News

Whitewater Resident Leif Sahyun Receives Degree

WORCESTER, MA (06/25/2020)– Late this spring, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) celebrated the Class of 2020 with a socially distanced commencement season in place of its traditional 152nd Commencement exercises. Leif Sahyun of Whitewater, Wis., was awarded a bachelor of science degree in computer science with high distinction.

Since the Class of 2020 was unable to receive diplomas in person this year, they instead received personal commencement packages, mailed to their home, that that included their diplomas, commencement regalia, and other items to celebrate their successes, as well as a congratulatory video message from President Laurie Leshin. In total, WPI awarded 1,043 bachelor’s degrees, 674 master’s degrees, and 54 doctoral degrees.

In her video message, Leshin made the traditional Commencement walk to the WPI’s iconic Earle Bridge, which students walk over during New Student Orientation and then again when they graduate. She then stopped, turned, and told graduates, “You should be here. But make no mistake: Today is still your day. You’ve walked this bridge together once, and you will walk it again. I can’t wait to see you do just that. Until then, it’s my honor to wait for you.”

WPI plans to hold in-person undergraduate and graduate Commencement ceremonies in the future, at a date to be announced.

About Worcester Polytechnic Institute

WPI, a global leader in project-based learning, is a distinctive, top-tier technological university founded in 1865 on the principle that students learn most effectively by applying the theory learned in the classroom to the practice of solving real-world problems. Recognized by the National Academy of Engineering with the 2016 Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education, WPI’s pioneering project-based curriculum engages undergraduates in solving important scientific, technological, and societal problems throughout their education and at more than 50 project centers around the world. WPI offers more than 50 bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs across 14 academic departments in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts. Its faculty and students pursue groundbreaking research to meet ongoing challenges in health and biotechnology; robotics and the internet of things; advanced materials and manufacturing; cyber, data, and security systems; learning science; and more. www.wpi.edu

UW-Whitewater’s Robert Gehrenbeck and Rebecca Mueller

(Whitewater, WI) UW-Whitewater is proud to announce the award of a MAP (Multi-Arts Production) Fund grant for Native American composer Brent Michael Davids. The grant application was coauthored by Davids and UW-Whitewater Associate Professor of Music, Robert Gehrenbeck, with assistance from Rebecca Mueller in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. UW-Whitewater will serve as David’s official sponsor for the MAP grant, which totals $12,500. 

Davids is one of the nation’s most celebrated Native American composers, with a career spanning forty-three years, including commissions from the Joffrey Ballet, the Kronos Quartet, the National Symphony Orchestra, and Chanticleer. An enrolled member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians, Davids currently resides on the Mohican reservation in northern Wisconsin, between Green Bay and Wausau.

The MAP Fund grant will allow Davids to continue to compose a large work for singers, choir, and orchestra, Requiem for America: Singing for the Invisible People . Begun in 2016, this 90-minute,​ secular ‘anti-Requiem,’ gives voice to America’s invisible people: the American Indians. An interdisciplinary performance work, REQUIEM FOR AMERICA places indigenous voices front and center, with a mission of outreach and community-building that is central to each performance. REQUIEM FOR AMERICA aims to shine a light on historic injustices but at the same time to model and to create solutions in the present, by building collaborative relationships with indigenous artists throughout the country. What makes this project unique is the recruitment of Native American singers, from local tribes and individuals, to perform center stage. As the nucleus of the work in performance, indigenous singers embody the interaction between native and non-native musicians and communities that is at the heart of this project.

A growing consortium of national partners are committing to perform REQUIEM, with the ultimate goal of presenting the work in every state of the nation, collaborating with the local tribal communities for every performance. Each time REQUIEM is performed, the musicians, American Indians and audiences will cultivate new friendships. By joining forces, each performance hopes to build good relations with, and foster greater insights from, America’s first inhabitants.

Additional funding will be needed in order to mount the premiere performance of REQUIEM, which is anticipated to occur in 2022 in Madison, with participation by UW-Whitewater students and faculty. Joining the collegiate and professional musicians on stage will be the Medicine Bear Singers, an intertribal drum circle from northern Wisconsin, and four operatic soloists. For more information about this powerful project, including opportunities for donations in support of its mission, visit www.RequiemForAmerica.com. 

Brent Michael Davids has visited UW-Whitewater and collaborated with Associate Professor Gehrenbeck numerous times over the past ten years. In 2016 Gehrenbeck, the UW-Whitewater Chamber Singers, and the Medicine Bear Singers premiered “Sanctus: Singing for Power” from REQUIEM. The following year Gehrenbeck commissioned Davids to write Singing for Water in support of Native American Water Protectors. Last year, Gehrenbeck and the Chamber Singers performed Davids’ Native American Suite on their international tour to Germany and Poland.

The Multi-Arts Production (MAP) Fund is one of the leading US supporters of diversity in the performing arts. In 2020, MAP awarded $1.3 million in grants to 171 performing artists and arts organizations. “In a world of pervasive injustice, dreaming is a privilege. The MAP Fund has shared the responsibility of building a more just arts practice by centering artists’ imaginations and supporting their capacity to dream, enact, and construct their work for more than 30 years. Please join us in celebrating the spirit and tenacity of performing artists who continue to transform our world in revolutionary ways” (https://mapfundblog.org/map-blog/).

Elizabeth Katzman (left) and Hannah Hoffmann, both of Whitewater, made a special delivery to members and leaders of the Stone School 4-H Club to celebrate June Dairy Month. Katzman – who will be a senior at Whitewater High School – serves as president of the club, while Hoffmann – a recent Whitewater High School graduate – serves as secretary. 

SEOC marks 100 days of activation, accomplishments essential to statewide efforts

MADISON  —​ Gov. Tony Evers today applauded the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) on their diligent response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as June 21 marked the 100th day that the SEOC has been activated in response to the pandemic. This is the longest continuous activation in Wisconsin history.  The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) working alongside Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM) staff, all state agencies, the Wisconsin National Guard (WING), Epic, Exact Sciences, and nonprofits such as the United Way and the Salvation Army successfully implemented a state coordinated effort to flatten the curve and box in the virus.  “The hard-work of the SEOC early on in the pandemic was vital in protecting the health and safety of Wisconsinites,” said Gov. Evers. “On behalf of the state, I would like to thank all those committed employees that work diligently to ensure our communities are safe, our frontline workers are protected, and that Wisconsin continues to remain prepared to battle COVID-19.” Some of the SEOC’s notable accomplishments involve preparing for outbreaks by increasing hospital and lab capacity, acquiring and distributing personal protective equipment (PPEs) and other necessary supplies, ramping up testing infrastructure, expanding the contact tracing system, providing the public with COVID-19 updates, and ensuring the state safely reopens. Through the funding provided to Wisconsin under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the SEOC strategically directed funds toward programs and initiatives that address some of Wisconsin’s most urgent needs caused by the pandemic including a $1 billion investment  in testing, contact tracing, operations, and response, a $100 million investment  for long-term care, home- and community-based providers, and a $200 million investment aiding local governments in their COVID-19 response. In addition, the SEOC mobilized more than 3,800 WING citizen soldiers and airmen to serve as poll workers in the April 7 election, operate a state warehouse to receive and transport PPE, train temporary nursing assistants, and conduct a flyover salute to the state’s healthcare workers. As of today, the Wisconsin National Guard alone, has collected more than 145,000 specimens at 190 testing sites in approximately 55 counties across the state. Collectively, the SEOC took Wisconsin’s lab capacity from the ability to perform zero COVID-19 tests in early march to the current daily capacity to perform 17,668 tests. As of June 21, Wisconsin has now tested 491,702 people. While these are among just some of the responses led by the SEOC, these major accomplishments have been instrumental in the statewide efforts to slow the spread of the virus and get back to our Wisconsin way of life. For up-to-date information about Wisconsin’s COVID-19 response, visit the DHS COVID-19 webpage.We encourage you to follow @DHSWI on Facebook, Twitter, or dhs.wi on Instagram for more information on  COVID-19.

On June 17, Al Hutchison (center), President of the UW-W Community Optimist Club, presented a check for $500 for the Whitewater Food Pantry to Co-Managers Barb Quast (left) and Pat Chaput (right).

Mr. Hutchison indicated that the donation was made possible by the sponsors and 23 teams that participated in the Optimist Club’s 7th Annual Trivia Night on February 21.

Photo by Marjorie Stoneman, Whitewater Banner staff

Carol McCormick writes, “Mom and three kits taking advantage of an early mulberry season. Her other two didn’t make it to the picnic on time! A family of five is not unusual, but the first time for us on Trippe Lake.”

Carol McCormick’s description of the second photo, which she titled Living in Harmony: “Just a follow up from the fox sighting. A young fox in the woods willing to share mulberries with a sandhill crane. Neither was intimidated by each other. Nice to see!”

— Our thanks to Ms. McCormick for sharing these special photographs with us.

— Our Readers Share: We hope that you might have something that you’d be willing to share.  Anything that’s been created by someone else should, of course, be credited, and you should ask their permission if you’re able. We cannot post copyrighted material without permission. We can’t guarantee that we’ll have space for all submissions, and contributions will be subject to editorial board approval. The one definite exclusion is anything politically oriented. We will assume that you’re willing for us to include your name as the submitter unless you indicate that you prefer to remain anonymous. Send to whitewaterbanner@gmail.com or click on “submit a story” near the top right of our homepage.  Thanks for thinking about this!

From the UW-Whitewater Sustainability site

Both the UW-Whitewater campus and City of Whitewater have received designations from the Arbor Day Foundation for our commitment to prioritize and protect trees (Tree City USA, Tree Campus USA).  Additionally, UW-Whitewater has received Level II accreditation by Arb Net, the Interactive Community of Arboreta.  To honor UW-Whitewater’s Sesquicentennial in 2018, “The Salisbury Idea” was launched in efforts to plant one of every tree native to Wisconsin on campus grounds and create a virtual tour to recognize the unique qualities of each species of tree.  As part of this project, a digital map was created to catalog approximately 1,700 trees at UW-Whitewater.  The City of Whitewater Urban Forestry Committee engages in activities such as surveying citizens about local trees, nominating notable trees for recognition and protection, and responding to threats from invasive species.  The focus on protecting tree resources in Whitewater is truly a joint venture, so we are excited to extend this partnership even further.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the UW-Whitewater Sustainability Office and City of Whitewater are coming together to continue advocating for trees by launching the “50 Trees for 50 Years” campaign in hopes of planting 50 trees throughout the campus and community before Arbor Day 2021.  Trees will be planted in city parks, local elementary school grounds, and prominent areas of campus for current and future generations to enjoy.  Despite the challenges we face, it is important to keep investing in the health and well-being of future generations and trees offer a variety of benefits that accomplish that goal.

Make a Donation – Tree benefits

• Trees clean the air we breathe
• Trees help handle stormwater
• Trees make communities healthier
• Trees increase property values
• Trees keep us cooler
• Trees save energy
• Trees shelter and feed wildlife
• Trees are good business
• Trees pay us back

Your financial donations to support these efforts will make a difference by helping us plant an even more diverse selection of trees around our community. All funds raised will be used to purchase trees from a local nursery, labor costs, and plaques for each of the trees planted. It costs approximately $250 to plant one tree and care for it for the first year. We hope to have fulfilled our goal of funding 50 trees over the next year and we plan to host an event, as appropriate to protect public health, to celebrate and recognize all donors before planting the trees.

Tree plantings make great gifts! All donations will receive a digital certificate which can be personalized to include “in memory of,” “in honor of,” or “in support of.” Donations of $250 or more will have the option to select a preferred planting location, tree type, and customized tree plaque. Other donation amounts have additional incentive options including a digital certificate and access to exclusive events.

Donor Gift	$25	$50	$100	$250
Digital Certificate	X	X	X	X
Exclusive Event: Tree History Tour at UWW		X	X	X
Exclusive Event: Tree Identification Walk			X	X
Select species of tree sapling				X
Customized Plaque				X
Preferred Tree Location				X

Donate Now! Please click here for online giving. Donations are made through the UW-Whitewater Foundation, and are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.

Offline: Checks must be made payable to UW-Whitewater Foundation, Inc. Please include Sustainability Program Support in the memo line of the check, and mail your donation to:

UW-Whitewater Foundation, Inc.
Alumni Center
800 W Main St
Whitewater, WI 53190

Or call 262-472-1105 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CDT to make a credit card gift by phone.

Employer Matching Gifts: Many companies match employee contributions to increase the impact of giving. Check with your employer for current matching gift program information.