Campus Connection - June 8-14, 2009

Academic Building

Construction of "Centennial Hall," UW-L's new 187,000 square foot academic building, will begin in July, with completion in summer 2011. Occupancy is slated for the beginning of the 2011 fall semester.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Demolition of Baird, Trowbridge, Wilder halls begins: fences up June 8

Construction crews are removing asbestos and other materials in Baird, Trowbridge and Wilder halls in preparation for the demolition of the buildings, which will begin later in June.

Construction crews will move to the site of the new academic building and fence off the construction site beginning Monday, June 8. (Safety plan of area at right. Download a full-sized version of the construction area map at www.uwlax.edu/universityrelations/images/2009/summer/june/CentennialHallConstructionMap.pdf.

Centennial Hall construction mapmap

The fencing will encircle the entire site, which now contains Baird, Trowbridge and Wilder halls. It will also extend southwest of the site to the street at the intersection of 16th and Vine streets to allow safe movement of construction equipment onto campus.

Pedestrians will be allowed on the west and east sides of that gate. However, pedestrians should use extreme caution and beware of heavy equipment as there will be extensive construction vehicle traffic entering and leaving the campus at this location. 

An additional area immediately north of the Center for the Arts will also be fenced off later this summer to provide a staging/materials area for the construction. There will be some movement of materials between this area and the actual construction site, but a flag man will be present when that occurs to prohibit pedestrian traffic from conflicting with construction traffic.

 

 

WIAA track meet

WIAA state high school track and field meet at UW-L June 5-6

Spectators watch the 2009 Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) State Track and Field Meet Friday, June 5 at the newly-constructed Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex. This season marks the 20th year the WIAA State Track and Field Meet has been held at UW-L with the first competition held in 1990. Photo by Paul Currier, Educational Technologies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Children in garden.
Campus Child Center children enjoy a new perennial garden area that features “caves” and "dinosaurs." Photo by Brad Quarberg, University Relations.

Child Center’s garden growing more than flowers this year

You won’t find flowers in the big pots outside the Campus Child Center. But, you’ll find veggies.

Center staff and children have turned large pots and much of their green space into a vegetable garden. And they’ve already reaped benefits in food and more, reports Child Center Director Sue Wrobel.

“For the longest time, I’ve looked across the playground and said ‘Fiberglass, steel and rubber, there has to be something else,’” says Wrobel.

She’s been contemplating new gardens for about a year. After attending workshops and researching online, Wrobel, other staff and the children took the step earlier this year. It didn’t take long to see results. Since planting began in mid-April, children have asked to help plant and weed, and they’ve enjoyed exploring the new gardens. “When I go outside and they want to help, that’s big,” notes Wrobel. “They’re using their muscles to work in the garden. And, they’re using their muscles in a different way.”

That was one of Wrobel’s goals — to get children more active. “I wanted to get past organized sports or playground equipment,” she explains. “I wanted a different place to explore.”

That’s not the only accomplishment. Wrobel and the children’s parents have seen changes in appetites too. “ I’ve had many parents say this is the first time their children have asked for spinach for dinner,” says Wrobel. “They’re excited about growing their own food.”

Parents have already harvested more than two dozen gallon-sized plastic bags of greens, with most ending up at dinner tables being tasted by children. There’s more to come. Extra raised will be given to a local food pantry.

Along with the vegetable gardens, other regions in the yard east of the REC have been transformed into a perennial garden — complete with ferns and dinosaurs. Another area will soon grow into a native prairie.

Two students with science majors and nutrition minors have helped Wrobel generate plans for the new gardens. Funding has come mainly from donations, with all seeds and plants donated.

The children aren’t the only ones benefiting. Wrobel says the gardens are building community. Center staff, children and parents plan to meet for “Garden Nights” Mondays and Thursdays throughout summer for garden work and more. “I think we’ll do some weeding and watering, but I think it will be social as well,” says Wrobel.

Concert in cathedral
UW-L's Concert Choir held its first impromptu concert of its performance tour in Ireland in Cobh.

Concert Choir performs in, tours Ireland

Forty members of UW-L's Concert Choir completed an 11-day performance tour in Ireland at the end of May.

The students, along with four “companions” and conductor UW-L Professor Gary Walth, began the tour May 18 with a flight from Chicago to Dublin.

The trip included planned and impromptu performances and visits and tours of many famous Irish destinations, including the monastic settlement of Glendalough, Waterford, the Cliffs of Moher, Blarney Castle, the medieval monastery of Clonmacnoise and a stop at “The World of Guiness,” the world’s largest brewery. The group also visited Dublin’s Georgian squares, Trinity College and the famous “Book of Kells.”

The choir toured and rehearsed at the Cork School of Music, home for music and theatre students from ages five to graduate students. The group received standing ovations throughout the trip beginning with its first scheduled performance in St. Multose’s Church in Kinsale.

One major stop was in Bantry, La Crosse's sister city in Ireland. The mayor presented the choir with a plaque with the Bantry coat of arms. In Bantry, the group was entertained by local Irish traditional musicians and dancers and performed some numbers for them as well. The choir's performance at the church of St. Brendan the Navigator there drew standing ovations.

Other scheduled performances included singing at a mass at the Holy Cross Catholic Church in Charleville, singing to a packed house at the Gothic Church in Connemara and the choir's performance at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin.

The group parted ways at Dublin airport May 28. Thirteen of the group continued their trip going on to London, France, Norway, Croatia and Germany.

Read more details about the trip, at www.uwlax.edu/universityrelations/profiles/irelandtour/index.html. For more information on UW-L's Concert Choir, visit www.uwlax.edu/music/concertchoir.html.

For more information, contact Walth at walth.gary@uwlax.edu or 785.8414.

Kyle O'Brien in Ireland
Recent graduate Kyle O’Brien, left front, is one of nine Young Ambassadors in Ireland this month.

Alumnus Kyle O’Brien is Western Wisconsin's Young Ambassador in Ireland

May's been a busy month for Kyle O'Brien. He graduated from UW-L with finance and marketing degrees May 16. On May 31, he flew to Dublin, Ireland, as a Young Ambassador representing western Wisconsin.

The Young Ambassador Program is organized through the Friends of Saint Patrick Organization and the Saint Patrick Centre in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland. It's designed to promote a greater understanding of the shared cultural heritage of Northern Ireland in North America with those aged 20-25.

The program pays ambassadors' travel and accommodation expenses to Downpatrick and County Down for 15 days in June. Ambassadors explore Irish history and traditions and develop a cultural dissertation. They also serve as life-long representatives of Northern Ireland and develop on-going relationships with Chapters of the Friends of Saint Patrick, the Saint Patrick Centre and organizations linked to the program.

O'Brien was selected by the officers of Irishfest-La Crosse and is one of nine ambassadors. "We were looking for a young person who had a strong record of both academics and campus involvement," says President of Irishfest-La Crosse Pat Stephens. "In addition to numerous clubs and organizations, Kyle also served as vice president of the UW-L Student Government. Being able to speak comfortably in public sessions was also a key qualification. He will be presenting his story and experience at Irishfest this year."

This year's Irishfest-La Crosse celebration runs from Friday through Sunday, Aug. 7-9. For more details on Irishfest-La Crosse, visit www.irishfestlax.org/.

Read O'Brien's blog about the trip at www.kyleobrien.blogspot.com/.

Find out more about the Saint Patrick Centre at www.saintpatrickcentre.com and the ambassador program at www.youngambassadorprogram.com/.

Tribute to Outstanding Women Award nominees sought

UW-L's Organization for Campus Women Nominating Committee seeks nominations for this year’s YWCA Tribute to Outstanding Women Award. The award recognizes and honors women from the Coulee Region who have demonstrated qualities of outstanding leadership and excellence in their professional and personal endeavors in accordance with the mission of the YWCA. Nominated women will reflect the newly-updated YWCA mission statement: “YWCA of the Coulee Region is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.” Nominees must be UW-L faculty, academic or classified staff. In addition, students may be nominated for outstanding young woman of the year.

Send nominations, along with a brief statement indicating why they are being nominated, by Monday, June 15, to Committee Chair Susan Butterfield at butterfi.susa@uwlax.edu, Sandy Grunwald at grunwald.sand@uwlax.edu or Ingrid Iverson at iverson.ingri@uwlax.edu. No self-nominations accepted. The committee reserves the right to make selections from any or none of the nominations submitted.

Campus Kudos

Mark W. Chavalas, history, had his book "The Ancient Near East: Historical Sources in Translation" (Oxford/Malden, Ma: Blackwell, 2006), reviewed by A. Podany, in the Journal of the American Oriental Society 128 (2008) 173-5.

Cecilia Manrique, political science/public administration had a peer-reviewed review of the book "SOA Governance (1st ed.): Achieving and Sustaining Business and IT Agility" by Brown W. et al. published in the June 2 issue of Computing Reviews.

Sue Nickel, Counseling and Testing Center, has been elected as a member of the Governing Board of the National College Testing Association.

Chia-Chen Yu, exercise and sport science, presented “Factors that Influence International Fans' Intention to Travel to the United States for Sport Tourism” at the 2009 North American Society for Sport Management Conference in Columbia, S.C., May 27-30.

Human resources

New employee

Peter Amann, student status examiner senior, health professions, May 26.

Resignation

William (Billy) Clow, associate dean, College of Liberal Studies, June 30.

Transfer

Deanne Otto to university business specialist supervisor, Business Services, May 24.

Transfer opportunity

To custodial services supervisor position, Residence Life. Permanent classified staff at or above pay schedule/range 81/05 are eligible for transfer. Seek applicants with experience using Microsoft Outlook, Word and Excel, and directing or training others.

If you are eligible to transfer and meet the above criteria, submit a letter of interest, resume and names and contact information for three supervisory references by noon, Monday, June 15, to Kathy Ring, Human Resources, 144 Graff Main Hall. For more information regarding position duties, contact Ring at ring.kath@uwlax.edu or at 785.6499.

In the news

 

 

 

On campus

"UW-L residence hall, bookstore contract," La Crosse Tribune, June 5. UW-L residence hall: UW-L plans to build a new residence hall on the campus’ northwest side to make up for an anticipated on-campus housing shortage after two residence halls are demolished to make way for a new academic building ... UW-L bookstore: A UW System Board of Regents committee Thursday approved a seven-year contract between UW-L and Follett Higher Education Group to provide bookstore services, effective July 1 ... See full story at: www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2009/06/05/news/z09tracker.txt.

"UW-L Campus Police revise security plans in case of emergencies," WKBT, June 3. UW System campuses made progress on plans to prevent and respond to mass shootings. At UW L, the campus police chief says they've had an emergency response plan in place since the mid-90's ... Full story: www.wkbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=10470328.

National

"Four-year colleges graduate 53 percent of students in six years," USA Today, June 3. Even as colleges nationwide celebrate commencement season, hundreds of schools are failing to graduate a majority of their students in six years, a report says today. Nationally, four-year colleges graduated an average of just 53 percent of entering students within six years, and "rates below 50 percent, 40 percent and even 30 percent are distressingly easy to find," says the report by the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. Full story: www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-06-03-diploma-graduation-rate_N.htm.

(UW-L's graduation rate is 65.8 percent within six years, second only to UW-Madison in the UW System. For details, visit www.uwlax.edu/provost/universitydata/fall08factsheets/frsh_grad_rate.pdf.)

"Women bridging gap in science opportunities," New York Times, June 2. The prospects for women who are scientists and engineers at major research universities have improved, although women continue to face inequalities in salary and access to some other resources, a panel of the National Research Council concludes in a new report ... Full story: www.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/science/03discrim.html?_r=1&ref=science.

Obituary

 

 

 

Jess Ondell
Jess M. Ondell, '73

Former UW-L Foundation Board of Directors member Jess Ondell dies

Former UW-L Foundation Board of Directors member Jess Ondell died at age 87 at Hillview Health Care Center May 30.

Ondell received a master's degree from UW-L in 1973 and served on the UW-L Foundation Board of Directors. In 2002, he received the Graff Distinguished Alumni Award which recognizes alumni who have achieved honor, distinction, recognition and reputations that extend beyond their work and home environments.

A celebration honoring Ondell will be held from noon to 2 p.m. Friday, July 17, at the Cleary Alumni & Friends Center. Memorials should be directed to the UW-L Foundation or the Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation.

See also the June 3 La Crosse Tribune article " A life remembered: Jess Ondell, ‘a very big tree has fallen’" at www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2009/06/03/news/z02jess.txt.

Classified

 

 

 

For sale

1975 Bethany pop-up camper. Good shape, but shows its age. $500. Call Greg at 785.8643 daytime or 790.3278 after 4 p.m.

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