News Releases for December 1999

Dec. 2, 1999

OSHKOSH—The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh journalism department will sponsor a Speaker Series on International Journalism this spring.

Three speakers will be featured: Mary Doyle, a veteran Canadian journalist; Eddie Kuo, founding dean of the School of Communication Studies at the National Nanyang Technological University in Singapore; and Barbara Mueller of San Diego State University, a scholar in international advertising.

UW Oshkosh journalism professors James Tsao and Mike Cowling organized the series. They received an award of $3,100 from the university’s Vander Putten International Fund for the project.

The Vander Putten fund, established with a contribution from a 1961 graduate of UW Oshkosh and supplemented by an anonymous donor, will provide up to $50,000 in funding over each of the next five years for activities to "substantially enhance the international dimensions of the university."

Doyle, now teaching in the master’s journalism program at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, worked at The London (Ontario) Free Press and The Globe and Mail in Toronto for more than 10 years. She will lecture in journalism classes and meet with local journalists during her visit to UW Oshkosh Feb. 28 and 29.

Kuo’s research is focused on communication policy and planning, information technology, cultural policy and integration, and the sociology of multiculturalism. He is leading an international project on Internet communication that involves 16 universities worldwide.

While at UW Oshkosh April 10 and 11, Kuo will speak on the social impact of Internet communication and the social-economic development of Singapore and Hong Kong. He is scheduled to speak at the first Dean’s International Forum April 10, sponsored by the College of Letters and Science.

Mueller is the author of "International Advertising," a textbook used in many universities. She will discuss her research in cultural values and international advertising with advertising classes at UW Oshkosh. She will be on campus April 24 and 25.

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OSHKOSH—The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh has been recognized for leadership in the field of student character development in a national publication profiling 405 top college and university programs.

The Templeton Guide: Colleges That Encourage Character Development is published by the John Templeton Foundation. One of the foundation’s goals is to support programs to encourage character development in schools and colleges.

The university’s "strong commitment to character development and the strength of its program make it a model for colleges and universities nationwide," said Arthur J. Schwartz, director of character development programs at the foundation. "With The Templeton Guide, we hope to help prospective college students and their parents who want to know what colleges are doing to promote the core values of honesty, self-control, respect and service to those less fortunate."

The guide profiles the Department of Residence Life Citizenship Program. The program, which is in its 13^th year, encourages students to get involved in community service activities on campus and in the Oshkosh community.

UW Oshkosh Assistant Chancellor for Student Affairs Elliott Garb said the recognition shows how campus residence halls make a significant contribution to the development of future community leaders.

"Getting involved in community and campus projects and helping organizations such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the Christine Ann Center add tremendously to the experience students have in the classroom," he said. "Such programs help develop the whole person."

In the Citizenship Program, a panel of faculty, staff, community leaders and students review campus and community service programs within the university’s 11 residence halls and each spring recognizes three halls for those programs that exemplify outstanding citizenship. Nearly one-third of the almost 11,000 students attending UW Oshkosh live in residence halls.

"The Templeton Guide identifies colleges that encourage students to understand the importance of personal and civic responsibility," said Schwartz. "The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s work in this area is most impressive."

The guide contains profiles of 405 top programs at more than 300 four-year public and private colleges across the country. The UW Oshkosh Citizenship Program is featured in the guide’s section on civic education programs.

Through November of this school year 44 citizenship programs have been conducted by students in residence halls. They included Nelson Hall students who voluntarily raked people’s lawns, a "Scott Hall Bandstand" that raised money and food for the Christine Ann Center and Donner Hall students who volunteered at the Omro Haunted House in October.

Many students and student hall leaders volunteered at local service agencies during the Department of Residence Life Service Day and the United Way Day of Caring, both in September.

Other Wisconsin colleges and universities featured in The Templeton Guide are Alverno College, Edgewood College, Marquette University, Mount Mary College, St. Norbert College, UW­Eau Claire and Viterbo College

The Templeton Foundation, established in 1987, has a "College and Character" website at www.collegeandcharacter.org that provides information on the initiative and links to the home pages of colleges selected for The Templeton Guide.

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Dec. 7, 1999

OSHKOSH—Students from Cross Plains, Eldorado and Rosendale will graduate as University Scholars at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Mid-year Commencement Dec. 18.

To graduate as a University Scholar a student must carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.5, earn at least 19 honors course credits and complete a Senior Honors Thesis or the Senior Honors Seminar.

Nearly 300 University of Wisconsin Oshkosh students are involved in the University Scholars program.

University Scholars are awarded a medallion to wear at graduation. The graduate medallion award reception will be at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 7, at Pollock Alumni House, 765 Algoma Blvd. Provost Vicki Lord Larson will present the medallions.

Those graduating as UW Oshkosh University Scholars Dec. 18 are: Jill Levenhagen of Eldorado and Angela Hoerth of Rosendale, both majoring in accounting and finance; and Suzanne Hoehne of Cross Plains, majoring in biology and minoring in chemistry.

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Dec. 8, 1999

OSHKOSH—Kristina Adelmeyer of Big Bend has won the second annual University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Student Playwriting Contest. Adelmeyer is a radio-TV-film major.

Adelmeyer’s play, "No Bugs In Heaven," will be read at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 8, in the Experimental Theatre in the Arts and Communication Center, 926 Woodland Ave.

The contest, organized by playwright Richard Kalinoski of the UW Oshkosh Theatre Program, was open to all students.

Kalinoski said Adelmeyer’s play "tells the poignant story of a young woman’s struggle with her own misspent affections for an old friend."

Andrea Richardson of Oshkosh and Jeffrey Wagner of Little Chute portray the two young friends/lovers. Both had major roles in the recent UW Oshkosh Theatre production of "A Streetcar Named Desire." Kalinoski will direct. Admission is free.

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Dec. 9, 1999

OSHKOSH—A University of Wisconsin Oshkosh special education professor who has directed a citizens advocacy program, represented the poor as an attorney in Appalachia and helped raise a severely disabled daughter has written a book to assist special education professionals and parents become better advocates for children with disabilities.

"Compassionate and informative, this text helps special education professionals learn how to make a difference in the educational lives of children with disabilities," said publisher Allyn & Bacon, a leading publisher of college textbooks and professional resources.

Since Professor Craig Fiedler of Neenah began working as a Legal Services Corporation attorney in southwestern Kentucky fresh out of law school in 1977, he has learned the importance of advocacy.

"Advocacy has always been important to me," said Fiedler, 47, a member of the UW Oshkosh special education faculty since 1987. "If you have a concern about any disenfranchised group of people, I think you have to be concerned about advocacy."

Two years in the making, Fiedler’s book – Making a Difference: Advocacy Competencies for Special Education Professionals – is scheduled for release in about two weeks. While it’s primarily a textbook, Fiedler believes it will also help parents of disabled children.

Fiedler has just signed a contract with publisher Prentice Hall to co-author a book with a scholar at the University of Kansas on how schools and school professionals can provide support services to families with disabilities.

"Schools can support and help families cope with the sometimes very difficult job of maintaining a family with one or more disabled children," he said.

Fiedler knows that firsthand. He and his wife Sharon raised a severely disabled daughter. Now 22 years old, their daughter Jennifer lives in a house with two other women in a unique arrangement that has become a model for other disabled families in the region.

His latest book includes first-person accounts of the struggles Fiedler and his wife faced with their daughter.

Fiedler credits his wife, who runs a real estate appraisal business, with doing most of the work to set up the semi-independent housing arrangement for their daughter. Sharon Fiedler functions as a house manager, and there are twice-a-day visits from a home health care assistant, but Jennifer gets the chance to live somewhat independently and not in a group home or sheltered apartment.

The Fiedlers have described their experiences at several conferences for professionals and families, and they get calls for advice from other parents of disabled children. In his role as a special education professor Fiedler has done consulting for school districts statewide on ways to improve services to students with disabilities.

A native of La Crosse, Fiedler practiced law for three years after graduating from UW-Madison Law School before deciding to become director of a citizen advocacy program run by the La Crosse Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC). He returned to school and eventually earned his doctorate in special education at the University of Kansas.

For nine years he was a member of the Winnebago County ARC Board, and for six years he was a member of the board of the Wisconsin Coalition for Advocacy that represents children and families with disabilities.

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Dec. 13, 1999

OSHKOSH—Topics such as the impact of music instruction on young children and how to communicate better with older adults with memory impairment will be covered in free brown bag seminars sponsored by the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Employee Assistance Program (EAP) beginning in January.

The sessions will be from noon to 1 p.m. in Room 221 of Reeve Memorial Union, 748 Algoma Blvd. They are free and open to the public as well as UW Oshkosh employees.

Here is the program lineup:

Wednesday, Jan. 12, Women, Relation and Finding a Work Identity, co-sponsored by Wisconsin Women in Higher Education Leadership. Psychologist Susan Barbour, director of the EAP program, will explore the links between work realities such as competition and a woman’s often intuitive response to relationships that emphasizes the well-being of others.

Wednesday, Feb. 23, Music Instruction in the Kindergarten Classroom: Effects on Spatial Intelligence. UW Oshkosh psychology professor Frances Rauscher will present her three-year study on the effects of piano keyboard lessons on kindergarten children’s spatial abilities and discuss what it may imply for educators and parents.

Thursday, March 23, Meditation: Instant Tranquility. Paula Hayford of the UW Oshkosh Student Health Center will describe the benefits and methods of meditation, or the process of cultivating the ability to focus on the present, without getting distracted by the past or the future.

Thursday, April 20, Through the Eyes of a Loved One With Memory Impairment. Joscelyn Deanovich of Alternative Living Services of Fond du Lac will focus on understanding the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and how to communicate effectively with older adults with memory impairment.

Wednesday, May 10, Neck and Shoulder Tension. Shirley Perzentka, a massage therapist from Oshkosh, will demonstrate some quick and simple techniques to massage neck and shoulder areas. Participants will practice on each other.

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Dec. 13, 1999

OSHKOSH—Undergraduate and graduate students from the four colleges of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh will receive their degrees at the 35^th Midyear Commencement Saturday, Dec. 18.

The ceremony will begin at 9:30 a.m. in Kolf Sports Center, 785 High Ave. A reception for graduates, parents and guests will follow from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the lower level of Kolf.

Marilyn Hart, a professor in operations management in the College of Business Administration, will give the commencement address. Class speaker is Dawn Dewane of Sheboygan, a speech communications major.

Dewane has been active in the UW Oshkosh Communications Club and spent three years as a member of Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority. She has volunteered for the Fond du Lac Boys & Girls Club and worked at the UW Oshkosh Testing Center.

Chancellor John E. Kerrigan will confer bachelor’s and master’s degrees to graduates in Business Administration, Education and Human Services, Letters and Science and Business Administration.

Music student Sara Barry of Appleton will lead the audience in the national anthem and the singing of "Alma Mater."

The ceremony will last approximately two hours. No tickets are required. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. To request special seating for the ceremony contact Sheryl Hanson, 424-1133.

Eight retiring members of the faculty will be recognized. They are Sandra Gade, physics/astronomy), 33 years; John Hein, biology, 32 years; Paul Johnson, geography, 33 years; Stanley Larson, English, 32 years; Harlan Linsley, psychology, 33 years; Claire Meisenheimer, nursing, 12 years; Allen Utke, chemistry, 36 years; and Leroy Zacher, journalism, 30 years.

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Dec. 15, 1999

OSHKOSH—University of Wisconsin Oshkosh music Professor Bruce Atwell recently won the principal horn position with the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra.

Atwell is principal horn with the Oshkosh Symphony and the Fox Valley Symphony.

Atwell won the position with the 35-member Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra following a national audition. The ballet performs at the Marcus Center for the Arts in downtown Milwaukee. It is one of the premier ballet companies in the United States.

The Milwaukee Ballet is now staging performances of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite.

A member of the UW Oshkosh music faculty since fall 1998, Atwell will be a featured soloist with both the Oshkosh and Fox Valley symphonies this season.

He was principal horn of the Cincinnati Ballet Orchestra and has held positions with the Florida Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic and the University of Florida.

He has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra on tour in Europe and for concerts in Philadelphia and at Carnegie Hall.

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Dec. 15, 1999

OSHKOSH—The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Faculty Brass Trio has been invited to perform Suite for Brass Trio, a piece by UW Oshkosh composer James Chaudoir, at the College Music Society (CMS) regional conference at Ball State University in April.

The invitation was based on a competitive audition. The trio includes Bruce Atwell on horn, Charles Isaacson on trombone and Randall Sorensen on trumpet.

The CMS conference will focus on living Great Lakes-area composers.

Atwell is principal horn with the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra, the Oshkosh Symphony and the Fox Valley Symphony. He was principal horn of the Cincinnati Ballet Orchestra and has held positions with the Florida Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic and the University of Florida.

Isaacson plays principal trombone in the Oshkosh Symphony and is a member of the UW Oshkosh Faculty Brass Ensemble.

Sorensen performed with the U.S. Army Ground Forces Touring Band at Atlanta from 1996 to 1998. In 1990-1994 he was a member of the Muncie Symphony and Marion Philharmonic orchestras in Indiana.

Chaudoir has had his works performed in Europe, Canada, Asia and major cities throughout the United States.

He has won numerous ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) awards, Wisconsin Arts Board fellowships and commissions from such organizations as Arts Midwest/Meet the Composer, the Texas Composers Commission Fund, the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association and the Robert Evett Fund of Washington, D.C.

He has been an artist-in-residence through the Robert E. Gard Wisconsin Idea Foundation, the Ragdale Foundation and the Atlantic Center for the Arts. In 1989 the Wisconsin State Assembly cited his achievements in music composition.

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CONTACT: Gerry Grzyb, (920) 424-2040

OSHKOSH—University of Wisconsin Oshkosh sociology professor Gerry Grzyb, a self-described "holiday music obsessive," will present his 11th annual series of Christmas music programs on WRST-FM (90.3) from 1 to 9 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 19, through Friday, Dec. 24.

Grzyb will play selections from more than 100 of the best new Christmas CDs selected from about 300 he has received this season. The daily broadcasts will include:

"Who Wants to Win a Christmas CD?", Christmas quizzes that Grzyb says he is bringing back after a two-year absence "because I have more than 50 CDs to give away."

The sixth consecutive broadcast of Grzyb’s digital recordings of the Oshkosh Chamber Singers Christmas program. The recordings are scheduled to be made by Grzyb Dec. 18.

Readings from several books devoted to stories of Christmas past in this century.

Special segments devoted to Grzyb’s selection of a "Composer of the Millennium" and Door County musicians.

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Dec. 16, 1999

OSHKOSH—H.G. Weber & Co. Inc. of Kiel has joined the Wisconsin Family Business Forum, a partnership of family businesses, family business professionals and the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.

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Jackie Challis, (920) 236-5000

Dec. 17, 1999

OSHKOSH—The fifth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community and University Celebration, featuring a performance of "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: The Peaceful Warrior" by a group of actors and musicians from Chicago, will be Monday, Jan. 17 at Park Plaza International Hotel and Convention Center.

The event, sponsored by the Oshkosh Human Relations Council and the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, will include a reception at 4:30 p.m., dinner at 5:30 p.m. and the performance by Roots Theatre Ensemble of Chicago at 6:15 p.m.

The event will also include the presentation of the annual Promotion of Diversity Award. Nomination forms can be requested from Tony Palmeri, (920) 424-4427. The deadline for nominations is Jan. 10.

Last year’s recipient was Mai Houa Lor, a UW Oshkosh graduate student working at the Christine Ann Center domestic abuse shelter in Oshkosh.

Tickets for the reception, dinner and entertainment are $15, or $10 for students. Admission to the entertainment is free. Make reservations with Jackie Challis, Oshkosh city manager’s office, 236-5000, by Jan. 7.

The Roots Theatre Ensemble is from Urban Gateways/The Center for Arts in Education, founded in Chicago in 1961 to "provide comprehensive arts-in-education programs" to promote the arts in all levels of education.

The ensemble is scheduled to stage at least one performance for the Oshkosh Area

School District on Jan. 17.

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Dec. 17, 1999

OSHKOSH—The Time Slips project, an innovative effort directed by University of Wisconsin Oshkosh English Professor Anne Basting to encourage creative expression by people with Alzheimer’s, has received a $125,000 grant from the Helen Bader Foundation Inc.

It’s the second grant for the project from the Milwaukee-based foundation, which supports innovative programs "making an impact on the lives of people." In 1998-99, the foundation approved a $50,000 grant for the project.

The two-year Helen Bader grant will support two new productions of the play "Time Slips" – one in Milwaukee in May and one in New York in 2001 – both inspired by stories told by people with dementia. It will also support the continuation of the Time Slips web site – www.timeslips.org – and an art exhibit on the project in Milwaukee.

Housed at the UW-Milwaukee Center for Twentieth Century Studies, the project is supported by the Brookdale Foundation, the UW-Milwaukee Graduate School, Extendicare Foundation, Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Alterra Healthcare Corp. of Milwaukee and Midwest Express Airlines.

The play and art exhibit are inspired by storytelling that took place at adult day centers in Milwaukee and New York City. Trained undergraduate student volunteers in each city acted as facilitators for storytellers with early- and mid-stage Alzheimer’s.

"The real reward of this experiment has been to watch the most reticent (Alzheimer’s)

participants blossom out of silence," said Basting, a playwright and scholar of theatre studies.

Basting and her colleagues want to see if "sharing the stories with the general public helps deepen our understanding of Alzheimer’s and dementia and can help us recognize the humanity and dignity of those suffering with the disease."

The Milwaukee play will be staged May 12, 13, 18, 19 and 20 at UW-Milwaukee’s Fine Arts Center. There will be matinees at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on May 18 only. All other performances will be at 7:30 p.m. For ticket information, call the UW-Milwaukee Box Office, (414) 229-4308.

The play is produced in cooperation with the UW-Milwaukee theatre and dance department. Support has also come from Milwaukee’s Luther Manor and the Brumder Mansion Bed and Breakfast.

Basting and co-producer Karen Stobbe, director of the Halo Project at Milwaukee Public Theater, are available to give talks on the project to interested groups. For information, call the Center for Twentieth Century Studies, (414) 229-4141.

The exhibit will be in March at the Charles Allis Art Museum, 1801 N. Prospect Ave. It will include photographs by Dick Blau of UW-Milwaukee and handcrafted books by California book artist Beth Thielen.

For more information contact Basting at the Center for Twentieth Century Studies, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201, call (414) 229-5961 or (718) 832-1688, or e-mail basting@uwm.edu.

Basting’s original production of "Time Slips," performed at UW Oshkosh in 1997, showed, in Basting’s words, that "amidst the tragedy of Alzheimer’s, creativity and humor are very much alive."

She has written several award-winning plays about issues of aging, including "The Last Dinosaur" and "Memory Box." She wrote the book "The Stages of Age: Performing Age in Contemporary American Culture," published by the University of Michigan Press in 1998.

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Dec. 28, 1999

OSHKOSH—More than 500 educators will learn how to better use the technology already at their fingertips and how to best invest their limited dollars in up-and-coming technologies Jan. 26-28 at the Classroom Technology Conference (CTC).

For 11 years the conference has provided K-12 educators with a chance to share best practices and strategies for incorporating technology into the classroom and curriculum.

CTC is sponsored by the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Center for Community Partnerships. OshKosh B’Gosh provides financial backing.

The conference is designed to help educators through the process of selecting, purchasing and integrating technology so that it has a meaningful impact in the classroom.

It will include more than 40 breakout sessions, 14 hands-on workshops and learning lab exhibits and demonstrations. Educators at all levels of technical expertise are brought together in collaborative exploration.

Participants may attend up to three, half-day workshops on Wednesday, Jan. 26, and Friday Jan. 28, at UW Oshkosh computer labs. All sessions are three hours.

The workshops focus on topics such as web page design, ClarisWorks, Kid Pix, digital photography, desktop publishing and integrating technology into lessons.

On Jan. 27 educators can choose from presentations, demonstrations and learning lab exhibits at the Park Plaza International Hotel and Convention Center, Oshkosh.

The presentations will include on-line learning activities, staff development techniques, digital cameras and video, multimedia applications and distance education.

In the exhibitor learning lab area attendees may experiment with new computers, educational software, video and projection equipment and Internet resources. Acer, Apple, Bell Industries, Camera Corner, Casio, Houghton Mifflin, NorthNet, Midwest Visual Communications, Office Technology, Pitsco LEGO Dacta and Scantron Corp. will be among the participating companies.

NorthNet and Midwest Visual are helping sponsor the conference.

Registration fees are $105 for conference presentations and the exhibitor learning lab on Thursday and $50 for each half-day, hands-on workshop. Workshop seats are limited.

Visit the conference web site -- www.uwopartners.org/ctc -- for more information, or call the UW Oshkosh Center for Community Partnerships, (920) 424-2009.

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