Fans of the hit TV show — heralded for depicting a band of diverse high school glee club singers who come to embrace inclusivity and acceptance over bullying in a high school setting — have one more reason to attend and support the growing, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh-based fundraiser.

The 6 p.m., May 21 Harvey Milk dinner follows the 2011 kickoff for the annual event, held in honor of a pioneering San Francisco city elected official and social justice advocate. This year’s celebration and support of LGBTQ allies and community members honors Milk’s memory and message by embracing the spirit of Glee. The dinner will feature area high school vocal ensembles as part of the evening’s entertainment.

Windmeyer

Nationally-renown LGBTQ leader Shane Windmeyer, a leading author on and advocate for gay and lesbian civil rights on college campuses, will be the evening’s keynote speaker. Windmeyer is executive director of Campus Pride, an organization creating a safer college environment for LGBTQ students.

Sheraden Bobot, assistant director of the UW Oshkosh LGBTQ Resource Center, said Windmeyer and the campus and community team planning the 2^nd annual Milk dinner have been energized by their efforts to superimpose the popularity and good of Glee with the selfless work of Milk.

“I think Glee is a really important phenomenon, even though people have different opinions about the music,” Bobot said. “I think really the theme of Glee is not just inclusivity for LGBTQ students, not just having a voice or a face for them, but really inclusivity for all kinds of students – historically discriminated groups and what they have struggled with.”

Nationally each year, Harvey Milk Day is organized by the Harvey Milk Foundation, celebrated in memory of the gay rights activist and leader.

The Harvey Milk Commemorative Dinner at UW Oshkosh was inaugurated in 2011 and is annually hosted to encourage and support all members and allies of the LGBTQ community on campus and in the New North region.

The event raises money for scholarships supporting LGBTQ youth and programs improving the climate in area K-12 educational systems. Donations are also welcomed by the UW Oshkosh Foundation.

A limited number of tickets are still available for the May 21 event. Tickets are $200 per table or $25 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m. on Monday, May 21.

For more information, contact the UW Oshkosh LGBTQ Center: lgbtqcenter@uwosh.edu.

Read more:

• Harvey Milk Commemorative Dinner
• Shane Windmeyer
• UW Oshkosh LGBTQ Resource Center
• UW Oshkosh Foundation
• Harvey Milk  Foundation

The Chief Officer Program is a collaborative initiative designed to provide officers with a broad perspective on various facets of fire and emergency services administration. The signing will take place at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 17 on the UW Oshkosh campus in Reeve Memorial Union, room 201.

“We have about 860 fire departments in Wisconsin, and the majority of those are volunteer or paid on-call departments.” Glenn Linzmeier, WSFCA president and fire chief of the Blooming Grove Fire Department said. “Many of these municipalities don’t have funding for what’s currently available for continued education —we wanted to expand affordable education options.”

The two-year program will be offered through UW Oshkosh, which also offers a bachelor’s degree in fire and emergency response studies.

Karen Heikel, assistant vice chancellor at UW Oshkosh, said the goal of the program is to add another level of training and education for executive officers in Wisconsin.

“By offering the Chief Officer Program, we work to reach our mission of increasing access to educational programs by diversifying the types of programs we offer,” Heikel said. “We worked with current chiefs to learn what types of instruction is needed and what level of need there is for a program like this.”

While there are national models for training like the Chief Officer Program, this opportunity hasn’t physically been available to fire officers in Wisconsin.

“Many of the smaller departments in Wisconsin cannot send their officers or chiefs to the National Fire Academy,” Linzmeier said. “We approached UW Oshkosh to collaborate on similar training right here in Wisconsin.”

The National Fire Academy is one of two schools operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and it is in Emmitsburg, Md.

The Chief Officer Program will consist of six modules, which focus on different aspects of leadership and management within the fire service. Each module is delivered over the course of a semester. Areas of study include professional communication and writing, leadership in the public sphere, public administration, budget planning and strategic planning.

Students will meet face-to-face one weekend each semester. Classroom instruction for that weekend will be at Volk Field Air Force base in Camp Douglas, Wis. In addition to classroom instruction, there will also be online components and readings to augment student learning.

Learn more:

• Chief Officer Program within the Division of Lifelong Learning and Community Engagement

Here is a transcript of his speech:

“Thank you, Chancellor Wells, Provost Earns, faculty, staff and honored guests. Now you have all listened to my introduction, but I feel it necessary to go a little further. I’m probably the only person that wears a blue suit during finals, and I’m a Sagittarius and I enjoy long walks on the beach. Now, let’s get done to business. We graduates are leaving UW Oshkosh today with a piece of paper that has our name on it and some words saying you graduated with “insert major here.” But what does it mean? What did we do that makes this graduation day so great?

“Throughout the years we have had to go through incredible challenges to make it to this wonderful moment. It is here at UW Oshkosh that we have conquered our studies. We have taken step by grueling step to complete the mountains of homework and participation in various subjects. We have sat in the pit classes and dealt with the person snoring next to us, and then the person who is jotting down every single note possible. We have stared at what felt like an endless power point presentation. We have pushed our limits studying all night into the wee hours of morning to take an exam where we fill in tiny little circles on a rectangular white and blue sheet of paper. We have all read book after book to cite sources for a paper and a bibliography. We have walked in the rain sleet and snow to take our seats in the class only to find out that the professor had canceled.

“Even so, with these struggles came the feelings of great accomplishment. We could smile after completing a quality paper. We could relax after giving a solid presentation. We could celebrate of what we had done by receiving good grades on an exam. We can hold our heads high knowing we have bettered our education through these classes. We can now use this information to better ourselves for the future. We now realize the work we have been given by the professors to be worth every bit of time here. What we have gained is not only from our education however, it was also the friendships and life lessons we gained here.

“Oh yes I remember those scary frightening feelings the first weeks of class. I looked around and knew nobody, except for maybe that one person from the floor in the dorms that I had just met. Yet as time passed, friendships grew. Activities, class meetings, study partners and “social gatherings” gave us the opportunity to connect with new people. I wouldn’t have met some of my best friends if I hadn’t gone to college and participated in various clubs. These friends were great to hang out with and they lead us to new and exciting opportunities. For me, it was a friend who suggested I do the USA Summer Camp in Japan. Being an English camp counselor in Japan was one of the best times of my life. I felt like a giant in a foreign land teaching the little kids there. It was somewhat like being Chewbacca living on the planet Endor.

“But even with these highs there also came unavoidable low points. There was the friend who broke down because of an overwhelming test or low grades. When relationships crumbled and led to the difficulties of break-ups. That moment of hearing about a loved one passing away — as we fell to our knees and let the tears flow in the presence of those college friends we had gained. These experiences were part of the learning during our college journey.

“We came to college to become educated, but those we have met on the way have become as much, or even more, important than that. The math, art, history, business, politics and technology can lead to great accomplishments in life, without friendships, those academic accomplishment would be empty.

“For me it was on July 7, 2007 when my friends would play a pivotal role in my life. On that day I fell off a four-wheeler and severely injured my head. I would lose half a skull and spend a few weeks in a coma. When I woke up I thought I was 10 years old. This tragic accident may have physically wounded me, but the emotional scars would echo through my friends and family was very dear. In my time at the hospital they sent me tons of cards and poster boards covered in signatures. More visitors came to the hospital than I would have ever expected. My family was there to help in my recovery at home; as were the friends I had gained during my first years of school. Old friends built me back up, and new friends kept me going.

“So, sit back and reflect on the friends you have met on campus — friends who have helped you reach this UW Oshkosh Commencement. Every one of us here today has a different story of how we got here, what we have gone through, where we have been, what we have seen, yet there is one thing in common amongst us all. Today we graduate!

“So, what does this small piece of paper, and the title of College Graduate mean? It shows that no matter what the highs and lows are, we come back with a power we never had before. We step forward knowing that whatever work we are given, we can complete it. No matter what situation, we now have friends to help us. We can exit UW Oshkosh holding our heads high in this amazing feat as we look forward to the future. We stand ready for the mysteries that lie ahead in our next great adventure, whether we enter the working world or continue our education — we are ready.

“Feel proud of your accomplishments fellow students, and take heart, this final exam known as life is still going and you are now ready to take that exam and succeed. Remember as you leave today to shake the hands of professors who guided you on this trip, thank your parents and relatives for supporting you, and finally, hug those friends for being there when you needed them.

“Thank you all for letting me speak today, and may your future be a great one.”

Read more about spring 2012 commencement:

• First-ever doctoral grads make UWO history May 12 
• Eighteen honored with Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence 

This week’s one-click video slideshow is packed full of end-of-semester activity and lots of smiles and celebrations. You’ll find photos from Imagination Library at the Oshkosh Public Library, the Hall of Fame Banquet, the Wisconsin Family Business Forum Celebration, Chancellor’s Late Night Breakfast, the Nightingale Awards Banquet and from around campus during this last week of spring semester classes.

Check it out…

Not only will the University provide a live webcast of both the 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. ceremonies, but people can also connect by using the University’s free mobile app, which includes – for the first-time ever – special commencement-related information.

“We are ecstatic to be able to offer this new app to our graduates and their guests. From their phone, commencement attendees will be able find maps and directions, view the program and link back to our webpage,” said Laura Rommelfanger, executive events coordinator at UW Oshkosh who runs the Commencement ceremony each year. “App-users will also have a backstage pass with live updates via our Twitter and Facebook feeds.”

Those interested in connecting can also use UW Oshkosh’s social networks directly.

• Twitter: Commencement graduates and guests are invited to join the conversation, give shout-outs, ask questions and share photos on Twitter using the hashtag #uwograd. Follow @uwocommencement for the inside-scoop on all commencement-related activity.

• Facebook: Grads and guests can also share commencement photos and thoughts.

Read more:

• First-ever doctoral grads make UWO history May 12 
• Eighteen honored with Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence 
• Faculty Commencement speakers: ‘Happy head,’ fulfilling work key to success

The event will be held Monday, May 14 at 7 p.m. in Reeve Memorial Union Theater. It is sponsored by the UW Oshkosh Sociology Club and the Social Justice Club.

The films are the result of a student project created for a sociology, communications and environmental studies interdisciplinary course offered at the UW Oshkosh.

This year’s documentaries include and will examine:

• Cultivating a Cooperative – A look at  grassroots-plans to start a food cooperative in the city of Oshkosh.
• A Community in Action – Examines how students and community members have helped make an impact in past elections and presents how students and community members can participate in future elections.
• Down and Up: A Single Mothers Story – An inspiring story of how a single mother working two part-time jobs while raising four children is struggling to obtain her degree from UW Oshkosh.
• Chasing Arrows – A look at how the waste management system operates in Oshkosh and how the system and recycling program is different from many other areas.
• Fishing For A Change – Explores past problems the Lake Winnebago water system has faced and explains actions taken that have led to a healthier lake ecosystem.
• The Invisible Divide: Race Relations – The neglected story and experience of minority students attending UW Oshkosh on a 90 percent Caucasian campus.

Paul Van Auken, environmental studies and sociology professor at UW Oshkosh, feels the issues being presented will interest both students and community audiences.

“It would be an interest to anyone who is concerned with things socially and environmentally going on and pertaining to the Oshkosh community,” Van Auken said.  “All the topics being covered relate in some way to the Oshkosh area.”

April Young, a senior majoring in environmental studies and sociology at UW Oshkosh, helped work on the film Fishing For a Change.

“It is important because people can see what is actually going on in their community,” Young said.  “If you’re going to live in this community you should be aware and involved in what’s going on within in it.”

Following the showings, there will be time for a question and answer session.

Learn more:

• Capturing Community on Facebook