Stories from the November 2006 Issue / page 3

Generations of students who commuted to UW-Green Bay via the "back entrance" — crossing a busy highway to do so — might be interested to learn their favorite shortcut is now faster, fancier and safer.

An upgrade of Highway 54-57 has added a full interchange at Bay Settlement Road. The Sports Center Drive entrance has been improved (promising quicker access to housing and the Kress Center).

The new 54-57 exit is labeled County Highway "EA," short for Eastern Arterial. Bay Settlement now connects to Huron Road and a fresh stretch of four-lane bisecting Green Bay's fast-growing far east side.



Photo Gallery: Soccer Homecoming '06

As promised in the print version of the November 2006 Inside UW-Green Bay, here are some additional snapshots from soccer homecoming weekend 2006. Alumni scrimmages were part of the fun for former members of both the men's and women's teams. Alumni also got to see the current Phoenix teams in action at the newly renamed Aldo Santaga Stadium.

See more snapshots from 2006 soccer homecoming weekend.



Familiar hangout gets lofty name: Cloud Commons

UW-Green Bay students of yesteryear knew it originally as "The Commons" and later as "The Nic." For today's students and tomorrow's alumni, just call it "The Cloud."

Leona Cloud and her husband, the late Walter R. Cloud, were early and enthusiastic advocates of the Founders Association who also supported the Weidner Center and the University's first capital campaign. More recently, her gift for the new Mary Ann Cofrin Hall classroom building furnished the Cloud Student Lounge, and she was a generous supporter of the Kress Events Center project.

Student speaker Bob Kranzusch said the new name is especially fitting, given that Leona Cloud is "one of our own."

Mrs. Cloud graduated in 1980 as a returning adult with high honors in human development, and still speaks fondly of her great affection for the campus, her instructors and classmates.

"Mrs. Cloud sat in the same classrooms, studied in the same library, and had some of the same professors we still have today, so it's inspiring to us that she chose to give so much back to our University," Kranzusch said.

The building itself was dedicated in 1978 as the University Commons and consisted then of little more than the main dining/meeting area (formally known as the Bay Room, but often just called "The Commons") and the Rathskeller downstairs. By the time of the first major addition in 1985, the building was called the Student Union, with on-campus residents and others taking meals at the Nicolet Room or at the Phoenix Club. The building was expanded to its current dimensions with a 1993 remodeling that also ushered in the name "University Union."



By ink and air, students claim top honors

Student communicators at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay capped an impressive 2006 by receiving awards for excellence in state and regional competition.

The Fourth Estate, the UW-Green Bay student newspaper, won the top honor for overall excellence in its division in the Associated Collegiate Press Best of the Midwest college newspaper competition. This marked the first time the newspaper took home first prize.

Not to be outdone, UW-Green Bay student broadcasters were honored by the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association for their work on Phlash TV, a cable television channel operated by the Office of Residence Life.

The Fourth Estate distributes 3,000 copies each week on campus and in the community. Phlash TV (A.K.A. Channel 27) is available to 2,000 students living in UW-Green Bay residence halls, with plans to expand to other campus sites.



More campus news

The path to UW-Green Bay? Policies are fairly straightforward UW System admissions policies have been a hot topic recently, especially with regard to "holistic admissions." The Board of Regents is expected to take up discussion in December. At UW-Green Bay, however, where demand for enrollment is as intense as anywhere, Admissions Director Pam Harvey-Jacobs '83 and '98 says the current practice of "comprehensive application reviews" has been widely accepted as effective and fair. Retention rates are, in fact, trending upward.

"ACT scores and high school GPA are major factors," she says, "but we look at special talents, circumstances, recommendations, extracurriculars and the personal essay, too. Test scores aren't the only indicators as to whether someone is going to do well in college.

"The bottom line, though, is that we admit four of every five applicants, and our freshman class is both academically solid and well-rounded."

Recent history shows that strong ACT scores, when coupled with solid grades, make admission to UW-Green Bay a near-certain prospect.

As the acceptance-rate grid from last fall illustrates (left), the pre-college credentials of successful applicants spanned a wide range.

Lesser marks on either measure didn't necessarily disqualify a student from consideration.

A course in Arabic offered for the first time this fall at UW-Green Bay is more than a short course in the Arabic alphabet, it's a study of the Middle Eastern culture and an open door to global affairs.

"Students take the class to have an open mind and get into the hearts of people in other parts of the world," says Ilham Ashour, the course instructor. "Because of the war, many have a greater interest in both the language and the way of life, food, tradition, and more."

Six students are currently enrolled. A move to an evening offering in spring is likely to increase those numbers. Ashour said that many community members, including physicians, business owners, and those who deal with culture differences in their occupations, have expressed interest.

Ashour has been teaching the language and the culture in regional public school systems and at Fox Valley Technical College for a number of years.

The NEW ERA consortium of local colleges and universities has opened its libraries to the community. From the four-year UW campuses in Green Bay and Oshkosh and the two-year campuses in Marinette, Manitowoc, Menasha and Sheboygan, to the College of Menominee Nation and area technical colleges, the cards grant library privileges at each of 13 NEW ERA institutions. Access Coordinator Emily Rogers at UW-Green Bay says more than a thousand of the community cards have already been distributed.

UW-Green Bay is showcasing some of its finest teaching scholars in a free, daytime lecture series in downtown Green Bay.

"Downtown Third Thursdays" began Oct. 19 with a preview of the November elections by political scientist Scott Furlong. Upcoming dates:

For locations and times, call (920) 465-2320 or go online at http://www.uwgb.edu/downtown/.