Top 15 UW-Green Bay Moments of 2021

The year 2021 was a significant year for the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay! Take a look back at the University’s most noteworthy moments of 2021…

UW-Green Bay partners to vaccinate community

UW-Green Bay and Prevea partner to open the largest COVID-19 Vaccination site in Northeast Wisconsin on the Green Bay campus. The Vaccination clinic located at the Kress Events Center opened on Jan. 18, 2021. Later, vaccination sites were opened at the Marinette, Manitowoc and Sheboygan Campuses as well. Over the four sites, the Prevea staff administered more than 105,000 doses during five months of operation. Additionally, UW-Green Bay nursing students participated in administering vaccines in and around Green Bay.

Marinette Higher Education Coalition gains momentum

Recently, NWTC Marinette and UW-Green Bay, Marinette Campus formed a new partnership called the Marinette Higher Education Coalition. The partnership means expanded services, more student activities and seamless learning opportunities for students at both institutions. 

Leaders Jennifer Flatt, NWTC Marinette dean, and Cindy Bailey, UW-Green Bay, Marinette Campus, campus executive officer shared insight:”As with any coalition, UW-Green Bay, Marinette Campus and NWTC Marinette are joining efforts because we share common goals. We both fulfill educational needs beyond high school. We both provide workforce training, whether serving individuals or groups from local employers. We are both committed to lifelong learning through credit and non-credit opportunities. We both exist to help foster economic development in our region and meet people’s needs.

One purpose of the Coalition is to ensure that we are not duplicating the services needed by the region. In reducing any duplication, we can use our resources to expand what is available and bring greater opportunities to the area.” Watch the video.

Archives research featured on PBS’s “Finding Your Roots”

UW-Green Bay Archives and Area Research Center research appeared on the nationally broadcast “Finding Your Roots” on Feb. 9, 2021! The PBS genealogy program features celebrities learning for the first time about powerful and personal stories of their ancestors. The episode that Archives contributed to featured award-winning actor and Green Bay-native Tony Shalhoub. Read more.

LGBTQ+ Services Expanded

In early 2021, The University Pride Center announced an expansion to have presences on all four campuses and the Kress Events Center, staffed by interns. Previously, centers were only available at the Green Bay and Marinette Campuses. The staffing of the interns is made possible by generous funding support from the LaForce Family Foundation. Pride Center interns will provide social support and resources for LGBTQ+ students, their families and allies, and will collaborate with local LGBTQ+ community organizations on Pride events and initiatives. Read more.

UW-Green Bay receives Bee City USA® Designation

Bee City USA® has announced early this year that the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay has met the standards for certification as an official Bee Campus USA affiliate.

The application for certification was submitted by the UW-Green Bay Sustainability Committee chaired by Prof. David Voelker (Humanities and History). Voelker noted that “The Sustainability Committee greeted Professor Amy Wolf’s (Natural and Applied Sciences) proposal that UWGB seek the Bee Campus USA certification with excitement. We see this program as a wonderful opportunity to build on work that we are already doing, and we welcome the chance to collaborate with the Cofrin Center for Biodiversity, CSET faculty, and Facilities Management to promote pollinator-friendly habitat on our campus.”

Cofrin Arboretum Gateway, the open fields and woodlands of the Green Bay Campus support a wealth of pollinator species, including the federally endangered Rusty-patched Bumble Bee and at least two other at-risk native bee species. Read more.

Institute for Women’s Leadership Launched

Recognizing the region’s growing need for a pipeline of women leaders and the distinct challenges faced by professional women in the workplace, UW-Green Bay established the Institute for Women’s Leadership. The Institute serves as a comprehensive leadership resource for women in Northeast Wisconsin and will strive to eliminate barriers that narrow opportunities at all stages in their professional careers, from rising women of promise to woman executives. The inaugural event was a virtual kickoff in celebration of International Women’s Day. Read more.

Common Grounds Celebrates Renovation with Grand Reopening

The space that once held the Corner Store and Common Grounds was renovated to be an open-concept café with retail. The new contemporary rustic-inspired space offers an inviting and warm study and meeting space with an abundance of natural light and celebrated a grand reopening March 22-24, 2021. See more, including a video of the space.

Green Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve Project kicks off with public events

UW-Green Bay and area partners are attempting to establish a National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) for the Green Bay watershed. The NERR system is a national network of 29 sites across the coastal U.S., designed to practice and promote stewardship of coasts and estuaries through innovative research, education, and training using a place-based system of protected areas. The regional NERR designation would promote a coordinating force to manage, restore and protect the Green Bay ecosystem, with a programmatic focus on four sectors—research, education, stewardship, and training—to help protect the world’s largest freshwater estuary. This project kicked off in April with two virtual events open to the public. Read more.

UW-Green Bay Summer Camps offered at all four campuses

This past summer UW-Green Bay summer camps engaged young minds in more than 30 in-person and virtual youth programs and camps designed to inspire creativity, exploration and learning for students going into grades 2 through 12 n areas such as STEM, art, music and more. For the first time, camps were offered at each campus! Learn more about Summer Camps.

Green Bay Campus hosted 2021 WIAA State Softball Tournament

The UW-Green Bay and Green Bay Phoenix Athletics hosted the 2021 WIAA State Softball Tournament at newly-constructed King Park for 15 total games on June 28-30, 2021, including all five state championship games, welcoming fans and communities from across the state of Wisconsin. See more.

State budget provides funding for UW-Green Bay projects

On July 8, 2021, Governor Tony Evers signed the state budget which will provide a total of $102,270,000 in funding for UW-Green Bay. The funding provides $96,297,000 for the replacement for the Cofrin Library into the new Cofrin Research Center, $3,268,000 for renovation of the Studio Arts Visual Arts Laboratory, $2,349,000 for renovation of the Mary Ann Cofrin/Wood Hall Health Care Skills & Simulation Laboratory, and $356,800 in annual Tribal Gaming Funds to be used for First Nations programming and summer camps. See more.

Marinette, Manitowoc and Sheboygan Campuses join in the ‘Painting of the Phoenix’ tradition

It’s a Welcome Week tradition in recent years for new students to help “Paint the Phoenix” on the Green Bay Campus. The Phoenix is located between Mary Ann Cofrin Hall and the University Union. This year the tradition expanded to the Manitowoc, Marinette and Sheboygan campuses with first-year students picking up rollers and leaving their mark. See more.

Inaugural Green Bay Viking Festival takes place on Green Bay Campus

On Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021, Vikings from near and far gathered and raised an encampment on the UW-Green Bay Viking House grounds (near Wood Hall) on the Green Bay Campus. Viking festivals are celebrations of Scandinavian history and culture. This year’s inaugural event was free and open to the public and was hosted in honor and memory of Viking storyteller Adrian Spendlow, who passed away this past year. He was the husband of UW-Green Bay Professor Heidi Sherman. See photos and videos.

Sixth Year of Enrollment Growth

Bucking trends in the state and in higher education, UW-Green Bay once again saw enrollment gain, this year on all four of its campuses (Green Bay, Marinette, Manitowoc and Sheboygan). Final fall enrollment numbers showed a 9% gain. It’s the sixth straight year of enrollment gain for the University and the second year in a row as the fastest-growing UW System University. Read more.

Sheboygan Campus Opens a Maker Space

UW-Green Bay, Sheboygan Campus hosted a open house for their new Maker Space on Monday, Nov. 8. The Maker Space provides students and community members with the opportunity to collaborate, communicate, think critically and create. Features include 3D printing, Vinyl cutter, Button maker, Coloring books for kids, Puzzles, Arduino examples, model rocket prep and a solar telescope. See photos.