UW-Green Bay awards emeritus status to retiring faculty, staff
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay announced Tuesday (Jan. 19) that emeritus status has been granted to 11 newly retired members of the faculty and academic staff.
It is UW System policy that its member institutions may confer the titles “emeritus” or “emerita” upon select faculty and academic staff members as recognition for lengthy and distinguished careers.
Receiving plaques and their honorary titles were:
William Conley, Professor Emeritus — Conley joined the UW-Green Bay faculty in 1974, and in 2001 he received the Founders Award for Excellence in Scholarship. The author of numerous books and scholarly articles, he broke new ground in the application of statistics and quantitative research. These innovations extended beyond his Business Administration unit to help modernize curricula in math and engineering, as well.
Sue Keihn, Associate Provost and Dean of Students Emerita — Keihn came to UW-Green Bay in 1996 from UW System Administration in Madison where she had been a senior policy and planning analyst. As just the second person to hold the “dean of students” title at UW-Green Bay, succeeding Gerald Olson, she presided over improvements in student life facilities and programming.
William Laatsch, Professor Emeritus — Laatsch came to Green Bay in 1965 and taught at the two-year UW center that became UW-Green Bay. An expert in cultural geography, he earned prestigious awards for teaching at both the state and national levels. He concluded his career by serving as interim provost, the top academic officer reporting to the chancellor.
Craig Lockard, Professor Emeritus — Lockard joined the faculty in 1975. Over the course of 34 years he taught classes on Asian, African, comparative and world history. He earned numerous accolades for interdisciplinary achievement: writing scholarly articles ranging from Southeast Asian history to world music, delivering invited lectures nationally and internationally, and receiving from his peers the Founders Award for Scholarship. He retired as a member of the Social Change and Development faculty.
Barbara McClure-Lukens, Academic Staff Emerita — The citation for McClure-Lukens praised her dedication to “The Wisconsin Idea” — the idea that the boundaries of the University are the boundaries of the state. As director of Outreach and Extension, she oversaw continuing education and enrichment programming for adult learners.
Larry Smith, Professor Emeritus — Smith joined the faculty of the “Modernization Processes” unit in the early 1970s, and helped modernize and expand traditional views of economics to reflect a truly interdisciplinary approach to sustainable development, cultural and ecological economics and land-use management. He retired as a member of the Social Change and Development faculty.
Sandra Stokes, Professor Emerita — The citation for Stokes praised her contributions as an educator and leader, and noted her involvement with the Wisconsin State Reading Association and important initiatives of the state Department of Public Instruction. She was associated with the Professional Program in Education, and the academic program in Women’s and Gender Studies.
Karen Swan, Academic Staff Emerita — Swan served the UW-Green Bay community in health services for 23 years, most recently as director of Counseling and Health Services. She received the 2002 Founder’s Association Award for Excellence in Academic Support, and was recognized by her peers as a leader within the UW System.
Denise Sweet, Associate Professor Emerita — Sweet was a faculty member in the Humanistic Studies unit and a contributor to courses in First Nations Studies. An acclaimed poet and writer, she was appointed by the governor to a four-year term as Wisconsin Poet Laureate. Her citation praised her ability to “inspire students, colleagues, readers and fellow citizens: Inspire them with her graceful, exquisitely crafted poetry… or, just as often… inspires them to find their own voice in telling their own stories.”
Jan Thornton, Associate Provost Emerita — Thornton concluded her 37-year UW System career as Associate Provost for Outreach and Adult Access. Colleagues praised her contributions to the growth of the Adult Degree Program, creation of the Learning in Retirement program, and efforts to extend the resources of the University to address community and individual needs.
Lynn Walter, Professor Emerita — Walter was a recipient of two of the institution’s highest honors: The Founders Award for Scholarship, and the Ben J. and Joyce Rosenberg Professorship. She was a highly regarded scholar on women’s studies, human rights and ethnicity issues. Her work on global food insecurity resulted in creation of the Center for Food in Community and Culture at UW-Green Bay.
Seven of the 11 honorees were present to be honored at the Jan. 19 campus convocation. The citations for the seven, pictured below, were read aloud by Provost Julia Wallace as Chancellor Thomas Harden presented plaques to the recipients onstage in the Phoenix Room of the University Union.
Posing together following the mid-year program were emeriti honorees in attendance, from left: Professors Emeriti Larry Smith, Lynn Walter, Craig Lockard, William Laatsch, Sandy Stokes and William Conley, and Academic Staff Emerita Barbara McClure-Lukens.
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