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May 3 , 2006
In this Issue:
- Betz Outlines University Mission, Vision at Inauguration
- Summer Session Brings Classes for Community
- Natural History Field Course Offered
- UW-RF Offers Class in Residential Design
- St. Croix River Institute Features Two Summer Offerings
- Best Practices in Physical and Health Education
- Campus Electronic Newsletter Receives National Recognition
- UW-RF Launches Project Bolivia
- Tourism Group Holds Golf Outing May 15
- Key Business Contacts
1. Betz Outlines University Mission, Vision at Inauguration
Chancellor Don Betz spoke passionately about the University’s mission of creating ethical and engaged graduates who have a global perspective at his inauguration speech and ceremony April 28, installing him as the 16th chancellor of the 132-year-old public university serving 6,000 students.
“We are intentional in inviting our students to a life of engagement and tolerance, of service and global literacy, of continuing to develop themselves as both citizens and leaders,” said Betz in his speech, “Roots and Wings for the Global Century.”
He spoke to an audience of 700 faculty, staff, students community members, family, friends, colleagues, public servants and invited guests. “We join with them in the pursuit of striving for academic excellence through the consistent development of their potential as critical thinkers, effective communicators, committed life-long learners and servant leaders. We don’t do this in a vacuum, and we don’t do this without passion.”
Betz emphasized three inaugural themes that the university will pursue: globalization, diversity, and service in the St. Croix Valley. Leadership development will be a thread throughout all educational efforts, he added.
Among the speakers at the ceremony were Secretary Rod Nilsestuen of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, a 1970 graduate of UW-River Falls; UW System President Kevin Reilly; UW-System Regents Brent Smith and Danae Davis, who served as presiding officer; and River Falls Mayor Don Richards.
Representing the alumni was KARE-11 TV journalist Boyd Huppert, a 1984 graduate of UW-River Falls, who presented a video with greetings from UW-River Falls alumni across the globe, including fellow Twin Cities broadcast journalist Cathy Wurzer, Director of World Vision-Pakistan Sig Hanson, NASA Space Shuttle Commander Dan Brandenstein and China Exploration Research Society President Wong How Man.
In addition to alumni, UW-River Falls was represented by Faculty Senate President Barbara Werner, who gifted Betz with a wooden park bench; Student Senate President Nicholas Cluppert, who presented the chancellor with a carved falcon on behalf of the student body; Academic Staff Representative Sarah Egerstrom, who, on behalf of academic staff, donated a cache of leadership books and literature for a special library collection,;and Classified Staff Representative Greg Elliott, who bestowed Betz with a tree to be planted on campus.
At the both the inauguration and close of the ceremony, approximately 200 faculty and staff as well as visiting colleagues and guest from other universities dressed in traditional academic garb. Also participating in the processional were international students dressed in traditional costume and carrying flags representing their home countries, students who received the 2006 Chancellor’s Award for Excellence and students who represented the more than 125 student organizations.
Solos were performed by mezzo-soprano Patricia Steiner of the Metropolitan Opera, a 1979 graduate.
2. Summer Session Brings Classes for Community
Registration is now open for summer session, which begins May 22 and runs through Aug. 20.
Included in this summer’s offerings are undergraduate and graduate classes for credit, travel opportunities and professional development opportunities. To accommodate students’ busy schedules, weekday, weekend and evening classes are offered along with compressed schedules that finish quickly. Each class lasts about three weeks, including one Saturday class. Some courses are offered online.
A list of courses, class schedules and online application and registration information is available at www.uwrf.edu/summer. For more information and application call the UW-RF outreach office at 715-425-3256.
3. Natural History Field Course Offered
Delve into the region’s natural history this summer with a field-based workshop focusing on the St. Croix Watershed.
Professors Michael Middleton and Kerry Keen bring enthusiasm, humor, and extensive knowledge of the region’s rocks and waters to a course offered June 7-8, as part of the St. Croix River Institute’s summer offerings.
Participants will spend one day exploring the geologic history of Interstate Park and the Dalles of the St. Croix River. This area is rich with evidence of continental rifting, ancient vulcanism, storm-battered seacliffs, glacial scouring and massive glacial meltwaters.
On the second day, participants will trace the flow of water along the Kinnickinnic River, a major tributary of the St. Croix River, from source to outlet. Features to be explored include springs, river processes, delta formation, and environmental issues related to surface water and groundwater.
Designed for adults, the workshop includes some hiking on level to moderately steep, mostly well-maintained trails, with some crossing of irregular ground in fields and woods. No climbing is required, but there may be some wading in shallow water.
The workshop fee is $99 per person; an early registration discount of $10 is available for registrations received by May 26. For more information or to register and pay online, visit www.uwrf.edu/ogs, send an e-mail to outreach@uwrf.edu or call 715-425-3256 or 800-228-5607.
4. UW-RF Offers Class in Residential Design
Learn about community character by exploring the design of residential neighborhoods through a class offered June 22-24 and June 26-28 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Residential developments reflect aesthetic and environmental sensibilities of a region’s population as well as economic and social realities of the times, according to Eric Sanden, professor of land use planning at UW-River Falls and workshop instructor.
“Typical ‘cookie-cutter’ subdivisions became popular in the post-World War II era,” says Sanden. “Returning service personnel found their piece of the American dream in these suburban developments.”
In an increasingly affluent country, new subdivisions offered affordable housing and easy commuting to cities served by newly established highway networks. Although convenient and efficient, these developments are viewed by some as being homogenous and sprawling. Traditional U.S. neighborhoods were more compact, contained more diverse types of housing, and were pedestrian-friendly.
Features of the old neighborhoods are getting a second look from planning professionals.
In addition to the traditional planning tools of zoning, subdivision regulations, and building codes, planners can now draw on tools such as conservation development, traditional neighborhood design and planned unit developments to enhance the livability of a neighborhood.
The residential building boom of recent years has boosted demand for people who understand how to use these tools, says Sanden, who designed the course, “Residential Design Options,” in response to these needs of students, planners, government officials, land developers and concerned citizens.
The course is open to students, professionals and the public. Participants will have opportunities to see examples of and examine different approaches to residential development. Noncredit fees for the class are $280, and participants who want undergraduate credit will pay applicable tuition and campus fees.
More information and online registration is available at http:/www.uwrf.edu/ogs or call 715-425-3256, 1-800-228-5607 or e-mail outreach@uwrf.edu.
5. St. Croix River Institute Features Two Summer Offerings
Have fun, get outdoors, and experience the St. Croix Riverway and the Kinnickinnic Watershed this summer by enrolling in a course at UW-River Falls.
The St. Croix River Institute is a collaborative effort between the UW-RF and the National Park Service’s St. Croix National Scenic Waterway. The expertise and resources of the two institutions will build and strengthen stewardship efforts throughout the St. Croix Scenic Riverway.
Courses offered by the St. Croix River Institute will benefit: science teachers; educators; landowners interested in natural processes and local waterways; and anyone who is curious about the physical history and health of the St. Croix Valley.
There are two courses offered:
- Lavas, Springs, Glaciers, Deltas: A Taste of the Geology and Hydrology of the St. Croix Watershed, June 6-7, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
- Hands-on Invertebrate Ecology in the St. Croix Watershed, 2 graduate credits. June 19 – 30, 9 a.m.–Noon, weekdays.
For more information, visit www.uwrf.edu/ogs or contact Outreach at 715-425-3256 or by sending an email to outreach@uwrf.edu.
6. Best Practices in Physical and Health Education
Physical and health educators and industry experts will come together for a unique professional development opportunity July 24-26. Two pre-conference workshops and a one-day conference will sharpen the talents of educators with an assortment of best practices that they can immediately apply in their classroom.
Physical education and health education faculty and professionals will present the latest information in physical education and health education practices.
At “21st Century Nutrition Education” on Monday and Tuesday, July 24-25, participants will acquire cutting edge nutrition education information. Alternatively, participants may elect to attend a one-day pre-conference workshop and explore the components of FITNESSGRAM, an online, evidence-based fitness test that enables schools to perform quality fitness assessments, physical activity assessments and much more.
The conference begins Wednesday, July 26, and features breakout sessions from three tracks: Elementary PE, Secondary PE and Health Education.
Keynoter Rick Schupbach, PE4Life Institute, Grundy Center, Iowa, will present "The Way It Should Be: Health and PE in the 21st Century."
All registrations received by June 16 will be entered in a prize drawing. For more information, go to www.uwrf.edu/ogs/registration.
7. Campus Electronic Newsletter Receives National Recognition
Falcon Daily, the UW-RF faculty and staff electronic newsletter, has received a national Award of Distinction by the Communicators Awards.
A collaborative effort to streamline and consolidate electronic communications across campus, Falcon Daily offers general university information and announcements to faculty and staff.
It was the product of extensive collaboration among the Dean of Students Office, Student Leadership Center, Information Technology Services, Publications, Public Affairs and the Chancellor's Office.
Falcon Daily competed against other entries submitted in such areas as advertising, public relations, corporate communications, graphic design and web sites. The entry was submitted by Public Affairs Director Mark Kinders, who noted, “It is pretty substantial competition."
Among the winners: AARP, American Medical Association, Archdiocese of Detroit, Ceridian, Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, George Washington University Hospital, Honeywell, Los Alamos National Laboratory, MasterCard International, The Public Relations Society of America, Public Radio International--Minneapolis, The PGA of America, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., U.S. Army War College, U.S. Postal Service, University of Illinois, University of Iowa, Visit Milwaukee and Wyeth.
In 2004 the University shared in another Award of Distinction for a media kit promoting winter tourism for the St. Croix Valley Regional Tourism Alliance.
Community members can subscribe for electronic delivery of Falcon Daily by entering their email address at: https://lists.uwrf.edu/mailman/listinfo/falcondaily.
8. UW-RF Launches Project Bolivia
Chancellor Don Betz and M. Damon Nolan director of Unidad Academica Campesina-Carmen Pampa of Bolivia, signed a Memorandum of Understanding April 19 to formally launch a cultural and academic exchange program between the two universities.
As the pair signed the agreement to explore future partnerships, they also exchanged gifts; Nolan gave Betz a charango, a guitar-like stringed instrument hand-carved and decorated in mother-of-pearl by one of the students at UAC-CP. Betz gifted Nolan with a new resident goat for the UAC-CP Goat Project, an initiative that employs 18 university students and helps supply milk to several dozen neighborhood schoolchildren. The goat was on loan from Judy Moses and Larry Jacoby of the Shepherd Song Farm in Downing, Wis., and the real goat will be purchased in Bolivia.
Known as Project Bolivia, the partnership has been active informally for more than a year. Faculty and administrators have visited each other’s campuses in 2005 and 2006.
UAC-CP offers degrees in five fields: agriculture, veterinary medicine, nursing, teacher training and eco-tourism. It also has institutional partnerships with South Dakota State University and the College of St. Catherine. UAC-CP has been designated by the United Nations as one of the seven most effective initiatives to eradicate poverty along with a $1 million grant to assist the efforts.
UAC-CP’s greatest need is for the Teaching of English as a Second Language. UAC-CP faculty and administrators are excited about opportunities with UW-RF’s online Graduate Certificate Program in Wildlife Recreation among other UW-RF programs.
9. Tourism Group Holds Golf Outing May 15
The St. Croix Valley Regional Tourism Alliance will hold its annual Scenic Valley Golf Tournament on May 15 at Oak Glen Golf Course in Stillwater, Minn. The event will be a handicapped, four-person scramble with a shotgun start at 1 p.m.
Prizes will be awarded to the top teams and for course competitions such as longest putt in this 18-hole tournament.
Game, cart, and dinner are included for an entry fee of $100 per player. Both members and non-members of SCVRTA are invited to participate. Sponsorships are available.
Immediately following the golf tournament will be a reception, silent auction, and dessert auction at the clubhouse. A dinner buffet will be served at 6:30 p.m., followed by awards and a concert consisting of river songs by Charlie Maguire, a New York native and folk singer.
In 1991, Maguire was appointed the official “Centennial Troubadour” for the Minnesota State Park system. From 1995 to 2003, he was known as the “Singing Ranger” of the National Park Service. An award-winning musician, he has produced seven albums, including “Stepping Stones,” in honor of the parks. He has been a regular on Minnesota Public Radio’s “Prairie Home Companion” and featured on CBS Evening News, Car Talk, Hometime, and other nationally broadcast programs.
SCVRTA, an all-volunteer organization supported solely through membership dues, grants and fundraising events, serves as an educational resource for the history, culture, and natural resources of the Lower St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. It also works to increase the economic impact of tourism through cooperative promotion of the Scenic St. Croix Valley www.saintcroixriver.com.
For more information or registration, please contact Sue Franchere at 715-246-3086.
5. Key Business Contacts
Don't know where to start to find help on business matters?
Try these contacts:
Area Resource Center: www.uwrf.edu/current/info/AtoZ.phtml
Career Services: www.uwrf.edu/ccs/
Center For Economic Research: 715/425-3335
Center for Economic Education: 715/425-3269
College of Business and Economics:
www.uwrf.edu/cbe/
Outreach and Graduate Studies: www.uwrf.edu/ogs/
Small Business Development Center:
715/425-0620
Survey Research Center: 715/425-0701
UW-RF BizNews is produced by the College of Business
& Economics, Outreach and Graduate Studies, Career
and Counseling Services, and the Office of Public Affairs.
Questions, comments or suggestions about this BizNews
E-mail? Contact Mark.A.Kinders@uwrf.edu.
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