Stories from the November 2006 Issue / page 2


Features, continued ...


Word Association with Susan Frost

(This is an expanded version of the Q&A that appeared in the November 2006 issue of Inside UW-Green Bay.)

UW-Green Bay:
The first word that comes to mind is "treasure." UW-Green Bay enriches our community and our region not only by educating its students but through its outreach into the community. Three programs that are closest to my heart are the Adult Degree Program which makes learning accessible to working adults, the LIR program which enriches the lives of so many and the theatre program which has courage in programming, develops students talents and provides the community with rich theatre literature. All universities are filled with treasure but this one actively shares it not only with its students but with its community.

Today's College Students:
Fantastic! Last semester I had the privilege of teaching Humanities here (the Baroque to the Modern course). "The students" became real people and I had an opportunity for an up-close encounter with sixty-five of them. So, after that qualifier, I'd have to say that we should have no fear about our future. They are as idealistic as any generation at that age, they very work hard to get an education and many lead heroic lives with an overwhelming balance of work, family and school. What is different is that they have volumes of information and technology different from ours and that has affected the kinds of knowledge they have. They don't have the same references points as we do which is sometimes a challenge in communication. Before we can criticize them, however, we have to remember that they live and survive in a world of our creation, not theirs.

Adult Learning:
Mind-quenching. This is a tough question only because I don't know where to begin. I received my undergraduate degree from the Adult Learning Program at UW-Green Bay before going on for my Master's Degree in Modern Studies and it was something I never believed possible. The course matter all made sense because I had life experience and that made it a better quality of education as it resonated with adult life. After I finished undergraduate work, I found education so compelling and exciting, I had to go on. I love that program, owe it and this University much, and send people to the Adult Learning Program regularly. Nobody's too old to go back to school and the Adult Learning Program really does make dreams come true.

Green Bay Community:
It's home. I grew up here and we came back to this community because we believed it would be a good place for the second half our children's childhood. We were right! But for us, Green Bay has been a wonderful place, one to which we owe a great deal. It offers excellent cultural opportunities — the arts are one of our passions — and is close enough to Milwaukee, Chicago and Minneapolis to expand into areas not available here.

Fun:
Together, my husband, Max, and I love to travel, to eat, to go to theatre and to symphony, and to entertain. We are both dedicated to community enterprises in the arts and education and that always slips over into the "fun" category. Alone, give me a good book, a day in the kitchen, or early morning in the garden.

Professional Life:
Marketing is always challenging but it is equally invigorating. My life is filled with shifting from one activity to another, from one industry to another. A day in the office may find me developing marketing plans, writing radio scripts, negotiating media, or meeting with clients and I could be marketing diamonds, accounting services, or prosthetic devices. Evening finds me in our library shifting into an academic mode: reading, writing and correcting essays. Sometimes I tease that it is a good thing I have ADD or my life wouldn't work but I would say the success of what I do is largely attributable to a broad-based, liberal education as it gives me the facility to integrate all that goes on. One thing my career never is, boring!

Founder's Association:
"Nobody's safe." Every time I go to an event, Shane Kohl in the Advancement Office receives an e-mail the next day entitled "Nobody's Safe" with the names and addresses of people (I've met) who should be sent information on becoming a member of the Founders Association. Founders supports the academic mission of the University giving scholarships to students and stipends to University staff who have done exemplary work. Equally important is the dialog Founders establishes between the University and the community. In the past several years, Founders programming has shifted to better showcase the work and life of the University and open a dialog. My goal for my tenure as president is to provide opportunities to involve Founders members with students. When the Founders meet the students it will be a dynamic encounter from which each will take a great deal!

Excellence:
A passion. I would have to say doing what you do passionately and being fully committed to the tasks you take on is the best recipe for excellence. The payback is worth the effort ten-fold!



At a Glance:
Urban and Regional Studies

Professors: Ray Hutchison (chair), Kumar Kangayappan, William Laatsch, Ismail Shariff and Associate Professors Ronald Baba, Francis Carleton, Marcelo Cruz, Thomas Nesslein, Georjeanna Wilson-Doenges.

Claims to fame: Several, but disproportionate representation among Alumni Association award winners. Also, program graduates frequently return as ad hoc instructors; some “legacies” — second-generation students — are currently enrolled; internships are encouraged; and a senior seminar is required.

History and trends: Today's program took shape with an early-1990s merger of Urban Studies and Regional Analysis.

Distinguished Alumni Awards: William Hanrahan '82, assistant attorney general; John Huegel '71, attorney, authority on contract, construction law; Keith Pamperin '70, housing administrator, Green Bay and Brown County; John Stoll '73, professor, public and environmental affairs.

Outstanding Recent Alumni: Naletta Burr '98, director, On Broadway Inc.

Current enrollments: Steady at about 30 majors per year; many others majoring or minoring in related disciplinary fields including economics, geography.

John S. Bain '78
Higher education and healthcare manager
Huron Consulting Group, Boston
(Formerly a director of research administration, Harvard University)

Current Position, at Huron:
Bain assumed his current position in January 2006. Huron Consulting is one of the nation's leading firms in addressing regulatory, financial and litigation issues for organizations including Fortune 500 companies and leading colleges and universities.

Bain and Huron consultants might assist with major company-wide change such as implementation of a new software system or redesign of a business process. The company's consultants might audit some aspect of a client's internal operations, or prepare the client for an outside audit. They might fill a staffing or expertise gap, or advise senior leadership on business, finance or managerial issues.

UW-Green Bay Influences:
"As an undergraduate, I was attracted to economics... Regional Analysis... and I had a special interest in land-use decisions. (Prof.) Kumar Kangayappan was one of my initial faculty contacts. I considered him a mentor... just an outstanding gentleman. I took courses with (Prof. Emeritus) Jim Murray and learned about applied economics. He was very influential in shaping my thinking and encouraging me to continue on. I'll mention two other faculty from those days who had an especially positive influence on my education: Dr. William Laatsch and Dr. Donald Gandre."

Why UW-Green Bay?
Bain grew up in the suburbs of Chicago; his family occasionally vacationed in Wisconsin. At the time he chose a college (1973), UW-Green Bay was only a few years old but it had a progressive reputation. The theme "Man and His Environment" and the liberal arts emphasis were appealing, Bain recalls. "I wasn't big into tradition and fraternities, that sort of thing... I was looking for something different, and I found it."

Life After Green Bay:
Bain earned a master's in economics at UW-Madison in 1981 and pursued his interest in community economic development. "It was the late 1970s and early '80s, there was a recession, and you heard a lot of talk about the Rust Belt, about communities here struggling." His took a job with UW-Extension, a staff position in community development in Jefferson County, midway between Milwaukee and Madison. He later moved on to analyst positions in Wisconsin state government, "different economic roles in various agencies."

International Experience:
Formative in his early career, Bain says, were two years in the Peace Corps. He was assigned to the newly independent Commonwealth of Dominica, an island nation in the West Indies. He assisted a government agency charged with increasing the island's exports, and helped train staff in the science of market research. It was the early years of the Information Age, and familiarity with the emerging technology known as computers proved helpful.

Relocating to Boston:
The 1978 UW-Green Bay graduate found ample opportunities in Boston, with teaching hospitals and new HMOs all in need of professionals experienced in economics: budgeting, forecasting, and development of business plans in an increasingly segmented and sophisticated marketplace.

Bain later spent eight years as a staff administrator with one of the world's great institutions: Harvard University. As associate director of research administration, he helped oversee contracts totaling more than $500 million annually.

Advice to Today's UW-Green Bay Students:
"Get involved with things outside your comfort zone... Try to get involved with something that is interdisciplinary... The emphasis on problem-solving and community issues is important... (For me) I found out that economics affects environmental studies, that political science and demographics are involved, that there are so many things seemingly outside your narrow area of interest, all pushing and pulling and having an impact... One thing leads to another. Nobody sits independently from another... I felt as though I really leveraged that interdisciplinary approach at UWGB, and it continues to serve me well today. It allowed me to look at life as one big problem — as long as you can identify the variables, wherever that leads, you're going to find solutions."

Not long ago, an editor of these and other pages commented on a fairly pronounced trend:

“Ever notice how many graduates of the Urban and Regional Studies program earn UW-Green Bay alumni awards? Get their names in the newspaper for positive achievements? Or just seem to be at the center of important community initiatives?”

Well, yes, we have noticed. Here's a snapshot of what a few grads are up to these days, including additional notes which did not appear in the print version of the magazine.

John S. Bain '78 has joined Huron Consulting Group in Boston as a higher ed and healthcare manager. Huron addresses regulatory, financial and litigation issues for organizations including Fortune 500 companies and leading colleges.

Sandra Baenen Chope '77 is a graphic designer and owner of Artwerks, in Markleeville, Calif. She says she works “from wherever she can get wireless.” She resides in the Lake Tahoe region in the summer and in Tubac, Ariz. in the winter.

Bryan Schacht '78 is the director of application software research in the Document Systems Group, Sharp Labs of America. He frequently travels to India and Japan to work with remote development groups. He recently finished his private pilot instrument rating and enjoys flying around the American Southwest.

Julie (Licht) Cayo '96 is the community development planner for the city of West Bend. She received her master's degree in urban planning from UW-Milwaukee's School of Architecture and Urban Planning.

Quasan Shaw '97 was featured in the May issue of Green Bay Cities Magazine. In 2005, Governor Jim Doyle appointed Shaw to the Council on Affirmative Action. He is also active in the youth mentoring and economic development efforts. His degree is in urban and regional studies.

Ann Saari '04 is assistant property manager for Lamar Companies, a property development firm in Charlotte, N.C.

Ker Vang '98 is transitioning from a leadership role with the Hmong Association of Green Bay to a new position with the Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission.

Jim Schlies '81 is vice president of economic development for the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He served previously in economic development positions with cities including Green Bay, where he helped develop the I-43 business park.

Peter Strzyzewski '89, has worked 16 years for what is now the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. He currently serves as executive officer for the Office of Asia/Pacific at the Washington (D.C.) Navy Yard.

Stephanie (Gauthier) Phillips '97 is executive director of The Greater Oconomowoc Chamber of Commerce.

Martin Tirado '95 is an account coordinator for Svinicki Association Services of Milwaukee.

Lara Vande Walle '93 is president of the Washington D.C. Technology Council.

Jamie Simon '02 works in Boston for Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum.

Paul Beyer '83 is a store manager with Walgreens in the Chandler, Ariz., area. He writes, “We love Arizona because you don't have to shovel the sunshine, although oven mitts on the steering wheel are not uncommon.”

Chavonne James '02 is a community planner for the City of Racine.

Adrian Gershom '95 is Creative Director at Go2Call.com, Chicago, and also a principal of Offshoot Design.

Michael Glime '00 directs the Main Street program in Algoma.

Jeff Witte '97 is a GIS specialist with the Oneida Tribe of Indians.

J.P. Grom '97 attended architecture school at Texas A&M, and has been made a principal in the firm Brown Reynolds and Watford.

Lynn Oliver '97 is a senior planner for the city of Alpharetta, Ga.

Leann Doxtator '89 is a community planner for the Oneida Tribe.

Craig Tebon '95 is director of the Main Street redevelopment program in Ripon.

Noel Halvorsen '92 is executive director of Neighborhood Housing Services in Green Bay.

Leon Mitchell '74 is dean of students at the Notre Dame High School for Boys in Niles, Ill. He spent 23 years in law enforcement before retiring from the Evanston Police Department.

Adrian Gershom '95 is Creative Director at Go2Call.com, Chicago, and also a principal of Offshoot Design.

Chris Jensen '98 is in charge of building inspection for the city of Appleton.

Hiep Nguyen '00 was profiled in a recent issue of Bay Cities Magazine as one of a dozen "movers and shakers" on the rise in the Green Bay community. Nguyen is community impact manager for Brown County United Way. He is also a youth mentor and an active volunteer with the Multicultural Center of Greater Green Bay.

Jeff Sanders '95 is a designer with OMNI Associates, Appleton.