News

Editor’s Note: The following information was provided by the College of Arts and Communication, Department of Theatre/Dance at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

The College of Arts and Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater announces the annual dance concert “DanceScapes ‘22.” Performances will take place on March 12 – 13 at 2:00 p.m. and March 14 – 15 at 7:30 p.m. in Barnett Theatre. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased online at tickets.uww.edu or by calling (262) 472-2222. On Sunday, March 13, a fundraising raffle will be held in conjunction with the concert performance. The Barnett Theatre is located in the Greenhill Center of the Arts at 950 W. Main St. Do not come to campus if you are ill. For the most up to date campus safety information, visit the Warhawks are Back webpage at the link below. uww.edu/warhawks-are-back.

An annual audience favorite, this concert features works from UW-Whitewater faculty members, award-winning guest artist Li Chiao Ping, student choreographers Kayley Stoner and Teresa Krogmann, and for the very first time, a piece choreographed and performed by all alums. A showcase of unique talent nurtured in our studios, we hope you’ll join us as we celebrate the shared experience of live performance.

The following local students are part of “DanceScapes ’22.”

• Carter Waelchli who is studying Theatre Education, serves as a crew member

• Emma Hendricks who is studying General Business, serves as a dancer

Barbara Grubel, Professor of Dance and Artistic Director of “DanceScapes ‘22” says, “I am so excited to have DanceScapes ‘22 return to live audiences – there’s something so organic about the relationships built between the audience and the dancers while they’re performing onstage – the energy is palpable in the room. This year’s concert has some exciting additions with the return of guest artist Li Chiao Ping, our student choreographers Kayley Stoner and Teressa Krogmann, and for the first time, the addition of a piece choreographed by Elizabeth Szymczak ‘07 and performed by all alumni. Symczak states, “It was the perfect time to come back to UW-Whitewater and work in the studio. As an alumna, I’m extremely grateful to have the opportunity to once again work with Barb; she is truly an asset to the entire institution. Working with other alums on this piece has been an engaging and collaborative experience – I’m excited to have audiences take in the work and hear about their viewing experience.”

Audiences may remember guest choreographer Li Chiao Ping from her work in “DanceScapes ‘21” – a dance for camera work in the virtual concert. This year’s piece is an adaptation of last year’s piece, working with UW-Whitewater students to transform her dance for camera work into one for the stage. Chiao Ping, who was named by Dance Magazine as one of “25 to watch,” makes work for the stage, screen, and other sites for individuals and organizations around the country. She has choreographed for musical theater, opera, and ballet, in addition to concert dance, dance theater, and screen dance. Artistic Director of Li Chiao-Ping Dance and Co-Director of the SF-based Dziga Vertov Performance Group with Douglas Rosenberg from 1992-94, Li was the Director of the Dance Program at Hollins College and on faculty at Mills College. 

On Sunday, March 13, 2022 a fundraising raffle will be held in conjunction with the performance. Beginning at 1:00 p.m., raffle items include a variety of gift certificates, products and more from area businesses. You do not have to attend the concert to participate in the raffle. Proceeds will go directly towards sending UW-Whitewater students to the American College Dance Association Conference each year. During their attendance students are able to learn from other instructors throughout the region, perform selected works for attendees and view works from other choreographers in the region. 

Editor’s Note: The following was provided by Jefferson County Parks.

The Jefferson County Parks Department needs you, and anyone you know who may be interested in participating in a two-part discussion (March 8 and 22) to explore interest and support in creating a Friends of Jefferson County Parks group.   Follow the link to register:  https://forms.gle/XLQS9j7PtkV1sJir5

The overarching goal of the meetings will be to assess unmet needs in our park system, and interest in our community to create a working group committed to addressing those needs. 

Jefferson County, in collaboration with the UW-Extension will be hosting two working group meetings to assess how we can build consensus to get this initiative off the ground. 

The sessions will be blended with in-person and virtual options available and held on:

Session 1: Tuesday March 8^th, 2022 (5:00 to 6:30 PM)
UW-Extension Building Rm 12
864 Collins Rd.
Jefferson, WI 53549

Session 2:  Tuesday March 22, 2022 (5:00 to 6:30 PM)
UW-Extension Building Rm 12
864 Collins Rd.
Jefferson, WI 53549

We kindly ask anyone who is interested in attending to register via the following link: https://forms.gle/XLQS9j7PtkV1sJir5

Editor’s Note: The following was provided by the City of Whitewater Seniors in the Park.

By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

Speaking to a rather modest sized in-person audience for the State of the University address in the Young Auditorium on February 28, Interim UW-Whitewater Chancellor Dr. Jim Henderson indicated that the finances for the school year are expected to be “about even.” This, he stated, was good news, in that the institution does not anticipate having to use the $4.5 million that had been set aside to cover an anticipated deficit for the year. Instead it will be added to the $11 million that had been placed in reserve for deficits in future years. Additionally, $8 million is in a tuition reserve in case enrollment doesn’t meet projections in the future. The current year’s better-than-expected performance is thanks to the receipt of COVID related federal money, restrained expenditures due partly to a number of vacant positions, and the biggest incoming class in four years. It is anticipated that next year’s incoming class will be even larger. Henderson believes that this financial stability, together with a number of other factors, including the development of a new strategic plan, has the university on a path to hire a “first rate chancellor who will stay for an extended period.” Recruitment will begin immediately in the fall, and according to a newly adopted Board of Regents’ policy, the process will be more inclusive, including representatives from all four shared governance groups.

Four Initiatives Have Been Adopted

• With the strong encouragement of all four shared governance bodies, Learning Communities will be reinstated beginning in fall of 2023. A popular concept at many universities in recent decades, learning communities are still an option offered to incoming students at UW-Madison. According to UW’s website, “Embedded within various residence halls, our learning communities are residential spaces that bring together faculty, staff, and students around a specific focus. Exclusive seminars and class sections, events, and connections with instructors and staff help make a large university feel smaller and more intimate.”
• Mental health support for students and staff will be enhanced, as needs are identified by an upcoming survey.
• Recruitment and retention of Black students: In 2012, African American students represented 4.8% of the enrollment; that has dropped to 4%. A particular focus will be directed to prospective students from the Milwaukee, Madison, Beloit, Racine and Kenosha areas.
• Recruitment and retention of Hispanic students. While the number of white students graduating from high school in the area has been falling, there has been an increase in Hispanics.
• Henderson particularly stressed the importance of retaining students. “If a first generation college student drops out, that means we’ve lost several more generations of students from that family,” Henderson lamented. Much of the loss of enrollment during the pandemic has been the result of sophomores and juniors not returning to school.

Henderson acknowledged that media coverage of the university in recent years has been especially focused on the turnover of leadership. With the appointment of Ann Stadler to the new position of Chief Marketing Officer, the word will be getting out about all the good news, for example:

• The university graduates more teachers than any other school in the state.
• The MBA program is ranked #1 in the state.
• The football team drew the highest attendance in Division III this past season.

The event included recognition of employees who have reached employment anniversaries, as high as 35 years. Those employees who reached 25 years of service are entitled to choose a captain’s chair or rocking chair compliments of the UW-W Foundation.

The Congregational UCC, 133 S. Franklin Street, Whitewater, continues to host the free Monday night carry-out spaghetti meals through December 19th, 2022, excluding the Monday holidays—Memorial Day – May 30th, Independence Day – July 4th, Labor Day – September 5th, and Christmas – December 26th. For more information, contact Patty Harmon at the First English Lutheran Church office, (262) 473-5076 or Margie Hammerl at the Congregational UCC, (262) 473-4101.

La congregación UCC ubicada en 133 S. Calle Franklin, en Whitewater continuará ofreciendo cenas de espagueti para llevar todos los lunes hasta el 19 de Diciembre del 2022, con excepto el lunes feriado, (Conmemorativo) Memorial Day – 30 de Mayo, (Independencia) 4 de Julio – 4 de Julio, (dia del Trabajo) Labor Day – 5 de Septiembre y (Navidad) Christmas – 26 de Diciembre. Para más información contacte a Patty Harmon en la oficina de la Iglesia Luterana (262) 473-5076 ó a Margie Hammerl en la Congregación UCC (262) 473-4101.

Editor’s note: The following information was received from UW-Madison.

• Zachary Brantmeier, College of Letters and Science, Bachelor of Science, Computer Sciences and Philosophy
• Nathaniel Jeppsen, College of Letters and Science, Bachelor of Arts, Spanish
• Milena Maroske, School of Education, Bachelor of Science-Kinesiology, Kinesiology

Just over 1,800 students received degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison during a commencement ceremony at the Kohl Center on Dec. 19, 2021.  The ceremony for doctoral, bachelor’s, master’s, and professional graduate marked a sweet return to an in-person celebration at the Kohl Center following a one year pause and a virtual winter commencement in December of 2020 due to COVID-19.

About 1,240 of them took part in the ceremony at the Kohl Center. Total attendance, including graduates, was 5,954. The ceremony was livestreamed so that friends and family from around the world could join in.

“I believe everyone’s journey at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has been a rollercoaster of emotions, and today, all those emotions and tears are justified,” student speaker Jai Khanna told his fellow graduates from the stage.

Keynote speaker Manu Raju, CNN’s chief congressional correspondent, described how he decided, as a UW-Madison freshman, to take a chance and try something new as a sports reporter for The Badger Herald. It was a risk worth taking, he said, just like the bold decision his parents made to immigrate to the U.S. from India. Yet Raju, who earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from UW-Madison in 2002, cautioned that risks won’t always lead to rewards, at least not ones that are always readily apparent. He said his own career has been filled with its fair share of disappointments. “As someone who has been humbled by having my hopes dashed repeatedly, I know it takes a great deal of courage to view our mishaps as bellows that can nourish, rather than extinguish, the embers of our ambition,” he told graduates. “But that courage to continue is precisely what characterizes the University of Wisconsin and its alums. For as we know, fortitude isn’t always necessarily found in the throes of a fight, but in one’s ability to withstand the wake of defeat.”

Wrapping up some unfinished business, the university recognized two people who were conferred honorary degrees virtually at last year’s winter commencement. V. Craig Jordan, a groundbreaking cancer researcher, accepted the honor in person. Michael G. Moore, a pioneer in the field of contemporary distance education, watched the ceremony via live stream.

Chancellor Blank told graduates that a college degree is the best investment they will ever make, and that to have finished their degrees while living through a life-threatening pandemic that disrupted every aspect of life was no small thing.

For more information about UW-Madison, visit http://www.wisc.edu. View the ceremony at https://www.wisc.edu/commencement/ and read about it at https://news.wisc.edu/look-at-us-now-graduates-reclaim-kohl-center-traditions-for-2021-winter-commencement/.

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MEMORY CAFE
OUTDOOR GAMES INSIDE
March 14 – 10:30 AM
Irvin L. Young Memorial Library Community Room

Our Memory Café fun is not dependent on the weather, because we will stay warm and dry
inside! Join us to play Ring Toss, Bucket Ball, Toss Across (bean bag tic-tac-toe) and Lawn Bowling!

Registration is requested.

To Register:
Visit librarymemoryproject.org and click on events.
For questions or to register over the phone, please call Suzanne at (262) 473-0530.

What is a Memory Cafe?
A Memory Cafe is an informal social gathering for those living with early-stage memory loss and their care partner. Please visit librarymemoryproject.org for more information

Editor’s note: The following information was provided by Whitewater Middle School.

WMS 2nd Quarter Honor Roll -Students from 1st and 2nd quarter Honor roll were treated to ice cream sundaes for their outstanding work in receiving a 3.00 GPA or higher. The * in front of the name means the student received all A’s. Congratulations to everyone who made the list.