2006 Fall Awards Ceremony
Twenty-five members of the UWM faculty and staff will be honored at the annual Fall Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, Oct. 10, at 3:15 p.m. in the Union Wisconsin Room.Ernest Spaights Plaza Honorees
The Ernest Spaights Awards are named for the late Professor Ernest Spaights and are given to individuals who have made significant, enduring and campuswide contributions to the growth and development of UWM.
George S.
Baker
Secretary of the University
Professor of Materials Engineering
UWM
Service 1967-98
George Baker’s contributions have impacted the major functional areas of importance to UWM – academic program development, people management and governance.
Baker was influential in establishing the graduate programs in engineering at UWM. Before his efforts, the graduate program was offered only as an extension of the engineering program at Madison. He also oversaw the process of implementing UWM’s General Education Requirements, which are the undergraduate foundation classes.
Many of his engineering colleagues were mentored by Baker, especially in the need to be governance-involved. He worked tirelessly to create the budget advisory committee which today is known as APBC, and personally authored many of the academic policies contained in SAAP.
Given his level of involvement, it wasn’t a surprise that Baker closed out his career serving as secretary of the university.
His colleagues found him always open, consistent and fair in his dealings. Said one of his nominators: “I was always impressed by his knowledge of UWM, and his ability to analyze the core of issues.”
Carlton E. Beck
Professor of Educational Policy &
Community Studies
UWM Service 1963-95
Carlton Beck enriched the growth and development of UWM’s urban mission during the period of rapid growth in the 1960s and early ’70s, and he led by example.
He was instrumental in developing the first doctoral program in education at UWM and also the bachelor’s degree program in Community Education. But more important, he put social relevance into these degree programs.
By creating stimulating interdisciplinary courses like “Drugs in American Culture” and “History of the Education of African Americans,” Beck reached out to African American students and the community.
He gave workshops on domestic violence, justice alternative programs and assorted youth programs that have been used by judges, police officials and social workers.
Beck also recruited other faculty members to assist teachers who worked within correctional settings. In helping in this endeavor, Stan Stojkovic, dean of the School of Social Welfare, said, “It became abundantly clear that these prison teachers had no support and assistance in performing their work duties in such a challenging environment.”
Thomas Burton
Senior Adviser, College of
Letters & Science
UWM Service 1956–2003
For 47 years, Thomas Burton, known to colleagues as “Mr. B,” was THE institutional memory for the campus and the last word in all things related to student academic advising.
In maintaining student records for the College of Letters & Science, Burton understood the detrimental effects that an error could have on a student. Not only was he meticulously accurate, but his dedication to the job was legendary. Though he officially retired in June of 1996, he continued to come to work without compensation for the ensuring seven years.
The joke in the college was, “How do you know if Mr. B is on vacation?” And the answer was, “He’s at work without a tie on.” Before his retirement he often came in on weekends, took work home with him and he even paid for most of his own office supplies.
“UWM was Tom’s home and the people there were his family,” remarked one nominator. “He sacrificed time and money, as would a good father, to care for that home and family.”
Max Kurz
Professor of Social Work
UWM Service
1955-95
When Max Kurz joined the faculty in 1955, UWM was considered destined to be no more than a minor undergraduate adjunct of the Madison campus. Kurz’s extraordinary involvement on a long list of governmental committees made it possible for him to play a seminal role in defining UWM’s position within the UW System and in obtaining the resources and respect UWM deserved.
His efforts also left an indelible mark on how UWM was viewed by other UW campuses and by the state legislature. There were very few members of the legislature during the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s who didn’t know Kurz.
He was highly regarded on campus as well. As one nominator put it, “His wisdom on matters dealing with faculty governance is second to none in the history of UWM.”
In addition, he made vital contributions in the areas of teaching and community service. Because of his service in so many community organizations, he was viewed as “Mr. Social Work” by many, and he significantly enhanced the public perception of UWM.
Jerry Leer
Professor of Accounting
UWM Service 1946-83
Jerry Leer was a pioneer member of both UWM and its School of Business , making an academic impact on literally thousands of students by instructing many of the large lectures in accounting and co-authoring the leading accounting textbook.
When in 1979 he helped create a master’s degree program in taxation, it was one of only a very few such programs in the country, and it still is the only one in Wisconsin. It also paved the way for the Deloitte Multistate Tax Center in 1996, which has a national reputation for excellence.
Leer helped the university’s accounting programs develop a reputation of quality early on, allowing the school to quickly develop a network of successful alumni.
And his support didn’t end at his retirement. He established the Jerry Leer Accounting Fund to support student scholarships and a chaired professorship. Through the Leer-Tellier Scholarship Program he made even more scholarships available to students. In the 20 years since its inception, the fund has granted 85 scholarships totaling about $300,000.
Donald G. Melkus
Vice Chancellor
of Administrative Affairs
UWM Service 1970–2003
Don Melkus devoted his entire 33-year professional career to UWM and served four chancellors over a 19-year period. Besides his commitment to diversity in the division, Melkus greatly improved the physical plan of UWM with more than $300 million invested in UWM building projects during his tenure.
The best commentary on Melkus’s career, however, comes from his appreciative former bosses.
Said Frank Horton: “He would do all the rights things to maximize probable success of each effort.”
Said Clifford Smith: “UWM was always his first priority. He was instrumental in helping me convince the governor that UWM deserved a new School of Business building and a new School of Architecture building.”
Said John Schroeder: “Melkus spent literally hundreds and hundreds of hours in Madison monitoring campus building projects and pressing UW System and state officials to ensure that UWM projects won top priority in the highly competitive state building process.”
Said Nancy Zimpher: “When the UWM Foundation, the Department of Athletics and the Klotsche Center were in need of additional business support, I turned to Mr. Melkus to provide oversight and direction. He excelled in the endeavor.”
Erland Olfe
Assistant Dean, College of Letters &
Science
UWM Service 1967–2003
In heading academic affairs for the College of Letters & Science, Erland Olfe exemplified a vision similar to that of Ernest Spaights himself – student access and service to students.
Olfe improved advising support for multicultural students, mentored scores of talented advisers and took a leadership role in the New Directions scholarship fund for meritorious freshman. But perhaps his greatest achievement was the positive effect he had on students. His love of advising was apparent in his ability to relate to students. In resolving difficult situations, he had the uncanny ability to end the appointment on a positive note.
Olfe also was one of the founding members of the Academic Staff Committee. He saw that this group existed in limbo – not protected by tenure like faculty and not unionized like classified staff. He was instrumental in defining its compensation and governance policies and the establishment of “indefinite appointment” as job protection for this group.
Twenty years ago, in 1986, he was already revered when he was presented the UWM Academic Staff Outstanding Performance Award.
Faculty Distinguished Public Service Award
Nancy
Frank
Associate Professor, Urban Planning
Through her unceasing generosity with her time and expertise, Nancy Frank has promoted the quality of urban open space in Milwaukee, from brownfield redevelopment and stream restoration to sustainable building and other issues in urban planning.
The scope, frequency and breadth of her volunteer public service on both state and local forums have entailed hundreds of hours of dedicated service.
Her service on the Wisconsin Brownfields Study Group has resulted in changes that have helped turn thousands of abandoned and blighted sites into usable and valuable additions to local communities.
On the mayor’s audit committee, she contributed heavily to a detailed report sorting fact from fiction in regard to sewer overflows, including their causes and relative impact on water quality in Milwaukee.
“She engages people with an enthusiasm and respect for their views and perspectives that have the effect of widening the circle of public support for solutions that ordinarily might fail,” said one nominator.
Faculty Distinguished University Service Award
Alice
Gillam
Associate Professor, English
“If there were no UWM Distinguished University Service Award, Alice Gillam’s example would be reason enough to invent it,” said one of her nominators.
Gillam has logged nearly a decade of service as the head of the freshman composition program. The composition program is a huge undertaking that is part of students’ General Education Requirements (GER). It involves about 100 instructors who teach more than 6,000 students in more than 300 course sections.
If that weren’t enough, she also initiated and served six years as coordinator of the English Department’s Writing Center, which offers tutoring to every kind of student on campus. And she volunteered to chair the subcommittee on language arts for the urban teacher education initiative, Teachers for a New Era.
A tireless team player, Gillam has been no less involved within the department, serving as chair during a difficult time, mentoring graduate students and even orchestrating a complete and necessary – although time-consuming – overhaul of the department’s faculty handbook.
UWM Foundation and Graduate School Research Awards
Patrick
Brady
Associate Professor, Physics
Patrick Brady is a central figure in the quest to detect gravitational waves – ripples in the fabric of space-time predicted by Albert Einstein and produced by the motion of matter.
The opening of this new frontier in astronomy will allow direct observation of black holes and bring new information about neutron stars, nuclear matter and the origin of the universe.
In this, the largest project ever funded by the National Science Foundation, Brady has led the design, development and implementation of the data-analysis pipeline channeling data from ultra-sensitive gravitational-wave detectors in Louisiana and Washington into the new, powerful supercomputer in the UWM Physics Building.
Brady also is interested in the centers of black holes and their formation in gravitational collapse.
UWM Professor Bruce Allen writes that Brady has “helped to raise millions of dollars in extramural funding for UWM and to train a generation of postdoctoral and graduate students.”
Brady is a 2002 recipient of a Sloan Research Fellowship, considered the most prestigious award for a young faculty member in physics.
Adrian Dumitrescu,
Assistant
Professor,
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
The research of Adrian Dumitrescu focuses on computational geometry, a field that has matured primarily in response to advances in computer graphics. Computational geometry is the study of algorithms to solve geometric problems, some of which arose only after the advent of computers.
Other applications of computational geometry include robotics, geographic information systems, integrated circuit design and computer-aided engineering.
Dumitrescu has been credited with several breakthroughs, bringing his field ever closer to answering many long-standing questions.
Ferran Hurtado-Díaz, professor at the Technical University of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain, writes of Dumitrescu, “These outstanding contributions have earned him not only the esteem of his colleagues in the field, but also a high reputation among all computer scientists and mathematicians in the world.”
Dumitrescu’s findings have been published in some of the best and most selective journals, such as the Journal of Algorithms and the International Journal of Robotics Research.
Dumitrescu is a 2005 recipient of a prestigious, five-year CAREER Award, presented by the National Science Foundation to exceptionally promising junior faculty.
Rina
Ghose
Associate Professor, Geography
Rina Ghose studies social implications of the use of geographic information systems – a multi-billion-dollar technology that enables mapping and analysis of spatial data that is used extensively in development planning, locational analysis, transportation planning, demographic analysis, scientific investigations, and resource and asset management.
She is particularly concerned by what she calls the elitist nature of GIS because of its technological complexity and cost, and the inherent power relations in GIS due to uneven access to data and technology. A recent project explored the challenges of accessing and effectively using spatial data and GIS faced by marginalized grassroots organizations trying to revitalize blighted inner-city neighborhoods.
Ghose previously held the Dhaliwal Professorship, which has as its objective to teach and research the languages, culture and civilization of India.
Sara McLafferty, geography professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, calls Ghose “one of the most influential young scholars in the emerging field of GIS and Society” whose “research is pushing that field in innovative new directions.”
Karen Marek,
Associate Professor, Nursing
As the U.S. population ages, the research of Karen Marek holds the promise of keeping elderly adults in their home environments longer, and avoiding unnecessary nursing home admissions, hospitalizations and emergency room visits.
For many older adults, living independently at home depends on managing complicated medication regimens. With a $2.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, Marek is analyzing a home-based medication management program – including nurse coordination and an automated medication-dispensing machine – for older adults.
College of Nursing Dean Sally Lundeen writes of Marek’s work, “The improved health outcomes and quality of life for the elders who are the beneficiaries of her scientific endeavors are likely to be overshadowed only by the potential cost savings realized throughout the health care industry.”
Before joining the UWM faculty in 2004, Marek directed a $2 million interdisciplinary project at the University of Missouri to test a community-based nursing model of long-term care.
Since receiving her Ph.D. from UWM in 1992, she has attracted more than $8.3 million in funded research and education projects.
Krishna
Pillai
Associate Professor,
Mechanical Engineering
Krishna Pillai conducts research in the processing of polymer composites and plastics. Polymer composites are high-tech materials made from plastics that are lighter than metal and non-corrosive, but just as strong.
The founder of the UWM Polymer Processing Laboratory, Pillai focuses on the transport phenomena in the manufacturing and processing of polymer composites. Much of his research can be applied directly to industries such as aerospace, automotive and shipbuilding, and toprocesses such as the absorption of liquids by paper and wipes, groundwater flow and filtration.
UWM Materials Engineering Professor Pradeep Rohatgi calls Pillai a “bright and ambitious researcher” who has the “potential of blossoming into a world-class research scientist and professor.”
Pillai is a 2004 recipient of a prestigious, five-year CAREER Award, presented by the National Science Foundation to exceptionally promising junior faculty.
Funders of his eight grants, contracts and awards include the NSF, the U.S. Army, S.C. Johnson & Son and the UW Applied Research Grant Program. He has also received two grants for the Research Experience for Undergraduates program.
Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Awards
Simone
Linhares Ferro
Assistant Professor, Dance
Simone Linhares Ferro is a demanding, involved and conscientious teacher, and the results of her dedication and skill are visible onstage at dance performances here and nationally.
Ferro devotes countless hours working one-on-one with student choreographers, said one of her nominators. “Simone’s brilliant teaching artistry has greatly amplified the learning experiences available to our dance majors.”
Much of the dance faculty’s creative research consists of producing original dances for use by students. Ferro is consistently prodigious in making works of outstanding quality that are also appropriate for the level and abilities of her dancers.
It is in her rehearsals that students have the opportunity to experience the technical and expressive challenges of her choreographic vision. One of her passions is cross-disciplinary work, and she regularly collaborates with Peck School of the Arts composers and filmmakers.
A native of Brazil, Ferro is also an active member of the Cultures and Communities Program and serves on the faculty Affirmative Action Committee.
Glen Jeansonne
Professor, History
Lecture and classroom discussion take on new meanings for Glen Jeansonne’s students.
Incorporating literary texts such as “The Great Gatsby” to provide insight into specific time periods, he also uses vintage photographs to give faces to the names of even the most obscure political figures.
He also draws material from his current research projects. While discussing the culture and politics of the 1980s, he recently included research from a current project, “The Age of Reagan and Madonna.”
Said one former student, “His talent as a teacher comes to life in each class session and his own research into 20th century history shines through with each lecture.”
Always willing to explore tangent issues with his students, he also assigns group projects that allow students to research, cooperate and contribute in their own original ways.
“After having taken Dr. Jeansonne’s class,” said another former student, “I find myself challenging the standard way of thinking and pushing further and deeper with my questions.”
Paul
Roebber
Professor, Mathematics/Atmospheric
Sciences
As a Center Scholar in Teaching and Learning, Paul Roebber brings to bear his significant intellectual abilities on the challenges of student learning. The outcomes of this work have already led to changes in teaching practices at UWM, with fewer traditional lectures and more interactive classrooms. He even spearheaded a funding initiative to update the computer lab for this purpose.
He successfully teaches difficult courses at all levels of the curriculum, and has significantly revised many if not all of them to reflect the latest information and technology.
He plays a key role in bridging the gap between theory and practice for UWM undergraduates by supervising undergraduate research, establishing and operating an active and effective weather map room and maintaining a UWM presence in the National Collegiate Forecast Contest.
Many students have been inspired by him to pursue careers in forecasting. And his impact is also seen at the graduate level, where 52 percent of the grad students in the program since 1994 have chosen Roebber as their graduate adviser.
Academic Staff Distinguished Service Award
Jean
Salzer
Student Services Program Manager,
Student Accessibility
Center
Jean Salzer works to ensure that UWM students who are visually impaired have the tools they need to succeed in college.
Salzer runs SAC’s alternative text services program and relies on the efforts of some 90 volunteer readers. Her show of genuine appreciation and support of these people keeps them coming back – and the program operating smoothly.
This year she took on the daunting task of transitioning from a system of tape-recorded texts to the use of high-speed electronic scanning, a project that she researched for more than a year before embarking on.
Not only does it allow students to receive their materials quicker, but it also makes listening to textbooks possible on iPods, MP3 players or on Braille computer printouts.
In her commitment to assistive technology she also has partnered with I&MT to improve accessibility features in the campus computer labs with new software purchases, and she provided the training to computer lab workers so they could help users.
Academic Staff Outstanding Teaching Award
Walter “Chip” Donohue
Adjunct Instructor,
School of Continuing
Education
As director of the Early Childhood Professional Development Programs in the School of Continuing Education, Chip Donohue has developed a nontraditional program, delivered it to primarily nontraditional students using nontraditional methods – and has produced extraordinary results.
The six-course undergraduate program, designed for managers of early childhood programs, is a model of collaboration between the School of Continuing Education, the School of Education and the UWM Children’s Center. Donohue has a skill for designing learning exercises that meet the needs of highly diverse, nontraditional adult learners, most of whom work full time and have limited computer experience.
“By itself, this series of courses earns Dr. Donohue the reputation for revolutionizing the early childhood field,” said one of his nominators.
Successfully moving these courses online was a major achievement. Students who begin the courses with much reservation often finish the class converted into strong advocates for online learning, and end up feeling empowered as working professionals.
Academic Staff Outstanding Performance Awards
Kevin
Beisser
Senior Student Services Specialist,
English as a Second Language
Kevin Beisser is a juggling expert, working in a detail-dependent environment that’s heavy on time-consuming paperwork, maintenance of student databases, and communication with foreign governments and sponsoring corporations.
This year the applicant numbers in the ESL program tripled, creating an even greater load.
Beisser is in charge of all aspects of immigration for the 130 students enrolled in the ESL program, including entering each in the new national registry for international students and scholars. Since new students can enter the program every four weeks, he has to update these materials monthly.
He also travels to recruit new sources of students, and this year results of his efforts are showing. He recently negotiated an agreement with the National University of Colombia, which will send its first group to the U.S. to study English – and they chose UWM’s ESL program.
While juggling all this with grace, Beisser finds the time to be involved in multiple committees at the Center for International Education.
Susan Yelich-Biniecki
Senior Administrative Program Specialist,
Institu
te of World Affairs
Susan Yelich-Biniecki has helped UWM’s Institute of World Affairs bounce back from a period of sagging membership and participation, and departing staff.
By developing and implementing programs intended to inform the public about foreign affairs, she has conceived strategies that have nearly doubled student participation, integrated the programs into teaching at UWM and elsewhere, improved the quality of the speakers coming to Milwaukee and strengthened relationships with the local business community.
A number of new partnerships with nonprofits and foundations have yielded visits by such high-profile speakers as politician Gary Hart, environmental activist Dr. Helen Caldicott and French Ambassador Jean David Levitte.
Her revised membership structure is responsible for the institute now having more than 400 members who generate about $20,000 a year.
In addition, it was she who developed the “learning packages,” materials and online tools that accompany the programming and that have become the model for in-service teacher education programs and UWM undergraduate classes.
Represented Classified Staff Outstanding Service Awards
Anthony
Gray
IS Data Services Specialist,
Information & Media
Technologies
Tony Gray is the person responsible for making sure that the information source for nearly all reporting on UWM student data is up and running properly each day. Administrators across campus access the millions of records contained in the data warehouse to generate reports and data sets with various software. If the warehouse is not available, all this work comes to a halt.
During the course of a year, tens of thousands of hours and probably hundreds of thousands of dollars are saved because of the care with which Gray performs his job.
Gray arrives to work at 5:30 a.m. each day, giving him sufficient time to find problems with the warehouse loads and fix them before the campus users get to work.
“His work is exacting, essential and deeply integrated into all aspects of the institution’s activities,” said one of his nominators. “Yet he performs it seamlessly without exception day in and day out.”
Wendy
Pribbanow
University Services
Program Associate B, College of Health Sciences
Wendy Pribbanow contributes at every level in the Department of Human Movement Sciences – from the mundane, day-to-day tasks to the most critical projects.
The department’s program assistant for 23 years, Pribbanow’s duties have virtually tripled because of the department’s growth and because of her willingness to take on more challenging work.
During her tenure, the department has expanded from two academic programs and fewer than 100 students to four degree programs, three academic certificate programs and more than 450 students.
Pribbanow has enhanced the diversity of the office by recruiting in the department’s work-study program, drawn efficiencies through resource sharing and provided vital support for academic programs. But her most outstanding work shows up in the urgent, often undocumented issues that she helps resolve, and in the intangibles that she brings to the position.
“She takes pride in her work and gives beyond minimal expectations,” said one of her nominators, “and she has done it this way for years.”
Leola Willingham
Custodian, Physical Plant
Services
For the last two years, Leola Willingham, a custodian for the third
floor of Mitchell Hall, has been a daily dose of sunshine for the many denizens
of the art and dance classrooms and offices there.
During renovations to the building last year, the entire Dance Department had to move to a different location for almost an entire semester. The move of so many offices generated many old materials that needed to be discarded, and it was Willingham who eased the inconvenient tasks of faculty.
She has always gone the extra mile to keep the floor clean and comfortable, despite a heavy work load due to staffing limitations.
She also contends with the extra mess that comes with housekeeping for the visual art classrooms.
“There is a diverse population of people who teach, work and study on this floor. Leola is a fine ambassador of good will to everyone she meets,” said one nominator. “Her hard work and positive attitude humble me.”
Non-represented Classified Staff Outstanding Service Award
Mark Kazmierski
Power Plant Superintendent
Physical Plant Services
If the
building you work in is comfortable, you have Mark Kazmierski to thank for
it.
Kazmierski is responsible for operation of the campus central power plant and, for a four-year period, he also assumed many of the responsibilities of a vacant position, which expanded his duties to include record-keeping, permitting, budgeting and project management.
Although the power plant is more than 36 years old, Kazmierski keeps it on the cutting edge of technology by rallying for state funds to make upgrades. As a result, he has implemented more than 100 plant projects and has been instrumental in bringing an additional $9 million in funds to campus.
In addition, his attention to improvements that provide efficiency has saved the university millions in fuel costs.
He also has worked to see that the central power plant meets its affirmative action hiring goals by creating training positions that allow a broader range of applicants to qualify for plant operator positions.
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