'Prairie Bob' Ahrenhoester holds court during a
September 2004 prairie work day, where volunteers
cleared and burned stumps and debris.
How has UW-Whitewater made its mark on
southeast Wisconsin? This Web project offers
dozens of examples.
A Decade of World-Class Performances:
Irvin L.
Young Auditorium recognized its 10th year of performances in
2003-04 by entertaining more than 60,000 patrons over the
season. The
auditorium formally opened in 1993 with a big boost
from its namesake,
who provided more than $1 million in financial
support. In the past decade,
more than 621,000 community
members and school children have taken in
an ILY performance.
Check the spring season at: http://www.uww.edu/youngauditorium/
UW-Whitewater @ Work: Through
business
partnerships, community service and educational outreach,
UW-Whitewater
is intimately connected with the life of the region.
For the first time,
people can get a complete picture of the
university’s regional impact
through the online project
“UW-Whitewater @ Work.” The site
is home to dozens of
partnership profiles and statistics that measure
involvement, one
community at a time. Visit the site at: http://www.uww.edu/npa/regional_impact/
Marshalling the IT Forces:
Students and faculty in
UW-Whitewater’s College of Business and
Economics worked in
2004 to bring a jolt of electricity to Wisconsin’s
technology
economy. With proceeds from a $500,000 federal Department of
Commerce grant, a multidisciplinary team helped refine the market
and
the mission of eInnovate, a statewide organization for
technology professionals.
The goal: boost membership and raise
awareness of the more than 600 technology
companies doing
business in southeast Wisconsin. Check out the university-
designed
site at: http://www.einnovate.org/
The Campus Idea Factory:
Business Outreach
Services added a unique program in 2004 called “IdeaLink,”
a
grassroots approach to product development and innovation.
Following
a simple premise — one never knows where the next
big idea will
come from — this program builds a connection
between companies and
the campus. The first time around, the
sponsoring company was JohnsonDiversey
of Racine, which
sought ideas on workplace cleanliness technologies. Winners
in
this idea competition were given $200 for the best idea in each of
five categories. More competitions are on the way.
The Lecture Circuit: A
steady stream of diverse voices
enlivened the lecture circuit at UW-Whitewater
in 2004 as part of
a new Contemporary Issues Lecture Series sponsored
by the
College of Letters and Sciences. Speakers included Harvard race
relations scholar Randall Kennedy; Native American activist
Russell Means;
and Center for Public Integrity leader Charles
Lewis.
Camp Whitewater: Every
year, UW-Whitewater’s Office of
Continuing Education offers dozens
of residential campus serving
K-12 students from Wisconsin and northern
Illinois, covering
music, athletics, diversity, academic achievement,
disability
services, public affairs and special interests. In summer 2004,
more than 20,000 young people across the region enrolled.
Prairie Progress: Work
continues on the University-
Community Prairie in the UW-Whitewater Nature
Preserve.
Currently, eight acres with more than 150 species have been
planted. Last fall, the project received a $10,000 funding boost
from
the U.S. Department of Agriculture that will help with site
preparation,
planting and maintenance.
Wisconsin Idea Fellows:
Five UW-Whitewater
professors were named ‘Wisconsin Idea Fellows’
in spring 2004,
a distinction that recognizes their work in promoting
the
Wisconsin economy. They are: Choton Basu, management
professor and co-director of the Global Business Resources
Center; James
Bronson, professor of entrepreneurship;
Robert Horton,
professor of information technology and
business education and coordinator
of Management Computer
Systems; and Russ Kashian and
Mark Skidmore, professors
of economics and co-directors
of a new Economic Research
Center in development.