Several hundred citizens took advantage of the opportunity to attend last Thursday's hearing by the State Senate budget committee, held in the Christie Theatre. Speaking on behalf of UW-Green Bay and the need to maintain public support for the UW System was Chancellor Bruce Shepard; he was followed to the lectern by numerous students, alumni, and faculty-staff members. (The five-hour public hearing also included testimony by interested citizens and public officials on a range of budget issues related to many state agencies.) One of the UW-Green Bay advocates who received an attentive hearing from the senators was Rick Beverstein of the UW-Green Bay Founders Association; short excerpts from his remarks are included at the end of this column.

Previously scheduled for mid-April, the two-day "Critical Connections" conference organized by the UW System Institute on Race and Ethnicity has been cancelled. UW System President Katharine Lyall has announced a suspension of all conferences and other face-to-face meetings sponsored by UW System Administration in order to reduce GPR travel expenditures.

Seventeen undergraduate, master's degree and Ph.D. students in architecture at Illinois Institute of Technology; their professor, Mahjoup Elnimeiri, director of the Ph.D. program in the College of Architecture; and teaching assistant Hatice Sozer, will tour Mary Ann Cofrin Hall on Saturday, April 6. They're particularly interested in the building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), represented by roofing and "vision glass" that generate electricity through thin-film photovoltaic technology. Sozer is a Ph.D. student researching BIPV applications. Their hosts will be Wisconsin Public Service Corp., which cooperated with UW-Green Bay in providing the technology in Mary Ann Cofrin Hall.

The IIT delegation visit to Mary Ann Cofrin Hall is part of the research for a "real-world" project being conducted by students in the college's new energy-based architectural studio. Their goal: to incorporate BIPV technology into the Trump Tower presently under design by the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP. Each project in the new student studio experience is expected to result in cutting edge architectural solutions that integrate environmental concerns into the design process. Their visit to UW-Green Bay will give students a look at BIPV applications, including the "vision glass" roofing on the Winter Garden, which is the first installation of its kind in the United States.

Here's a reminder: UW-Green Bay Chancellor Bruce Shepard begins his "Open Office Hours" program this Thursday (March 28), from 8 to 10 a.m. in CL 810. He invites individual faculty, staff and students to take advantage of the weekly opportunity. No appointment necessary, and no need to identify an agenda ahead of time, but the Chancellor's Office does say that advance notice through a phone call is appreciated (though not required), if only to provide the Office a sense for that day's traffic level and to confirm for visitors that Open Office Hours are taking place as scheduled. Contact Sharon Gutowski at ext. 2207 with questions.

The Cultural Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 3 in the Phoenix Rooms of University Union promises a lively program with seven different dance or musical groups, a fashion show, and a dozen vendor booths. Flat breads from three cultures — Indian fry bread, soft shell tacos, and pita bread — all with appropriate fillings and accompaniments, will be featured in the food tasting beginning at 11:30 a.m. The event is sponsored by the Office of Student Life, Office of International Education, American Intercultural Center, and the University Union. Watch next week's LOG for more details.

Prof. Sarah Meredith's 2001-2002 teaching appointment at the Academy of Music and Dance in Bratislava, Slovakia, has led to performance opportunities for other UW-Green Bay faculty. Soprano Ruth Wilson, who is teaching in Meredith's stead at UW-Green Bay, and Prof. Janice Cusano, piano, will give a recital at the Academy in Bratislava on May 19. Prof. John Plier, tenor, will present a recital there on June 1. Meredith will kick off the series by UW-Green Bay performers with a recital of American music on April 13 in Zichy Palace in Bratislava. Green Bay audiences can get a preview of the Wilson-Cusano performance by attending their recital in Fort Howard Hall on April 22. Meredith is teaching in Slovakia with the support of a grant from the Rotary Foundation. She's sponsored by Green Bay Rotary West.

UW-Green Bay's Weidner Center for the Performing Arts is once again participating in the nationwide Kids Night on Broadway. This season's events will be held in conjunction with the Tony Award-winning special theatrical event "Blast" on Tuesday night (March 26). Activities for young people ages 6-18 will take place in Fort Howard Hall starting at 5:15pm. Curtain time is 7:30pm. Visits with cast members, refreshments, food, and a chance to try out musical instruments are part of the fun. Call the Weidner for more details.

The UW-Green Bay Alumni Association will award four, $1,500 scholarships for the 2002-03 academic year to continuing undergraduate students. The scholarships will recognize students who have taken advantage of the unique educational opportunities at UW-Green Bay and who have made a significant impact in the activities they have been involved with. Minimum requirements include 54 earned credits (30 of those earned at UW-Green Bay) and a grade point average of 3.50 or higher. Faculty and staff are asked to encourage prospective students to apply for the scholarships. Forms are available in the Advancement Office, CL 820. The deadline to apply is April 19, 2002. For more information, contact Shane Kohl, Director of Donor and Alumni Relations, at x2586.

Bayfest, the largest music and food festival of its kind north of Milwaukee's Summerfest, will begin its 22nd consecutive run on Thursday, June 6, through Sunday, June 9, on our campus grounds. The community festival benefits scholarships for deserving men and women student athletes at UW-Green Bay and the worthwhile causes of many community non-profit groups. Four stages, fireworks extravaganza, giant carnival, a children's activity area — it's all there at Bayfest.

Members of the University community are encouraged to contact Tim Quigley regarding any on-campus activities during Bayfest. (Notice to newcomers: Bayfest attracts up to or more than 100,000 festivalgoers over the course of the weekend.) Special parking passes will be available for individuals or groups who will be on campus during the event. Bayfest gate and parking operating hours will be Thursday, June 6 from 5 p.m. until midnight; Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. until midnight, and Sunday from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Quigley can be reached at events@netnet.net, via phone at 336-6123, or via fax at 336-7817.

Bayfest Director Tim Quigley would like to see more student involvement at this year's festival. If student organizations would like to get involved, and explore the possible benefits for their cause, he is looking for groups to assist in setup and take down, and for workers during the event. Again, he can be reached at events@netnet.net, via phone at 336-6123, or via fax at 336-7817.

Prof. Troy Abel of Public and Environmental Affairs is a scheduled presenter for the 2002 "Decision-Making and Valuation for Environmental Policy Workshop," a national conference sponsored jointly by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Center for Environmental Research and the National Science Foundation's Decision, Risk and Management Science Program. His presentation, titled "Puzzles of Community-Based Civic Environmentalism,' is based on research developed during his NSF grant to study communities that make a priority of protecting the environment.

"If there's one thing I leave this hearing with, it's the sense that this is indeed a very generous community." That's what State Sen. Robert Jauch said last Thursday near the conclusion of a public hearing to gain input on state budget repair proposals currently before the Legislature. Jauch addressed his remarks to Richard Beverstein of AON Risk Services, president of the UW-Green Bay Founders Association. Jauch told Beverstein he appreciated his concern that severe budget cuts to the UW System could be seen as a step away from the state's historic commitment to higher education — a commitment which, Beverstein noted, has been integral to generating private support for UW-Green Bay. Excerpts from Beverstein's testimony to the committee:

"Thirty-eight percent. That's the percentage of UW-Green Bay's annual operating budget that is covered by state general-purpose revenue, GPR. It's my guess that the general public (isn't aware) that with tuition, auxiliary enterprises, grants generated by faculty research, and private fund-raising, the state covers only a portion — only about one-third — of the University's expenses.

We're called the Founders Association because the people who built this organization, truly, were there at the beginning. Much of what we've accomplished in this University's 30-year history as a public, state-assisted institution has come via private support (for the founding of the campus, student housing, the Weidner Center, D-1 athletics, Mary Ann Cofrin Hall, student scholarships, named professorships, etc.) It's been entrepreneurship, really.

This University has been a model for how public investment can be a magnet for private investment. How state funding can leverage private donations. How a good university can pursue greatness. That's why, as president of the Founders Association, I'm concerned with anything that would jeopardize this very successful partnership.

Private donors want their contributions to do something "above and beyond," to build upon the basics provided by our public-sector partners. They don't want to patch the holes … (UW-Green Bay) is a remarkable investment opportunity: private and public. Private and public. Even in difficult times, facing difficult choices, we must never forget that."

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