Patty has been Resident Director of Operations of the Wisconsin in Scotland program since August 2007 and she loves Scotland. She came to WIS with several years of experience working in various areas of student affairs including International Studies, Residence Life, Career Services, Greek Life, and Human Resources. Most recently, Patty was a Resident Director at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. Patty served two years as Assistant Coordinator of the St. Cloud State Centre for British Studies just south of the Scottish/English border in Alnwick, England. She earned her Master of Arts in College Student Personnel from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio and her Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. Patty loves working with students, especially in the unique living and learning environment created on programs like Wisconsin in Scotland. Patty married a Brit in January 2010, so she plans to stay in Scotland for a long time! Patty and her wife Natalie enjoy traveling and learning about different cultures, seeing films, cooking (and subsequently eating), and the WIS program.

Stewart Platner received his BA from St. Norbert College (De Pere, Wisconsin) and his MFA in Design and Technology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He served on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Superior for 34 years in the Department of Communicating Arts where he taught in both the Theatre and Speech areas. During his time at UW-S, he served as Department Chair for over 9 years and spent two years as an Interim Dean of Students. He also served as their Chair of Faculty Senate and as Faculty Representative for UW-S to UW-System Administration. He was the Resident Scenic Designer/Technical Director for University Theatre, designing over 80 productions during his tenure. He has been to Scotland several times, and looks forward to returning to teach about theatre at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Nikki DeFere is a Spring 2012 graduate from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls with a degree in Animal Science, and participated in the Wisconsin in Scotland program during her final semester. While attending UW-River Falls, she was deeply involved in several community events and was devoted to many intramural sports. She was also a student athletic trainer for the university women's hockey team. 

Nikki admits participating in the Wisconsin in Scotland program was not only one of the most interesting educational opportunities, but one of her best and most memorable life decisions. She is delighted to return to Dalkeith, not only to share her experiences, but is ready to help students create their own, unique study abroad memories. When she is not gushing about her travels, Nikki can be found scouting for venues with live music, tearing up empty dance floors, diving into new recipes and continuing her quest to master the guitar.

Melissa is a senior lecturer and has taught at UW-Whitewater since 2001. She was part of the team that developed and led the first Learning Community (Live and Learn) on the UW-W campus in 2004. Although she is still very involved with Live and Learn she is the coordinator for the Honors Advantage LC and teaches courses for a number of other LC's.

Her teaching focus has been in the areas of criminology, family, aging and social problems.

Melissa has been published in several journals with her co-author and husband Steve Deller. The area of research the two have worked together in is the field of criminology.

Her volunteer focus, outside PTO's and scouts, continues to be in the area of domestic violence. Melissa has won numerous awards in this field. She has worked with the agency Domestic Abuse Intervention Services for over 15 years, including a 6 year term on their board.

She is excited about the Spring '13 Scotland experience! Although this will be her first time teaching in the WIS program she is hoping it will not be her last!

Bill Simpson is a clinical exercise physiologist and currently is the director of the exercise physiology laboratory at UWS. He received his PhD in exercise physiology and public health from the University of Toledo, MS from Boston University and BS from Springfield [MA] College. He currently teaches courses in exercise physiology, nutrition, research and pathophysiology as well as clinical exercise physiology and exercise biochemistry. Bill taught on the WIS program in the spring of 2010. Bill has two girls, Courtney and Zoe, who are looking forward to living in Scotland again for a semester.

Professor Gay Ward has been teaching at UWRF for eleven years in the Teacher Education Department. She teaches Research in Literacy in the Master's Reading Program, Children's Literature in the Elementary Program and a variety of courses in the Early Childhood Program including Inquiry Learning in Early Elementary, Development Learning and Early Childhood Language Arts. She also teaches a general education course, Australia: An Integrated Cultural Study inspired by 27 years living 'down under' in Western Australia. Gay's research interests focus on reading and narrative development as well as developing curriculum to connect children and their teachers to nature and the arts. She earned her Ph.D. at the University of Notre Dame Australia, her Master's in Education at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, and her B.A. at Smith College.

Dr. Ward, and her artist husband, Richard, enjoy traveling and have taken four groups of student teachers to Western Australia as well as participating in the International Traveling Classroom. Gay has also traveled to Korea seven times and Taiwan twice to teach language arts, reading and Montessori education. Gay and Richard have been frequent travelers to the UK and France and are looking forward to their second visit to Scotland and participating in the Dalkeith House experience.

Khalil Dokhanchi, aka Haji, is a professor of Political Science. He earned his PhD from State University of New York and began teaching at UW-Superior in 1992. After teaching general international politics courses for a number of year, he developed the Peace Studies track. The major objective of the track was to focus more on the issues of war and peace and how our students can become agents of change for a more human world. Haji teaches a number of courses including Paths to Peace, Theories of War and Peace, Human Rights, International Law and War and Peace, and co-teaches Seminar in Peace-Building. Along with Karl Bahm (History) and Judy Dwyer (retired, Social Work), he developed the War and Peace in Bosnia Study Abroad Program, which takes students to Bosnia during the month of May every other year. His research interests include reconciliation in post-conflict societies, human rights, and American foreign policy towards the Middle East.

Joan received her B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and her M.A. and Ph.D. at Marquette University. Her love of Great Britain began when she was an undergraduate: she enrolled in the St. Cloud Centre for British Studies and lived in Alnwick Castle (Harry Potter's castle, near the Scottish/English border) for a full academic year. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. She teaches writing, literature, and film studies. During the month of January she teaches a study-abroad course: Fiction into Film-London. She serves on the board of trustees for the Museum of Soho, London. Joan is looking forward to the Wisconsin in Scotland program!

At age 14, I got my first job - selling cleaning products and brushes door-to-door as a Fuller Brush Salesman. I worked several other jobs through high school, mainly fast food.

While attending Lakewood Community College, I joined the Army Reserves - eventually reaching the rank of Sergeant (E-5). I graduated in 1985 from Mankato State University with a B.S. degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance.

During the 1980s, I worked as an accountant, property manager, mortgage banker, and leasing specialist. In 1989, I started my own insurance agency which I ran until 2001.

Around the year 2000, I took a look at my life and decided that I'd really like to teach, to share with the next generation. I knew I would earn less and work more hours but I didn't care. I sold my business and went back to school. It was the best decision of my life.

I received my Master of Business Education from the University of Minnesota in 2004.

In 2005, I started teaching at Normandale Community College. My first class was Professional Selling. Since then, I have Intro to Business, Marketing, Management, and Entrepreneurship as well.

I have to primary hobbies: screenwriting and home brewing.

Classes in Scotland

Introduction to Business - This class is for business and non-business majors alike. This is the most worthwhile class in any college and, I believe, should be required of all undergraduates. You may not be into business, but business is into you - so you need to know about it! Credits transfers as electives.

Marketing - A lot of the same can be said for marketing. Marketers are attempting to manipulate you every day, hundreds of times a day. Learn what they're up to. Know when you're being taken advantage of. Credits for this course can be transferred as electives as well.

My intent with these courses is to compare and contrast U.S. business with Scottish business. I hope to have on-site visits with Scottish companies and hear from Scottish business owners and managers.

In a course offered through the Wisconsin in Scotland program, University of Wisconsin-Superior professor Dr. Monica Roth Day will lead students on trips to locations pivotal in J.K. Rowling's writing of the Harry Potter series.

The "Troubles and Torments at Hogwarts" class will explore the themes behind the Harry Potter books as well as fulfill a Social Science General Education requirement. Students will use developmental theories to understand Harry, Hermione, and Ron and their growth from kids to wizards.

Roth Day says "students can expect lively discussions and field trips!"

In their course work students will "travel into Edinburgh to see where J.K. Rowling wrote her first book, and other areas which are important to her and the development of the characters in the Harry Potter series."

Places of interest include the Elephant House, where the first chapters of the series were written, and a cemetery where character names were discovered on headstones. Students may also travel to the town of Alnwick in northern England and visit Alnwick Castle, which serves as the exterior of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the first two Harry Potter films.

Her interest in Scotland and the opportunity to work closely with students drew Dr. Roth Day to this program. "I've always wanted to travel to Scotland and when I heard about Wisconsin in Scotland, I was excited about the opportunity. I've worked in residential programs, and traveled with students. I know what an amazing opportunity it can be to live and learn together."

Dr. Connie F. Sexauer is an Associate Professor with the University of Wisconsin-Marathon County. She received her Ph.D. in history from the University of Cincinnati with specialties in urban history and women's history. She has published numerous articles relating to the influence of faith in a person's life. Her book From a Park to a Stadium to a Little Piece of Heaven, on the history of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball stadiums as material culture will be published by Norther Illinois Press, spring 2014. Her current research is a biography on Sister Anna Rose Kraus, a Catholic nun who influenced the 20th century.

In addition to receiving the Distinguished Faculty Society award, she has been awarded summer research grants and five NEH grants. She is an enthusiastic teacher and researcher and enjoys finding ways to bring her research interests into her classroom. She looks forward to her summer in Scotland and getting to know her students.

John Ward is an assistant professor in the Geography Department at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. He received his PhD from the University of Arkansas, and both his MS and BS from Central Washington University. John has a background in archaeology, cultural resource management, and GIS. His research interests span both cultural and physical geography and usually involve the use of geospatial technology. He has presented his research at conference in the USA, UK, Austria, Finland, and South Africa. In addition to teaching at UW-Parkside, he directs the Spatial Data Analysis Lab, co-ordinates the GIS Certificate program, represents the Geography Department on the faculty senate, and serves on the International Studies Steering Committee. He enjoys living on the far norther edge of the Chicagoland metropolitan area along with his wife, children, dogs, and guinea pigs.

Marina Onken is an Associate Professor of Management from the University of Wisconsin--River Falls.  She teaches Strategic Management and International Business in both the undergraduate and graduate programs.  She has a deep interest in international business and has led a study abroad program to the Université catholique de Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve in Belgium, and participated in a USAID project in Honduras after Hurricane Mitch destroyed much of the country while working at Loyola University New Orleans.  She also participated in a CIBER FDIB trip to China in 2007 and another FDIB trip to South America (Brazil, Argentina, and Chile) in 2012 to visit companies, NGOs, and other organizations.  She has published in a number of international journals and presented at international conferences.  She received a Research Award from UWRF in 2007 and has an expertise in online teaching.  Previous to receiving a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska, she worked for Target Corp. in Minneapolis, MN.  Dr. Onken has previously worked for Florida Gulf Coast University, Loyola University New Orleans, and Touro University International, an online university, before arriving at University of Wisconsin--River Falls.  She still has family in northwest Germany near Bremen, and travels to see them frequently.

 Teaching in the Experience Scotland study abroad program has been a long time ambition for me. First I will tell you something about my background and then more about my approach to teaching classes in Dalkeith.

I received my B.S. from the University of Minnesota, in education and my M.S. from the University of St. Thomas, in Manufacturing Systems Design with an emphasis in communication. My love for travel began during my teen years when I traveled with my parents.
David Rockefeller said the following about travel “I am a passionate traveler, and from the time I was a child, travel formed me as much as my formal education.”  I am a native of Minnesota but moved at a formative age to the state of Mississippi where I experienced racial segregation and the first days of integration of the races in public school. I have traveled to South America, Europe and Asia. From my travels I have gained insight about the human shaping function of communication.

My unique approach to classes in Scotland will be to stress the positive person shaping potential of human communication. To that end my classes will incorporate liberal classroom interaction and as much out of class experiences as is practical. I will be accompanied by my fellow life traveler and spouse Janet. Please feel free to join us as we explore our Scottish heritage!

 MICHAEL MOMOT, Ph.D., P.E.  UW-PLATTEVILLE, PHYSICS

Dr. Momot has been an ardent supporter of international education since 2003, when UW-Platteville initiated many of its international exchange programs.  In 2006, his family went with him to Jönköping, Sweden to spend a semester learning Swedish and eating polka gris while he taught and did some development work on an image furnace.

Dr. Momot received his BSME from RPI in 1982 and immediately started working for IBM.  After three years, he had saved enough money to go to graduate school at Purdue.  In 1987, he published his thesis on Bounded Uncertainty Controllers and was granted his MSME.  In 1992, he published his second thesis entitled, Supervisory Control For Automated Assembly Based on Sub-assembly Manipulation and was granted his Ph.D.  After graduation, he taught at VMI for 5 years before coming to UW-Platteville.  He currently teaches courses in the area of dynamics and control and is interested in effective pedagogies in engineering education.

While in Scotland, he will be joined by his wife, Sue (the other Dr. Momot), his son, Vince, and one of his daughters, Renée.  Mike enjoys woodworking and volleyball.  Sue, a veterinarian, enjoys horseback riding, calligraphy and volleyball.  Vince will be in high school and enjoys running and math.  Renée will be in middle school and enjoys music, art, and dance.  Our eldest daughter will be experiencing her first year in college in the states.  We look forward to hiking around Scotland (bagging the Munroes), making new friends and seeing new places.
 

Katrice Shuler has taught psychology courses at Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College in Rice Lake since 2010. Prior to moving to Wisconsin, she taught psychology and acted as Director of Individualized Studies at Northwest Indian College in Bellingham, Washington. Before life in academia, Katrice worked in the social work and mental health fields as well as in Parks and Recreation and on organic farms. Katrice received a B.A. in English from Davidson College and an M.S. in Psychology from Western Washington University. During college, she participated in Boston University's London Internship Program, visited Scotland, and promptly fell in love with the places she visited, especially Edinburgh. She is ecstatic to be returning as an instructor, and her husband and two children are thrilled to be living in a palace and exploring Scotland.

Mike Wartman is an instructor at Normandale Community College for 32 years, 5 years at St. Olaf College and has also taught at Purdue University.  He has served as Director of Forensics, Speech and Debate and as Children's Theater Coordinator and Director at Normandale.   He has taught many classes over the years, including Public Speaking, Interpersonal Communication, Intercultural Communication, Nonverbal Communication, Small Group Communication, Intro to Human Communication, Argumentation and Debate, Business and Professional Communication and Television Production. Mike enjoys hunting, theater and recreational sports.

Karla Zhe is a Professor of Dance at UW - River Falls. She has been a faculty member at UWRF since 1982. She teaches a variety of dance classes, coordinates the dance program and is director of the UWRF Dance Theatre. Her area of research includes traditional dance forms from various cultures but has spent a majority of time studying African based Caribbean traditional dance forms. She has conducted field research of traditional dances forms in various countries including Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Japan, and Hawaii. Karla is eager to share her knowledge and experiences as well as learn from the WIS students in Scotland.