, 2002

Sheboygan Student Wins State Choral Directors Competition

OSHKOSH-University of Wisconsin Oshkosh senior Linda Wittrock Ruona is the winner of the 2002 Wisconsin Choral Directors Association (WCDA) Undergraduate Conducting Competition.

The Jan. 17 competition was held in conjunction with the annual WCDA convention in Appleton.

In the competition, university students from across Wisconsin each conducted a short rehearsal of the Oshkosh West High School Concert Choir before a panel of three judges.

Ruona, a music education major at UW Oshkosh, was recognized in an awards presentation before a general session of the convention.

A Sheboygan South High School graduate, Ruona is a choral conducting student of Carl Chapman, director of choral activities at UW Oshkosh. Chapman is president of the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association.

News Release #1-21
CONTACT: Sarah Hadley, (920) 424-1230
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/Jan. 31, 2002

Adventurer to Speak Feb. 12 on Afghanistan, Other Hot Spots

OSHKOSH-Adventurer Robert Young Pelton has met members of the Taliban, leaders of the Northern Alliance and warlords in several visits to Afghanistan beginning in 1995, but he says that he never found Afghans to be anti-American.

"I never met any anti-American sentiment, just the sense that we had abandoned them after our support in the '80s against the Russians," said Pelton.

Pelton will speak about his exploits in Afghanistan and other global hot spots when he visits the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Feb. 12.

Host of the Discovery Travel Channel's "The World's Most Dangerous Places," Pelton will speak at 8 p.m. in the ballroom of Reeve Memorial Union, 748 Algoma Blvd.

The presentation, co-sponsored by the University Speakers Series and the campus chapter of the National Broadcasting Society, is free and open to the public.
Pelton's writings and footage from Afghanistan were the basis for a Discovery Travel Channel special that aired in April 2000 and was rerun following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He was interviewed frequently after Sept. 11.
His book, "The World's Most Dangerous Places," was on The New York Times bestseller list and the required reading list at the CIA. Before becoming an adventurer, he tried such occupations as lumberjack, boundary cutter and blaster's assistant.

A fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in London, he and his exploits have been covered by publications from Outside to The New York Times, and he's been featured on many networks: BBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox and regularly on CNN.

In visits to more than 90 countries, he's dealt with terrorists, warlords, nomads, mercenaries, missionaries, sultans and headhunters.

His adventures include breaking American citizens out of jail in Colombia, thundering down forbidden rivers in leaky native canoes, completing the first circumnavigation of the island of Borneo by land and setting up the world's first video interview of the never-before-photographed Taliban leaders.

"The Afghans are a diverse people who have always viewed America as an ally, and they share many of the same philosophies and attitudes as we do," he told CCN.com in October. "I hope when this is all over, Afghanistan can return to the stability and peace it enjoyed in the '60s and '70s."

News Release #1-9
CONTACT: Randy Hedge, (920) 424-2346
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/Jan. 28, 2002

All Ages Can Have Fun, Celebrate the 'New U'

OSHKOSH-A two-day grand opening celebration for the "new" University of Wisconsin Oshkosh student union begins with a ribbon cutting at 12:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8 and includes fun-filled activities for all ages from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9.

The public is invited to all the events during the "Cruise the New U" festival. All but two of the events are free (see attached schedule). There will be free popcorn and candy throughout Saturday.

All events will be in Reeve Memorial Union, 748 Algoma Blvd. The celebration follows a $16.3-million expansion and renovation of Reeve.

Children, adults and families will all find something fun or rewarding at the Saturday events.

Activities will include a story land and face and body painting for children and music, food and a variety of entertainment for adults.

The list of activities is attached. If you have questions call Titan Central Information Center, (920) 424-1234.

News Release #1-10
CONTACT: Randy Hedge, (920) 424-2346
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/Jan. 28, 2002

Reeve Memorial Union was a House in 1951

OSHKOSH-When Mary Reeve Fraker bequeathed her home along Algoma Boulevard to the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in the late 1940s, her will said it had to be used as a student union and be named after her grandfather, a prominent Oshkosh banker in the early 1870s.

The Thomas T. Reeve Memorial Student Union opened in 1951, after Wisconsin State Universities' Regents accepted Fraker's bequest in 1949 and provided a few thousand dollars to remodel it for a union.

Back in '51, the union "snack bar" could hold only 40 people. It had a television, piano, record player, fireplace and chairs. Four rooms on the second floor of the remodeled house were rented to students because dorm space was limited.

Fewer than 700 students attended Wisconsin State University Oshkosh in 1951.

The first "Reeve Memorial Union" was built in 1959. It was a 187-by-98-foot brick building that included the Titan Room, where you could get a burger or hot dog, snacks and drinks. It had a game room with pool and ping-pong tables and 12 folding tables and chairs to use for chess, cribbage and checkers.

Campus enrollment grew rapidly in the 1960s, and so did the union. There was a major addition in 1964 and a major remodeling project in 1987-89. Air conditioning was added as part of a 1985-87 project that also provided the building's first elevator.

Today's "new" Reeve Memorial Union serves a campus of about 11,000 students. A recently completed $16.3-million project expanded it from 98,000 to 163,000 square feet and provided it with the design, space and technology to make it a state-of-the-art center for a 21st century university.

It includes an expansive student involvement and leadership center, bookstore, copy center, theater/teleconference center, 730-seat multipurpose room, art gallery, new food court, new lounges, credit union office, coffee house and other eateries. Coming soon is a hair salon and an outdoor adventure center.
Reeve Memorial Union has come a long way since it was a remodeled house.

But it's still the center of this bustling, central-Wisconsin campus.

News Release #1-8
CONTACT: Randy Hedge, (920) 424-2346
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/Jan. 28, 2002

Grand Opening for 'New' Reeve Memorial Union Feb. 8, 9

OSHKOSH-The "new" University of Wisconsin Oshkosh student union - part of the largest construction project in UW Oshkosh history - will take its maiden voyage Feb. 8 and 9, with everyone invited to have fun at "ports of call" throughout the remodeled and expanded facility.

At 12:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8, university representatives and community residents will participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Several members of the student committee that helped guide the project to completion will attend. Tours and refreshments will follow.

From noon to midnight Saturday, Feb. 9, people of all ages can "Cruise the New 'U'" and enjoy music, food and a variety of activities. All events are open to the public. All but two are free (see enclosed list of activities).
There will be free parking in all university lots. However, do not park in reserved or handicapped spaces without a permit.

Young people may visit story land, create wax hands and get face and body painting. Adults may create a music video, attend a movie or sample foods from around the world.

Free popcorn and candy will be provided throughout the Saturday events. Musicians and entertainers will perform from noon to early evening.

The grand opening follows a $16.3-million expansion and renovation of Reeve Memorial Union, 748 Algoma Blvd.
The "new" union is part of the $19.5-million Project 2000, which also includes the remodeling and expansion of the university's Blackhawk Commons.
Project 2000 is the - largest single construction project in UW Oshkosh history.

The new union has a 190-seat theater, an 730-seat multipurpose room for conferences and other events, an art gallery and several new lounges and meeting rooms outfitted with the latest in technology. It has a bookstore, a convenience store, a credit union and a copy center, and it offers extensive catering for large events/banquets.
Soon it will even have a hair salon and an outdoor adventure center.

The bright, airy structure includes a nearly all-glass south wall and 163,000 square feet of space on three floors, compared with 98,000 square feet before the project. A new and expanded food concourse has several restaurants.

The "old" union booked an average of 6,000 meetings and events each year. The new facility is already booking meetings and events at double that rate, according to reservations coordinator Michelle Jensen.
"

This facility is truly a gift from students to the university and the surrounding community," said Chancellor Richard H. Wells. "No tax dollars are involved."

News Release #1-6
CONTACT: Chris Haywood, (920) 424-2242
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/Jan. 9, 2002

Furniture Art First Exhibit at New Reeve Gallery Feb. 7-March 6

The opening reception will be 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9.

Loeser's works, inspired by the Shaker aesthetic as well as modernist work by architect and furniture designer Gerrit Rietveld, are predominately constructed of wood
and use traditional joinery techniques. Carving and color are key elements in his designs.
Loeser has taught at UW Madison since 1991.
Innovative design and lighting make the new gallery a unique art venue for Oshkosh and the Fox Valley. The 1,343 square-foot gallery provides a picturesque view of the nearby Fox River from a carpeted setting on the union's third floor.

Other exhibits scheduled this spring in the Reeve Memorial Union Art Gallery:

News Release #1-16
CONTACT: Sarah Hadley, (920) 424-1230
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/Jan. 31, 2002

MTV Darlings 'Sugar Ray' Rock UW Oshkosh March 12

OSHKOSH-The rock group Sugar Ray, whose lead singer People magazine called one of the sexiest people around, will perform March 12 at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.

Tickets for UW Oshkosh students will go on sale beginning at 10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 11. The event is sponsored by the student Reeve Union Board.
General admission tickets will go on sale beginning at 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 14. The limit is six tickets per person.

Vocalist Mark McGrath will lead the group into the university's Kolf Sports Center, 785 High Ave., for a performance beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Sugar Ray stormed the mainstream music scene with the hit "Fly" on its 1997 double platinum-certified album "Floored."

"Floored" was followed by the triple-platinum "14:59" in 1999. Its next record was "Sugar Ray" in 2001, with its mix of pop, punk, hip-hop, reggae, New Wave and old-fashioned rock.

"We started this band to rock," said bassist Murphy Karges last June. "We've been fortunate enough to evolve into a band that writes these pop songs that people react to, but the essence of this band is rock n' roll."

The group's first release was the hard-rocking 1995's "Lemonade & Brownies," which doesn't sound much like it's most recent release, "Sugar Ray."
"I don't know if we've matured as much as we've grown," said guitarist Rodney -

Sheppard. "Anything you do year after year you hope you get a little better. We're not really mature - we're just better at what we do."

In 1997, "Fly" held the top position on Billboard's "Hot 100 Airplay" list for six straight weeks, while it's video was number one at MTV, VH1 and The Box. The group performed on such national TV programs as Late Show With David Letterman, The Rosie O'Donnell Show and Late Night With Conan O'Brien.

McGrath made appearances shows such as Politically Incorrect and VH1's Rock 'N' Roll Jeopardy, and the group was featured in Rolling Stone, Cosmopolitan, People and a host of other magazines.

Formed in 1992, Sugar Ray has not changed personnel. In addition to McGrath, Sheppard and Karges, there is Craig "DJ Homicide" Bullock and dummer Stan Frazier. All are from Southern California.

The group has been with Atlantic Records since 1994.
Last June, the group's single "When It's Over" made Billboard's Top 10. In November, its single "Answer the Phone" made Billboard's Top 40.

Tickets to the March 12 concert are $18 for UW Oshkosh students and $22 for the general public. That does not include handling and service fees.

UW Oshkosh students can buy tickets beginning at 10 a.m. Feb. 11 at Reeve Memorial Union, 748 Algoma Blvd. The general public may purchase tickets beginning at 10 a.m. Feb. 14 at Reeve or all Ticketmaster outlets.

News Release #1-20
CONTACT: Berttram Chiang, (920) 424-3421
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/Jan. 31, 2002

Research Team Receives $700,000 for Special Education Study

OSHKOSH-Three University of Wisconsin Oshkosh educators will lead a $700,000 study of recent changes in state rules that help decide if a Wisconsin student has a disability and if he or she needs special education services and programs at school.

The research team headed by UW Oshkosh special education chair Berttram Chiang must make a preliminary report to the education committees of both houses of the state legislature by June 30, 2003 and a final report by June 20, 2005.

The study comes at a time when the number of Wisconsin children identified as disabled and receiving special education services and programs are both on the increase.

Wisconsin special education eligibility rules were updated July 1. The rules had not been changed since they were adopted in the 1970s.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) funds the study. Before the new rules, DPI was concerned about the state growth in special education enrollment.

With the latest grant, Chiang has received about $1.5 million in funding from DPI since 1995 for three major research projects involving special education in Wisconsin.

UW Oshkosh has the largest and the oldest special education teacher-training program in the state. Members of the three-person research team alone have been involved in 10 major research projects over the past decade.

The two other UW Oshkosh faculty members in the study are Craig Fiedler (920/424-1410), principal investigator, and Suzanne Russ (920/424-1480), assistant director and former Green Bay elementary school teacher.

Both have extensive special education research and teaching experience.

The UW Oshkosh research team will study the impact of the new Wisconsin special education eligibility criteria on such things as the number of children identified with a disability, the number determined to need special education programs and services and the number of review hearings, appeals, complaints and lawsuits filed by parents.

It will also closely examine the process used in school districts throughout Wisconsin to apply the criteria.
The researchers will also compare what they find in Wisconsin with other midwestern states.

"This research is critically important to the future of special education in Wisconsin schools," said Fiedler, Neenah, a former attorney. "It will have significant policy implications for Wisconsin and beyond."

Fiedler helped raise a severely disabled daughter and has written a book to assist special education professionals and parents become better advocates for children with disabilities.

Between the 1978-79 and 1998-99 school years, Wisconsin climbed from 48th to 28th among states in the percentage of children ages 6-17 receiving special education and related services.

The number of Wisconsin students identified as disabled increased from 106,055 to 125,230 between 1995 and 2000. Most of the increase came in the category of "learning disabled," which accounts for more than 40 percent of the students classified as disabled.

William Frankenberger, a psychology professor at UW-Eau Claire, is a consultant for the UW Oshkosh research team. Four subcontractors for the project include Helen Manojlovich and Sue Walsh, both of Cooperative Educational Service Agency (CESA) 6 of Oshkosh. Manojlovich is coordinator of deaf/hard of hearing and vision services for CESA 6, while Walsh is a specialist in visual impairment.

Other subcontractors include Timothy Gehring, a teacher for the deaf/hard of hearing in the Appleton Area School District, and Theresa Bowman, speech/language pathologist for the Neenah School District. Several UW Oshkosh students also will be involved in the research.

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