Posted 10:33 a.m. Monday, Dec. 28, 2020
Top 10 university-wide campus news stories from 2020
Goodbye to the year 2020. With it came challenges, but also new achievements, awards and experiences. These stories were the top 10 most popular university-wide campus news features. Also see the top 20 stories of 2020, featuring the most popular stories by college.
- No. 2 in Wisconsin. StateUniversity.com gave UWL high marks for student-to-faculty ratio, retention, and test scores.
- Alumni spanning five decades received awards from the UWL Alumni Association.
- UWL was named among the nation’s top 20 colleges for ROI — return on investment.
- UWL remained Wisconsin’s top-ranked public university among its peers, according to U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges listing.
- A 2007 UWL graduate and co-adviser of the university’s Native American Student Association received the community’s 2020 Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award.
- The State of Wisconsin Building Commission approved the construction of a new fieldhouse and soccer support facility. This was the final approval needed on the project.
- Police Sgt. Nikki Miller is bringing her compassionate approach to policing into a new role. She was promoted to the rank of sergeant within the UW-La Crosse Police Department.
- UWL archival holdings revealed a Spanish flu message similar to today: Stay home.
- UWL Wellness & Health Advocacy shared how to make the most of college during COVID-19.
- Virtual new student registration — START — offered new opportunities.
Writers/editors shared their favorites from the year
Editor’s pick: The gift of life: Jaralee Richter received a new kidney from old friend. “It was such a precious gift to even dream about receiving, to think that she would do that for me. I was in awe that it was happening,” says Richter.
Editor’s pick: UW-La Crosse Art Professor Jennifer Williams thought of the idea once the pandemic settled in — painting the faces of family, friends and others amid the quandary. She calls it "Painting us Forward" and the images provide insight into what people are going through during a pandemic.