October 1998

Noted artist will present work at UW-Green Bay Nov. 18

GREEN BAY -- Artist Jaune Quick-To-See Smith will present a slide lecture on her work at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18 at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. The free event is in the Christie Theatre in University Union on the campus. A reception follows.

Quick-To-See Smith, who works in paint, collage, and mixed media, bridges the Native American and non-Indian worlds. Born and raised in Montana, she is of Salish, French, Cree, and Shoshone heritage.

"My art, my life experience and my tribal ties are totally enmeshed," says Quick-To-See Smith. "I go from one community with messages from the other, and I try to enlighten people." Her inspirations include artists such as Picasso and Rauschenberg, as well as traditional Native American art.

Quick-To-See Smith became an artist while in her thirties and was earning a living at it before she completed her master's degree at the University of New Mexico. Her work has been shown widely across the U.S., and in Germany, Austria, and several South American countries. Quick-To-See Smith has founded artists' groups, organized grass-roots protests to express concern for human and environmental issues, and curated art exhibitions. She is the recipient of numerous awards.

Quick-To-See Smith's appearance at UW-Green Bay is sponsored by the Art Agency student organization.

GREEN BAY -- Guest soloists and choirs join with University of Wisconsin-Green Bay musicians in presenting a major, recent composition at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14 in the Weidner Center.

Soprano Therese Gigot and baritone Richard Roe will be soloists in Mass, a 1996 work by composer David Maslanka. The work is based on the Latin mass and incorporates a set of poems, "Hymn to Sophia, Holy Wisdom," by contemporary poet Richard Beale.

UW-Green Bay faculty member Kevin Collins will conduct. A 30-member special wind ensemble of faculty, alumni and outstanding students has been created for the event, along with a 70-voice Festival Chorus, consisting of faculty, alumni and the UW-Green Bay Concert Choir. Faculty member William F. Witwer will prepare the chorus.

The Green Bay Boy Choir, directed by Judith Tepe, and the Green Bay Girl Choir, directed by Lisa Witwer, will join with UW-Green Bay musicians in the performance.

Gigot, a 1985 UW-Green Bay graduate, lives in Philadelphia where she recently graduated from the Academy of Vocal Arts. She was the first recipient of the Academy's Berwind Foundation Fellowship Award. Gigot made her European debut in 1993 with concerts in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland. She has been a soloist with orchestras in the U.S. and in Europe, and has sung opera roles including Leonora in Il Trovatore, Queen in Rumpelstiltskin, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera. Gigot's voice and her characterizations have won praise in the pages of Opera News Magazine and Opera Magazine. The daughter of Myles and Janet Gigot of Green Bay, Gigot graduated from Preble High School.

Roe was the baritone soloist in the premiere performance of Mass in 1996 at the University of Arizona. He is artistic director of the University of Arizona Opera Theater. Roe has sung leading roles with the New York City Opera and numerous regional opera companies, and appeared as a soloist with the Philadelphia, Detroit, and Cleveland Symphonies. His list of recitals includes appearances in Mexico and Korea.

Maslanka credits the Latin mass as a significant factor in his development as a composer. His compositions have been performed throughout the U.S., in Canada, Japan, Australia, and several European countries. He has received three National Endowment for the Arts Composer Awards and numerous other honors.

Poet Beale says the seven pieces that serve as preludes to the traditional Latin texts in Mass refer to the feminine aspect of God. "The creation was not simply an act of masculine godhead, but was feminine as well," he writes. He says the poems, which were inspired by the form and beauty of the Church of Santa Sophia in Constantinople, incorporate images of motherly nurturing.

The performance, jointly sponsored by the UW-Green Bay Music Department and the Advancement Office, marks the awarding of the first Paul D. Ziemer Memorial Vocal Scholarship at UW-Green Bay.

Funds for vocal scholarships were established at UW-Green Bay and at St. Norbert College after a May 1995 benefit concert in Ziemer's memory by the St. Norbert Collegiate Chorale. Dudley Birder conducted the event at the Weidner Center. Ziemer, former CEO of Wisconsin Public Service Corp., was a long-time member of the Chorale and a generous donor to both St. Norbert and UW-Green Bay.

Ticket proceeds from the concert will benefit the scholarship fund. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. The number for ticket information is 920-465-2217 or 1-800-328-TKTS.

GREEN BAY - The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay has announced today that four individuals have been selected for induction as the newest class in the Phoenix Hall of Fame.

Roger A. Harriman, Dawn LeClair-Taddy, Greg Santaga and Terry L. Schott will be honored at the sixth annual Hall of Fame induction banquet on Friday evening, Nov. 20. The banquet will take place in the Phoenix Room of the University Union.

Harriman was the founding coach of the Phoenix swimming and diving program in 1976; he guided the development of dozens of all-America swimmers in his 14 seasons and coached UW-Green Bay to its only national championship with an NAIA title in 1984. LeClair-Taddy was a high-scoring guard for the very successful women's basketball program from 1979-83; her 1,499 career points still stand third on the all-time scoring list. Santaga played striker for the men's soccer team from 1980-84; his 20 goals and 15 assists set single-season scoring records and helped the 1983 team earn the school's first-ever bid to an NCAA Division I post-season tournament. Schott was floor leader for the first Phoenix men's basketball teams from 1969-73; he was captain of the 1973 team which was 28-4 and reached the NAIA quarterfinals.

Selections are made by a committee that includes University, community and alumni representatives. This year's inductees bring the total to 30. Along with 1993 charter members Tom Anderson, Jeanne Barta Stangel, Lisa Hanson Dyer, Donald Harden, Ron Ripley, Horst Stemke and Dennis Woelffer, other members are Christian Akiwowo, Jerry Blackwell, Susie Klaubauf Bodilly, Bryan Boettcher, Dave Buss, Cindee Schmalz Haider, Nezih Hasanoglu, John Hummel, Tom Jones, April Jensen Kocken, Ann Olin Lundstrom, Kathy Mertz, Blake Middleton, Leon Mitchell, Zach Papanikolaou, Pam Roecker, Paul Schierl, Edward Weidner and Mark Wehking.

The reservation deadline for the 1998 Phoenix Hall of Fame banquet and induction ceremonies is Tuesday, Nov. 17. The cost is $19 per person. Group and corporate tables are available. For reservation information, contact Marilyn McCarey, UW-Green Bay Office of Intercollegiate Athletics, 920-465-2625.

GREEN BAY -- The university's American Intercultural Center will host an informal discussion and reception Monday (Oct. 26) to focus attention on Plan 2008: Educational Quality Through Racial and Ethnic Diversity, the UW System's new 10-year strategy for enhancing diversity.

The purpose of the event is to inform faculty, staff and students about Plan 2008, opportunities for involvement, and potential impact at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. The gathering is also open to the general public.

The event begins at 11:30 a.m. at the AIC office on the plaza level of the Cofrin Library. James Felton, American Intercultural Center coordinator, describes the event as a kickoff celebration. Speakers will offer a brief overview of Plan 2008, answer questions, and invite participants to a reception and open house in the AIC starting at about noon.

Each of the UW System's 13 four-year campuses is charged with developing a campus-specific plan in accordance with the broad guidelines of Plan 2008, which was approved by the UW System's Board of Regents earlier this year. The System plan has attracted national attention for its approach, seen as innovative because it aims to avoid contention over race-based preference by instead emphasizing expanded opportunities via pre-college programs and related efforts.

GREEN BAY -- A second motor coach has been added for a trip to view the Mary Cassatt: Modern Woman exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago on Saturday, Oct. 31.

The Office of Outreach and Extension at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay scheduled the second 55-passenger bus to accommodate those on a waiting list. Openings remain; those interested may call 920-465-2102.

The registration fee of $60 includes round-trip bus transportation, entrance fee, and an Art Institute audio tour. The Green Bay groups will be led by Barbara McClure-Lukens, Outreach program coordinator, and Tomas Galaty, UW-Green Bay curator of art. Cassatt was the only American to become an established member of the famed Impressionist circle in Paris. The Art Institute exhibit features nearly one hundred of the artist's best-known or rarely seen paintings, prints and pastels, including her signature studies of women and children.

GREEN BAY -- An Election Eve appearance by a president famous for straight talk and direct action is in store Monday night, Nov. 2, with a public presentation of "Give 'em Hell, Harry" at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Almost 50 years to the day since President Truman's victory in the famous "Dewey defeats Truman" race - a result that caught pollsters and early-edition headline writers by surprise - Green Bay actor Bob Wilson presents his adaptation of the classic one-man play at 7 p.m. in the Christie Theatre. The theatre is located on the lower level of the University Union on the campus at 2420 Nicolet Drive.

There is no admission charge for the program organized by the Friends of the David A. Cofrin Library at UW-Green Bay, but donations are accepted.

The one-act play offers a look at Truman's "the buck stops here" philosophy, his wit and wisdom, and the memorable events of his presidency, including the decision to use the atomic bomb against Japan in World War II, the start of the Cold War, and the conflict in Korea. Wilson, who bears a physical resemblance to the man he portrays, has noted that he likely would have been part of the Allied invasion force had Japan not surrendered in August, 1945.

The sponsoring organization for the Nov. 2 public program, the Friends of the Cofrin Library, is a group dedicated to the support of the University library at UW-Green Bay. The organization will hold a brief business meeting prior to the Truman show.

GREEN BAY -- A vintage evening recollecting the Sinatra era is in store when guest artists join the UW-Green Bay Jazz Ensemble I for "A Tribute to Frank Sinatra" at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8, in the Weidner Center on the UW-Green Bay campus at 2420 Nicolet Drive.

Singer Todd Buffa, who says the Sinatra repertoire was a foundation for his own singing, and drummer Duffy Jackson, who played with the Count Basie Orchestra when Sinatra appeared in concert with the group at Radio City Music Hall, are guest performers. Other guest soloists include UW-Green Bay alumni and faculty, along with student soloists. UW-Green Bay's Vocal Jazz Ensemble will perform a quartet of Sinatra numbers.

UW-Green Bay Director of Jazz Studies John Salerno conceived the idea of a tribute shortly after Sinatra died last May. "There will never be another like him," says Salerno. The difficulty in assembling the program from Sinatra's vast repertoire was "not a matter of what to choose, but what to leave out," Salerno adds.

Buffa will perform more than a dozen Sinatra tunes, from "I'll Never Smile Again," which Sinatra recorded in 1940 with the Pied Pipers, to "The Lady is a Tramp," recorded in 1974. Buffa, a Green Bay East High School graduate who attended UW-Green Bay in the early 1970s, has been back to Green Bay to perform several times. Buffa, who formerly performed with the group Rare Silk, won a Grammy nomination in the 1980s for an arrangement for the group. He says that although he never met Sinatra, he feels they were friends in a sense. "I learned a lot from him," says Buffa, careful to note that he doesn't imitate Sinatra. "Feeling that I know Mr. Sinatra, I know he would want me to do it well, but do it my way."

Jackson will solo in instrumental numbers, "Wind Machine," Jumpin' at the Woodside," and others, mostly from the Count Basie Orchestra. Jackson, son of jazz bassist Chubby Jackson, was making television appearances by the age of 10 and by his 18th birthday was touring with Lena Horne. Buddy Rich, Gene Kruppa, and Louie Bellson are among Jackson's tutors.

Soloists on other instrumentals include UW-Green Bay alumnus Bill Dennee, Green Bay, in "Makin' Whoopie," and faculty member Kevin Collins on Tommy Dorsey's "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You."

Woody Mankowski, Green Bay, also an alum, will be the vocalist on three Sinatra numbers, including "Fly Me to the Moon," recorded during America's early fascination with space flight in the mid-1960s and used by NASA as a morning "wake up" for astronauts in space.

Other featured performers include graduate Bruce Raines, Appleton, trombone, and faculty member Thomas Pfotenhauer, trumpet.

Student Jennifer Scovell is featured vocalist with the Vocal Jazz Ensemble which will perform "Come Rain or Come Shine," "If I Should Lose You," and other Sinatra songs. Chris Salerno is their director.

John Salerno says the Sinatra-era program is a challenge for the Jazz Ensemble, which has only been re-assembled for rehearsal since the start of the school year. "This is a style that we don't play a lot of," says Salerno. "And it's a lot of music to perform."

Salerno has augmented the 15-plus member Jazz Ensemble with strings to get the necessary "big band" sound. On strings will be faculty member Catherine Henze and student Amanda Rhines, along with string players from East De Pere High School, who are directed by Alpha Mendelson.

Salerno did the string arrangements and arranged and transcribed most of the other Sinatra numbers, a project that occupied much of his summer and weekends this fall.

"This needs to be done," says Salerno, of the concert. "Sinatra was important."

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. The number for tickets is 920-465-2217 or 1-800-328-TKTS.

GREEN BAY -- University of Wisconsin-Green Bay faculty member Thomas Pfotenhauer will give a trumpet recital at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26, in Fort Howard Hall of the Weidner Center on the UW-Green Bay campus. The event is free.

Accompanist is long-time faculty member and pianist Arthur Cohrs.

The program includes 20th century compositions by American, French, and Russian composers, and one suite by George Frederick Handel. The major work presented will be Concertino by French composer Andre Jolivet. Pfotenhauer will perform a composition by living American composer William Presser without accompaniment. Pfotenhauer notes that three different trumpets will be featured in the course of the program-the standard B-flat instrument, the C trumpet, and the piccolo trumpet.

Pfotenhauer, who joined the faculty in fall 1997, is a native of Merrill, and earned his bachelor's degree at UW-Green Bay before pursing advanced studies at the Universities of Michigan and Kansas. He has performed widely in Northeast Wisconsin.

GREEN BAY -- Walter R. Echo-Hawk, an attorney known for his defense of Native American rights, especially those relating to burials and religious freedom, will speak at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26. The free event, followed by a reception, will be in the Phoenix Room of the University Union on the campus at 2420 Nicolet Drive.

Echo-Hawk is a senior staff attorney for the Native American Rights Fund (NARF), Boulder, Colo. NARF is a national organization which provides legal representation to Native Americans, Native Alaskans and Native Hawaiians.

Echo-Hawk has been a leader in pursuing return of Indian remains and burial offerings to native groups. He represented a number of Native American tribes in negotiating the Smithsonian Institution Reburial Agreement in 1989, and he led efforts that culminated in 1990 in passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. The Act sets nationwide standards for the return to tribes of Native American remains and certain other protected materials from federal agencies and federally funded institutions.

Echo-Hawk also works toward federal legislation to protect Native American religious freedom. He has served as co-director of NARF's American Indian Religious Freedom project and as director of its Indian Corrections Project.

A member of the Pawnee tribe, Echo-Hawk was born on the reservation near Pawnee, Okla., and earned an undergraduate degree in political science from Oklahoma State University. His law degree is from the University of New Mexico. Echo-Hawk is a justice on the Pawnee Tribe's Supreme Court.

His awards include the Civil Liberties Award from the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon for contributions to the cause of individual freedom.

The program is part of UW-Green Bay's Contemporary Issues Series sponsored by the Office of Student Life. The number for information is 920-465-2400.

GREEN BAY -- The Women's Chorus and Symphonic Band at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay present their first concerts of the season in a shared program at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, in the Weidner Center.

Judy O'Grady will conduct the 22-member Women's Chorus in a program featuring romance as the topic. The songs span time from the Renaissance to a pop jazz version of "Button Up Your Overcoat."

Composers represented include George Frederick Handel, with a selection from "Joshua," and Pablo Casals, whose setting of a text from the Biblical Song of Solomon will be performed. Keyboard instructor Ellen Hancheck is the accompanist.

The Symphonic Band opens its half of the evening with the "Overture" to Pirates of Penzance, setting the mood for the UW-Green Bay production of the Gilbert and Sullivan classic scheduled for late February and early March. The Music and Theater Departments will mount the musical in University Theatre.

The band continues its program with Roger Nixon's "Elegy and Fanfare-March," a contemporary work that is not often performed, says conductor Scott Wright. The 83-piece group concludes with Jerry Bilik's "American Civil War Fantasy," which combines popular songs from the Civil War period with the modern symphonic band setting.

Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students. The number for tickets is 920-465-2217 or 1-800-328-TKTS.

GREEN BAY -- A historian who has written widely on the subject of McCarthyism will speak at noon on Friday, Oct. 23 in Rose Hall, room 250 at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. The free event is open to the public.

"McCarthyism and the Labor Movement," is the topic for Ellen Schrecker, a faculty member at Yeshiva University.

Schrecker has written many books, book chapters and papers on aspects of American life touched by McCarthyism, including internal security, anti-Communism, Communism, the Cold War, higher education, intellectual freedom, and other topics. Her most recent book is Many Are the Crimes: McCarthyism in America.

Schrecker has been a historical consultant for several documentary films, including the recent Truman. She is active in Scholars, Artists and Writers for Social Justice, the New York Council for the Humanities, and other organizations.

Her Green Bay appearance is sponsored by UW-Green Bay's Center for History and Social Change.

GREEN BAY -- Swiss author Margrit Schriber will read from her latest novel, Schneefessel, at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17 at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. The program in the 1965 room of University Union on the campus at 2420 Nicolet Drive is free and open to the public.

The reading will be in German. The award-winning novel is set in a small alpine village, once a popular tourist destination, but now in decline as young people have left for the promise of easier lives beyond the mountains. The juror's award for the novel cited it for "captivating, beautiful prose and powerful images...."

Schriber is the author of ten novels and several radio and theater plays. She also has edited several anthologies of Swiss writing.

Her two-day visit to Green Bay is co-sponsored by the University's German Department and the Swiss Consulate General in Chicago. On Friday, Schriber will meet with UW-Green Bay students of German, writing and Humanistic Studies.

GREEN BAY -- Small clay works and large sculptures share the billing in a dual exhibit opening with a reception from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 15, in the Lawton Gallery at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

"Put a Lid on It: Covered Vessels" and "The Maquette of Visual Metaphor: Dean Langworthy, Sculptures 1982-1998," continue in the gallery through Nov. 7.

"Put a Lid on It" is a selection of about 25 vessels from a larger exhibit of the title curated by Stephen Robison, faculty member at Belmont University, Nashville, Tenn. Robison says he tried to include a variety of firing techniques and aesthetics in the work he selected. What the pieces have in common is lids. Most of the vessels are under 12 inches in height.

Robison, a Door County native who earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at UW-Whitewater, will spend two days as a visiting artist at UW-Green Bay in conjunction with the exhibit.

Chicago sculptor Dean Langworthy works in large scale with materials such as wood, lead, stone, concrete, and found objects. Typically, the viewer can activate the sculptures, often in a way that is unexpected or surprising. Langworthy describes them as metaphors for life.

Langworthy's drawings and maquettes and one or two sculptures will be shown inside the Lawton Gallery. Other large pieces will be displayed in the Theatre Hall lobby and out-of-doors nearby. One of Langworthy's sculptures - a gift to the University - is on permanent display in the Cofrin Library plaza.

Lawton Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The gallery is located in Theatre Hall, directly east of the Weidner Center.

GREEN BAY -- Francine Tompkins has been named the first director of the Institute for Learning Partnership based at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Tompkins is an associate professor of education and chairperson of the Education program at UW-Green Bay.

Tompkins is a specialist in educational psychology and special education. She served as chairperson of the UW-Green Bay University Committee and has been active in United Way of Brown County. Tompkins received three degrees through the doctorate in special education at Michigan State University. Before joining the UW-Green Bay faculty in 1990, she was director of the Academic Masters program and Student Support at St. Norbert College.

"Prof. Tompkins has the right skills and abilities to foster successful connections among the many groups in our region concerned about education and learning," says Nancy Kaufman, dean of professional studies and outreach at UW-Green Bay. "Students, practicing teachers, school administrators and others who have worked with Professor Tompkins have told us about her commitment to quality teacher education and the energy and enthusiasm she brings to her work." Kaufman notes that Tompkins' background in active research is a good match with the Institute's mission to improve student learning.

The Institute Tompkins now oversees grew from a collaboration including business and civic leaders, education associations and unions, the 37 school districts of Northeastern Wisconsin's CESA #7 , and UW-Green Bay. Working in partnership, the representatives of these broadly-based groups focused on how to improve learning at all levels. One component of the Institute for Learning Partnership is the new master's degree in education which was approved by the UW System Board of Regents last spring and enrolled its first students at UW-Green Bay this fall. Other components are a state-approved professional development certificate program, redesign of the University's undergraduate major in education, and activities to enhance learning research and mentoring opportunities.

The University's new graduate-level studies program - the Master of Science in Applied Leadership for Teaching and Learning - is specially designed for experienced educators. It is the first program of its kind in Wisconsin to be built specifically upon the competencies outlined by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS).

"It is a cohesive, high-quality program, " says Tompkins. " We expect teachers who complete the degree will be well prepared to take the National Boards."

Area school administrators supported UW-Green Bay's proposal for the new master's degree and reported expectations of solid demand from the region's 7,000 pre-kindergarten-12 educators. Encouragement was offered at the state level, too, with Gov. Tommy Thompson backing initiatives that would encourage more teachers to pursue certification via the rigorous NBPTS criteria.

Tompkins notes that UW-Green Bay is not only providing state leadership in basing its degree on the national standards, but is in a select group nationally, as well. "There are few states now using the standards in a master's program," she says.

The 30-credit master's degree program includes requirements for a competency-based portfolio and learning-based master's thesis. Goals are to foster each teacher's ability to provide leadership in improving learning for students; prepare the teacher to design, implement and evaluate school-based and learner-focused research; and integrate the teacher's own classroom experiences into the course of study.

Individuals interested in learning more about these programs may call the UW-Green Bay Office of Education at 920-465-2137.

GREEN BAY -- Two public school professionals have joined the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Education faculty for the 1998-99 school year. The appointments are one more step in the development of the region's new Institute for Learning Partnership which stresses broad collaboration to improve student learning.

The "professionals-in-residence" are Reba Hill Barkley, Green Bay, former principal of Fort Howard Elementary School, and Mary L. Huberty, Sobieski, a grade three teacher in the Howard-Suamico School District.

"I see this as one of the most representative things we can do with the notion of partnership," says Francine Tompkins, director of the Institute for Learning Partnership based at UW-Green Bay. The Institute Partnership fosters collaboration among the University, the school districts in CESA 7, business and education leaders, and parents.

Barkley became principal of Fort Howard Elementary School in 1996 and served as principal at Franklin Elementary School in Appleton before that. She is teaching Introduction to the Art and Science of Teaching, the first "block" in professional studies for prospective teachers, and the course Cultural Images in Materials for Children and Adolescents. Barkley has a bachelor's degree in early childhood education from Spelman College, Atlanta, a master's degree emphasizing learning disabilities from Atlanta University, an Educational Specialist degree in administration and supervision from the University of Georgia, and a doctorate in education from Nova Southeastern University.

Huberty taught grade one for six years before moving to third grade. She previously was a cooperating teacher in her classroom for UW-Green Bay language arts students. At UW-Green Bay, she is teaching Integrating the Language Arts, and is a member of a team teaching Reading in the Content Areas. Huberty earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education from UW-Whitewater and a master's degree in reading education from UW-Oshkosh. She is a member of the district language arts committee.

The value of having visiting practitioners at the University "is probably beyond what we can predict now," says Tompkins. "These are people who can talk about their own day-to-day experiences in the schools," she explains. "They're adding to the practical element for our students. At the same time, their presence helps to keep other faculty members aware of what the needs in the schools are." Tompkins adds that UW-Green Bay faculty members have visited in the schools, and teachers have come to campus to give guest lectures in the past, but never before have practitioners from the schools taught full time at the University.

Tompkins says she would like to see the "teacher-in-residence" program continued. Says Tompkins, "This is a lot more than a symbolic gesture. It is a basic piece of the partnership and its focus is improving student learning at all levels."

GREEN BAY -- The Weidner Center's new Studio Two is tailor-made to offer new experiences to student performers and to audiences alike.

So says UW-Green Bay professor and scenic designer Jeffrey Entwistle, who worked closely with architects on space and equipment needs and the initial floor plan design for the space that premieres with UW-Green Bay's production of Private Eyes Thursday through Saturday, October 15 through 17, and October 22 through 24.

Compared to the Weidner Center's Cofrin Family Hall, and even to University Theatre, which has a 50-foot proscenium stage which Entwistle describes as "huge" for many productions, Studio Two is small. The room measures 41 feet by 35 feet, 8 inches, and seats a maximum audience of 100.

Entwistle says the scale of Studio Two will give students a different performance experience, allow more flexibility in choice of plays, and provide a "reality check" for students pursuing theater careers.

Entwistle explains that professionals typically start work in small, off-Broadway-type spaces. Private Eyes Director Laura Riddle adds that Studio Two helps students planning careers in film and television, because the smaller space requires an acting style appropriate to those media.

"The student actors in Private Eyes are truly grateful to have such an elegant small space to work in," Riddle notes. "They're very excited to be part of the first production in Studio Two."

In addition to University facilities already available to students, Studio Two "fleshes out what the opportunities and experience can be," says Entwistle.

"This is a good example for students that you don't need to have a huge spectacle and a lot of scenery to produce a play," he adds, noting that for students learning about performance, it's useful to be able to "cut away the extraneous" and concentrate on character and performance. "It's quite different acting five or ten feet from the audience than up on a big proscenium stage," Entwistle says.

According to Entwistle, Studio Two will allow theater students to work on smaller, more intimate plays. Riddle says that dramas often benefit by performance in smaller spaces. "Small spaces allow for subtleties of performance that get lost in a big theater," she explains.

The experience will be different for audiences as well. "They'll be right on top of the action," says Entwistle. The audience platform is in moveable four by eight-foot sections of varying heights, allowing the seating to "wrap" around three sides of the stage.

Though the space is small, it has many performance-enhancing amenities, explains Entwistle. The "boards" trod by the actors are indeed wood, but cushioned by rubber supports to ease movement. Acoustics are enhanced by wood reflector panels. Ninety-six dimmers control lighting. And, while there's no deep "backstage" for scenery, drapes can be hung to conceal or reveal furniture and props. Studio Two has its own dressing room, so other Weidner Center activities won't conflict with its use.

Studio Two "is not there to generate earnings," says Entwistle, referring to its limited audience capacity. "It's there to give students a different space in which to learn and work."

Entwistle anticipates that UW-Green Bay music students also will make ample use of the space for recitals and small ensemble performances.

Not least among the benefits of Studio Two is a closer alignment between the University's academic programs and the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts, says Entwistle. "It clearly shows an architectural footprint that connects University shows with the Weidner Center," he adds.

GREEN BAY -- One thing for certain about the play Private Eyes, set for Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 15, 16, 17, and 22, 23, and 24, is that an affair takes place. Or does it?

The first play of the season presented by the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay theatre program will begin at 7:30 p.m. each evening in the new Studio Two in the Weidner Center on campus at 2420 Nicolet Drive.

Subtitled "a comedy of suspicion," nothing in the 1996 Steven Dietz play is quite as it seems.

"I was immediately taken by this smart, new comedy," says director Laura Riddle of the UW-Green Bay faculty. "And I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to present it in the new Weidner Center Studio Two." She explains that the space provides an intimacy between actors and audience that "is so very appropriate" for the play's content.

Said playwright Dietz: "A play about lies must be a comedy, because only laughter can make us recognize truths that we're not fond of."

Riddle notes that the subject is timely.

"The issues of marital infidelity and the nature of 'truth' are in the media and in the thoughts of our nation on a daily basis," she says. "The subject matter has led to lengthy conversations amongst the cast." Private Eyes is not recommended for children under 14.

Riddle says the play's multi-layered structure is a challenge for both the company and the audience. "It gives an insider's view of the world of the theater without distancing the outsider," explains Riddle of the story set in the theater realm.

The role of the husband is carried by Micheal J. Herman, a Wisconsin Rapids junior, who portrayed Jesus in last year's Godspell. His role in Picnic won Herman a nomination for an Irene Ryan Award from the American College Theater Festival (ACTF). Emily Branden, a Green Bay senior, will be seen in the role of the wife. Peres Owino, a senior from Nairobi, Kenya, portrays a therapist. Branden and Owino were both in the cast of On the Verge, which was selected as one of last season's six best Midwest college theater productions in ACTF regional competition. Steve Marzolf, a Green Bay sophomore, who made his UW-Green Bay debut in last year's Godspell, has the role of a theater director. The character portrayed by Green Bay senior Jessica Jelinski is mysterious. Jelinski includes last year's Sylvia among her credits. All are theater majors.

Photographers are portrayed by Robert Bartelt, a senior from Eau Claire; Jennifer Hein, a freshman from Waukesha; Molly Mix, a freshman from Windom, Minn.; and Josh Robers, a sophomore from Sheboygan Falls.

Technical theater major Jennifer L. Strosin, a senior from Minocqua, is stage manager. It's her fourth stage managing credit at UW-Green Bay. The sound design is by Aaron Stinebrink, a junior from Lake Geneva, whose sound design for last year's On the Verge won ACTF recognition. Jordan Block, Green Bay, a May 1998 graduate, designed the costumes.

The production's scenic design is by faculty member Jeffrey P. Entwistle, and lighting design is by Theater Technical Director R. Michael Ingraham.

According to American Theater magazine, Private Eyes was one of the 10 most-produced plays - excluding Shakespeare works and holiday plays - in the 1997-98 U. S. season. Other plays by Dietz include God's Country, Lonely Planet, Ten November, and More Fun Than Bowling.

The Seattle playwright has developed something of a Wisconsin connection. Milwaukee Rep mounted Private Eyes last season and has commissioned Dietz to write a play which the company will premiere. The play, The Force of Nature, based on Goethe's novel, Elective Affinities, is on their spring 1999 schedule. Tickets for the UW-Green Bay production of Private Eyes are $10 in advance/$12 at the door for adults; $8 in advance/$10 at the door for seniors and students; $5 for UW-Green Bay students. The number for tickets is 920-465-2217 or 1-800-328-TKTS. One-quarter of the ticket cost goes to support UW-Green Bay theater scholarships and is tax-deductible.

GREEN BAY -- Noted ecologist Martin L. Cody will give two presentations, on Thursday, Oct. 15, and on Friday, Oct. 16, at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

The Thursday presentation, "Island Biogeography of Plants in the Barkley Sound, British Columbia: 16 Years of Dynamic Change," is set for 4 p.m. in Rose Hall, Room 250. Cody will present an analysis of bird diversity on three continents at noon on Friday in Laboratory Sciences Building Room 213. The sessions are free.

Cody is a member of the Department of Organismic Biology, Ecology, and Evolution at UCLA where he has been on the faculty since 1966. He has done field research all over the world seeking answers to questions about what controls the distributions and densities of animal and plant species. Much of Cody's research has centered on birds, but he also studies plants, particularly in habitats such as islands and deserts. He is the author of five books and many scholarly articles.

The program is the year's first in the Ecology Lecture Series at UW-Green Bay. The lectures are supported by an annual heirloom vegetable plant sale on Memorial Day weekend.

GREEN BAY -- The Preble High School Chamber Choir will join the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Vocal and Wind Ensembles in UW-Green Bay's first concert of the season at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, in the Weidner Center.

The Preble group's program includes two works with themes of hope: "Bashana Haba'ah," in Hebrew, expresses a hope for peace, and "Inscription of Hope" by Z. Randall Stroope, is based on words written on a Cologne, Germany basement wall by Jews who were hiding there. Susan McAllister conducts the select group of 45 high school vocalists.

UW-Green Bay's Vocal Ensemble, directed by Assistant Prof. William F. Witwer, includes in its selections four settings by contemporary composers of poems on the topics of music and flowers. The poems span time from the Old Testament to 1993. The group ends its part of the program with a gospel number. The 18-member Ensemble is accompanied by pianist Janice Cusano, who joined the UW-Green Bay music faculty in September.

The two choral groups will join together on Randall Thompson's "Last Words of David."

"Fanfare for the Weidner," composed by UW-Green Bay Prof. Terence O'Grady for the Sept. 18 dedication of the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts, opens the Wind Ensemble's program. Kevin Collins conducts the 38-member group.

The featured Wind Ensemble selection is a tone poem, "Heroes, Lost and Fallen: A Vietnam Memorial," by contemporary composer David Gillingham, himself a Vietnam veteran. The composition incorporates excerpts from "The Star-Spangled Banner" and the Vietnamese national anthem with an original chorale. Percy Grainger's "The Immovable Do," composed after he had the experience of playing an organ with a stuck key, will provide a change of pace.

Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students. The number for tickets is 920-465-2217.

GREEN BAY -- Sarah Meredith, mezzo soprano, and Jennifer Barker, pianist/composer, will present a recital of music by American composers at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11, in Fort Howard Hall of the Weidner Center on the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay campus. Admission is free.

Meredith is a member of the faculty at UW-Green Bay and Barker is a faculty member at Christopher Newport University, Newport News, Va. The two presented a portion of the same program in August during the "Fringe Festival" of the Edinburgh Music Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland.

The pair will be assisted by clarinetist Scott Wright, of the UW-Green Bay faculty, and by Green Bay violinist Wayne Lin, 1997 winner of the Young Artist Audition with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

Meredith has performed as a soloist and recitalist throughout the midwestern United States, and in eastern and western Europe. In addition to her training at Iowa State University, Northwestern University, and the University of Iowa, she studied at the Hochschule fur Musick, Hamburg, Germany. In 1995 and 1997, Meredith took UW-Green Bay students to the International Dvorak Voice Competition in the Czech Republic where she also served as an adjudicator.

Barker is a native of Scotland and holds degrees from the University of Glasgow and from Syracuse University in the United States. She has received many commissions and awards for her compositions, which have been performed in Great Britain and the U.S. Barker also has received awards in piano performance at the Edinburgh Festival.

The program includes works by Barker, and by Stephen Foster, Charles Ives, Peggy Glanville-Hicks, Billie Holiday, and George Gershwin.

GREEN BAY -- Animals that lived side-by-side with mastodons during the Ice Age have been discovered alive in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

The animals are tiny snails, and although mastodons became extinct after the Ice Age, small pockets of habitat remain in the Upper Peninsula that allow the snails to survive. The discovery results from a study conducted by Prof. Jeffrey Nekola of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, and supported by the Small Grants Program funded by the 1998 Nongame Wildlife Fund of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

The study discovered a dozen snail species never before documented living in Michigan. Researchers also found 65 of the 71 species of snails known to occur in the Upper Peninsula.

"Some of the species we found are among the rarest land snails in eastern North America," says Nekola.

But warns Nekola, people walking through likely areas in the Upper Peninsula shouldn't expect to just "stumble" upon rare snails: these creatures are small. "All of the 12 species we added to Michigan's list are somewhere around the size of Lincoln's nose on a penny," he explains.

Nekola and student researchers collected samples along Lake Superior from Ironwood to the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula and north of Lake Michigan from the Garden Peninsula to Drummond Island. The two areas are very different geologically but, explains Nekola, the bedrock in both offer the ingredient-lime-that makes for good snail habitat.

The mastodon's surviving "neighbor" is Vertigo nylanderi and until Nekola's studies found the species in the Upper Peninsula and Wisconsin, no one had seen the snails alive since specimens were collected in Minnesota in 1949. The habitat required by Vertigo nylanderi-widely scattered tamarack trees on sedge prairie-was also the habitat required by mastodons at the close of the last Ice Age. The UW-Green Bay researchers found living snails in four such remnant sites stretching from Delta County to Chippewa County.

"This tells us an important story about how animal size affects its resource needs and its ability to adapt to global climate change," says Nekola. He explains that when climate change after the Ice Age caused the demise of large tracts of tamarack-sedge prairies, the mastodons died, too. "There wasn't enough habitat for them, but for snails, the small remaining areas were enough."

Vertigo modesta is another Ice Age relic that Nekola and students found living in tiny soil pockets between boulders at the base of cliffs in Keweenaw County's Cliff Range. The snail is a northern species known only as a fossil in the Midwest. It normally lives from Alaska to Newfoundland and in other cold places like high in the Rocky Mountains.

"About three-quarters of the new Michigan 'finds' are Ice Age relics, the other quarter are southern species that nobody knew lived this far north," says Nekola.

An example is Guppya sterkii, normally found from the Ozarks to the Appalachians. UW-Green Bay researchers not only identified live specimens in a warm, west-facing site near Lake Michigan close to the Delta-Schoolcraft County line, but found what may be the largest colony known in the upper Midwest.

Over the summer, UW-Green Bay researchers collected samples from 75 sites in the Upper Peninsula. The gallon-sized bags of soil and leaf litter were taken back to the lab where the painstaking part of the work takes place. Researchers wash the soil away through fine sieves, dry the remaining litter, spread it on trays, and carefully sort with fine sable brushes to find the snails. The tiny shells can only be identified through microscopes.

The snail research illuminates several issues for Nekola. Preservationists typically focus on the large animals that need big tracts for survival-such as grizzly bears and wolves-to the exclusion of smaller creatures, says Nekola. "As humans dig, dredge, cut, and pave, things that can persist in small areas are in trouble, too," he says.

He often reminds listeners that the term "wilderness" is relative. A wilderness area doesn't have to be big enough to support wolves: for a snail, a rocky ledge the size of a saucer is a wilderness. "This tells me that no landscape should be discounted," says Nekola. "It changes our perspective on what areas need to be considered priorities for protection."

Nekola is intrigued, too, by the idea that animals and plants that lived with Ice Age creatures live on today. It isn't necessary to go to the rain forest to experience exotic things, he says, "It's in our own back yards."