Fourteen graduates of UW–Milwaukee are recipients of the 2003 UWM Alumni Association Awards. Winners were honored at the annual UWMAA Awards Reception in May. Life Achievement Award recipient Joan M. Prince and Distinguished Alumni Cherie Claussen, Hanna Jubran and Martin J. Schreiber also were recognized at Spring Commencement. Congratulations to all of the award winners.
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Photo by Pete Amland
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Joan M. Prince (’99 PhD Urban Ed., ’92 MS Clinical Laboratory Sciences, ’82
BS Medical Technology,
’77 BA General L&S) has dedicated her life to civic and community engagement
toward improving the quality of life for all people.
A Milwaukee native, Prince is vice chair of the Milwaukee Public Library Board and serves on 17 other local and national boards. In 2000, she was named vice chancellor for partnerships and innovation at UWM, and she continues to run The Prince Group, a medical consulting firm.
A few highlights of Prince’s illustrious accomplishments are:
Prince’s community involvement includes causes such as Health Care for the Homeless, Big Sisters of Wisconsin, Center for Urban Population Health, March of Dimes of Southeastern Wisconsin and National Kidney Foundation of Wisconsin, to name a few.
Her support of the university includes more than 25 years of volunteer service to the UWM Alumni Association; she is a life member. One of her award nominators described her as “an outstanding citizen of the world.”
Cherie Claussen (’77 MARCH, ’75 BS Architectural Studies) is vice president,
principal, and regional office manager at Hammel Green Abrahamson (HGA) in
Milwaukee. One of only three women in her freshman class of 150 at UWM, Claussen
broke ground in the predominantly male field of architecture by becoming
one of the few women in the state heading a major architectural practice.
Minneapolis-based HGA Architects and Engineers is the seventh-largest health
care architecture firm in the U.S.
Well versed in emerging trends in health care and the impact they can have on the healing process, she includes elements that make buildings more patient-friendly and cost-effective. Projects she has worked on include:
She supports the School of Architecture and Urban Planning (SARUP) as a member of the Dean’s Club, in her work with SARUP’s Design Council, and with the organization Women in Architecture, which is comprised mostly of SARUP alumni.
Hanna Jubran (’83 MFA Sculpture, ’80 BFA Sculpture/Ceramics) is an internationally
recognized sculptor who has participated in more than 160 exhibitions, international
symposia and conferences.
A professor of art at East Carolina University (ECU) in Greenville, N.C., Jubran also has completed major works of art in Germany, Canada, Cuba, Denmark and the U.S. He sculpts in bronze, wood, stone and steel. His works range from free-standing interior and wall pieces to monumental outdoor pieces.
Jubran strives to make each sculpture not only visually appealing but also pleasing to touch. He initiated sculpture shows for the visually impaired in the U.S. and Germany.
His work has been acclaimed through awards such as Best Execution of Concept, Ma’llot International Sculpture Symposium, Ma’llot, Israel.
Prior to his appointment at ECU, Jubran taught ceramics, sculpture and 3D design at UWM and the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. He remains connected to UWM and the Wisconsin community by showing his works annually in the state and by inviting UWM faculty for lectures and workshops in North Carolina.
He also is a faithful supporter of the undergraduate and graduate student sculpture scholarships at UWM, and encourages his graduate-school candidates at ECU to apply to the graduate sculpture program at UWM.
Martin J. Schreiber (’60 3+3 Program) has worked to better the lives of
Wisconsin residents throughout his career, as both an elected official and
as a businessman.
In 1962, while still in law school, he was elected to the State Senate, and a decade later became lieutenant governor. With the resignation of Gov. Patrick Lucey in 1977, Schreiber became the only Wisconsin governor to attend UWM.
He credits his studies at UWM as a significant factor in his success – first as a graduate of UWM’s 3+3 Program, held in partnership with Marquette University, and later as he pursued graduate studies in UWM’s Urban Affairs program.
As an elected official, Schreiber focused on education, children’s issues, consumer protection, and the rights of workers and the elderly. He established a special nursing home residents’ ombudsman program, among the first of its kind in the nation. In 1988, after leaving state government, he established his own public affairs consulting firm.
Schreiber has helped build relationships between UWM and a number of elected officials, individuals and corporations. In 2000, he became a director of the Friends of the Golda Meir Library.
Annual members of the UWM Alumni Association for many years, he and his wife Elaine (’72 BA Exceptional Education) became life members in 2001.
John E. CzarneckiJohn E. Czarnecki (’99 MARCH and MUP, ’94 BS Architectural Studies) is an associate editor of Architectural Record, the American Institute of Architects magazine published by McGraw-Hill and based in New York.
He received the McGraw-Hill Corporate Achievement Award for directing the magazine’s Sept. 11 disaster coverage, and was one of three finalists for the Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for best news coverage.
Prior to his current position, he was with Urban Strategies, Toronto, where he was a designer for the Brooklyn Bridge Park master plan. He has provided positive publicity about UWM’s School of Architecture and Urban Planning on a national level.
Chris M. Smith (’99 MFA) is a filmmaker and founder of the local media
production company Bluemark Productions, as well as the founder of ZeroTV.com.
Three of Smith’s films have been showcased at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. “American Movie,” a feature-length documentary produced with colleague Sarah Price, won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2001. Sony Pictures Classics selected it for national distribution in more than 50 cities.
Proceeds from the world premiere screening of “American Movie” were contributed to the UWM Foundation to establish the UWM Film Department’s scholarship fund. In addition, Smith has supported UWM film students by sponsoring an internship program at Bluemark Productions each semester.
John N. Heppner (’92 EMBA) is president and chief operating officer of
Master Lock, a unit of Fortune Brands Inc., the world’s largest manufacturer
and marketer of padlocks.
Heppner joined Master Lock in 1992, after completing his EMBA at UWM. In 2000, he was promoted to president and CFO, the top executive position at Master Lock. He has vowed to keep jobs and the corporate headquarters in the Milwaukee area.
His involvement with UWM remains firm through his membership in the School of Business Administration’s Advisory Council, as a member of the EMBA Constituent Alumni Association and with the e-business research partnership he recently formed with the school.
Ramon Candelaria (’99 BS Community Education, ’99 Certificate in Child
and Youth Care Work) is executive director of the Latino Community Center.
He has successfully combined leadership skills with his strong advocacy of
the Latino community to address the issues and needs of Milwaukee’s youth.
A recent graduate of the Future Milwaukee Leadership Program, Candelaria helps create new collaborations between UWM’s School of Education and Milwaukee Public Schools.
His numerous awards include the City of Milwaukee Health Department Outstanding Community and Youth Work Recognition Award, WKKV/V-100 Peace Achiever Award, a proclamation from Mayor John Norquist for outstanding community and youth work and ACHOICE Presidential Award for Community Leadership and Justice.
Cheng Xu (’00 PhD Mechanical Engineering), a modification and upgrade engineer
with Siemens Westinghouse Power Company in Orlando, Fla., has made significant
contributions to the field of turbomachinery, achieving an international
reputation for his research.
Among his discoveries is a method for turbine and heat transfer analysis that provides an efficient way to predict an aircraft’s aerodynamic performance.
Cheng has raised the profile of UWM in his collaboration with Professor Ryo Amano and his turbomachinery research group in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The research has been published in several prestigious journals, presented at major international conferences and included in a graduate-level textbook.
Hector Colon (’00 MS Occupational Therapy, ’97 BS Occupational Therapy
cum laude) is the associate executive director of elderly programs at the
United Community Center.
Recognized by Milwaukee magazine as an emerging leader under age 35 and by the Business Journal as one of its “40 Under 40,” he is a tireless advocate for people with mental illness and other health care needs.
Colon’s graduate work at UWM focused on issues of equal access to health care for persons with limited English proficiency, an issue of importance throughout the United States. In addition to serving on the College of Health Sciences Dean’s Advisory Board, he trains fieldwork students and often speaks to classes.
Anne M. Prestamo (’95 MLIS) is an associate professor at Oklahoma State
University and coordinator of digital library services at the university’s
Edmon Law Library.
An early adopter of Internet technology, she has become a leader in the field of
academic librarianship. She teaches database searching via compressed video at three sites in Oklahoma.
In 1999, she was recognized by the Oklahoma Library Association as Outstanding New Librarian. She has completed extensive work in comprehensive technology and computer skills for academic reference librarians, distance learning and Web resource development.
Patricia McManus (’93 PhD Urban Studies, ’81 MS Nursing, ’78 BS Nursing) is the founder and executive director of Milwaukee’s Black Health Coalition, a network of community health groups.
McManus effectively maximizes her nursing and urban studies education as an advocate for health care. She has taught at Marquette University and the Medical College of Wisconsin, and has served in numerous positions at local health clinics and on health care panels nationwide. An officer of the National Black Nurses Association, she provides leadership to more than 150,000 members across the country.
McManus has served on several Milwaukee Idea planning committees, including the Healthy Choices initiative.
Kathleen R. Skowlund (’93 MS Nursing) is chief nurse executive at the Aurora
Health Care Lakeland Medical Center in Elkhorn, Wis.
In 1997, she and Ann Navera became the first nurses chosen to lead hospitals in the Aurora system.
Skowlund has facilitated partnerships between the hospital and government and volunteer groups to meet the medical care needs of the community.
In 1998, she participated in the Johnson & Johnson-Wharton Fellows Program in Management for nurse executives.
Skowlund supports the UWM College of Nursing by serving as liaison between the college and Aurora Health Care, and by providing nursing students with experience at Aurora clinical sites.
Mary A. Narges (’99 MSW) is co-founder and executive director of Free Spirit
Riders Inc., a nonprofit organization committed to enhancing the lives of
children and adults with disabilities through therapeutic interaction with
horses.
She also is the psychiatric social worker for the Fond du Lac Department of Community Programs, an instructor at UW–Oshkosh and a facilitator of seminars for divorcing parents in Washington County.
From August 1999 through June 2001, Narges provided clinical services to 748 students through individual and group counseling. She also served as a consultant for teachers of students with behavioral, emotional and educational problems, and published a teacher’s manual for maximizing student potential.