WAA News
Breaking the Cycle of Poverty
Persistence pays off for innovative program.
“I’ve had a mission for the past twenty years,” says English professor Emily Auerbach ’76. “It’s bringing the humanities to nontraditional audiences, way beyond the physical borders of the university. The humanities have the power to transform people’s lives.”
Auerbach, who holds a joint position with the Department of Liberal Studies and the Arts, has been changing lives for the past three years through the Odyssey Project, a free college humanities course for adults facing financial barriers to higher education. Every Wednesday from September through May, students spend three hours discussing such works as the Declaration of Independence and the poetry of Emily Dickinson.
The Odyssey Project is one of the reasons Auerbach will be honored with the Wisconsin Alumni Association’s Cabinet 99 award in November — though it’s not her only outreach activity. She also co-hosts The University of the Air for Wisconsin Public Radio, directs the Courage to Write series of documentaries, and designs programs to bring the humanities to retirement centers, libraries, and service clubs around the state.
Cabinet 99 is a campus women’s initiative, and its award, which carries a $10,000 prize, recognizes outstanding contributions to the university in research, teaching, outreach, or service; a commitment to increasing opportunities for women; and a reputation for leadership, risk-taking, and courage.
“I’ve had a mission for the past twenty years,” says English professor Emily Auerbach ’76. “It’s bringing the humanities to nontraditional audiences, way beyond the physical borders of the university. The humanities have the power to transform people’s lives.”
Auerbach, who holds a joint position with the Department of Liberal Studies and the Arts, has been changing lives for the past three years through the Odyssey Project, a free college humanities course for adults facing financial barriers to higher education. Every Wednesday from September through May, students spend three hours discussing such works as the Declaration of Independence and the poetry of Emily Dickinson.
The Odyssey Project is one of the reasons Auerbach will be honored with the Wisconsin Alumni Association’s Cabinet 99 award in November — though it’s not her only outreach activity. She also co-hosts The University of the Air for Wisconsin Public Radio, directs the Courage to Write series of documentaries, and designs programs to bring the humanities to retirement centers, libraries, and service clubs around the state.
Cabinet 99 is a campus women’s initiative, and its award, which carries a $10,000 prize, recognizes outstanding contributions to the university in research, teaching, outreach, or service; a commitment to increasing opportunities for women; and a reputation for leadership, risk-taking, and courage.
For Auerbach, it took persistence to get the Odyssey Project off the ground. “I spent three years raising the money and getting the institutional support to launch this,” she says. “At the beginning, there was a lot of skepticism. I’d get questions like, ‘Why would poor people want to read Shakespeare and Plato?’ That’s where knowing my parents’ experience helped.”
Auerbach’s parents met at Berea College in Kentucky. Designed for Appalachian residents, Berea remains the only school in the country where being poor is a requisite to attend. No one in Auerbach’s mother’s family had ever dreamed of going to college. “But a teacher had recommended that my mother look into it, because she was such an avid reader,” says Auerbach. “I don’t think people realize that a college application fee or the price of one textbook can shut you down, if you’re genuinely poor.”
She maintains that education is the key to escaping poverty. Because the door was opened for her mother to attend college, then her younger sister went to Berea College, says Auerbach, “and that sister’s daughters went on to Wellesley, Mt. Holyoke, and Harvard Medical School. Often, if the door opens for one person, it can change that entire family and even the neighborhood.”
Auerbach plans to use the Cabinet 99 award to set up a fund for immediate Odyssey Project student needs. “Our students earn six credits, but more is needed to keep them moving forward,” she says. “For example, one of our students just graduated from Edgewood College. There was a fee for her honor cord, which she couldn’t afford. Two other students were elected to Phi Theta Kappa — there was a $65 initiation fee. Now that these students have gotten turned on to the excitement of learning, I want them to have the mechanism to keep going. If I were married to Bill Gates, I would start a four-year Berea College of Madison. But in the meantime, I’d like to help ensure our students make a successful transfer into a four-year college.”
Auerbach’s parents met at Berea College in Kentucky. Designed for Appalachian residents, Berea remains the only school in the country where being poor is a requisite to attend. No one in Auerbach’s mother’s family had ever dreamed of going to college. “But a teacher had recommended that my mother look into it, because she was such an avid reader,” says Auerbach. “I don’t think people realize that a college application fee or the price of one textbook can shut you down, if you’re genuinely poor.”
She maintains that education is the key to escaping poverty. Because the door was opened for her mother to attend college, then her younger sister went to Berea College, says Auerbach, “and that sister’s daughters went on to Wellesley, Mt. Holyoke, and Harvard Medical School. Often, if the door opens for one person, it can change that entire family and even the neighborhood.”
Auerbach plans to use the Cabinet 99 award to set up a fund for immediate Odyssey Project student needs. “Our students earn six credits, but more is needed to keep them moving forward,” she says. “For example, one of our students just graduated from Edgewood College. There was a fee for her honor cord, which she couldn’t afford. Two other students were elected to Phi Theta Kappa — there was a $65 initiation fee. Now that these students have gotten turned on to the excitement of learning, I want them to have the mechanism to keep going. If I were married to Bill Gates, I would start a four-year Berea College of Madison. But in the meantime, I’d like to help ensure our students make a successful transfer into a four-year college.”
Auerbach now has no doubts about the viability of her mission. “I knew I was on the right track the first night of class,” she says. “We were talking about William Blake’s ‘The Chimney Sweeper’ poem. One of my students was moved to tears. She said that, as an African-American woman who understands slavery and abuse, she felt empathy for this young sweep forced to clean chimneys. Other students joined in, relating the poem to the very core of their lives. That night, I went home realizing it was the best discussion of Blake that I’ve ever had.”
See www.odyssey.wisc.edu for more on the Odyssey Project.
— Candice Gaukel Andrews ’77
See www.odyssey.wisc.edu for more on the Odyssey Project.
— Candice Gaukel Andrews ’77
Education Matters
GLBTAC grants distinguished alumni awards to three education leaders.
Citing leadership in educational work, UW-Madison’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Alumni Council (GLBTAC) honored two Madison-area advocates and an Alabama professor during its fifteenth annual brunch in July.
Judi Devereux ’86 and Emily Dickmann ’97, both of Madison, and Professor Steve Miller ’72 of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, received GLBTAC’s highest recognition, the Distinguished Alumni Award, at the brunch.
“These are people who have worked to make our schools and universities open to everyone,” says Paula Bonner MS’78, WAA’s president and CEO. “Their legacy will be found in safer schools and greater opportunity at all educational levels.”
Devereux and Dickmann were both nominated for their work with the Gay Straight Alliance for Safe Schools, an organization that seeks to create a safe environment for GLBT students and staff at Wisconsin schools. Devereux studied interior design at the UW and has worked as a freelance Web designer. She is active with the alliance, where she serves on the board and helped plan the organization’s tenth annual Celebration of Leadership in May 2006.
Citing leadership in educational work, UW-Madison’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Alumni Council (GLBTAC) honored two Madison-area advocates and an Alabama professor during its fifteenth annual brunch in July.
Judi Devereux ’86 and Emily Dickmann ’97, both of Madison, and Professor Steve Miller ’72 of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, received GLBTAC’s highest recognition, the Distinguished Alumni Award, at the brunch.
“These are people who have worked to make our schools and universities open to everyone,” says Paula Bonner MS’78, WAA’s president and CEO. “Their legacy will be found in safer schools and greater opportunity at all educational levels.”
Devereux and Dickmann were both nominated for their work with the Gay Straight Alliance for Safe Schools, an organization that seeks to create a safe environment for GLBT students and staff at Wisconsin schools. Devereux studied interior design at the UW and has worked as a freelance Web designer. She is active with the alliance, where she serves on the board and helped plan the organization’s tenth annual Celebration of Leadership in May 2006.
Dickmann is an academic adviser at the university’s Chadbourne Residential College. A close friend of Devereux’s, she helped in the planning of the 2006 Celebration of Leadership, and she has served the Gay Straight Alliance as a grant writer, as a member of the finance committee, and as chair.
Miller is a professor in the University of Alabama’s School of Library and Information Studies, where he coordinates the master of fine arts program in book arts. Dedicated to the art of bookmaking, he founded Red Ozier Press, which specialized in publishing literary first editions and handmade limited editions. He joined Alabama’s faculty in 1988, and he teaches courses in letterpress printing and hand papermaking. He is also the proprietor of Red Hydra Press, where he designs and prints limited-edition, handmade books and ephemera.
For more information about the GLBTAC Distinguished Alumni Awards, or to nominate someone, see uwalumni.com/glbtac.
— John Allen
Miller is a professor in the University of Alabama’s School of Library and Information Studies, where he coordinates the master of fine arts program in book arts. Dedicated to the art of bookmaking, he founded Red Ozier Press, which specialized in publishing literary first editions and handmade limited editions. He joined Alabama’s faculty in 1988, and he teaches courses in letterpress printing and hand papermaking. He is also the proprietor of Red Hydra Press, where he designs and prints limited-edition, handmade books and ephemera.
For more information about the GLBTAC Distinguished Alumni Awards, or to nominate someone, see uwalumni.com/glbtac.
— John Allen
Millner Takes the Helm
WAA inducts new board members for 2006–07.
Regina Millner JD’85, MS’91 was recently named chair of the board of the Wisconsin Alumni Association for the 2006–07 term. Millner steps into the role previously held by Dave Zoerb ’68 and takes over leadership of the WAA board at a critical time. The association recently launched Alumni for Wisconsin, a bipartisan legislative advocacy program that seeks to create a public dialogue about the importance of higher education.
A Madison resident for more than thirty-two years, Millner founded RMM Enterprises, a firm that works with business and government on complex real estate projects. An active member of the community, Millner serves on the boards of MG&E, Physicians Plus Insurance Company, Meriter Hospital, Meriter Health Services, Inc., and Downtown Madison, Inc. Millner has been an active member of WAA’s board for years, having served on its executive, nominating, finance, and investment committees.
“Regina brings a terrific combination of experience, from her WAA work, from her own business, and from the other organizations she’s served,” says WAA president and CEO Paula Bonner. “She brings a strong record of strategic planning that will help us forge WAA’s future.”
This year’s other new board members include Ted Beck MBA’76, former associate dean for executive education and corporate relations at the UW’s Fluno Center and currently president and CEO of the National Endowment for Financial Education; Jack Kaiser JD’76, partner at Schrage & Kaiser law firm in Eau Claire; Cecil Martin ’99, former captain of the 1999 Rose Bowl champion Badger football team and currently a vice president with Guggenheim Partners Wealth Management in New York; and Renee Ramirez ’83, a public education advocate who serves as director of finance for Gray Mare Preschool, Inc. Each of the new board members will serve a three-year term.
— Staff
Regina Millner JD’85, MS’91 was recently named chair of the board of the Wisconsin Alumni Association for the 2006–07 term. Millner steps into the role previously held by Dave Zoerb ’68 and takes over leadership of the WAA board at a critical time. The association recently launched Alumni for Wisconsin, a bipartisan legislative advocacy program that seeks to create a public dialogue about the importance of higher education.
A Madison resident for more than thirty-two years, Millner founded RMM Enterprises, a firm that works with business and government on complex real estate projects. An active member of the community, Millner serves on the boards of MG&E, Physicians Plus Insurance Company, Meriter Hospital, Meriter Health Services, Inc., and Downtown Madison, Inc. Millner has been an active member of WAA’s board for years, having served on its executive, nominating, finance, and investment committees.
“Regina brings a terrific combination of experience, from her WAA work, from her own business, and from the other organizations she’s served,” says WAA president and CEO Paula Bonner. “She brings a strong record of strategic planning that will help us forge WAA’s future.”
This year’s other new board members include Ted Beck MBA’76, former associate dean for executive education and corporate relations at the UW’s Fluno Center and currently president and CEO of the National Endowment for Financial Education; Jack Kaiser JD’76, partner at Schrage & Kaiser law firm in Eau Claire; Cecil Martin ’99, former captain of the 1999 Rose Bowl champion Badger football team and currently a vice president with Guggenheim Partners Wealth Management in New York; and Renee Ramirez ’83, a public education advocate who serves as director of finance for Gray Mare Preschool, Inc. Each of the new board members will serve a three-year term.
— Staff
London Bridges
Aiming to spark connections among UW grads in Great Britain and across Europe, WAA sponsored an all-alumni reception in London in May. The reception coincided with the annual board meeting of the Worldwide University Network, which was attended by Chancellor John D. Wiley MS’65, PhD’68 and other UW dignitaries.
While in England, Wiley also visited the Universities of Sheffield, Manchester, and Leeds and discussed a variety of research partnerships. The London reception, funded by WAA, gave him the chance to meet with some of Britain’s 481 Badgers.
“Alumni in England and around Europe don’t have the same opportunities to connect that they do in the United States,” says WAA president and CEO Paula Bonner. “They don’t have the tradition of alumni involvement that exists here. We’re doing our best to help bridge the gaps among alumni so that they’ll feel those connections to each other and to the university.”
— Staff
While in England, Wiley also visited the Universities of Sheffield, Manchester, and Leeds and discussed a variety of research partnerships. The London reception, funded by WAA, gave him the chance to meet with some of Britain’s 481 Badgers.
“Alumni in England and around Europe don’t have the same opportunities to connect that they do in the United States,” says WAA president and CEO Paula Bonner. “They don’t have the tradition of alumni involvement that exists here. We’re doing our best to help bridge the gaps among alumni so that they’ll feel those connections to each other and to the university.”
— Staff
Homecoming Scoop
Alumni who return to campus for Homecoming 2006 will find a sweet addition to the celebration. The Babcock Hall Dairy Store is creating a new ice cream flavor just for the October event. Taking advantage of this year’s theme, “Bucky Goes to Camp ... Randall,” Babcock has created Back for S’more, a combination of chocolate chunks, marshmallow swirl, and graham crackers in a chocolate ice cream base. Back for S’more will be a featured flavor in September and October. For more on Homecoming, see uwalumni.com/homecoming.
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