August 2007

Business centers offer program on growth

'Journey to Jordan'

Modern Languages awards

Entrepreneurship Training Program

Workshop for new entrepreneurs

Building 'the next UWGB'

Founders Association awards for excellence

Freshmen to move into residence halls

Learning Partnership director named

Emergency training exercise

Tuition and student fees set for 2007-08

UW-Green Bay, UW-Oshkosh business
centers offer program on growth

GREEN BAY - The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay's Small Business Development Center is partnering with UW-Oshkosh's Small Business Development Center to offer a program on strategic planning for growth.

Accelerator, Inc., designed specifically for business owners, will be held Fridays and Saturdays from September 21 to Oct. 6.

The program is designed to produce better business decision-makers, stronger entrepreneurs, and integrated, living strategic plans. It allows for exploration and development of management and leadership skills while providing an opportunity for participants to work together and learn from each other.

Participants will learn:
    • how to manage their companies and use research, personal strengths and entrepreneurial skills for increased professional success.
    • how to prepare a growth plan for future success and investment with enhanced research by senior-level college students and Wisconsin Entrepreneur Network partners.
    • how to develop increased opportunities for professional development and the support systems needed to continue on a high-growth path.

Accelerator, Inc. is by application only. Applications must be submitted by Friday, Sept. 7. For more information or to receive an application, contact Christina Trombley by phone at (920) 496-2117 or by e-mail at tromblec@uwgb.edu or go online at www.uwgb.edu/sbdc.

The program will be held at the Business Assistance Center, 2701 Larsen Road, Green Bay.

(07-139 / 31 August 2007 / SH)

UW-Green Bay conducts second
State Department program in Jordan

GREEN BAY - Twenty teen-age students from 14 states have returned from a two-month intensive language and cultural program in Jordan sponsored by a grant from the U.S. Department of State.

Conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, the "Journey to Jordan" program involved a combination of cross-cultural learning activities and intensive Arabic language study. The program began and ended in Washington, D.C., including meetings with Middle East experts, presentations on using Arabic in careers, and tours of national monuments and museums.

A grant of $207,000 from the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs supported the program.

The following students participated in the 2007 "Journey to Jordan": Zaid Almasarweh, Sterling Heights, Mich.; Mary Baldwin, Wausau, Wis.; Maya Bloom, Sudbury, Mass.; Samantha Brannagan, Hastings, Neb.; Carrie Costellow, Bowling Green, Ky.; Cameron Osborn, Bellevue, Wash.; Sarah Finehout, Creston, Iowa; Zachary Martinez, Newtown, Pa.; Samuel Michelman, Oakland, Calif.; Arezu Monawer, Madison, Wis.; Julia Potter, Oregon, Wis.; Patrick Rich, Evansville, Ind.; Dina Sharif, Northridge, Calif.; Joshua Smeltzer, Hillsboro, Ore.; Roman Sorensen, New Richmond, Wis.; Angela Stelson, Roseburg, Ore.; Marya Syed, Cooper City, Fla.; Ian Weller, Waunakee, Wis.; Jasmine Williams, Ashburn, Va.; and Aubrie Woodger, Provo, Utah.

The "Journey to Jordan" program was first conducted in summer 2006 for 14 students with a pilot grant from the Department of State.

"The State Department liked what we did last year," said Jay Harris, UW-Green Bay international projects coordinator and Jordan program director. "As a result, our proposal was selected again over several major competitors on the national scene."

Students were selected to participate on the basis of academic performance, personal essays describing their interest in cross-cultural learning and Arabic, and letters of recommendation from teachers and community leaders.

In addition to Arabic language study at the University of Jordan, the program included service learning projects, four-week home stays with Jordanian host families, and field trips to places like Petra, the Wadi Rum Desert, and the Dead Sea (the latter hosted by the King Abdullah Fund for Development).

"Our young ambassadors were reluctant to return home so soon," Harris said. "They made many new friends, expanded their perspectives, and fell in love with a country and culture that welcomes Americans, regardless of opinions about U.S. foreign policy."

Throughout the coming academic semester, the student participants will receive additional Arabic training through on-line exercises led by instructors, podcasts, and other resources.

Harris noted that the U.S. Ambassador to Jordan, David Hale, attended the farewell reception in Amman and spoke highly of the program, offering the embassy's ongoing support in the future.

"That was good to hear, especially since we have developed a number of contacts and other opportunities in Jordan," Harris said.

(07-138 / 30 August 2007 / SH)

UW-Green Bay Modern Languages
students receive awards

GREEN BAY - The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Modern Languages program has announced its 2007 awards for academic excellence and applied language.

Kristin Laabs received the Ken Fleurant Modern Language Scholarship Award. The $1,000 scholarship, named for UW-Green Bay Prof. Emeritus Ken Fleurant, is awarded to a French, German or Spanish student who intends to pursue a career as a language teacher at the high school or college level.

Modern Languages also presented awards for academic excellence, which recognize outstanding performance and academic achievement, and applied language, which reward practical and creative applications of language.

The following are the categories and award recipients:

• Academic Excellence in Arabic — Nicholas Leppanen and Richard Raymond Schultz.

• English as a Second Language (ESL)/Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) — Tammy Vann (academic excellence) and Amanda Smithson (excellence and community service).

• French — Ashley Ballweg (academic excellence), Kristina Angell (excellence and community service), and Aurelie Navizet (honorable mention).

• German — Kristin Laabs (academic excellence) and Sharon Gronseth (applied language).

• Spanish — Ellen Chantelle Cook (academic excellence), Amanda Jean Ziegler (applied language) and Stephanie Lynn Pasyak (applied language).

(07-137 / 30 August 2007 / SH)

Program for entrepreneurs to emphasize
importance of business plan

GREEN BAY - The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay's Small Business Development Center, in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Commerce, will provide an intensive training program for entrepreneurs starting Monday, Sept. 17.

The Entrepreneurship Training Program, a series of classes and individual coaching, is designed to help entrepreneurs refine their business concepts and attract financing. The goal is to complete a business plan for business start-up or expansion that will be ready to apply for financing and begin implementation.

The 10-session program will be offered at the Business Assistance Center, 2701 Larsen Road.

Christina Trombley, director of the Small Business Development Center, emphasized the importance of a business plan, which is the major tool used in guiding the formation of a venture as well as the primary document in managing it.

"Every business, whether they are obtaining financing or not, should have a basic business plan," she said. "A plan works like a road map, helping to pinpoint the right direction and stay on course."

The Department of Commerce is providing 75% tuition assistance through the Small Business Development Center to qualified candidates prior to starting coursework.

For more information about the program and an application form for tuition assistance, contact the Small Business Development Center at (920) 496-2117.

(07-136 / 30 August 2007 / SH)

Small Business Development Center
offers program for entrepreneurs

GREEN BAY - The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay's Small Business Development Center is offering a workshop for new entrepreneurs, "The First Steps to Starting Your Business."

The class is Saturday, Sept. 15, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at the Business Assistance Center, 2701 Larsen Road. The fee is $25.

In a small group setting, participants will review the basics of going into business and identifying the next steps. The workshop will encourage interaction and questions.

To register for "The First Steps to Starting Your Business" or for more information about the workshop and other business classes, call (920) 496-9010. Information also is available online at www.uwgb.edu/sbdc.

(07-135 / 30 August 2007 / SH)

Chancellor Shepard sees good start in building 'the next UWGB'

GREEN BAY - One year after University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Chancellor Bruce Shepard encouraged faculty and staff to build "the next UWGB," Shepard says he is impressed with the start toward that goal.

Now, Shepard said, UW-Green Bay must continue the effort by building partnerships in the community and around the globe and taking steps to ensure an inclusive campus environment.

"Building the next UWGB is not just about programs, budgets and buildings," he said. "It includes attention to how we care for each other, how we care about each other."

In a speech at UW-Green Bay's annual Faculty and Staff Convocation, Shepard cited a long list of examples of how the University is building the next UWGB through innovative, creative approaches to higher education.

Among the examples he provided are a new Bachelor of Applied Studies (BAS) degree, which will make it easier for technical college graduates to pursue a UW-Green Bay education, a new First Nations Studies major, new Freshman Seminars designed to make the first-year student experience more meaningful, and a strengthened campus commitment to environmental awareness.

UW-Green Bay "will not walk alone" as it continues the process of building the university of the future, Shepard said.

"Partnerships are central to almost all, new, that we will do," he said. "I am more convinced today than I ever have been that our university, community and region share a feeling that we are all in this together."

The Chancellor touched on numerous other issues that will influence UW-Green Bay's future:

• Growth Agenda. He said Northeastern Wisconsin's Growth Agenda and the UW System Growth Agenda have received strong support from Gov. Jim Doyle, legislators of both political parties and the news media.

Even the scaled-back version of the state budget passed by the Assembly includes funding for the Growth Agenda, Shepard said. However, the Assembly budget includes other cuts that would dwarf the investment in growth, he said.

"I do believe, in the end, those in the middle of both parties will come together on the obvious common ground of what is best in the long run — not for this political party or that political party, but for Wisconsin," he said.

• Compensation. Shepard said the state must invest in the people the University needs in order to succeed — its faculty and staff.

"We have been relentless in our efforts to make sure that this state invests in the people who, day-in and day-out, connect learning to the life of our region and hold the keys to our region's and state's success," he said. "I pledge to you, today, that those efforts will continue unabated."

• Diversity. Diversifying UW-Green Bay's student body is one of the University's greatest challenges — and opportunities, Shepard said. Programs like the Phuture Phoenix Program, which targets at-risk students as early as fifth grade and encourages them to dream of a higher education, will expand the pool of potential university students, he said.

"Just think of the lost opportunity, not only for UWGB but for our entire state, if we do not do everything we can to tap into the talents and brain power of our entire population," he said.

• Campus security. In the aftermath of the tragedy in April at Virginia Tech, the University must focus its efforts on prevention and intervention before violence occurs, said Shepard, who serves as co-chair of the Governor's Task Force on Campus Security. He also said campus security must not be the responsibility of only one office.

"It must be part of a changed campus culture where we are each responsible for the collective safety of our community," he said.

The full text of the Chancellor's speech is available online at http://www.uwgb.edu/chancellor/convocation/conv07.htm.

(07-134 / 28 August 2007 / SH)

UW-Green Bay announces Founders Association awards for excellence

GREEN BAY - The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay today (Tuesday, Aug. 28) announced the recipients of the 2007 Founders Association Awards for Excellence.

The awards for excellence and their recipients are: Teaching — Prof. Andrew Kersten; Scholarship — Prof. Regan Gurung; Institutional Development — Prof. Emeritus Fergus Hughes; Collaborative Achievement — UW-Green Bay, UW-Oshkosh Collaborative Master of Social Work Program; Community Outreach — Prof. Kevin Fermanich; Academic Support — Ron Ronnenberg; and Classified Staff - Jan Snyder.

UW-Green Bay Chancellor Bruce Shepard and Founders Association President Susan Frost presented the awards at the annual UW-Green Bay Faculty and Staff Convocation. The Founders Association, a philanthropic organization, began the awards program in 1975.

Kersten, recipient of the teaching award, is a professor of Social Change and Development. He joined the UW-Green Bay faculty in 1997.

In his decade at UW-Green Bay, Kersten has established a reputation for rigor, experimentation and a willingness to take risks in his approaches to teaching, according to his nominators. In 2002, he created the Northeastern Wisconsin Teaching American History Program, a program he directed to improve teaching, learning and student achievement in history.

Kersten shares his teaching innovations with other teachers and consistently receives high course evaluations from students, his nominators said.

Gurung, who received the award for scholarship, is an associate professor of Human Development and Psychology. He has been a member of the faculty at UW-Green Bay since 1999.

While at UW-Green Bay, Gurung has published one book, has three others prepared for publication, 40 refereed publications and 60 scholarly presentations.

One nominator described him as "a well-known and well-respected psychologist who not only published extensively in the health psychology area, but also applies his research to the betterment of the community." In addition to his research in health psychology, he has done extensive research in the area of scholarship of teaching and learning.

The scholarship award is the second Founders Association award for Gurung, who received the teaching award in 2004.

Hughes, recipient of the award for institutional development, recently retired after 35 years on the UW-Green Bay faculty. He taught in the Human Development and Psychology academic units. He chaired the Human Development unit three times. Hughes received the Founders teaching excellence award in 1978.

In addition to his teaching, Hughes has served the University in many capacities, most recently as interim dean of liberal arts and sciences. He also served on the Faculty Senate, the University Committee, the Instructional Development Council, the Academic Affairs Council and directed the UW-Green Bay Teaching Scholars Program. One of Hughes' nominators for the Founders Award asked, "What committee didn't he serve on?"

The Master of Social Work Program, a collaborative effort of UW-Green Bay and UW-Oshkosh, is the recipient of the collaborative achievement award. The program, launched in 2003, strives to meet the social services needs of Northeastern Wisconsin.

In an era in which "turf protection" sometimes seems paramount, the cooperation between the Social Work programs benefits both campuses and their students, the program's nominators said.

The collaborative Social Work program has been so successful that admissions were closed in 2005 and 2006. The program also has forged connections with the Hmong, First Nations and African American communities.

Fermanich, winner of the community outreach award, is an associate professor of Natural and Applied Sciences. He has been at UW-Green Bay since 1998.

Fermanich has served as director of the Lower Fox River Watershed Monitoring Program since 2003. The program, funded by a $1.5 million grant from Arjo Wiggins Appleton, is aimed at providing independent data that can be used in making decisions to improve water quality and restore habitat.

Partners in the watershed program are UW-Green Bay, UW-Milwaukee, the Green Bay Metropolitan Sewerage District, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Oneida Nation and students and teachers from six area high schools.

Fermanich also has been a member of the Northeast Wisconsin Karst Task Force, which studied and made recommendations for addressing ground-water quality problems in the region.

Ronnenberg, who received the award for academic support, is UW-Green Bay's director of financial aid and student employment. He has been at the University since 1977 and has been in his current position for nearly a decade.

In addition to his on-campus duties, Ronnenberg makes numerous presentations on financial aid opportunities to local schools and organizations.

His nominators described him as having a "work ethic beyond reproach" and an "ability to balance the immediate functions of the office with great foresight."

Snyder, winner of the classified staff award, is a university services program associate in the Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.

She is responsible for organizing UW-Green Bay's Commencement ceremonies and the New Faculty Orientation. She is the managing editor for the newsletter of the Instructional Development Council.

Recently, Snyder also has provided assistance to families of service members in Iraq and has created memory books for the families of fallen soldiers.

Recipients of the Founders Association Awards for Excellence are chosen by a committee of UW-Green Bay faculty and staff from responses to a call for nominations.

(07-133 / 28 August 2007 / SH)

UW-Green Bay freshmen move into residence halls Thursday

GREEN BAY - Faculty, staff and students will welcome and assist new freshmen at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay as they move into on-campus residence halls Thursday (Aug. 30).

More than 100 volunteers will be on hand to help the freshmen move into the residence halls on the northeast part of the UW-Green Bay campus.

About 730 freshmen will begin moving into their new homes at 8:30 a.m. They will get a head start on returning students, most of whom will move in the following Sunday and Monday.

Classes start at UW-Green Bay on Tuesday, Sept. 4.

Glenn Gray, director of residence life at UW-Green Bay said the freshmen move-in has become a strong tradition at the University, a tradition that is appreciated by incoming students and their parents.

"We get positive feedback every year from parents who appreciate the support our faculty, staff and returning students show for these new members of the campus community," Gray said.

UW-Green Bay Chancellor Bruce Shepard, student-athletes and members of a variety of student organizations will be among the volunteers helping the freshmen move into the residence halls.

Freshmen move-in kicks off orientation activities at UW-Green Bay. Other events Thursday include a parent meeting at 11:30 a.m. in the University Union, the official student campus welcome at 3:30 p.m. at the Kress Events Center, and the Chancellor's Ice Cream Social at 7 p.m. in the campus quad between the University Union and the David A. Cofrin Library.

(07-132 / 27 August 2007 / SH)

Veteran educator Schaal named director
of Institute for Learning Partnership

GREEN BAY - Richard Schaal, a veteran school administrator and teacher, has been named director of the Institute for Learning Partnership at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. He assumes his new duties Aug. 27.

Schaal succeeds John Crubaugh, who is retiring after serving as the Institute's director since 2001.

The Institute for Learning Partnership brings together educators from area K-12 school districts, universities and colleges, and business and community leaders to improve learning for all students in pre-kindergarten through grade 16.

Schaal said he looks forward to taking on the leadership of the Institute.

"I strongly believe in the Institute's mission of enhancing professional development for educators to improve academic achievement for all learners," he said.

Schaal has coordinated the Institute's Professional Development Certificate (PDC) program since 2003. The PDC, approved by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and guided by national teaching standards, provides continuing professional development growth for educators.

Schaal brings years of experience in educational administration to the Institute. He was interim principal at Fort Howard Elementary School in Green Bay during the 2002-03 school year. He previously was principal at Red Smith School and Baird Elementary School in Green Bay. He also served as a staff development trainer for Green Bay Area Public Schools.

He has a master's degree in special education from UW-Whitewater and a bachelor's degree in psychology from UW-Stevens Point. In addition, he has administrative certifications from UW-Milwaukee and a certification in special education from UW-Oshkosh.

(07-131 / 21 August 2007 / SH)

Emergency training exercise to be held
Monday at UW-Green Bay

GREEN BAY - The Green Bay Police Department, Brown County Sheriff's Department and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay will conduct a joint training exercise Monday (Aug. 13) on the UW-Green Bay campus. The goal is to review response and notification capabilities in the event of a shooting or other emergencies.

The exercise will involve SWAT teams from the Green Bay Police Department and Brown County Sheriff's Department as well as UW-Green Bay's Office of Public Safety and Police and emergency management team.

The exercise, which will begin at about 3:30 p.m., will be held in numerous areas on the UW-Green Bay campus, including:

• the first floor of Mary Ann Cofrin Hall,
• Student Services,
• the field between Wood Hall and the Laboratory Sciences building,
• the Laboratory Sciences parking lot.

Randy Christopherson, UW-Green Bay director of public safety, said it is important for the University and local law enforcement agencies to assess their level of emergency readiness as the school year approaches.

"Since the Virginia Tech shootings in April, UW-Green Bay has continued to review our response and notification capabilities and guidelines," Christopherson said. "We want to take a proactive approach to emergency planning and do everything we can to assure a safe campus environment."

The southwest end of the Laboratory Sciences parking lot will be closed Monday starting at 6 a.m. to make room for police and SWAT team vehicles and equipment. Signage stating "Police training in progress" and "SWAT training" will be posted in areas being used for the exercise.

(07-130 / 10 August 2007 / SH)

UW-Green Bay tuition and student fees
set at $5,959 for 2007-08

GREEN BAY - Wisconsin residents who are full-time undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay will pay tuition and student fees totaling $5,959 for the 2007-08 academic year under an operating budget approved today (Tuesday, Aug. 7) by the UW System Board of Regents.

That's an increase of 4.3 percent over the 2006-07 tuition and fees total for resident undergraduate students at UW-Green Bay.

The Regents set resident tuition at $4,819, up 5.5 percent from the 2006-07 academic year. The tuition increase is needed to preserve the level of quality and service in the UW System, the Regents said. It's the lowest percentage increase in seven years.

In addition, full-time undergraduate students attending UW-Green Bay will pay fees totaling $1,140 for student activities and services. The 2007-08 fees, set by students and campus administrators, decreased $8 from a year ago.

Here is a breakdown of the changes in tuition and student fees for an in-state undergraduate student attending UW-Green Bay:

	2007-08	2006-07	Change
Tuition	$4,819	$4,568	$251
Fees	$1,140	$1,148	- $8
Total	$5,959	$5,716	$243

Tuition and fees for nonresident undergraduates attending UW-Green Bay will be $13,532 for 2007-08. Nonresident tuition fully covers the cost of instruction and also subsidizes the education of resident students.

Resident graduate students attending UW-Green Bay full-time will pay tuition and fees totaling $7,301 for the 2007-08 academic year. Nonresident graduate students will pay $17,911 for the year.

(07-129 / 7 August 2007 / SH)