News

Tommy Thompson, on January 7, announced that he will be resigning from his position as interim president of the UW System effective March 18, 2022. Thompson has served in that role for the past 18 months, succeeding President Ray Cross after a failed search for a successor. It is hoped that a new president will be named in the near future. Thompson’s letter may be viewed here.

UW System Regent President Edmund Manydeeds III issued the following statement on January 7:
“Tommy Thompson was the right man at the right time. His leadership has helped carry us through a
pandemic and set the standard for managing during a crisis. As important, President Thompson has been a
relentless champion of the University of Wisconsin. It showed in everything he did as System President. He
raised the profile of public higher education in our state and ensured that it is relevant, not only to students,
parents, faculty, and staff whose leadership we entrusted to him, but also to all Wisconsinites.
“He answered the call as one of Wisconsin’s greatest public leaders by accepting this role in spite of the
challenges in front of him. We are proud of what he accomplished in his time here and consider him, as
always, a lifelong friend of the University of Wisconsin. We were fortunate to have such a strong advocate
and evaluator lead the UW System.”

UW-Whitewater Interim Chancellor Jim Henderson issued the following statement on January 7:

“On behalf of the Warhawk family, I’d like to extend my deepest appreciation to President Tommy Thompson for his service to the UW System and the state of Wisconsin. He has led the System through one of the most challenging times in our history with unmatched energy and passion. We couldn’t have asked for a more enthusiastic champion of UW-Whitewater and the state universities as a whole — someone who fundamentally understands our collective educational, economic, and cultural impact and fiercely promotes our contributions. His tireless advocacy and efforts to provide the universities with resources to carry out our unique missions have been critical to the success of our students and will be felt for years to come. And we will always remember his embrace of the Warhawk Strut!”

Editor’s Note: This information was recommended to the Banner by Alison Gunnink.

Several Whitewater students were recognized by the University of Wisconsin-Madison for the Fall 2021 Semester:

Austin Kaja, Dean’s List

Caroline Crowley, Dean’s List

Carson Ellenwood, Dean’s List

CC Liang, Dean’s List

Connor Steinke, Dean’s List

Grace Ejnik, Dean’s Honor List

Jaden Henneman, Dean’s Honor List

Milena Maroske, Dean’s List

Mohamed Mohamed, Honor Roll

Nick Kuzoff, Dean’s List

Reid Gunnink, Dean’s List

Editor’s Note: The following information was provided by the Young Auditorium.

Editor’s note: The following announcement was posted at UW-W on January 10.

Message from Chancellor Henderson on Administrative Affairs leadership 

Dear University Colleagues,

As we continue our search for a permanent vice chancellor for administrative affairs, I wanted to share with you that Taryn Carothers has decided to step down from the interim vice chancellor role, and to resume her previous position as controller, effective January 10, 2022. Since September of 2020, Taryn has led the Administrative Affairs unit and served as a critical campus leader as we secured resources and navigated the logistics of the COVID-19 pandemic, and collectively worked to solidify our university budget. I’m very appreciative of her service and glad to have her remain part of the Warhawk Family.

I’m pleased to announce that Jeff Arnold will assume the role of interim vice chancellor for administrative affairs starting January 10, 2022.  Jeff is well known to our community as he served as vice chancellor from 2011 to 2017 after a 25-year career with UW System. His appointment provides us with an extremely knowledgeable expert in budget planning, financial administration and UW System financial policies as well as invaluable experience with the UW-Whitewater budget. Jeff is an experienced and respected leader with a passion for higher education and UW-Whitewater. He served all of the UW System institutions for more than 10 years as the director of financial services, holds a business degree from UW-Madison and is also a Certified Public Accountant. 

Thank you in advance for supporting our Administrative Affairs colleagues during this transition. We have secured the assistance of the search firm Isaacson, Miller in the search for the right vice chancellor for administrative affairs, and they will be working with us to hire someone by the end of the spring semester.  I look forward to working with their team and our search committee to find the right candidate to help lead UW-Whitewater’s administrative team.  

Jim Henderson
Interim Chancellor

Editor’s Note: The following information was provided by Walworth County.

The public is invited to attend an open forum with officers from the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office, City of Elkhorn, City of Lake Geneva, and the City of Delavan on Jan. 19 at 6 p.m.  at Matheson Memorial Library in Elkhorn. A virtual attendance option is available. The conversation will focus on relationship building, what’s happening in our local communities, community resources, and more. This event is being hosted by the Elkhorn Area School District Resiliency Coalition.

Editor’s Note: The following information was provided by Young Auditorium.

Editor’s note: Per this announcement, face coverings are still being required on the UW-W campus through January 14. Attendees may wish to check this page to review the COVID related requirements as of the date of the show.

It’s time once again for #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society. This month we are featuring winter photos taken by local amateur photographer Andrew Scholl between c. 1895 and 1910. Over 400 glass plate negatives taken by Scholl are in the historical society’s collections.

This week’s image is a rare one showing the full western block of the north side of Center Street. Taken during the winter, it features a real “one horse open sleigh” in the foreground. And note the two gentlemen in their heavy fur coats to the right of the picture.

Join us next week for another winter Scholl image.

(#2825GP Whitewater Historical Society)

Editor’s Note: This information was supplied by the public library.

The Irvin L. Young Memorial Library received a Makerspace sponsorship from Generac Power Systems. A Makerspace is a collaborative space where people can work on projects, create things and explore new technology, programs, or software. The Makerspace, also known as “Area 431”, is a place to make, share and explore.

Generac’s contribution to the Library’s Makerspace made it possible to provide the new Digital Creation Station. A laptop with animation, illustration, and audiovisual editing software, headphones, and a microphone are now available for all library visitors to use, including students.

“We appreciate Generac’s investment in the library and our community,” said Torrie Thomas, Makerspace & Programming Librarian at the library. “We continuously look for ways to update the programs and services we offer to Whitewater residents.”

One of Generac’s community engagement focuses is STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) education. Multiple STEM skills can be utilized and developed in the Digital Creation Station.

By providing this sort of hands-on learning opportunity, Generac hopes that it can inspire experimentation, exploration, and power possibilities.

Generac Power Systems has a manufacturing facility in Whitewater, employing more than 1,550 people and is a leading energy technology company.

Editor’s Note: The following information was provided by Troy University.

Abby Grosinske of Whitewater, WI has been named to the Chancellor’s List at Troy University for the Fall Semester/Term 2 of the 2021-2022 academic year.

The Chancellor’s List honors full-time undergraduate students who are registered for at least 12 semester hours and who earn a grade point average of 4.0.

About Troy University

Troy University is a public, historic, international university with 22,500 students and 154,000 alumni. Students choose TROY for its quality academic programs, reasonable costs and availability of financial aid, outstanding faculty, and flexible in-class and online class offerings. Students on the Troy, Ala. campus enjoy a traditional college experience, while adult students are the centers of attention at campuses in Dothan, Montgomery and Phenix City, Ala., as well as at locations around the world and online.

El Distrito Escolar Unificado de Whitewater se complace en anunciar nuestras fechas para la Sesión de Primavera de Partners in Play.

Editor’s Note: This information was provided by the Whitewater Unified School District. Per a post on the WUSD website, as of January 8 the first session for 0-2 year olds already has a waiting list. Signup for the next session will open on February 7. The first session for 3-5 year olds still has openings.

The Whitewater Unified School District has teamed up with the UWW Early Childhood Department and Premier Bank to create free enrichment sessions for kids ranging from birth to 5. We are extremely excited about this opportunity!! These are open to any child 0-5 in any town. The curriculum for these sessions will be created and taught by WUSD and the Early Childhood Department at UWW. There will be two sessions a week offered for 0-2 year olds and two sessions a week offered for 3-5 year olds. The sessions for the 0-2 year olds will be 45 minutes long. The sessions for 3-5 year olds will be an hour long. The spring session will have three sessions available. Each session will be three weeks. Each session will be available for sign up two weeks prior to the session starting. Parents/guardians will stay with their child during the session. Sessions will be fun and interactive for all involved. All sessions will be offered in English and Spanish. Sessions will be held at the University Community Engagement Center (1260 W Main St – the former Sentry building).