Association News
From Prodigy to Professor
At its Cabinet 99 Symposium on November 8, 2002, the Wisconsin Alumni Association will honor physics Professor Bernice Durand with its $10,000 Faculty and Staff Recognition Award.
Durand has been a pioneer for women in science since her youth. At the age of four, she started "inventing" math problems not taught until college level. By age fifteen, she was employed at the Synchrotron in Ames, Iowa, and entered Harvard as a physics major at age sixteen. Durand later returned to Ames and, in 1971, became only the second woman to earn a PhD in physics from Iowa State University.
Her experience as a role model at UW-Madison began in 1970, when she was the only female lecturer in the physics department. She's now involved in the Women Faculty Mentoring Program and the National Science Foundation-sponsored Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute. She feels strongly about encouraging women to pursue science as a profession.
Durand has been a pioneer for women in science since her youth. At the age of four, she started "inventing" math problems not taught until college level. By age fifteen, she was employed at the Synchrotron in Ames, Iowa, and entered Harvard as a physics major at age sixteen. Durand later returned to Ames and, in 1971, became only the second woman to earn a PhD in physics from Iowa State University.
Her experience as a role model at UW-Madison began in 1970, when she was the only female lecturer in the physics department. She's now involved in the Women Faculty Mentoring Program and the National Science Foundation-sponsored Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute. She feels strongly about encouraging women to pursue science as a profession.
"It's extremely rewarding intellectually, and very exciting," she explains. "Women in science need to be prepared to be role models and take on extra responsibilities, because there are still so few of us."
"Professor Durand exemplifies the ideals that Cabinet 99 endeavors to achieve," says Paula Bonner MS'78, WAA's president and CEO. "Not only has she made outstanding contributions to the university in her field, but also to women in science through her mentoring, teaching, and advocacy on campus."
Over the last thirty years, Durand has helped shape the campus climate at UW-Madison. When she chaired the Letters and Science Curriculum Committee in 1988, she oversaw the development of an ethnic studies requirement. As co-chair of the Student Conduct Policy Committee in 1989, she championed the fight against hate speech on campus. She notes, "In restrospect, these were warm-ups for what I've done since. Every experience contributes to the next."
"Professor Durand exemplifies the ideals that Cabinet 99 endeavors to achieve," says Paula Bonner MS'78, WAA's president and CEO. "Not only has she made outstanding contributions to the university in her field, but also to women in science through her mentoring, teaching, and advocacy on campus."
Over the last thirty years, Durand has helped shape the campus climate at UW-Madison. When she chaired the Letters and Science Curriculum Committee in 1988, she oversaw the development of an ethnic studies requirement. As co-chair of the Student Conduct Policy Committee in 1989, she championed the fight against hate speech on campus. She notes, "In restrospect, these were warm-ups for what I've done since. Every experience contributes to the next."
In the 1990s, Durand chaired the University Library Committee, Diversity Plan 2008, the University Committee, the Chancellor Search, and now the Athletic Board. During the summers, she stays up-to-date on her research in theoretical particle physics at the Aspen Center for Physics.
Cabinet 99, a WAA women's initiative, strives both to develop leadership skills and to provide opportunities for women to practice leadership. This year's symposium will focus on health issues of interest to women. To register for the Cabinet 99 Symposium, visit uwalumni.com/cabinet99.
—Erin Hannan '00
Cabinet 99, a WAA women's initiative, strives both to develop leadership skills and to provide opportunities for women to practice leadership. This year's symposium will focus on health issues of interest to women. To register for the Cabinet 99 Symposium, visit uwalumni.com/cabinet99.
—Erin Hannan '00
New Board Members
At its April meeting, the Wisconsin Alumni Association's board of directors selected Jon Graan '69 as its new chair. Graan, a financial adviser, has sold investments in the Chicago area since 1985 and has served on WAA's board since 1993.
As a volunteer with the UW Alumni Club of Chicago, Graan was involved with the Adopt-a-School program, pairing mentors with inner-city high school students. He also volunteers with the Posse Foundation, which recruits student leaders from public high schools to form multicultural teams called "posses." Through an intensive eight-month program, the teams then prepare for enrollment at top universities nationwide. The first Posse groups arrived at UW-Madison this fall.
"I think that the Posse Program has the potential to be very, very far-reaching, not only for the university, but also for this specific issue of diversity on campus," Graan says.
According to WAA President and CEO Paula Bonner MS'78, "Jon's expertise and activism in scholarship and diversity programs will harmonize with WAA's exciting and progressive agenda for the future."
As a volunteer with the UW Alumni Club of Chicago, Graan was involved with the Adopt-a-School program, pairing mentors with inner-city high school students. He also volunteers with the Posse Foundation, which recruits student leaders from public high schools to form multicultural teams called "posses." Through an intensive eight-month program, the teams then prepare for enrollment at top universities nationwide. The first Posse groups arrived at UW-Madison this fall.
"I think that the Posse Program has the potential to be very, very far-reaching, not only for the university, but also for this specific issue of diversity on campus," Graan says.
According to WAA President and CEO Paula Bonner MS'78, "Jon's expertise and activism in scholarship and diversity programs will harmonize with WAA's exciting and progressive agenda for the future."
Helping to set that agenda are eight new board members for the 2002-2003 year: Daniel Burrell, Jr. PhD'92, dean of the Milwaukee Area Technical College; Christa Stern Eilers '92, attorney with Michael Best & Friedrich in Madison; James Goetz '64, president of Direct Dialog, Ltd., an executive development program in Brooklyn, New York; Timothy Higgins '77, president of Chiropractic Service Network, Inc., in Appleton, Wisconsin; James Moran '53, LLB'55, partner in Holland & Hart in Aspen, Colorado, and former president of the Colorado State Bar; Jorge Obeso MS'85, PhD'92, chair of biology, health, and wellness at Florida's Miami-Dade Community College; Anne Gilfry Schierl '54, MD'57, medical consultant at New Directions Counseling Center in Stevens Point, Wisconsin; and Ross Widmoyer '00 of US Bancorp Piper Jaffray in Minneapolis.
Wade Fetzer '59 will replace Barbara Wegner '62 as one of WAA's representatives on the UW Athletic Board.
This year, WAA's board created two new ex-officio positions for school and college representatives. Margo Edl will represent the School of Veterinary Medicine, and Jeanan Yasiri-Coon MS'85 the School of Human Ecology, giving the board an even closer link to the campus community.
—Candice Andrews '77
Wade Fetzer '59 will replace Barbara Wegner '62 as one of WAA's representatives on the UW Athletic Board.
This year, WAA's board created two new ex-officio positions for school and college representatives. Margo Edl will represent the School of Veterinary Medicine, and Jeanan Yasiri-Coon MS'85 the School of Human Ecology, giving the board an even closer link to the campus community.
—Candice Andrews '77
GLBTAC Awards
UW-Madison's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Alumni Council (GLBTAC) has selected two Madison-area educators as recipients of its 2002 Distinguished Alumni Awards. Edgewood College Professor Jay Hatheway PhD'92 and Middleton High School teacher Lisa Aarli MS'00 were honored during the GLBTAC's annual alumni brunch in July.
The GLBTAC, which works to support and encourage a positive social and academic environment throughout the university community, has been naming distinguished alumni since 1992. The organization selects its award recipients from among UW-Madison graduates who have made significant contributions to their communities or their professions.
The GLBTAC, which works to support and encourage a positive social and academic environment throughout the university community, has been naming distinguished alumni since 1992. The organization selects its award recipients from among UW-Madison graduates who have made significant contributions to their communities or their professions.
Hatheway is a prominent speaker both locally and nationally on the issue of military policy regarding gays and lesbians. A veteran of the army special forces, he has testified before Congress and written widely about both military and GLBT topics. In 1987, the Wisconsin State Journal named him one of "Ten Who Made a Difference" in recognition of his work on HIV infection in rural Wisconsin.
Hatheway currently chairs the history department at Madison's Edgewood College, and he has written numerous books, articles, and papers, including Guilty as Charged, a memoir of his court-martial.
Aarli teaches English at Middleton High School, where she also ad-vises the Alliance, a group composed of gay and straight students that raises awareness of the effects of homophobia. During the 1999-2000 school year, Aarli built a coalition between the Alliance and other student groups to create a "pledge of respect." Hundreds of students signed the pledge, a promise to accept all people and work to make Middleton High School a safe place. Aarli was also named the Woman of the Year by Madison's OutReach in June 2002.
—John Allen
Hatheway currently chairs the history department at Madison's Edgewood College, and he has written numerous books, articles, and papers, including Guilty as Charged, a memoir of his court-martial.
Aarli teaches English at Middleton High School, where she also ad-vises the Alliance, a group composed of gay and straight students that raises awareness of the effects of homophobia. During the 1999-2000 school year, Aarli built a coalition between the Alliance and other student groups to create a "pledge of respect." Hundreds of students signed the pledge, a promise to accept all people and work to make Middleton High School a safe place. Aarli was also named the Woman of the Year by Madison's OutReach in June 2002.
—John Allen
