If you haven’t already seen it, take a moment to stop by the construction site for the Timothy J. Hyland Hall. The building is beginning to take shape. On Tuesday I took a couple of minutes to look out at the building from the 4th floor of Hyer. Tuesday was a dreary day, but the sight of those steel beams was pretty uplifting. After a lot of work by many folks over the course of a number of years, the new College of Business and Economics building is becoming a reality. This is a pretty significant moment for our campus.
I’ve enjoyed the last several days. On Friday and Saturday, a large number of alumni celebrated “Back to the 60s,” attending a fish fry on Friday, a reception at the Coulthart Family Pavillion, our first home football game, and an evening dinner and dance. It was great to meet a number of people with fond memories of Whitewater and an attachment to the campus.
The Letters and Sciences golf outing on Monday was warm, sunny, and windy. A large number of alumni and friends turned out for the pre-round breakfast, the golf, and an impressive silent auction, emceed by Michael Gesas. L&S golf outing committee co-chairs Jude Fogarty and Ron Binning coordinated an enjoyable event. The L&S Alumni Scholarships, created with funds from last year’s outing were presented to Jenny Kurlinski, Joshua Smith, and Thomas Zimmerman. John Madison awarded his scholarship in honor/memory of Jack Filipiak to Elizabeth Kunz. Tony and Erika Prater presented the Prater Scholarship to Seth Kemmeter. Todd Wilkins announced his new scholarship in memory of his son Michael Steele Wilkins.
Thanks to all those who attended my listening session on Wednesday in the Atrium of the Greenhill Center of the Arts. I was pleased that more than 30 individuals were able to be there. We discussed a variety of topics, including such items as the state budget, construction projects and timetables, our connections with the city and local school districts, the use of “clickers” in classrooms, and residence hall crowding.
I will be holding another listening session in October. While the site hasn’t yet been determined, it will be in another location on campus. Look for an announcement in the next several weeks.
As you will recall from my state of the university address, I’ll be holding listening sessions each month. The first one is Wednesday from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. in the Atrium of the Greenhill Center of the Arts. It is my intention to hold these sessions in various locations and at different times to accommodate as many people as possible. This is just a chance for us to talk about campus issues and enjoy a cup of coffee together. There’s no agenda, just a chance to talk and the session is open to faculty, staff and students. I’d love to talk to our students about how the semester is going and any issues they might have.
I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday.
I just got back from the White Hall Reopening Celebration. The building looks great and faculty and staff from the College of Letters and Sciences seem to be settling in. Thanks to members of the Facilities, Planning, and Maintenance Department for their special efforts to prepare the building for the fall. Special thanks to Pat Jankowski and Ken Kramer for their work coordinating this work. Thanks also to Dean Mary Pinkerton and the L&S faculty and staff for their graciousness during this relocation.
Friday gave me another reason to be proud to be associated with the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. At the September meeting of the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, Professor Lois Smith from the Department of Marketing was recognized with the Regents’ Teaching Excellence Award.. She was one of only two individuals across the System to receive the award in 2007. It was well-deserved recognition of an outstanding professor as well as recognition of the quality of teaching and learning taking place on this campus. Congratulations again to Professor Lois Smith!
On a completely different subject, I’d like to call everyone’s attention to the free shuttle service being provided by the Downtown Whitewater Board. The service runs every 20-30 minutes from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., between the Visitor’s Center and North Second Street (near First Citizen’s Bank). The shuttle service is available to all, at no charge.
We set off on Friday to visit our son in northern Michigan, looking forward to a relaxing visit. On the way, however, we were involved in too close an encounter with a deer. We were not injured, but the car was. We were still able to reach our destination and have an enjoyable visit, with beautiful weather. It was pleasant break. I hope all students, faculty, and staff, and their families, had a safe and enjoyable holiday.
I’m delighted to be back to campus, for the opening day of the fall semester. The activity and excitement in town has intensified, and we’re ready to go. I took a walk past the classrooms in Hyer Hall on the way to my office. Classes have begun, and campus is filled with activity.
