Spectacular 2012: UW-Green Bay celebrates an honors-rich year
It was a spectacular 2012 at UW-Green Bay, with the year bringing ample accolades and a new way to articulate what makes our University great.
From teaching honors to super-smart student athletes, a Weidner Center re-birth and a fresh new way to describe our strengths, it truly was a great year to be green at UW-Green Bay.
The highlights are many, the positives profuse — and we know this is just a sampling of the good stuff. So if we missed your top story of 2012, let us know. Visit UW-Green Bay News on Facebook, Tweet us @uwgreenbaynews or email us at log@uwgb.edu.
Be sure to check out the Spectacular 2012 video to see highlights of an incredible year.
Here’s to a terrific 2012 and a promising 2013!
Aldrete earns national recognition with Professor of the Year Award
History Prof. Gregory S. Aldrete, a classics scholar renowned for bringing alive the words of ancient Rome and Greece for his students, in November was named 2012 CASE/Carnegie state professor of the year. This national honor is the latest accolade for Aldrete, UW-Green Bay’s Frankenthal Professor of History and Humanistic Studies, who joined the faculty here in 1995. Aldrete is perhaps best known for his Linothorax Project, a student collaboration that involved recreating — and testing, with brave student volunteers — ancient linen armor. The project has landed him national and international media attention, and is the subject of a book to be published in March.
Aldrete’s honor comes as a former Professor of the Year honoree — Prof. Regan A.R. Gurung of Human Development — and UW-Green Bay’s Professional Program in Education wrap up their year as reigning UW Regents award winners. Gurung earned the Regents Teaching Excellence Award in the individual category, and Education the department category, in June 2011. That means UW-Green Bay took home two of just three Regents Teaching Excellence Awards to be handed out for the year.
Read more:
• Aldrete is the cover story for December’s Inside magazine
And watch it here:
• Video shows what makes Gurung, Education award-winners
Scheberle caps career with national Teacher of the Year honor
And speaking of top teachers, UW-Green Bay’s Prof. Denise Scheberle capped a stellar career here in 2012, when she was named national teacher of the year by the American Political Science Association. Also a former UW System teacher of the year, Scheberle, of Public and Environmental Affairs, joined the UW-Green Bay faculty in 1992. During a terrific career, she twice won the University’s Founders Association Award for Excellence, and was noted for her role in developing a UW-Green Bay Teaching Scholars program, an annual teaching conference and a yearly Academic Excellence Symposium. Scheberle stepped back from full-time classroom teaching in 2011 and was awarded professor emerita status by the University. Her most recent assignments involved a limited number of online courses for her department and the UW-Green Bay Adult Degree Program.
Hear it from her:
• Video shares Scheberle’s reflections on two great decades at UW-Green Bay
Cofrin Library is Wisconsin’s best, accepts award from WLA
Our own Cofrin Library was named Wisconsin Library of the Year in September, earning the award thanks to a host of initiatives and improvements that maximize the user experience — and show the library’s lighter side. The Wisconsin Library Association bestowed the accolade, which library director Paula Ganyard and staff accepted at the group’s state conference in late October. Among the reasons our library is tops? Gate counts are up, the interlibrary loan fee is waived, technology is at the forefront and the physical space has been improved. The library, at the physical and metaphorical heart of campus, has ramped up collaborations with other departments and continues to emphasize fun. From the fall “Bash in the Stacks” open house to the edible books contest and finals week therapy dogs, staff work (and play) hard to make the library an inviting and helpful space.
But don’t take our word for it:
• Video shows what makes the library No. 1
Phoenix women are top 10 on the court and No. 1 in the classroom — not to mention fans’ hearts
The perennially successful UW-Green Bay women’s basketball team capped another stellar season in 2012, finishing the year with a No. 10 national ranking in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll of the spring. The Phoenix went on to finish 31-2 on the year, notching an NCAA tournament win in its latest trip to the Big Dance. Success in the classroom accompanied success on the hardwood, and the women’s team earned the nation’s top academic ranking — with a 3.61 collective team GPA — from the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. Phoenix standout Julie Wojta became the first-ever women’s player drafted into the WNBA — and while the talent-rich Minnesota Lynx waived her after a limited-term contract expired, the star found continued success playing pro ball in Belgium.
And No. 1 in fans’ hearts:
• Video shows why fans love the phenomenal Phoenix
Record classes enrolling, graduating … and we’ve now topped 30,000 grads
More students are enrolling in and graduating from UW-Green Bay, and a May Commencement milestone was cause for celebration. Total fall 2012 headcount enrollment is 6,790, an increase of 125 students — nearly two percentage points — over the year before. December Commencement is shaping up to be another record-breaker (more than 450 will graduate; more than 330 will walk), as was the May before that and the December before that. UW-Green Bay also hit a major milestone in May 2012, when our 30,000th alumnus crossed the Commencement stage. Housing hit a new record, too, this fall, with 2,050 students set to live on campus.
Watch it:
• Check out video from May 2012 Commencement — and recognition of our 30,000th alum
First Nations Studies wins Board of Regents Diversity Award
UW-Green Bay’s First Nations Studies program earned the 2012 UW System Board of Regents Diversity Award, with special mention of the program’s emphases on pairing with Tribal Elders and promoting involvement with local tribal communities. Part of the Professional Program in Education, First Nations Studies is an interdisciplinary degree program that reflects the holistic worldview of the indigenous people of Turtle Island (North America). The program is committed to the study of American Indian culture, philosophy, history and language, as well as the social, economic and political status of indigenous people and their communities. The Regents Diversity Award was established in 2009 to recognize and support people and programs that foster access and success in university life for historically underrepresented populations. First Nations won in the Institutional/Unit category, one of three categories in which the award is given.
Learn more:
• First Nations Studies wins UW Regents Diversity Award
Photos:
• The Day in Photos: First Nations Award
Sensational shows, sellouts mark first season of Weidner Center re-launch
It was a big year for the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts, with the September 2012 launch of the first University-sponsored Performing Arts Season in six years, the hiring of an executive director, and marketing and fundraising initiatives that are yielding gains in attendance and financial support. The April 2012 UW-Green Bay Theatre and Music production of Cabaret — Theatre’s first on the Weidner mainstage in more than a decade — served as a popular and successful unofficial kickoff for the Weidner’s reinvigoration, setting the stage (no pun intended) for more good things to come. So far this fall, that’s included two sellouts — “The Price is Right, Live!” and TLC’s “Long Island Medium” — as well as other stellar shows and plenty of buzz. The Green Bay Symphony Orchestra moved its administrative offices to the Weidner during the summer, a commonsense move that facilitates collaboration between campus and community. The Weidner is celebrating its 20th anniversary in style this season, with more great shows to come in 2013.
Learn more:
• Check out coverage of the Performing Arts Season announcement
• Visit the Weidner Center website
National footprint: We’re military friendly, eco friendly and top tier, say prominent publications
UW-Green Bay received high marks from some prominent publications in 2012, earning accolades for service to military veterans, an eco-friendly campus and all-around regional quality. Statistics show UW-Green Bay enrolls a larger percentage of veterans and their eligible dependents than any other four-year public university in Wisconsin, with 355 individuals receiving veterans benefits, including 252 vets and service members as well as dependents. Victory Media, Inc. named UW-Green Bay a “military friendly” school for the fourth consecutive year in 2012.
The campus also received kudos for its efforts to go green, and was included in the Princeton Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges: 2012 Edition. And we earned another top-tier ranking on the annual U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges list, climbing 12 spots in the “Best Regional Universities — Midwest” Category.
Student body more diverse, better prepared than ever
The University welcomed its most diverse student body to date in fall 2012, with 706 students who come from multicultural backgrounds. It marks the first time students of color make up more than 10 percent of the total student population, a proportion that’s increased from 8.1 percent just three years ago. UW-Green Bay’s incoming freshman class also was the most diverse to date, with more than 100 students of color attending. The freshman class also was well prepared academically, among the best ever in terms of average ACT score (22.6) and average high school GPA (a record 3.34).
Telling and celebrating our story: 360° of Learning
UW-Green Bay students, faculty and staff long have celebrated what makes this University great — but articulating its pluses sometimes eluded even the most savvy of wordsmiths. Enter 360° of Learning, the new brand platform that concisely celebrates the University’s core commitment to interdisciplinary, problem-focused learning. It means we offer a comprehensive educational experience that offers students multiple perspectives and viewpoints, through a purposeful, interdisciplinary curriculum — one that connects students to exceptional faculty and internationally recognized scholars on a beautiful campus with superb facilities. It also means an array of engaging co-curricular and leadership development experiences, and the opportunity to apply learning to real-world problems through a host of traditional and online means.
That’s certainly something to celebrate – and on Nov. 14, we did, with a brand launch celebration featuring a 360 photo in the quad, ping-pong ball prize drop, photo booth, treats and more. The icing on the 360 cake was the premiere of the 360° of Learning video, an awesome 60-second spot that captures the essence of a UW-Green Bay education. The new brand addresses a priority that arose from Chancellor Tom Harden’s Strategic Planning initiative, reflecting what we heard from stakeholders on campus and in the community — we needed to better tell our story. And with 360° of Learning, now we can.
Watch now:
• 60-second brand spot
• Video with highlights from brand launch day
• Fun, frenetic time-lapse that shows how the photo in the quad was formed
