Vol. 39, No. 141, July 21, 2008     /     Log Archive

Kudos again to the award-winning Fourth Estate student newspaper! It’s now clear the 2008 “Fourth Mistake” edition wasn’t satire at all, but an epic journalistic scoop.  “Favre is back for one more” read the headline of a story that began:

“Citing mental boredom after 17 days as a retired NFL player, former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre officially came out of retirement March 23.”  

The 4E’s April Fools “hoax” made national cable news and angered some gullible fans. Ironically, as was confirmed in recent days, Favre WAS toying with the Packers and un-retirement at the very same time some were disparaging the UW-Green Bay students for their seemingly silly pseudo-story. (Hmmm. Maybe the Knicks-to-draft-Clampitt report wasn’t an Onion deal, either.) In real news today:

Chancellor search group announces public forums
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Chancellor Search and Screen Committee will hold a series of open forums to gain input from campus and community members before beginning its search for the University’s fifth chancellor. Three forums will be held Wednesday, July 30, in the University Union’s Phoenix Room C. Each session will last approximately one hour, beginning at 11 a.m., noon and 1 p.m.  The consulting firm assisting with the search will facilitate the forums.

Scheberle: Sessions are for public, campus input
The committee is soliciting contributions from campus and the community regarding qualities believed essential in the next chancellor. Members of the 21-member search and screen committee will be on hand to answer questions about the search process. “The search committee wants to listen to and learn from University and community members to better understand what stakeholders want in the next chancellor,” Committee Chairperson Prof. Denise Scheberle said. “We also want to identify key strengths of UW-Green Bay to present to prospective candidates. We hope that many people will provide us with their opinions and thoughts about the chancellor position.”

More forums planned
Additional forums will be held on the day of the annual UW-Green Bay faculty and staff convocation on Aug. 26 (times to be determined) and at a location in downtown Green Bay that same week (date, time and location to be announced).

Q&A on aid? For students, there’s money to be had
Financial aid doesn’t have to be a complicated thing. Just know where to go for help. That was the message delivered Monday morning (July 21) at an on-campus question-and-answer forum with financial aid experts from UW-Green Bay, St. Norbert College, Northeastern Wisconsin Technical College and Associated Bank. Financial aid may be available from different sources, but it’s still available, the experts said. Just make sure to see an expert to maximize eligibility aid packages. Forum participants included James Rohan, UW-Green Bay assistant director of financial aid; Emily Ysebaert, NWTC director of financial aid; Jeffrey Zahn, St. Norbert director of financial aid, and April Newburg, education loan manager for Associated Bank.

Student money sees boost from Washington
Congressman Steve Kagen was also present at the forum. He said the downturn in the economy has made it more difficult for some to get student loans. However, Congress recently passed bills that have made more money available for federal Pell Grants and Stafford Loans and cut interest rates nearly in half. According to Kagen’s office, the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, passed last September and the largest single investment in college financial aid since the GI Bill of 1944, will boost college aid by roughly $20 billion over the next five years. The Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act passed this year. It was authored in response to the impact of the housing crisis on student loans. Another bill, the 21st Century GI Bill, is targeted at expanding the education benefits available to veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Class aims to keep students safe on campus
Police Sgt. Keith Rosin of UW-Green Bay Public Safety is quoted in the Green Bay Press-Gazette about the fact that his department, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College and the Green Bay Police Department are partnering on a six-hour personal and campus safety course over two days, July 29 and 31. Topics will range from personal safety and sexual assault to identity theft and cyber stalking. See http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080721/GPG0101/807210531/1978.

Ahhh… so that’s what they’re doing!
Ever wonder what all those high school-age kids were doing in MAC Hall all summer? The Green Bay Press-Gazette let everyone know in a feature article about Upward Bound. Read more here: http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080720/GPG0101/807200708/1206/GPG01.

In basketball and life, she’s got skillz
UW-Green Bay graduate student Chris Engstrom, a team manager for the Phoenix women’s basketball team who also coaches, recently surprised some younger players when she rolled onto the court in her wheelchair. Engstrom, who has quadriplegic cerebral palsy, doesn’t let her physical limitations get in the way of her coaching. “She knows what she’s talking about,” one player said at a basketball camp Engstrom hosted in Rhinelander recently. Read more at: http://www.wjfw.com/email_story.html?SKU=20080720174555.

More national academic recognition for Schachtner, Tillema
UW-Green Bay rising seniors Mike Schachtner and Ryan Tillema have been named to the 2007-08 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court, which recognizes those collegiate basketball student-athletes who excel in academics. For more, click http://uwgbathletics.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/072108aaa.html.

‘UWO flood damages reach $5.5 million’
That’s the headline in the Oshkosh Northwestern describing the aftermath of the June rainstorms that damaged numerous campus buildings. Nonetheless, UW-Oshkosh says nearly all facilities will be open and operational when school starts in September: http://www.thenorthwestern.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080719/OSH0101/807190369/-1/archive.

Parents share tales of college costs
A recent story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel describes one family’s cost-of-college surprises, and their search for scholarship money. See http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=774255.

UW-Sheboygan touts efforts with returning adults
The two-year UW College in Sheboygan is touting the fact that almost 40 percent of its enrollment fits a definition of “non-traditional student,” and the older student population never has been more important to the college: http://www.sheboyganpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080719/SHE0101/807190495/-1/archive.

Doyle chooses first science adviser
James Dahlberg, a professor of biomolecular chemistry in the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, has been appointed as the first scientific advisor to Governor Jim Doyle. See http://wistechnology.com/articles/4884/.

‘Wisconsin lawmakers seek review of state employee sick leave use’
The Journal Sentinel reports that state legislators on Thursday questioned whether state employees were abusing sick leave and said they wanted a review by early next year: http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=773846.

Some states avoid slashing higher ed money
The online service StateLine is reporting that, despite a tough economic climate, several states are attempting to hold down college tuition — or at least not let increases get out of control — by avoiding deep cuts to higher education, an area that states have been quick to slash in past years when funds were low. See http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=326419.

Brief
Prof. Michael Kraft was the guest on Wisconsin Public Radio's Joy Cardin's show on July 18, during the  7 to 8 a. m. hour. The subject was U.S. energy use and policy, following release of a Wisconsin Environment report on alternatives to use of oil for transportation and former Vice President Al Gore's call for a national plan to produce all electricity from renewable sources within a decade. The program’s archive can be found at http://www.wpr.org/webcasting/audioarchives_display.cfm?Code=jca.

You can submit material for inclusion to the Office of Marketing and University Communication at Log@uwgb.edu. Past issues are achived at http://www.uwgb.edu/univcomm/news/logarchive/logarch.htm.