Friend of Graduate & Extended Learning Award
A page within Graduate & Extended Learning
Friend of Graduate & Extended Learning Award Ceremony & Reception
April 27, 2023
2–3 p.m. | Hall of Nations, 1300 Centennial Hall
The Friend of Graduate & Extended Learning Award recognizes University of Wisconsin-La Crosse faculty and staff who, through their collaboration with Graduate & Extended Learning, have created and championed learning opportunities that extend UW-La Crosse into the community. These innovative programs support Graduate & Extended Learning’s commitment to public service, life-long learning, and growth through collaboration.
Jeff Baggett, Ph.D., Professor, Mathematics & Statistics, Academic Director, Data Science
Jeff Baggett is a Professor of Mathematics & Statistics at UWL, and has served since 2014 as the Academic Director for the UWL Data Science program. Data Science is a collaborative graduate program including partners at Extended Campus, Eau Claire, Green Bay, Oshkosh, Stevens Point, and Superior. Since Data Science was the first graduate-level collaborative program at UWL, Jeff served as a trail-blazer for the other programs that have followed. The Data Science program grew big quite quickly—a positive outcome for a new academic program, but it also meant there were some growing pains along the way. We are grateful to Jeff for working with us to find ways to support Academic Directors in a growing program with high enrollment pressure. In addition to his leadership on campus, Jeff has played an important role within the Data Science collaborative working group, particularly in the areas of course and program assessment. He has spearheaded important curricular revisions in response to assessment data, continually improving the program.
Victoria Rahn, J.D., Assistant Registrar, Records & Registration
Victoria Rahn is UWL's Assistant Registrar. As such, she plays a critical role in helping Graduate & Extended Learning navigate scheduling, registration, and other processes across a variety of programs that deviate from "the norm" in all kinds of ways. We have classes taught off-campus by high school teachers, we have 6 and 7-week classes taught online, and we have classes that run in the summer with absolutely no relationship to the typical campus schedule—none of that would be possible without help from the Records office. Victoria is also instrumental to our collaboration with UW Extended Campus in monitoring and supporting registration for students in our collaborative degree programs. She has been unflaggingly helpful as we work through processes for new and existing academic programs, assisting as we try to optimize workflows and clarify communication. We are especially aware of how much her help has meant during the last year, as we have experienced a high level of turnover in our unit.
Jake Speer, B.A., Web & Design Services Director, University Advancement
Jake Speer is the UWL Web & Design Services Director and as we recently learned from his UWL profile, he is also an Elden Lord Level 165. Jake is critical to our program marketing efforts. He helps us find innovative ways to share information about our programs online; many times he has taught us how to use new tools as they become available, sometimes creating news ones as needed. Jake was instrumental in implementing Google Analytics tracking integration with our non-credit registration software. He is working with us to update and standardize UWL graduate program webpages, so we can be sure that we are sharing pertinent, updated and engaging content with prospective students. He is also unflaggingly positive and fun to work with, somebody who can make us look forward to working on challenging projects, just because it means we get to meet with Jake.