UW Oshkosh swimmer Jon Heider

At the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, more than 350 students are registered as having a disability.

In truth, though, those students are no different than the other more than 13,500 students who live, work, play, learn and study at the state’s third-largest University, said Jim Schlinsog, coordinator of services for students with disabilities in the Dean of Students office at UW Oshkosh.

Schlinsog spends his days connecting and coordinating with students who identify as having a disability at UW Oshkosh. His job, he said, is to focus on accessibility and inclusivity and try to remove barriers.

“We ask every student upon admission what they might need for accommodations,” Schlinsog said. “It isn’t our goal to make things easier for a student with a disability but instead to give them a level playing field.”

To help make the public more aware of all types of disabilities, UW Oshkosh’s Disability Awareness Week will be held on campus April 8 through 12. UW Oshkosh’s Disability Support Services, the Diversity and Inclusion office and Reeve Memorial Union will offer a variety of events throughout the week to give campus and community members an opportunity to learn more about those with disabilities. Throughout the week, events like wheelchair basketball, speakers and brown bag lunches and film showings aim to give people a glimpse into the world of a life of someone living with a disability.

The institution’s everyday efforts to create that level playing field come in all shapes and sizes – just like UW Oshkosh students do.

Schlinsog helps coordinate everything from accessibility in classrooms and residence halls to getting sign language interpreters to campus for special events to making sure page magnifiers are in the right classrooms and learning spaces. If a student needs a product or support service, Schlinsog goes to work to make it happen.

“We do whatever is reasonable to accommodate our students,” Schlinsog said.

UW Oshkosh freshman Jon Heider is one of those students. Heider, who was born without arms or legs (he formally calls himself a “congenital quad amputee”), is a full time freshman at UW Oshkosh who said he appreciates the “minor accommodations” UW Oshkosh officials have made for him. Not only does Heider attend classes at UW Oshkosh, he also lives in Taylor Hall and is a team member on the UW Oshkosh swim team, where he’s breaking records.

“Swimming (is the sport) that kind of stuck because it was the only sport that didn’t require any extra equipment. I like the free feeling you get in the water… I never had any arms or any legs so I use what I’ve got,” said Heider, 20, of Green Bay.

Learn more about Heider and his story…

“It makes me proud to be a Titan, proud to be part of the program, proud to be part of a University that’s willing to do something for a student, not necessarily for a student with a disability but for any student,” said Jon Wilson, UW Oshkosh swimming coach, who added it was also a learning experience for him having Heider on the swim team.

“The majority of our students have invisible disabilities that affect their learning and ability to succeed. Disabilities aren’t always obvious,” Schlinsog said.

Schlinsog said most UW Oshkosh students have “invisible disabilities.”

“I think the aim is to remove stereotypes,” said Schlinsog. “At the same time, we should have conversations and recognize our society hasn’t always been inclusive of people with disabilities.”

Schlinsog hopes Disability Awareness Week will help people become more accepting and aware.

“I just hope people understand that the world is bigger than just them,” he said.

Learn more:

• Inclusive Excellence at UW Oshkosh 
• Student Support Services at UW Oshkosh 

ʼ30s
Elizabeth Benson, last year attended ’38, Gurnee, Ill., Feb. 24, 2013

ʼ40s
Mary (Collins) Campbell (EHS) ’40 and ’45, Bemidji, Minn., Feb. 28, 2013
Irving North, last year attended ’40, Stillwater, Okla., Nov. 21, 2011
Glenn Schauder, last year attended ’40, Shawano, May 20, 2012
Louise (Richter) Soder (EHS) ’49, Madison, March 12, 2013

ʼ50s
Virginia McIntyre (EHS) ’58, Adell, Dec. 29, 2011
William Preston (EHS) ’51, Fond du Lac, March 1, 2013

ʼ60s
Joan (Kabke) Campbell (EHS) ’65, Fort Atkinson, March 13, 2013
Rose Marie (Lardinois) Davister (EHS) ’68, Luxemburg, March 13, 2013
Gerald Green (EHS) ’60, Apopka, Fla., April 16, 2012
Richard Kollath (EHS) ’68, Appleton, March 23, 2013
Marilyn Seis (EHS) ’63, Antigo, Feb. 26, 2013

ʼ70s
Connie (Buelow) Kramer (LS) ’71, Lena, Jan. 28, 2013
David Lodes (EHS) ’72 and (MST) ’77, Pewaukee, Feb. 25, 2013
Gerard Marshall (MST) ’74, Green Bay, March 5, 2013
Mary Mengel (N) ’77 and (MSN) ’79, Oshkosh, Feb. 25, 2013

ʼ80s
Thomas Dinkel (LS) ’82, Siren, Feb. 18, 2013
Kevin Moore (LS) ’84, Algoma, March 15, 2013

ʼ90s
Carrie (Kuehn) Maul (EHS) ’90, Broomfield, Colo., March 18, 2013

ʼ00s
Lance Beyer (EHS) ’06, Fond du Lac, March 3, 2013

ABBREVIATION KEY

COLLEGES
• AAS — Associate of Arts and Science Degree
• B — Business
• CNL— Center for New Learning
• EHS — Education and Human Services
• LS — Letters and Science
• N — Nursing

GRADUATE DEGREES
• DNP — Doctorate of Nursing Practice
• GMBA — Global Master of Business Administration
• MA — Master of Arts
• MBA— Master of Business Administration
• MPA — Master of Public Administration
• MS — Master of Science
• MSE — Master of Science in Education
• MSN — Master of Science in Nursing
• MST — Master of Science in Teaching
• MSW — Master of Social Work

If you know of a classmate, family member or other UW Oshkosh friend who has passed away, email alumni@uwosh.edu or call Linda Cotton in the Alumni Relations Office at (877) UWO-ALUM or (920) 424-3449.

’63 Joseph Billmann (EHS), of West Bend, has been retired for 14 years but keeps busy volunteering at West Bend Middle School and with the local beautification committee. He plays bass trombone in the local community band and the River City Blaskapelle.

’64 Stephen Thompson (EHS), of Copley, Ohio, retired as professor emeritus from the University of Akron, Ohio, in 1998. His retirement is full of volunteer work, visits with his children and seven grandchildren and much travel.

’66 Dale Van Dyke (LS) has retired and relocated to Huntington Beach, Calif.

’72 Daniel Wundrock (EHS), of Cedarburg, has traveled to the North Atlantic and the Arctic Circle to study and photograph birds. He is an environmental educator at the Riveredge Nature Center and founded Innovative System and Innovative Labs, a formulator and distributor of veterinarian products.

’79 Michael Kuechler (B), of Fond du Lac, has been elected to the board of directors for Schenck SC. He serves as the managing shareholder of Schenck’s Fond du Lac office.

’81 Michael Lindert (B), of Wisconsin Dells, has been appointed to The Bank of Mauston’s board of directors.

’82 David Smetana (LS), of Racine, serves as chief of the Pleasant Prairie Police Department.

ʼ86 Sharon Panske (EHS), of Richland Center, is teaching an athletic injuries course at UW-Richland. She also serves as an athletic trainer at the Richland Hospital.

’90 Jeffery Welter (MS), of Kansas City, Mo., joined HNTB Corporation as vice president and a human resources officer. He oversees the functions of recruiting, compensation, benefits, human resources information systems, learning and development, compliance and employee relations.

’93 Sara (Klose) McVey (LS), of Chicago, Ill., joined Vanguard Health Systems as vice president of marketing in Chicago. She also speaks at women’s conferences on branding and participates in several alumni panels at the University of Chicago.

’95 Michael Banaszynski (B), of Kaukauna, has been hired as a mortgage loan officer for Fox Cities Credit Union.

’95 Jason Krueger (N), of Clintonville, received his master’s degree from Concordia University and  joined ThedaCare Physicians as an advanced nurse practitioner.

ʼ98 Michael Henschel (B), of Neshkoro, was recognized as a top financial adviser by LPL Financial. He works at Anchor Investment Services, a division of AnchorBank.

’98 Rebecca (Belling) Abler (LS), of Neenah, will be speaking at Lester Public Library in Two Rivers for a Scholar of Life Series.

’01 Ryan Thompson (B), of Appleton, has been selected for this year’s top 25 for Future 15 Young Professionals Awards presented by Pulse and The Post Crescent.

’02 Steven Bitzer (MBA), of Ashland, has joined the Memorial Medical Center Board of Directors.

’03 Patricia Brandl (LS), of Oshkosh, has been named executive director of the organization by University of Wisconsin-Fond du Lac Foundation Board of Directors.

ʼ08 Allan Degner (LS), is general manager of Paul Davis Restoration & Remodeling of Southeast Wisconsin, Neenah office, and marketing for Milwaukee and Fox Valley.

’08 Nathan Miller (LS), of Franklin, started a natural stone fabrication company called Wisco Stone in 2010.

Four graduates from UW Oshkosh, Tosha Herrman ‘09 (LS), of Avondale, Ariz., Alison Berkovitz ‘10 (LS), of Los Angeles, Calif., Bryce Scherer-Brian ‘07 (LS), of Coon Rapids, Minn., and Kyla Morris ‘09 (LS), of Oshkosh, Wis., have cofounded Once a Month 4 Ladies an online ladies night.

’09 Katherine Kroll (LS), of Madison, was recently promoted to real estate specialist for the Dane County Register of Deeds.

’11 Heather Barkholtz (LS), of Dekalb, Ill, is pursuing a doctorate in chemistry, specializing in materials science and nanotechnology. She also recently was published in ACS Inorganic.

’11 Megan Loker (LS), of Sheboygan, is working at Aerometric Inc. as a LiDar (laser imaging detection and ranging) specialist. She has continued to play competitive volleyball, following her collegiate career and is coaching 16-year-old girls in a club organization in Sheboygan.

ʼ12 Jonathan Dudzinski (B), of Pickett, has founded LotNix LLC, an asset management firm, which will address regulatory and compliance issues.

’12 Ryan Koenigs (MS), of Appleton, will become lead sturgeon expert at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

ABBREVIATION KEY
COLLEGES
• AAS — Associate of Arts and Science Degree
• B — Business
• EHS — Education and Human Services
• LLCE  — Lifelong Learning and Community Engagement
• LS — Letters and Science
• N — Nursing

GRADUATE DEGREES
• DNP — Doctor of Nursing Practice
• GMBA — Global Master of Business Administration
• MA — Master of Arts
• MBA— Master of Business Administration
• MPA — Master of Public Administration
• MS — Master of Science
• MSE — Master of Science in Education
• MSN — Master of Science in Nursing
• MST — Master of Science in Teaching
• MSW — Master of Social Work

Send items for future Class Notes.

Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch speaks to Wisconsin Aerospace Consortium members during the organization’s first gathering at the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture Museum on March 29.

Wisconsin’s effort to make a bigger sonic boom in the aviation and aerospace economy got a tremendous lift thanks to an initiative born with the vision and assistance of a University of Wisconsin Oshkosh program.

On March 29, AeroInnovate, an aviation and aerospace networking and consulting enterprise launched from the UW Oshkosh Business Success Center, successfully hosted the first-ever Wisconsin Aerospace Consortium meeting at the Experimental Aircraft Association in Oshkosh. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) is also strongly supporting the initiative.

The landmark meeting of aviation and aerospace business executives, industry leaders and entrepreneurs from throughout Wisconsin was the first such gathering of its kind. It represents a new collaborative effort focused on strengthening the state’s position and future in the industry, throughout the nation and around the globe.

“Building this consortium is incredibly important to our state as we grow in this industry,” said Wisconsin Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, one of several state and regional leaders on hand to kick off the first meeting of the consortium.

“There are some who may not have considered our state a runway for aerospace success; that’s why it’s time to size up what we really have to offer, and take stock in the fact that Wisconsin is primed to grow this sector,” Kleefisch, who, in her role as Lt. Governor, serves on the Aerospace States Association (ASA), said in a statement heralding the Aerospace Consortium’s formation. “We see opportunity every summer in the Fox Valley when the EAA AirVenture takes place. We see this through AeroInnovate at UW Oshkosh.”

The new consortium will serve as an aviation and aerospace support system and entrepreneurial brain trust and power source – a collaborative group that, while comprised of many business competitors, is laser-focused on supercharging the cooperation between state companies eager to grow and share in the benefits of an expanded, Wisconsin foothold in the industry.

WEDC CEO Reed Hall assured the consortium members on March 29 that aviation would continue to be “an emphasis area we will always be concentrating on.”

Meridith Jaeger, co-founder and director of AeroInnovate, said the formation of the new consortium is one more example of the way her UW Oshkosh-launched organization has “been a catalyst for bringing attention to the assets Wisconsin has to offer the aviation and aerospace industry.”

“UW Oshkosh’s AeroInnovate has been a global leader in providing assistance to aviation and aerospace entrepreneurs and startups for the past five years,” Jaeger said. “Some of our best success stories are related startups right here in Wisconsin.”

AeroInnovate isn’t the only UW Oshkosh initiative that has taken wing. The University continues to work with local government partners in Oshkosh, including the city of Oshkosh, Winnebago County and the city’s industrial development corporation, CHAMCO Inc., to develop an aviation business accelerator. The innovative facility will be the anchor development within land acquired for an aviation industrial park expansion at Wittman Regional Airport, home to EAA and other growing general aviation and aviation-related businesses in the New North region.

UW Oshkosh Chancellor Richard Wells told the Aerospace Consortium members that the institution was deeply committed to expanding its forte for building and nurturing community and economic-development collaborations into the aviation and aerospace fields.

Wells also stressed UW Oshkosh’s hopes that the consortium would choose Oshkosh – the “epicenter for aviation and innovation” in Wisconsin – as its home base, given the global prominence and reputation of EAA and the pioneering efforts of initiatives such as AeroInnovate.

“We want to be the home host for this consortium,” Wells said.

Learn more:

• AeroInnovate
• Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation
• UW Oshkosh Business Success Center

Between 1,200 and 1,400 athletes, family members, coaches, administrative staff, national games coaches and volunteers will be visiting campus for the tournament, now in its 37th year at UW Oshkosh. Volunteers include many UW Oshkosh students.

Participants will arrive from throughout Wisconsin. Unified teams, school teams and individual athletes will participate throughout the course of the two-day event. Gruenhagen will be housing close to 600 people.

Events will be held in Albee Hall, Kolf Sports Center and Blackhawk Commons. The tournament is free and open to the public.

Competition begins with Team Basketball at 11 a.m. Saturday and runs until 6 p.m. at Kolf. Individual Skills events will be featured at Albee, and Gymnastics events will be staged in Gym C of Kolf. Opening Ceremonies for the tournament will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday inside Kolf.

Gruenhagen will also be hosting the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes program. The program is designed to promote better health and fitness in athletes and enhance each athlete’s ability to train and compete in Special Olympics events. This marks the Healthy Athletes program’s 10^th anniversary. Opportunities are available for all athletes and special needs individuals to benefit from dental, vision, hearing and fitness screenings. The program runs from 9 a.m to 3 p.m. on Saturday in Gruenhagen.

Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to contribute calendar items, campus announcements and other good news to UW Oshkosh Today.

• Email the editors.

Radio-TV-Film students at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh have recently received national honors for their productions at the annual student media convention of the National Broadcasting Society in Washington D.C.

UW Oshkosh student Brian Markovich took a grand prize award in the category for best spec script.  He was honored for an episode he penned for the sitcom “The Big Bang Theory.” With this award, UWO has now won 48 national awards for scriptwriting since the year 2000.

Another grand prize went to radio station WRST in the category for best audio news package.  The segment was on Vice-President Joe Biden’s visit to UWO during the fall election season and featured on his comments on women’s rights.  The segment was produced by WRST station manager Spencer Wagen and featured audio gathered by WRST news director Patrick Wucherer.

WRST also took home two honorable mention awards in the category for audio sports play-by-play programming.  One came for the historic football matchup between UWO and UW-Whitewater.  It featured WRST program director Brandon Kinnard and assistant sports director Alex Crowe on the call and was produced by station sports director Tyler Lance.  The other play-by-play effort was a basketball call when the Titans played an exhibition game against UW-Madison.  For that broadcast, Kinnard joined station production director and former station manager Tyler Thrune at the game with Wagen producing the broadcast.

WRST also received an honorable mention in the category for best audio promo.  The effort was one by station fundraising director Tim Thiede for the Halloween edition of his weekly “Alternative 80s” program.  Station manager Wagen assisted in the production.

Learn more:

• 90.3 WRST-FM

“I’ve been a cheese geek forever,” said University of Wisconsin Oshkosh alumna MariBeth Theusch ‘84, who owns one of Oshkosh’s newest businesses, Butcher Block Meats and Cheese, 234 N. Koeller St., Oshkosh.

Theusch owns the business with her husband, Kim, who has had a longtime hobby making sausage for family members. Combining their two interests, the Theusches opened up their own store on Nov. 5, 2012.

To accomplish this, the couple employed the help of UW Oshkosh’s Business Success Center and a team of University students and faculty to create and implement a marketing plan for the new shop.

“I knew that the resources were there from having been a student and I knew how good the business school… is here, and so they were very helpful,” said MariBeth Theusch, a finance major during her time at UW Oshkosh. “We had already kind of started on our business plan but then working with them took it to that next step.”

Meridith Jaeger, the outreach program manager for UW Oshkosh’s Business Success Center, said the partnership with the Theusches represented the University’s aim to connect with the community.

“Our mission here at the Business Success Center is to grow our community by uniting our University resources with local businesses,” Jaeger said. “In the case of Butcher Block Meats and Cheese, we were able to utilize the talents of our students, our full service survey center and several faculty to provide a well researched and thought out marketing plan to get Kim and MariBeth off to the start they needed to be successful.”

Former UW Oshkosh adjunct professor and marketer-in-residence Dana Baumgart, who assisted with the marketing plan, said a student marketing team did preliminary research before the shop opened. This team inquired about what products the shop should carry, public interest in such a shop outside of a traditional grocery store and how much money customers would be willing to spend on quality meat and cheese. Another student developed and implemented a communications plan aimed at advertisements and promotions for the store.

UW Oshkosh alumna Samantha Gehl ’12, was the Business Success Center intern who implemented this communications plan. Gehl, who now works as a technology assistant for the Hortonville Area School District, said working with Butcher Block Meats and Cheese helped her prepare for her current role by providing experience working with web pages and writing online content. She said she also had the chance to work with people who were enthusiastic about their work.

“Kim and MariBeth are great people,” she said. “When you talk to them you get a sense of how passionate they are about their business.”

This passion seems to be reflected in the products they provide, which MariBeth Theusch described as differentiating from the rest in quality and freshness. Butcher Block Meats and Cheese only sells meat that is hormone and preservative free, and works to buy from suppliers who raise their animals humanely. MariBeth Theusch said their cut-to-order cheese is also a step above the rest, offering a greater variety from small producers whose stories she said she enjoys sharing.

“I like to tell the story of the cheese makers,” she said. “That’s even more important to me is that these people that are out there making… unique cheese and original cheese, I like being able to tell their story, what they do and how they do it.”

The shop also provides fresh and smoked sausages that are smoked in their own smokehouse, frozen prepared food items and recipes and cooking suggestions for the products they carry. In addition to Wisconsin cows, sheep and goats also provide milk used for some of the store’s cheeses.

After having lived in other parts of the country, the Theusches wanted to get back to Wisconsin to open their new store. MariBeth Theusch said Oshkosh was the pro-business city they were searching for.

“We were looking for a city that had some sense of community… so we really fell in love here,” she said. “We just fell in love with Oshkosh and the people. Everybody was always friendly when we came here. We liked the fact that there were lots of events going on, always something going on here.”

Jaeger said this emphasis on community is something UW Oshkosh faculty can expand by utilizing their expertise to support this type of economic and community development, as displayed in the establishment of Butcher Block Meats and Cheese.

“Oshkosh is blessed to have them as part of our community,” Jaeger said. “We at the Business Success Center look forward to helping many more local businesses start, grow and prosper.”

Learn more:

• UW Oshkosh Business Success Center 
• Butcher Block Meats & Cheese