strategic action initiatives
Action Priorities—College of Letters and Sciences
Student/faculty research collaboration
2006: Strongly encourage students to participate in the quest for new knowledge by providing opportunities for student/faculty collaborative research initiatives. Participating students benefit from exposure to the methods of scholarly research and artistic creation, and by being introduced to the tools of inquiry that last a lifetime, as well as the concrete outcomes of the research process.
2007: In 2006-2007, the College 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 is 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 25 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, several students presented collaborative research to campus faculty, staff, students and community visitors at the College of Letters and Science Dean’s Symposia. At this forum in fall 2006, two English students presented their project entitled “Combating Silence and Invisibility: The Representation of Older Women in Selected Novels by Toni Morrison and Anita Shreve.” The results of a collaborative psychology study involving bulimia in rats were presented by students in spring 2007.
Many faculty members also have successfully garnered grant funding that further provides for student research participation. For example, students from the Department of Biology and Microbiology were again involved in water testing at beaches throughout Wisconsin. The results of their project will be the subject of a future Dean’s Symposium.
In sum, the College remains committed to supporting such opportunities for the invaluable personal growth and experience they provide students. Seeking and providing funding as well as offering a spotlight should result in continued collaborative growth. Unquestionably, these experiences are invaluable, building confidence in ways that cannot be duplicated in the classroom.
International/ethnic studies
2006: Prepare graduates for participation in an increasingly global society. The College has been addressing this mission by internationalizing its curriculum and faculty, creating faculty-exchange/student-exchange programs around the globe, sending students to various study abroad programs, and offering various internationally related events to the campus community. One goal is to bring to students an awareness of the world around them and to heighten their sensitivity to the issues of the increasingly heterogeneous society in which they live. Providing a set of learning resources designed around the American ethnic experience is one way the College is working toward that goal.
2007: In 2006-2007, the College continued its tradition of innovation in the area of international and ethnic studies. The European Odyssey program took students to Berlin, Paris, Lyon, Florence, Vienna, Rome, Amsterdam and Edinburgh. Faculty members from the College also were instrumental in the planning process to bring actors from the AandBC Theatre Company from England to Oshkosh and the Fox Valley in fall 2007. Two years of preparation went into the Shakespeare on the Fox experience, and the featured play, The Tempest, has rich multicultural implications.
Two departments collaborated to develop a Speaker Series about Minorities and Women in Journalism, and a new event, A Day Without Feminism, brought attention to the dramatic changes brought about by the Women’s Movement. In connection with this event, some students did research into pre-feminist-era realities and developed a Web site to present the information to a wider audience.
In the arts, several exhibits and performances featured international and ethnic themes. Faculty in the Department of Biology and Microbiology also conducted workshops for Native American students interested in nursing or education. The College further developed its links with tribal colleges and its programs to bring underrepresented groups to campus to conduct scientific research. Several departments continued to organize both well-established and new study-abroad programs, the latter including a plan to study women in poverty in Tanzania.
A group of students also traveled to Ecuador to help build a cultural center. The study of less-often taught languages continues to grow, with Japanese being particularly notable in this regard. The Model United Nations program furthered its remarkable run of success, and the African-American Studies program also has made important gains. Efforts to increase the number of minority groups and women in the faculty have had significant results as well.
Collaborative efforts with PK-12 schools
2006: Recognizing the critical role our PK-12 institutions play in the extended educational system in the state, the College has created myriad programs to help support both their work and their faculty. Ongoing efforts include seminars and conferences to promote lifelong learning among their teachers as well as various outreach programs for their students.
2007: In ongoing efforts in 2006-2007 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 that brought students and teachers from 33 schools to campus to celebrate the talents of their peers. 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. In addition, approximately 500 secondary school students and their journalism advisers participated in the annual spring conference of the Northeastern Wisconsin Scholastic Press Association, coordinated by the Department of Journalism.
The Earth Week celebration on campus, organized by faculty from the Environmental Studies Program, included events and activities also attended by students from local schools. The week-long Earth Charter Summit, involving faculty and staff from across the College, also drew students and teachers from throughout the community.
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. One such effort included collaboration with the Department of Computer Science to offer classes in computer science-related topics for middle school girls.
Center for Aquatic Studies
2006: Research and teaching opportunities are available locally due to the University’s proximity to local aquatic ecosystems. In order to yield the type of useful research data resulting from collaborative efforts, as well as to provide educational opportunities for students throughout the community, this center seeks to unite, from multiple departments and programs, faculty and staff whose teaching and research interests focus on aquatic systems.
2007: In 2006-2007, the Center continued to grow and expand the range of services that it provides to the University and community. During the past year, it has acquired boats and additional scientific instrumentation, received additional external grants and donations, and increased the number of teachers who received training about aquatic ecosystems and water resource issues. Its latest large grant funds a summer program that offers research internships to pre-service teachers in the College of Education and Human Services. The Center has hired a full-time technician who will expand the Center’s capacity in providing educational and technical services to the Lake Winnebago and Fox Valley region.
Promotion of the Liberal Arts
2006: Furthering of a liberal arts education both on and off campus by highlighting its value through collaborative efforts across the College curriculum, by publicizing these efforts on the web, and through community outreach and cultural programming.
2007: In 2006-2007, the College continued to emphasize its commitment to the liberal arts by exposing students to a broad spectrum of knowledge about the human experience and the natural world. By pursuing new ways for students and faculty to engage the wider community, the College also provided research and other learning opportunities to benefit members of both the campus and the wider Fox Valley communities.
College departments in the sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities developed educational programming, both here and abroad, to prepare students to understand and contribute to the changing world in which they live. With area organizations as diverse as healthcare agencies, correctional institutions and performing arts centers, various partnerships also extended 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 135 journal articles, books and book chapters, presenting more than 160 papers at professional conferences, exhibiting their artwork, and performing musically and theatrically both regionally and nationally. More than 60 students collaborated with faculty on research associated with these publications and presentations.