University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Chancellor Dwight C. Watson invites everyone to watch the State of the University Address at noon Monday, Feb. 1. Details on how to watch this virtual event will be shared soon. The presentation will feature an overview of our challenges, opportunities and priorities for the coming year, and it will also honor our university colleagues and recent achievements.

Kudos to Terry Tumbarello, director of residence life and the Boxes & Walls program, which received the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) IV-East’s annual Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Award. Boxes and Walls is an interactive diversity experience designed to let students experience different social justice issues by putting them in the shoes of students who identify with those experiences on a daily basis. Tumbarello says the program is absolutely beneficial and critical to our students and receives extremely positive reviews from the students year after year.

Kudos to Akiko Yoshida, associate professor of sociology, who contributed a chapter in the recently published book, “Studying Japan—Handbook of Research Designs, Fieldwork and Methods.” Yoshida’s chapter, “How to collect data: An introduction to qualitative Social Science method” was included with other Japan studies scholars from around the world. Yoshida worked with a wide range of anthropologists and sociologists, from well-known veterans to young energetic scholars.

Kudos to Jian Guo, professor of languages and literatures, who co-translated “The World Turned Upside Down: A History of the Chinese Cultural Revolution,” published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux and scheduled to come out in January. Guo was quoted as part of a book review, “Uncovering the Cultural Revolution’s Awful Truths,” in the January/February 2021 issue of the Atlantic. Read more »

Kudos to Luz María Ede-Hernández, assistant professor of languages and literatures, and the Spanish Club and Latinos Unidos, who recently created projects to honor the Day of Dead on campus. A Day of the Dead offering is a way to celebrate our remembrance of those who have died. Such offerings typically are festive and colorful and contain items of food and drink that those being remembered liked to eat and drink while they were alive.

An offering in Laurentide Hall was dedicated to those who have died as a result of the pandemic.
A display case in University Center was dedicated to Jose Guadalupe Posada, a famous Mexican printmaker who lived and worked during the late 1800s and early 1900s, whose many prints showing skeletons involved in everyday actions have come to symbolize the Day of the Dead. His most famous creation, La Catrina, is interpreted by many artists in paintings, drawings, and sculptures currently being made for the celebration of this holiday.

According to Ede-Hernández, “These pluricultural students, and their organizations, invited all members of UW-Whitewater community to view these offerings as a way to see how this holiday is celebrated in Mexico and in communities where people of Mexican origin have settled and currently live.” Congratulations!

Kudos to Russ Kashian, professor of economics, Choton Basu, professor of information technology and supply chain management, and alum Nicholas Haugen ’20, who published “Effects of Tourism Taxes on Local Hotels and Governments” in Tax Notes State. The article analyzes the effects of a hotel tax across a wide variety of localities in Wisconsin. Using four years of data, it addresses whether marketing expenditures in localities positively influence hotel revenues in the state.

Alumnus and professor emeritus Elmer G. Redford ’59 was honored with the naming of a laboratory in the Mary Poppe Chrisman Success Center, home to the Campus Tutorial Services, which still is active despite the pandemic. Jefferson County Daily Union »

Sarah Hessenauer, professor of social work, talked about building a strong relationship with the Pauquette Center for Psychological Services, which is opening a local office and plans to collaborate with UW-Whitewater’s social work and counseling education programs to provide services to create internships for students. Jefferson County Daily Union »

Tech Savvy Virtual is a workshop for girls in grades 6 to 10 designed to inspire and encourage them in STEM fields and careers. UW-Whitewater professors and other professional women will present a two-part virtual workshop on Feb. 13 and Feb. 20, from 9 a.m. until noon. A slate of 12 workshops will be offered on topics such as extracting DNA, building computer circuits, building websites, programming robots, analyzing light, identifying antibiotic producing bacteria, fingerprint analysis, wolf biology, astrophysics and more. Jefferson County Daily Union »

A. Bill Miller, associate professor of art and design, collaborated with Eric Loepp, assistant professor of political science, to bring life concepts into a final motion graphics project in media arts and game development: creating an explanation video about the electoral college. Whitewater Banner »

The League of Women Voters-Whitewater Area announced that the 2020 Making Democracy Work Award goes to the City Poll Workers for their work administering three election cycles during an unprecedented pandemic. In the face of potential health risks to themselves, poll workers in the April, August and November elections helped make democracy work in the City of Whitewater by ensuring that each election was appropriately executed, accessible and as safe as possible.

During long hours on Election Day, these dedicated poll workers guided voters through the voting process and maintained a safe poll environment by social distancing, wearing face masks and frequently disinfecting all surfaces. We are grateful to each of them for stepping up so all eligible voting citizens in our community could safely participate in democracy during a challenging time. Whitewater City Clerk Michele Smith and Whitewater Chief Election Inspector Joyce Follis graciously accepted this award on behalf of all City Poll Workers.