George Acker with his
Outstanding Volunteer of the
Year award.
Fighting the Flu Bug
Student Health Services administered 400 flu shots this academic year to students/ staff/faculty.
Erin Sullivan, Assistant Director of Athletics, Sports & Fitness Center, says, “I am very happy to be back at UW-Stout as I have a lot of pride for this university. This is the career path that I have wanted to pursue and the opportunity could not have been more perfect. I am married to Jeff; he is a teacher at the Menomonie Middle School. I am looking forward to helping the Athletic Department continue to get better every day.”
Alan Symicek, Engineering Specialist Management, is married to Angelina who previously worked at Stout as the Asbestos Manager. They have one daughter, Ashley
(17 months). Alan grew up on a diary farm in Whitehall, WI and currently lives in River
Falls. He has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Milwaukee School of Engineering and is a Licensed Professional Engineer in Wisconsin. His hobbies are camping, skiing, and deer hunting.
The proposal “Benchmarking Opportunities Using a New Data Sharing Consortium: www.PolyDASHER.org
” presented by Meridith Wentz, Wendy Maison, and Dan Krueger was selected for the Polytechnic Summit on July 16-17 of this year.
George Acker was named as the Outstanding Volunteer of the Year by the Greater
Menomonie Chamber of Commerce. He also recently became the 2009 board president of Main Street of Menomonie.
Susan Green’s proposal, "How to Efficiently Complete Your Greenhouse Gas
Inventory," has been selected to present at the 4th Annual Smart & Sustainable
Campuses Conference in College Park, Maryland April 5-7, 2009.
Tim Mertz is now the Assistant Director of Intramural Sports in the Fitness Center.
Bob Dodge, Building & Grounds Superintendent, has been selected as a Collegiate
Management Institutes (CMI) Advisor with the Central Association of College and
University Business Officers (CACUBO).
Jim Uhlir, Executive Director of Health & Safety, has been elected to the Board of
Directors of the Chippewa Valley Regional Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Winter 2009
I’m always a little worried when scheduled to shadow a Physical Plant worker. I’ve been invited to go down into the steam pits, walk the catwalk in the Power Plant, and view the grease pits. Since I’m a bit claustrophobic, scared of heights, and not a good swimmer, I’ve had to decline these opportunities.
But I was really looking forward to shadowing Jay Hanson who is the facility maintenance specialist in Red Cedar Hall. I had heard the maintenance staff were piloting hand-held computing devices for accessing the maintenance software system. It sounded great because it would eliminate paper and any slowdown in communication due to the various locations of the workers. When I met Jay, we went to the shared location in
Red Cedar Hall for the maintenance and custodial staff. Jay showed me the handheld device which was a HP Mobile and looked very similar to a
Blackberry. From this device he can record time and effort, look up information on the equipment in the hall, and receive work orders. It seemed efficient and Jay was very comfortable with the equipment. This is a major step for the Physical Plant area and it seems the staff piloting the hand-held devices are finding ways to use the computers effectively.
We also toured the mechanical areas of the Red Cedar Hall. As one might imagine, everything is big in Red Cedar Hall. Most notably was the hot water heater which would take 3 or 4 people to circle it with their arms.
There are also hot water circulating pumps so that students always have hot water within a few seconds of turning on the faucet.
Jay seems to really enjoy his job. He tinkers with technology and cars at home so the job is a natural for him. Jay lives by Colfax and has a blended family of 2 thirteen-year-old girls, an eleven-year-old boy and a four-year- old boy.
Spectacular eats and a friendly atmosphere were enjoyed by all who attended the Student Business Services
Open House.
Inside This Issue
Shadowing Jay Hanson ............... 1
Employee of the Month .............. 2
Commons Dining Remodel Project
Overview ...................................... 2
Welcome ...................................... 3
Welcome (continued) .................. 4
Volunteer of the Year .................. 4
Fighting the Flu Bug .................... 4
The Good News ........................... 4
News from the Vice Chancellor is published quarterly for ASLS division employees.
Publisher: Diane Moen
Vice Chancellor moend@uwstout.edu
(715) 232-1683
Editor: Heidi Hooten
Communication Specialist hootenh@uwstout.edu
(715) 232-1681
225 Administration Building
Menomonie, WI 54751
Fax: (715) 232-1527

Chancellor Sorensen congratulates Karen Pauly,
Recreation and Athletic
Complex Operations, for being the November Employee of the
Month.
The individual nominating Pauly stated, “...Karen is well deserving of this award. She has always put forth a phenomenal performance every day.”
Lucas Welch, Building
Maintenance, has been named the Classified Employee of the
Month for January.
The individual nominating Lucas stated: “Lucas is an outstanding and committed professional craftsman. His attention to detail is far above even high standards and his desire to create a finished product that he is willing to stand behind, in every respect, makes him one of the strongest assets in this university.”
By Ann Thies
The Merle Price Commons will receive a major remodeling beginning on March
16, 2009 and to be completed by July 24 , 2009. Dining areas will be turned over to the University on August 1, 2009. The project is estimated to be close to $4 million in cost. This project will require the service of all cafeteria meals in the
Memorial Student Center Ballrooms from March 6, 2009 through the end of the
2008-09 school year. Summer camp services during 2009 will be offered in the
Terrace of the Memorial Student Center. Service to fall training camps in the remodeled facility will begin on August 11, 2009.
Background Information:
The Merle Price Commons was built as a residential cafeteria dining facility to serve students residing in south campus residence halls. It opened in 1968 with meal service 7 days a week during the academic year. Only one major remodeling has taken place since 1968 which occurred in 1989-90. This state project addressed infrastructure issues in the dining areas such as: asbestos abatement, plumbing upgrades, new service area equipment, addition of a passenger elevator, etc. A secondary part of this project was the enclosure of outdoor patios to create more first floor building space and add space to the lower level for maintenance/custodial needs. Other small facelifts and ongoing equipment replacements have occurred over the years to meet changing needs, resulting in a somewhat piecemeal effect in the dining service and seating areas.
This last project also had some infrastructure issues removed from the project due to time and financial constraints. In addition, much has changed in the last
19 years regarding presentation and service methods in college foodservice. The new project will address many of the missed infrastructure issues from the first project and improve the service and dining areas.
Current Project Components:
Much of the new project is infrastructure work and will have a “behind the scenes” impact.
Kitchen & Ware Washing Areas
• Asbestos abatement involving removal and replacement of the ceiling, lights, and HVAC system and re-fireproofing of these spaces.
• Replacement of the walk-in coolers and freezers which are the original equipment installed in 1967. Due to the age of the units they are inefficient, use a banned refrigerant and are water cooled. The new units will be better insulated, more efficient, and are air cooled which is better for the environment and saves resources. The new units will also contain approved refrigerants safe for the environment.
• Kitchen Exhaust Systems will be upgraded to variable operation via thermostatic controls creating large energy savings.
• A new more energy efficient and low water use dish machine will be installed.
Dining Service and Seating Bays – Front of House
• Abatement of original asbestos containing floor tiles and replacement with seamless linoleum in high traffic and service areas and carpet in seating areas.
• Replacement of all mobile service stations with more permanent upgraded service stations. Stations to be available upon completion include:
Kitchen Classics
Broadway Grill
Pizzeria
Pasta Stop
Waffle Works
Eggstraordinary Waffles
Stir n’ Wok
Southwest Sizzle
D’Jour
Broadway Deli
Sweet Endings
Upgrades to stations will provide the following advantages:
• Permanent consistent style of service stations throughout the area with much more aesthetically pleasing appearance;
• Employee efficiency and ability to meet food code will be enhanced.
A power point with some graphics on the project can be found at: http://www.uwstout.edu/dining/#Renovation . Once at the site select the
“sneak preview” link.
Betty Johnson, Academic Custodial, has been married for 19 years to Troy.
They have two daughters: Chelsie (16) and Montana (10). Betty loves being outdoors: camping, fishing and taking walks. She also enjoys spending time with close friends and family.
James (JD) Johnson, Football Coach—Running Backs, has a wealth of experience in defensive coaching. He played as a defensive back and special teams player for th University of Northern Colorado from 1992-97. He earned his bachelor’s degree from UNC in journalism and mass communications with an emphasis in public relations. He resides in Chippewa Falls with his wife,
Jeni, and their three children: Ren, Cali and Jack.
Julie Miller, UW-Stout’s new—and first—Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender &
Questioning (LGBTQ) Program Coordinator, is glad for the opportunity to help promote a safe and affirming campus environment that embraces diversity of all kinds. She brings with her a Master’s degree in social work and extensive experience working with youth and young adults in educational and non-educational settings. Julie and her partner Susan moved to Downsville from Minneapolis in 2007, and enjoy country living with their 3 dogs and 3 cats.
Favorite activities include cooking, gardening, biking and kayaking.
John Paulus, Assistant Building & Grounds Superintendent/Physical Plant, lives in rural Chippewa County with his wife. They have a son and two daughters who live in Milwaukee, Bloomer, and Eden Prairie, MN . His children have provided four grandchildren for John and his wife, with another due in July. John says he enjoys “remodeling, landscaping, golf, our grandchildren and camping, not necessarily in that order.”