Campus News - WAA News
Biddy Gets Down to Business
Kohl Center event officially welcomes Chancellor Martin.
In October, the Wisconsin Alumni Association helped introduce the UW community to its new top administrator. On the eve of Homecoming, nearly two thousand alumni, faculty, staff, and students turned out at the Kohl Center for a reception to honor incoming chancellor Carolyn “Biddy” Martin PhD’85.
The event, called “On, Wisconsin! A Great University and Its Friends Welcome Chancellor Martin,” marked Martin’s first official appearance since she became chancellor in September, when predecessor John D. Wiley MS’65, PhD’68 stepped down. It was made possible by support from the UW Foundation, WAA, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics, University Communications, the UW Libraries, and UW Archives.
“We’re very excited about Chancellor Martin’s arrival,” says WAA president and CEO Paula Bonner MS’78, who chaired the event’s planning committee. “She brings a new, outside view to the university, and so it was important to us to introduce her to the alumni community as well as to help our colleagues introduce her to campus and to Madison.”
Martin received her doctorate from the UW, but spent most of her career at Cornell University in New York, rising to the post of provost before accepting the UW-Madison chancellorship earlier this year. She is the university’s first chancellor hired from outside its faculty since Donna Shalala accepted the post in 1988. Martin is only the fifth chancellor appointed from outside the faculty in the last century.
During the event, Martin laid out her goals for UW-Madison. Describing the university as “one of the world’s liveliest, most publicly minded, most accomplished institutions,” she said that she aims to improve accessibility and affordability for students, recruit and retain top faculty and staff, maintain excellence in research and undergraduate education, improve diversity, and invigorate the Wisconsin Idea.
For more about the event, including a link to video of Martin’s speech, visit uwalumni.com/chancellorwelcome.
In the ensuing weeks, WAA continued to introduce Martin to alumni with events in Green Bay, Milwaukee, and Chicago.
— John Allen
In October, the Wisconsin Alumni Association helped introduce the UW community to its new top administrator. On the eve of Homecoming, nearly two thousand alumni, faculty, staff, and students turned out at the Kohl Center for a reception to honor incoming chancellor Carolyn “Biddy” Martin PhD’85.
The event, called “On, Wisconsin! A Great University and Its Friends Welcome Chancellor Martin,” marked Martin’s first official appearance since she became chancellor in September, when predecessor John D. Wiley MS’65, PhD’68 stepped down. It was made possible by support from the UW Foundation, WAA, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics, University Communications, the UW Libraries, and UW Archives.
“We’re very excited about Chancellor Martin’s arrival,” says WAA president and CEO Paula Bonner MS’78, who chaired the event’s planning committee. “She brings a new, outside view to the university, and so it was important to us to introduce her to the alumni community as well as to help our colleagues introduce her to campus and to Madison.”
Martin received her doctorate from the UW, but spent most of her career at Cornell University in New York, rising to the post of provost before accepting the UW-Madison chancellorship earlier this year. She is the university’s first chancellor hired from outside its faculty since Donna Shalala accepted the post in 1988. Martin is only the fifth chancellor appointed from outside the faculty in the last century.
During the event, Martin laid out her goals for UW-Madison. Describing the university as “one of the world’s liveliest, most publicly minded, most accomplished institutions,” she said that she aims to improve accessibility and affordability for students, recruit and retain top faculty and staff, maintain excellence in research and undergraduate education, improve diversity, and invigorate the Wisconsin Idea.
For more about the event, including a link to video of Martin’s speech, visit uwalumni.com/chancellorwelcome.
In the ensuing weeks, WAA continued to introduce Martin to alumni with events in Green Bay, Milwaukee, and Chicago.
— John Allen
Brain Gain
Bringing alumni back to Wisconsin could help state economy.
A recent survey of UW graduates reveals that offering the right kinds of jobs in Wisconsin could turn “brain drain” into “brain gain” by bringing Badger alumni back to the state to live and work.
With this potential economic boost in mind, the Wisconsin Alumni Association and the economic-development group Competitive Wisconsin, Inc. (CWI) are partnering to connect Wisconsin-based businesses with UW graduates who would consider returning to the state.
“Many grads say they moved to other states because they didn’t find the right career opportunities in Wisconsin,” says Paula Bonner MS’78, WAA’s president and CEO. “But as we see more Wisconsin businesses begin to offer high-level, high-wage jobs, we’re ready to help UW alumni make career moves that are right for them.”
In an August 2008 survey of UW alumni in Chicago, Minneapolis and St. Paul, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., half of survey respondents said they initially left the state after college to pursue a new job or to continue their education. But today, 58 percent say they would consider moving back to Wisconsin.
“Our research clearly demonstrated an interest among a significant number of out-of-state UW alumni to come back to Wisconsin for the right opportunity,” says Bill McCoshen ’87, CWI executive director and a member of the WAA board of directors.
The partnership, funded in part by a $25,000 grant from the state Department of Commerce, includes holding Badger Career Expos in cities around the Midwest. The first, held in October, brought Wisconsin-area employers to Minneapolis to connect with UW alumni who were interested in relocating. Future career expos in other U.S. cities are possible. Alumni and employers can find more information at uwalumni.com/careers.
Both UW-Madison and its 368,000 alumni are important to Wisconsin’s economic growth, Bonner says. For example, she notes, state businesses and industries benefit from connections with the 228,000 Badger graduates who live outside Wisconsin, both across the United States and around the world. At the same time, university research and spin-off businesses are creating the kinds of high-level jobs that could keep many UW alumni in the state, instead of sending them to pursue careers beyond its borders.
“Badger alumni like Wisconsin’s quality of life, and for some, a move back to the state would bring them closer to friends and family,” Bonner says. “For grads who do wish to return to Wisconsin, this partnership is a way we can welcome them home.”
— Kate Dixon ’01, MA’07
A recent survey of UW graduates reveals that offering the right kinds of jobs in Wisconsin could turn “brain drain” into “brain gain” by bringing Badger alumni back to the state to live and work.
With this potential economic boost in mind, the Wisconsin Alumni Association and the economic-development group Competitive Wisconsin, Inc. (CWI) are partnering to connect Wisconsin-based businesses with UW graduates who would consider returning to the state.
“Many grads say they moved to other states because they didn’t find the right career opportunities in Wisconsin,” says Paula Bonner MS’78, WAA’s president and CEO. “But as we see more Wisconsin businesses begin to offer high-level, high-wage jobs, we’re ready to help UW alumni make career moves that are right for them.”
In an August 2008 survey of UW alumni in Chicago, Minneapolis and St. Paul, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., half of survey respondents said they initially left the state after college to pursue a new job or to continue their education. But today, 58 percent say they would consider moving back to Wisconsin.
“Our research clearly demonstrated an interest among a significant number of out-of-state UW alumni to come back to Wisconsin for the right opportunity,” says Bill McCoshen ’87, CWI executive director and a member of the WAA board of directors.
The partnership, funded in part by a $25,000 grant from the state Department of Commerce, includes holding Badger Career Expos in cities around the Midwest. The first, held in October, brought Wisconsin-area employers to Minneapolis to connect with UW alumni who were interested in relocating. Future career expos in other U.S. cities are possible. Alumni and employers can find more information at uwalumni.com/careers.
Both UW-Madison and its 368,000 alumni are important to Wisconsin’s economic growth, Bonner says. For example, she notes, state businesses and industries benefit from connections with the 228,000 Badger graduates who live outside Wisconsin, both across the United States and around the world. At the same time, university research and spin-off businesses are creating the kinds of high-level jobs that could keep many UW alumni in the state, instead of sending them to pursue careers beyond its borders.
“Badger alumni like Wisconsin’s quality of life, and for some, a move back to the state would bring them closer to friends and family,” Bonner says. “For grads who do wish to return to Wisconsin, this partnership is a way we can welcome them home.”
— Kate Dixon ’01, MA’07
The Shirt That’s Giving Back
UW-Madison alumni, students, and fans kicked off the fall season with style by wearing The Red Shirt, designed by WAA and created to reflect the UW tradition of spirit and giving back.
Proceeds from the shirt benefit scholarships and programming under WAA’s mission to serve UW-Madison alumni and students. WAA
also encourages student groups to partner with it to sell Red Shirts at their events, with a portion of the proceeds going to benefit student
organizations.
“This unique shirt has been a wonderful opportunity for our student groups on campus to generate funds,” says Jessika Kasten ’01, WAA director of marketing. “By wearing the first edition of The Red Shirt, students, grads, and friends all over the world are part of an exciting new program.”
Nearly a dozen student groups have partnered with WAA to raise funds so far, including the International Business Student Association, Mu Kappa Tau, and the Public Relations Student Society of America.
For ordering information, visit uwalumni.com/TheRedShirt.
— Ben Wischnewski ’05
Proceeds from the shirt benefit scholarships and programming under WAA’s mission to serve UW-Madison alumni and students. WAA
also encourages student groups to partner with it to sell Red Shirts at their events, with a portion of the proceeds going to benefit student
organizations.
“This unique shirt has been a wonderful opportunity for our student groups on campus to generate funds,” says Jessika Kasten ’01, WAA director of marketing. “By wearing the first edition of The Red Shirt, students, grads, and friends all over the world are part of an exciting new program.”
Nearly a dozen student groups have partnered with WAA to raise funds so far, including the International Business Student Association, Mu Kappa Tau, and the Public Relations Student Society of America.
For ordering information, visit uwalumni.com/TheRedShirt.
— Ben Wischnewski ’05
Sprechen Sie Deutsch?
Alumni learners explore Wisconsin’s rich German heritage.
From its tiny house on the west edge of campus, the Max Kade Institute has been promoting German language and culture for a quarter century. This fall, the institute is working with Wisconsin Alumni Lifelong Learning to host a series of three lectures on German-American heritage.
Max Kade emigrated from Germany to America in 1905 and made his fortune in the pharmaceutical business, leaving a foundation that has since promoted German-American studies around the country. UW-Madison added its own Max Kade Institute in 1983 to explore Wisconsin’s rich German heritage. Cora Lee Kluge, professor of German and the institute’s director, presented the first German-American heritage lecture, on immigration, in October. Scheduled for November were Joe Salmons, director of the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Culture, with a lecture on German language; and Jim Leary, professor and director of the UW’s Folklore Program, with a presentation about Wisconsin’s folk music traditions and their German roots. Wisconsin Alumni Lifelong Learning plans to make the lecture series available online next spring.
Nearly ninety learners have signed up for the free series. Carol Claybaker ’60 of Janesville, Wisconsin, says she is “hoping to pick up something I may have missed in my [genealogy] studies and to be with people who have my same interests.” Claybaker’s great-grandparents emigrated from Germany in the mid-1800s.
“I’ve always wanted to know why my grandfather, Alfred Arendt, said ‘tink’ instead of ‘think,’ ” says Pamela O’Donnell MA’02, MA’03. “I’m hoping to take away a better understanding and appreciation of my ancestors’ contributions to Wisconsin history.” Besides, she adds, “there’s nothing better than a good polka.”
— Karen Roach ’82
From its tiny house on the west edge of campus, the Max Kade Institute has been promoting German language and culture for a quarter century. This fall, the institute is working with Wisconsin Alumni Lifelong Learning to host a series of three lectures on German-American heritage.
Max Kade emigrated from Germany to America in 1905 and made his fortune in the pharmaceutical business, leaving a foundation that has since promoted German-American studies around the country. UW-Madison added its own Max Kade Institute in 1983 to explore Wisconsin’s rich German heritage. Cora Lee Kluge, professor of German and the institute’s director, presented the first German-American heritage lecture, on immigration, in October. Scheduled for November were Joe Salmons, director of the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Culture, with a lecture on German language; and Jim Leary, professor and director of the UW’s Folklore Program, with a presentation about Wisconsin’s folk music traditions and their German roots. Wisconsin Alumni Lifelong Learning plans to make the lecture series available online next spring.
Nearly ninety learners have signed up for the free series. Carol Claybaker ’60 of Janesville, Wisconsin, says she is “hoping to pick up something I may have missed in my [genealogy] studies and to be with people who have my same interests.” Claybaker’s great-grandparents emigrated from Germany in the mid-1800s.
“I’ve always wanted to know why my grandfather, Alfred Arendt, said ‘tink’ instead of ‘think,’ ” says Pamela O’Donnell MA’02, MA’03. “I’m hoping to take away a better understanding and appreciation of my ancestors’ contributions to Wisconsin history.” Besides, she adds, “there’s nothing better than a good polka.”
— Karen Roach ’82
