Perkins accepts top post at Towson

Chancellor Mark L. Perkins announced on February 6 that he has accepted the presidency of Towson University in suburban Baltimore, Maryland. He will continue as chancellor at UW-Green Bay through June.

Perkins joined UW-Green Bay on Feb. 1, 1994, succeeding David A. Outcalt. Towson officials said their reasons for pursuing Perkins included the strength of UW-Green Bay's achievements during his tenure here. He was associated with creating the Institute for Learning Partnership, which resulted in a new master's degree in education program, and with securing funding for a new $20-million classroom building opening this year and for the $17-million remodeling of Laboratory Sciences scheduled to begin next year. He gained commitment from the UW System Board of Regents for funds for the Learning Experience Initiative and for planning expansions of the University Union and Phoenix Sports Center.

I am extraordinarily proud of the things we have accomplished as a university family and community here in Green Bay," Perkins said. "I feel confident UW-Green Bay will be successful in carrying its initiatives forward. This is an institution with a very bright future."

The Board of Regents initiates the search process for a new chancellor. It is expected that a campus and community search committee will recommend finalists to the Regents and the UW System president in time for a successor to be in place by the start of the fall semester in September.

The word "communiversity" isn't often heard on campus today except in the name of Communiversity Park on the campus bayshore, but the concept is as vibrant as it was when the term was coined to describe the new University. According to a 30-year-old undergraduate catalog, the term conveyed "a socially responsible university relating to a socially responsible community." The theme was among the bases of the University's initial academic plan.

Today, faculty members conduct applied research in the community and lend expertise as consultants. Undergraduate and graduate students engage in off-campus research and service learning projects. Outreach and extension efforts exist specifically to serve community needs. Faculty, staff and students give countless hours of their time to serve community organizations and initiatives.

What follows is a "snapshot" of engagement between UW-Green Bay and the larger community today.

High school mentoring program grows in scope

It started in 1994 with UW-Green Bay faculty, staff and volunteer student mentors from the American Intercultural Center meeting with Green Bay high school students of color. Today, the high school students are as likely to want to talk about "life" issues, such as getting along with teachers and parents, as about diversity issues, says Prof. Peter Kellogg, Humanistic Studies and History, a founder of the program.

And the college-age mentors may have some high school students thinking ahead to their futures. During fall, several of the high school students spent a day on campus, each "shadowing" a UW-Green Bay student. Another encouraging indication? Kellogg says the high school students have themselves expressed interest in becoming mentors to middle school-age students.

The program began with the premise that college students of color functioning in a predominately white setting could be helpful as mentors to high school students in the same situation, explains Kellogg. The mentors invite the high school students to set the topic at their twice-monthly meetings.

Kellogg recalls that after a session on getting along with teachers, one student said, "Now I can talk to my teachers," and another chimed in, "Now I can talk to my teachers without shouting at them." Says Kellogg, "It's one of the 'coolest' things that has happened recently."

Typically, the mentoring program sees about 200 high school students each academic year. Faculty and staff volunteers working with Kellogg this year include Professors James Coates, Education, and Hye-Kyung Kim, Humanistic Studies and Philosophy, and Juliet Cole, assistant to the director for the Institute for Learning Partnership.

'Empty Bowls' supports shelters, pantry

In the early 1990s, Prof. Curt Heuer, Communication and the Arts and Art, saw an article in Ceramics Monthly that got his attention. It was about a high school teacher in Michigan who hit upon an idea to get his students more socially engaged. The students made ceramic bowls, then served a soup and bread supper. Diners kept the empty bowls as reminders that for some, the bowl is always empty. The proceeds went to charity. The concept has spread around the country and abroad.

Heuer introduced the idea to UW-Green Bay ceramics students and it took fire, but with a twist. Bowls here are filled with chili, a heritage from an annual art faculty chili cook-off of several years running. Beneficiaries of the "Empty Bowls" sale have included various shelters and a food pantry.

"Empty Bowls" launched on campus in 1994 and in its best year, collected $1,200. "I'm still very involved in the production of the bowls along with my upper-level students...," says Heuer. "Students in the Art Agency student organization have increasingly taken over the actual work on the day of 'Empty Bowls'."

Bird survey results: data, experience, saved money

A 1987 survey of birds in the Nicolet National Forest turned into an annual event that is the longest running volunteer bird monitoring program in any U.S. national forest.

Prof. Robert Howe, Natural and Applied Sciences and Biology and a founder of the survey, says it has involved hundreds of volunteers, including many UW-Green Bay students, and has saved the U.S. Forest Service more than $100,000. UW-Green Bay students have done most of the data analysis. Eight UW-Green Bay master's degree recipients have used data from the surveys directly or indirectly in their thesis projects. Two graduate students presently are using the material.

The survey started when members of the Northeastern Wisconsin Audubon Society were asked to comment on a Land and Resource Management Plan for the Nicolet National Forest, explains Howe, who was an active chapter member. National forests are required to have plans for monitoring indicator species, including 20 species of birds.

"We couldn't comment, because we didn't know what was there," he says. "We decided to find out." That was 14 years ago and the survey is still going. Every second weekend of June, volunteers — some have been from as far away as Sweden — gather in the forest to survey the birds and record their findings.

In 14 years, volunteers have recorded 179 species, ranging from indicator species that are abundant, such as the red-eyed vireo and black-throated green warbler, to those that are very rare, including the northern three-toed woodpecker and the spruce grouse. Another record documented by the survey: some species — the yellow-bellied flycatcher, and several warblers among them — that are "declining alarmingly" in other parts of their range are still well established in the Nicolet National Forest.

"The Forest Service uses the information every day," says Howe. "It helps them manage the forest taking into account the bird populations."

Students ease the crunch at tax time

As surely as tax time comes around, you'll see them in the hallways at UW-Green Bay. They're the student members of the Volunteer Income Tax Association (VITA) and they'll be seated at tables, bent over forms along with the community members who've come to get help with preparing their income taxes.

UW-Green Bay accounting students, with the assistance of faculty advisers, have been providing the free service for more than 15 years. VITA offers free income tax assistance for low-income, elderly or disabled individuals who want help.

Prof. Marilyn Sagrillo, Business Administration, says students will have hours this year at the Salvation Army and at the Fort Howard-Jefferson Family Resource Center as well as on campus. Sagrillo presently serves as the Association's adviser.

Says Sagrillo, "The students get gratification for helping others, experience in doing tax returns, and — since it is a nationwide program — recruiters know it, so it's a good resume-builder."

His 'community' encompasses the world

Prof. V.M. Ganga Nair, Natural and Applied Sciences, travels the world as an expert on trees, the diseases that kill them, and the science that saves them.

Nair brings UW-Green Bay students along on his journeys through classroom presentations illustrated with a suitcase full of photographic images he has brought back.

In a recent trip to the People's Republic of China, Nair helped lay the foundation for a cooperative project known unofficially as the "Great Green Wall of China." The challenge is to promote forest protection and productivity in a nation that has long emphasized agriculture and development.

Active in forest research at the national and international levels since the 1960s, Nair has worked on United Nations projects in countries from Australia to Nigeria to Brazil. In recent years he's been to China, India, Italy and Germany.

Nair joined UW-Green Bay at its founding, and won the first Founders Association award for scholarship for his contributions developing disease-resistant species and chemotherapeutic treatments. He once brought the International Union of Forestry Research Organization to Green Bay and has been a mover in the Union's efforts to promote biodiversity and protect medicinal rainforest plants.

"I don't doubt that some of the things that are being gathered will someday end up in medicine cabinets," Nair told a newspaper reporter who interviewed him after a medicinal-plant gathering trip to Australia.

Urban Hope is a new venture for Wilson

"I gain so much more from this program than they ever receive from me," says Prof. Alla Wilson, Business Administration, of the students she teaches through Urban Hope, a program started in 1997 by former Green Bay Packer Reggie White and his wife Sara. The organization aims to empower people by helping them to become entrepreneurs. Its record so far: 110 businesses launched; 109 still in operation.

How Wilson got connected to Urban Hope is a story. The co-owner of her cleaning service asked if Wilson knew someone who could help with a business plan she was developing through a program called Urban Hope. Wilson said she could help. "She asked why I believed I could help," recalls Wilson. "I told her my background includes a Ph.D. in strategic management and experience teaching small business/entrepreneuership at UW-Whitewater and Business Administration courses at UW-Green Bay. She had no idea what I did for a living!"

Wilson soon was teaching Strategic Positioning for Small Business through Urban Hope to about 30 students per class cycle. She has been working with the program for more than a year.

Wilson says the satisfaction of helping people become self-sufficient and successful is just one benefit. In addition, she values the experience as a way to stay connected to aspects of the business world that her UW-Green Bay classes don't provide.

"I can also bring back examples of the experiences and stories that I encounter to the [UW-Green Bay] classroom," says Wilson. "This provides a richness to my teaching that goes beyond theories and textbooks."

Voyageur and UW-Green Bay: benefits are mutual

The history of Voyageur, the Brown County Historical Society's twice yearly periodical, has been intertwined with the University since the publication began.

Prof. Emeritus Norbert Gaworek, Humanistic Studies and History, was a co-founder of the publication and its first editor, serving from 1984 to 1989. In '89, Prof. Emeritus Dean O'Brien, Communication and the Arts (COA) and Communication Processes (CP), took over as editor, and served until 1995, when he was succeeded by Prof. Victoria Goff of the same academic units.

O'Brien was responsible for increasing University involvement when he invited Prof. Jeff Benzow, COA and CP, to become art director in 1989. Benzow saw it as an opportunity for graphic communication students. He created a practicum course in which students do the actual work of designing and producing the publication. Today, Benzow alternates teaching the practicum with Prof. Christine Style, Communication and the Arts and Art.

"Students use the experience as a way to firm up their design, technical and production skills," says Benzow. "I see the course as a springboard to internships and entry-level work. The practicum adds an important pre-entry level experience and a nice piece to students' portfolios."

Goff expanded student experience opportunities by involving history and journalism students as editorial assistants.

"We couldn't do it without the University's participation," says Voyageur publisher Bill Meindl. "If we were to add up the in-kind contributions from the University each year, it would total thousands and thousands of dollars."

Meindl is aware of benefits on the University side, too. It's an outlet for University scholarship, he notes, because Voyageur frequently publishes papers by faculty, staff, and students. And he experiences first-hand one of the benefits for students. "It's not unusual for me to get reference calls from potential employers, " says Meindl.

Students, faculty help seed idea germinate

To date, two faculty members and their students have worked with a new company that encapsulates grass and flower seeds for better germination. According to Mike Krysiak, president and chief executive officer of ENCAP LLC, it has been a "win-win" for the firm.

"When we started ENCAP one of our objectives was community outreach," says Krysiak. "In return, we've gotten something back."

ENCAP wraps each tiny seed in a mulch containing recycled paper fiber along with fertilizers and other agents. It was the recycled materials connection that interested Prof. John Katers, Natural and Applied Sciences and Engineering, whose fall 1999 graduate course in Waste Management and Resource Recovery did a "real world" project with ENCAP. As ENCAP developed its business and built its building, the 15 students researched all of the environmental aspects of the operation: from raw materials to packaging design, from air permitting to "green" building design. Many of their recommendations were put into effect. Krysiak says he regularly uses the schedule of reporting requirements the students developed.

More recently, UW-Green Bay students answered another question for ENCAP. It was already proven that encapsulated grass seeds are more washout and wind resistant than seeds alone. What about bird resistant?

Students working with Prof. Robert Howe, Natural and Applied Sciences and Biology, supplied the answer. They built cages, captured sparrows, and presented the birds with two choices: regular grass seed or encapsulated seeds. The birds suffered little confusion about which to eat. "The results very strongly showed that they preferred the regular seeds," says Howe.

Graduate class helps town plan for the future

Twenty-one students spent the fall 2000 semester putting theories from their readings and discussions into practice on behalf of the Door County Town of Brussels. The graduate students conducted research that will help the town develop a comprehensive land-use plan required by Wisconsin's new "Smart Growth" law.

The students were members of the Environmental Science and Policy seminar co-taught by Professors John Lyon, Natural and Applied Sciences and Chemistry, and Laurel Phoenix, Public and Environmental Affairs and Geography.

Town Supervisor Galen DeJardin is confident the town can base its plan on the students' final report. "This is going to help us a lot," says DeJardin. "I think they did a wonderful job."

In addition to preparing to meet the new state requirement, the town is bracing for changes that will occur when State Highway 57 linking Green Bay and Door County is widened from two to four lanes.

The students looked at housing, transportation, utilities and community facilities, agricultural, natural and cultural resources, economic development, cooperation with other governmental units, and land use. They recommended public meetings to gather citizen views on the comprehensive plan.

Student Wendy White, a member of the team examining housing, says the project engaging students in working with real clients was a valuable way to end her graduate course work. "I liked best how [Town of Brussels personnel] were receptive to what we were saying," notes White. "This wasn't just a study. I know it's going to be used."

Institute provides resources on death issues

Prof. Illene Noppe, Human Development and Psychology, has published extensively on topics dealing with death and bereavement for nearly 20 years, but an event in her own life led her to conceive of the UW-Green Bay Institute on Dying, Death and Bereavement. She took the idea to the Office of Outreach and Extension, where Barbara McClure-Lukens, coordinator for continuing professional education, joined in the effort.

Noppe says getting "the word" out about bereavement resources is a challenge. "People avoid death, so they don't seek them out until it is absolutely necessary," she says. "Of course the disenfranchised, such as the poor and immigrants, frequently have difficulty accessing such resources."

Noppe and McClure-Lukens began by recruiting a community-University advisory board. After a couple of planning years, the Institute launched with a spring 1999 workshop that brought nationally known experts on grief issues to Green Bay. The Institute is offering its second discussion series from February 22 to April 19 on topics such as traumatic death and grief in the workplace. The first series in 2000 attracted funeral directors, hospice staff, social workers, clergy, nurses and other professionals.

"It's not an easy topic and one around which there is much misinformation and, of course, anxiety," says McClure-Lukens. "We provide a forum for professionals and help to meet their continuing education needs. That's right on target with the Outreach and Extension mission."

Neighborhood arts project impacts children's learning

Children who study art, music, theater and dance also may become better students. That's the hope of Prof. Sandy Stokes, Education and Women's Studies, who wrote the proposal that won a $50,000 grant from Wisconsin's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families fund for a summer and after-school arts program in Green Bay neighborhoods.

"I think all of us involved share the vision that kids, no matter what their family income, should have the opportunity to enjoy the arts and perhaps become good at them," says Stokes. But her goal goes farther, to building children's self-esteem and habits of discipline.

"Children learn that if they put forth effort — if they practice — they can succeed," says Stokes. She hopes they'll carry over the discipline they learn in the arts to realizing that investing time and effort will enable them to succeed academically, too.

About 50 children participated in the seven-week summer 2000 program run in partnership with the Fort Howard-Jefferson, Howe, and Northeast Family Neighborhood Resource Centers and the Family Services Association. UW-Green Bay Education students were assistant teachers. After-school classes this academic year are reaching about 70 children at the Fort Howard-Jefferson and Howe Centers and at Danz Elementary School. A second summer of classes is planned for 2001.

Stokes says the follow-up will look at improvement in the children's habits such as homework, school absence, and tardiness.

Students warm to service learning's value

A requirement sometimes turns out to be much more for students in the Biology of Women course originated by Prof. Angela Bauer-Dantoin, Human Biology.

Bauer-Dantoin, who first taught the course in spring 1999, requires students to conduct a service learning project in the community dealing with some aspect of women's health.

"I've had tremendous response on the part of students to this project," says Bauer-Dantoin. "Some have changed their career goals or focus after participating in the project. Many have continued their work with these organizations beyond the scope of what was required by the class. Some students have established contacts that will likely help them find positions after graduating."

Students have worked in varied settings: a family violence center, Wisconsin's Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, a hospital labor and delivery unit, a woman's health resource center, a home for pregnant teens, a breast cancer support group, and with a midwife just establishing her business. One group developed an eating disorder awareness and prevention program.

The 2001-2003 UW System budget proposal included money for new initiatives aimed at re-energizing the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and re-establishing it as a one-of-a-kind choice among Wisconsin's public universities.

The budget requested $3.7-million of new funding over two years for the UW-Green Bay Learning Initiative. The capital budget included $176,960 to plan for University Union expansion, and another $1.17-million to plan for significant expansion of the Phoenix Sports Center.

The measures address the toll that enrollment and funding pressures have taken since UW-Green Bay began. When the University was new, it was heralded as innovative: classes were small and faculty and students worked closely together. Today, at 23-to-one, UW-Green Bay has the highest student-to-faculty ratio in the UW System. Freshmen and sophomores can expect a number of large lecture classes and faculty members are less able to devote time to working individually with students.

The $3.7-million in funding for the academic initiative would help to add 56 new faculty members and about 35 new staff members. In the long run the plan is expected to increase student retention and improve the University's graduation rate.

The plan's key elements:

• High impact student contact — engaging students immediately when they arrive on campus and continually involving them in the learning process;

• Competency-based general education — providing a common grounding emphasizing what students should know;

• Professional practice — giving students experiences that link their academic knowledge with behaviors that will be expected of them as professionals.

University Union and Phoenix Sports Center expansion are part of a comprehensive package along with the academic initiative, says Chancellor Mark L. Perkins. "Facilities and academics go hand-in-hand," he says.

Total cost of University Union expansion is estimated at $7.9-million. It would be paid for by student segregated fees. The Phoenix Sports Center expansion, including a 7,000-seat events center, is estimated at $62.1-million and would be funded by a combination of student fees and state and private dollars.

The Northeast Wisconsin Partnership for Children and Families at UW-Green Bay is developing a new, significant emphasis in training for child welfare professionals with the aid of a $650,000 grant from the U.S. Children's Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The grant runs from October 2000 to September 2003.

The grant funds development of training programs for supervisors of child welfare workers. The emphasis of supervisory training is on skills to support line staff members in the transfer of learning from their training experiences, says Samuel Braus, who joined the NEW Partnership as director in July.

The NEW Partnership began in 1991 with a Children's Bureau grant to develop training programs for child welfare workers in four Wisconsin counties and three tribes and to develop a child welfare sequence in the UW-Green Bay Bachelor of Social Work program.

The Partnership was the first such organization in Wisconsin and has grown to include 32 county and tribal agencies. Past director Ann McLean says the Partnership has had an impact on training standards for child welfare workers in Wisconsin. Previously, each county and tribe developed its own training. Today, three partnership groups in Wisconsin provide training in all of the counties. The partnerships, with state participation, have formed a training council to ensure continuity in training throughout Wisconsin.

UW-Green Bay is the new home of the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium, funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The consortium coordinates a statewide program of education, research, and outreach programs related to aerospace science, design and technology.

R. Aileen Yingst, a space geologist whose area of expertise is interpreting images from space missions, is consortium director. Yingst previously was a research scientist with the Mars Pathfinder and Mars Polar Lander camera teams at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona. Her Ph.D. in geological sciences is from Brown University. Yingst also teaches courses at UW-Green Bay.

Lab Sciences architect chosen

Plunkett Raysich Architects, Milwaukee, will design the remodeling and addition to the Laboratory Sciences Building, scheduled to begin in summer 2002. The firm designed Wood and Rose Halls, completed in 1974. The $17.5-million project will remodel the entire building, excluding mechanical and storage rooms, the greenhouse and one chemistry lab. When the project is complete, all campus science instructional and research labs will be in one building; labs will accommodate 24 students, compared to 16 in the original plan.

Former Coach Bennett back in the spotlight at Brown County Arena

A reunion of former men's basketball coach Dick Bennett and members of the 1991 men's team was a highlight of Alumni Basketball Weekend in January. The 1991 team was the first at UW-Green Bay to earn an NCAA Division I tournament bid. The reunion during halftime at the men's game gave Phoenix fans the chance to acknowledge Coach Bennett that they missed when Bennett decided to retire from coaching at UW-Madison just days before the Badgers were scheduled to play in Green Bay on December 6.

Regents approve faculty promotions

Seven faculty members have been promoted by action of the UW Board of Regents. Promoted to full professor from the rank of associate professor are Cheryl Grosso, Communication and the Arts and Music; Judith Martin, Social Work; and Laura Riddle, Communication and the Arts and Theater. Moving to the rank of associate professor from assistant professor are Gregory Aldrete, Humanistic Studies and History; Marcello Cruz, Urban and Regional Studies and Geography; Mark Everingham, Social Change and Development and Political Science; and Marilyn Sagrillo, Business Administration and Accounting.

Founders recognize five for excellence

The UW-Green Bay Founders Association has honored five faculty and staff members for excellence. The awards and recipients are: academic support-Thomas Haevers, director of residence life; administrative support-Beverly Hendricks, program assistant in Extended Degree; teaching-Warren Johnson, associate professor of Human Biology; scholarship-Margaret Laughlin, professor of Education; institutional development-Carol Pollis, dean emerita of liberal arts and sciences. The award was a repeat for Pollis; she also received it in 1975.

Tompkins is fall 'featured faculty' member

Francine Tompkins, director of the Institute for Learning Partnership and chair of Education, won the Faculty Development Council's "Featured Faculty" award for fall semester 2000. The award recognizes excellent teaching.

Cole accorded 'woman of color' honor

Juliet Cole, assistant to the director of the Institute for Learning Partnership, was recognized by University of Wisconsin System as an "Outstanding Woman of Color." The honor was given by the UW System Women's Studies Consortium and Office of Multicultural Affairs at a statewide Women's Studies Conference. Cole was cited for her contributions to the UW-Green Bay campus, the Green Bay community, and to women of color.

Five added to Hall of Fame roster

Five athletes of special achievement have been inducted into the Phoenix Hall of Fame. New members include Richard Sims, '88, Green Bay, basketball; Vicki (Anklam) Porter, '85, Wausau, basketball; Ivan Delbecchi, '82, Lenexa, Kan., soccer; Philip Gallagher, '94, Muncie, Ind., cross-country running and Nordic skiing; and Lou LeCalsey, Green Bay, UW-Green Bay's first soccer coach.

Retired faculty awarded emeritus status

Mother and son 'meet' on cover of June issue of Inside UW-Green Bay

When May 2000 graduate Anthony Giese received his first issue of Inside UW-Green Bay, he showed it to his mother. Sue (Allen) Giese looked at the cover photos, one showing the 2000 class with Anthony somewhere in its midst; another of graduates from the University's first class. Then she looked again and recognized herself as the May 1970 graduate at the left of the picture.

The mother-son juxtaposition was a coincidence. Giese was unidentified when the photo was chosen for the cover of last June's issue. That her son was in the 2000 class was a twist.

Sue Giese, Pound, says she was the second person to receive a UW-Green Bay degree and the first to spend all four years at UW-Green Bay. She recalls her UW-Green Bay experience with fondness. "We were able to have so much input into issues such as the mascot and housing," she says. Giese remembers giving campus tours "when the library was a hole in the ground." Giese earned her major in Modernization Processes and returned to complete a master's degree in 1993 in Community Human Services.

Anthony, a Communication Processes major, is a sports reporter for the Waukesha newspaper and works for radio station WAUK.

Garriott wins 'Outstanding Alumni' award

The portable fuel cell is a link between Gary Garriott's days as a graduate student at UW-Green Bay and what he is doing now as director of informatics for Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA), Arlington, Va.

Garriott, who completed his Master of Environmental Arts and Sciences (MEAS) degree in 1977, received the Alumni Association's "Outstanding Alumni" award for 2000. He is the first recipient to have earned only a master's degree at UW-Green Bay.

Garriott's career effort has been to provide communications technology that enables the rural poor to improve their lives. He has worked with strategies such as low earth-orbiting satellites to relay e-mail sent by computers powered by solar energy, a "poor man's cellphone" linking remote areas by two-way radio relays, and wireless computer communication through "packet radio." Today, VITA is looking at portable fuel cells, once the subject of an independent study Garriott did at UW-Green Bay, as a power source in areas where solar is impractical. Garriott has lived and worked in more than 50 countries.

Garriott came to UW-Green Bay after earning an engineering degree from Valparaiso University and serving in the Peace Corps. He pursued a Ph.D. from the Union Institute, Cincinnati, simultaneously with attending UW-Green Bay.

1970s

Michael F. McDaniel, '70, Sedona, Ariz., a member of UW-Green Bay's first graduating class, is a captain with Southwest Airlines. McDaniel began studies at the two-year Green Bay Center and says UW-Green Bay began offering junior and senior-level courses just when he needed them to earn his bachelor's degree in Business Administration. After graduating, McDaniel joined the Air Force. He served as a Jolly Green helicopter pilot in Vietnam for a year, picking up pilots who had been shot down in North Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. "...A good thing to do when you are young and bullet proof," he recalls. He spent three years stationed in England, where he earned a master's degree in Business Administration. McDaniel joined Southwest after leaving the Air Force. "That was 21 years ago and I've been a captain for 18," says McDaniel, "Wow, where did the time go?"

Jeff Theisen, '73, Appleton, is the founder of and executive producer at MediaScience, a company that produces "earth friendly" programs for cable access, public television, and various other electronic dissemination formats, and develops World Wide Web pages. Their half-hour production, "Wisconsin Solar Homeworks," already has been aired on some state public television stations. Theisen says the company is at work on a training video aimed at people who are interested in building solar homes. You can check out their Web site at www.mediascience.8m.com. Theisen majored in Ecosystems Analysis and completed a minor in Chemistry.

Rick Conn, '75, and Jaye L. (Johnson) Conn, '80, moved back to Green Bay where he is a plant leader for Procter & Gamble. Rick may be remembered as the first student station manager for WGBW, the University's first student-run radio station. He joined Procter & Gamble in Green Bay after completing his Managerial Systems major and has come full circle after transfers to Alberta, Florida, Michigan, and Ohio. Jaye, a Human Development major, volunteers in the reading program at Valley View School.

Mary Ellen Hayes, '75, Green Bay, was honored as 1999 Indian Child Advocate of the Year by the National Indian Head Start Directors Association, joining the ranks of previous recipients such as U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye (D.-Hawaii). Hayes was a returning adult student who left a career as a department store buyer to earn UW-Green Bay credentials in Growth and Development and Indian Studies. She retired in 1993 as Oneida Tribe of Indians Head Start director. Hayes continues to be active on the National Head Start Association board, and travels extensively to review programs, evaluate proposals for program expansion, and the like.

Richard De Zeeuw, MEAS '76, of Portland, Ore., is the dry cleaner program coordinator with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. Before joining the department five years ago, De Zeeuw worked developing renewable energy resources for various state agencies in California and Oregon. De Zeeuw says he has spent much of his career working in the developmental stages of new environmental programs being implemented by state agencies.

Ann Shoemaker, '79, was the keynote trainer at a workshop, "Service-Learning for K-12 Educators: Strategies for Classroom Implementation," held in spring 2000 on the UW-Green Bay campus under the sponsorship of Wisconsin Partnerships in Service Learning. A teacher in Story City, Iowa, Shoemaker is the author of Teaching Young Children Through Service, published in 1999 by the National Youth Leadership Council. She is a member of the Iowa Coalition for the Integration of Service-Learning. Shoemaker earned her UW-Green Bay degree in Human Development with a professional program in Elementary Education.

John Besser, '79, Columbia, Mo., is an aquatic toxicologist with the Biological Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey. He specializes in researching the effects of toxic metals on aquatic organisms, especially bottom-dwelling invertebrates. Besser currently is involved in remediation projects in watersheds in Colorado and Montana that have been polluted by historic mining activities. A Science and Environmental Change major with a Biology minor, Besser continued his education by earning a master's degree in fisheries and wildlife at Missouri-Columbia, and a Ph.D. in environmental toxicology at Michigan State University. He began his career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in La Crosse.

1980s

Laural Virtues Wauters, '82, has been promoted to president of The Goltz Seering Agency Inc., Green Bay. Wauters, who earned her degree in Communication and the Arts, has more than 20 years of advertising agency experience. In her eight years with Goltz Seering, Wauters has served as senior creative director, marketing director, and most recently as vice president of marketing and creative services.

Rick De Jardin, '86, has joined Virchow, Krause & Co. as a senior accountant in its Green Bay office. A graduate in Accounting, De Jardin previously was with Hermans and Associates.

Richard L. Heath, '86, joined the Clark County Economic Development Corp. in Greenwood as executive director. Heath, who earned a major in Social Change and Development with minors in International Studies and German, returned to Wisconsin from Lima, Ohio, where he worked with the Area Agency on Aging, and prior to that, as an associate planner for the city. Health completed a master's degree at Ohio University.

Jeannie E. Underhill, '89, Forestville, has been a foster parent to 177 children, by recent count, ranging from newborns to kids nearly 18. Their stays in her home have ranged from a week to three years. "Last mother's day, the phone never stopped ringing," says Underhill, who counts 235 "foster grandchildren." She has six children of her own, and three grandchildren. Underhill earned her degree in Art, with a minor in Human Development.

Tom Peters, '89, took a position as director of supply management for Dunsirn Industries, Neenah. He formerly was manager of purchasing and materials for Mead Paper Co., Menasha. Peters completed his degree in Business Administration with an Accounting minor.

Kimberly Kampschroer-Kleine, '89, Milwaukee, who graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work, is president of the Wisconsin School Social Workers Association. She is a social worker for the Milwaukee Public Schools and serves three alternative high schools. Kampschroer-Kleine is active in various ad hoc and working groups focusing on issues relating to Wisconsin's welfare-to-work program.

Aimee Tomasek, '89, was selected by students as 1999 Arts and Communications Professor of the Year at Valpariso University, Indiana, where she is on the faculty. Tomasek graduated with a degree in Communication Processes and earned her Master of Fine Arts degree in photography at the University of Kentucky.

1990s

Judi Lindbom, '90, Marinette, started her own business, Human Potential Unlimited, three years ago. Lindbom provides businesses and organizations with on-site training in communication skills, conflict resolution, team building, and other workplace issues. After completing her UW-Green Bay degree through the Extended Degree program, Lindbom earned a master's degree in Human and Community Resources at UW-Stevens Point. She recently was elected president of the board for Rainbow House, a domestic violence center.

Kevin Officer, '90, West Des Moines, Iowa, is founder of EnviroConn 2000, an environmental marketing and World Wide Web design company; instigator of the Midwest Environmental Management Network, a consortium of environmental professionals; and publisher of an e-newsletter, "Organically Speaking," (www.organicallyspeaking.net), all of which operate under the business name, KO Environmental Business Enterprises. Officer joined the staff of the Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C. after completing his degree in Environmental Sciences with an emphasis in waste management and resource recovery. He moved to Iowa three years later, first working with the Department of Public Health Adult Lead Program and later with the Metro Waste Authority where he created a construction materials recycling program and oversaw construction of an indoor food waste composting facility. He became an independent consultant in 1996.

Rebecca Nolan, '91, was chosen for the 2000 Faculty Member of the Year award by the student government organization at Washington University in St. Louis where she teaches photography. Nolan's UW-Green Bay degree is in Communication Processes and she completed a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Oregon.

Jim Van Dornick, '92, has been promoted to administrator/chief executive officer at Community Memorial Hospital in Oconto Falls. Van Dornick, who earned his degree through the Extended Degree program, has been with the hospital in various capacities for 28 years.

Mariann Van Den Elzen, '92, has joined TrailWorks.com, Portland, Ore., as partnership manager. She leads the guided trips section of the Internet site, which provides a variety of information and services for outdoor recreation enthusiasts. Van Den Elzen previously worked for a Boulder, Colorado-based outfitter, first as a guide for hiking, mountain biking, and multi-sport trips throughout the west, the Canadian Rockies, and Mexico's Yucatan and Baja California, and later as its director of sales. She completed UW-Green Bay majors in Environmental Policy and Planning and Environmental Science. Van Den Elzen was a three-year starter at point guard on the women's basketball team and as a senior helped lead the Phoenix to its first postseason appearance at NCAA Division I level.

Daniel Iwinski, '93, and Jessica (Mueller) Iwinski, '97, are located in the Almond area, where Daniel was ordained and installed in March 2000 as pastor of St. John Lutheran Church. A Philosophy major with a Humanistic Studies minor, he completed a master of divinity degree at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind. Jessica, who earned her degree in Elementary Education, teaches in the Almond-Bancroft schools.

Louise Berndt, '95, has joined Oconto Primary Care, Oconto, as a family nurse practitioner. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at UW-Green Bay. Berndt's special interests include health promotion, disease prevention, geriatrics, and women's health.

Marla Maney, '96, has been promoted to media strategist with The Goltz Seering Agency Inc. A Business Administration major with an emphasis in marketing, Maney previously served the agency as media coordinator.

Teresa Gegare, '97, started work in May 2000 as assistant to the general manager of the New York production of Rent, and for the touring company of Rent. The touring company is scheduled into the Weidner Center on campus this March 27 through April 1. Prior to moving to New York, Gegare was with North Shore Music Theatre in Massachusetts. She completed UW-Green Bay majors in Business Administration and Theater.

Chad Voskuil, '99, is attending the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), Milwaukee, with the aid of a merit-based V. Duane Rath Merit Scholarship established by the Rath Foundation Inc. Voskuil, who began his MCW studies in fall 2000, is one of two recipients of the prestigious scholarship in the class of 2004. The scholarship's total worth is just under $56,000 over three years. At UW-Green Bay, Voskuil earned a major in Human Biology and a minor in Chemistry. He won the Dr. Donel Sullivan Scholarship in Health Sciences and Health Professions in 1998. After graduating in May 1999, Voskuil worked in the Cardiovascular Research Center at MCW.

2000s

Kyle Swan, '00, is studying toward a Master of Music degree in percussion performance at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, where he won a full tuition scholarship. Swan, who earned his degree in Music, performed with the Hand Drumming Ensemble, Contemporary Percussion Ensemble, New Music Ensemble, and various other groups while at UW-Green Bay.

Chua Xiong, '00, is enrolled in the master's degree program in nursing at UW-Milwaukee. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at UW-Green Bay in May.

Marc Skinner, '00, who completed his degree in Human Biology with an emphasis in exercise science, is attending the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, to earn an advanced degree in physical therapy. Skinner was selected to be the student speaker at May commencement ceremonies. At UW-Green Bay, Skinner was a student athletic trainer and co-founded the Student Athletic Trainers Organization. He worked as a research assistant for Prof. James Marker and completed a senior honors project using human subjects to examine the effect of a sports drink on some physiological parameters.