UNIVERSITY OF
WISCONSIN-LA CROSSE
STEERING
COMMITTEE
MEETING
DATES
All OCW meetings
take place in 263
Cartwright Center and
are open to all. We
encourage you to join
us and share ideas
about OCW events
and opportunities.
November 17
December 15
February 16
March 16
April 20
May 18
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
Welcome from
the President
1
Committee
Members
1
Holiday Social
1
Quilt Raffle
Fundraiser
2
Coat/Mitten
Drive
2
Book Club
Events
2
Can for a Cookie: 3
Food Drive
Join OCW
3
Current OCW
Members
3
In Memoriam:
Jean L. Foss
4
Organization for Campus
Women (OCW) Newsletter
N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R
President’s Welcome
Over the last few weeks, I’ve
really been thinking about what
inspires me. The easiest answer
to that is other women. I am
continually amazed at the
women in my life who juggle fulltime jobs with full-time family
obligations while still volunteering in their communities to make
a difference. For many of us, I
fear that we have the added
burden of not feeling like we’re
doing enough or that we are
short-changing our families when
we take time for ourselves or
have to put in extra hours at
work. It’s a difficult balance that
all of us struggle with.
However, I have had the good
fortune of spending some time
recently with my four-year-old
niece, Evie, and her innocent
logic put something in perspective for me. We were talking
about Halloween and dressing
up. Of course, her costume
options ran the gamut of princess, teacher, witch and many
more. Her final choice was to
dress up as “Super Evie”—her
own super hero. I loved it. She
saw in herself that she could be
her own super hero and didn’t
need to follow in the shadows of
Wonder Woman, Batgirl or
Catwoman. She was simply
“enough”...more than enough to
be her own super hero.
So, to all the women out there
who are juggling a busy life and
still feeling not quite enough, be
your own super hero. We may
not have the skills to fly, but we
all deserve a glittery cape.
OCW Holiday Social
Join us for the
annual OCW
Holiday
Social on
Wednesday,
December 1,
2010 from
11:30 a.m. to
1:00 p.m. in
Port O’Call, Cartwright
Center.
The Holiday Social is a great way
to wind down from a busy semester with friends, refreshments,
and fun. There will be several
door prizes available, and we’ll be
drawing the winner of the Quilt
Raffle.
The OCW Holiday Social is also an
opportunity to give back to UW-L
and the La Crosse community.
Please consider bringing a nonperishable food item to be donated
to the UW-L Helping Our Own
food panty or mittens/hats/scarves
to be donated to the Salvation
Army and New Horizons
Women’s Shelter.
You can make a difference this
holiday season while having a
festive time with friends and
co-workers.
2 0 1 0
Committee
Members
THANK YOU to everyone who
has volunteered to serve on an
OCW Subcommittee. There’s
still time to get involved.
Contact a steering committee
member if you’re interested in
working on a subcommittee.
Time commitment tends to be
minimal, but can make a real
difference to OCW and women
on campus.
Honors/Scholarships
Sharie Brunk
Maureen Wilson
Jennifer Kosiak
Audrey Elegbede
Social Committee
Michele Strange
Deanna Wachter
Book Club Committee
Jaralee Richter
Jennifer Kosiak
Rachel Slough
OCW Webpage/Newsletter
Krista Shulka
YWCA Tribute
Susan Butterfield
Maggie McHugh
Jodi Vandenberg-Daves
OCW Symposium
Krista Shulka
Mahruq Khan
Maggie McHugh
Maureen Wilson
Membership/Elections
Melissa Bingham
Krista Shulka
PAGE
2
Quilt Raffle
Scholarship Fundraiser
The Organization for Campus
Women will once again be selling
raffle tickets for a quilt to raise
money for student scholarships.
The beautiful quilt was homemade by Kathy Ring (Human
Resources).
Raffle tickets are $5 each or 5 for
$20. If you would like to help
out with this fundraising event by
selling raffle tickets, please contact Maureen Wilson or Sharie
Brunk to get a set of tickets. You
can also support the cause by
purchasing a raffle ticket from
any OCW Steering Committee
members. Tickets may be
purchased beginning October 12
through December 1. The winner will
be drawn during the OCW Holiday
Social.
Last year’s raffle raised $945.00 for
the Jean L. Foss & Norene A. Smith
OCW Scholarship. This scholarship
was established in 1985 to assist nontraditional female students.
Holiday Luncheon
December 15
Valhalla,
Cartwright Center
The OCW Book Club will meet the
third Tuesday of each month during
the academic year. Book Club
meets at noon at Murphy’s Mug.
Everyone is welcome! If you have
book suggestions, please contact
Jaralee Richter.
Paradise Beneath Her
Feet: How Women are
Transforming the Middle East
By Isobel Coleman
Tuesday, November 23
Coleman reaches across the Middle
East and into Asia in her wideranging discussion of feminism and
Islam. She profiles women in fields
ranging from education to politics
who live across the Muslim world
and individually exhibit great courage in their struggle to create
greater opportunities for girls.
“I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates
the soul of the giver.” ~Maya Angelou~
MARK YOUR
CALENDAR!
Book Club
Give the Gift of Warmth
"Isobel Coleman has written a deeply
engaging book that shows how Muslim
women—and men—across the greater
Middle East are driving social justice by
promoting cultural change from within
their own societies."—Angelina Jolie,
UN Goodwill Ambassador and co-chair,
the Jolie-Pitt Foundation
Run at Destruction: A True
Fatal Love Triangle
By Lynda Drews
Tuesday, December 21
In the La Crosse areas
hundreds of children and adults
have inadequate clothing to
protect them from the harsh
Wisconsin winters. Many of
us have coats we’ve outgrown
or an excess of mittens and
hats shoved in the back of our
closets.
coat drive beginning November 10 through December 10.
Runner and UW-La Crosse alum,
Donation boxes will be
Lynda Drews revisits the mid-1980s
distributed to department and
death of her close friend and fellow
division offices across campus. runner, popular high school teacher
Items of greatest need include Pam Bulik. She chronicles the small
coats, mittens/gloves, scarves Wisconsin community’s response to
and hats in both adult and
Pam’s death, suspicions of suicide
that rang false, and the subsequent
children sizes.
The Organization for Campus
Women (OCW) urges you to
do some “fall cleaning” to make
a real difference for someone
in the Coulee Region. OCW
will be hosting a campus-wide
OCW will collect the donations and distribute them to
the Salvation Army and New
Horizons Women’s Shelter.
naming of Pam’s husband, Bob Bulik,
as the primary suspect. This title
relies on the strong bond between
author and victim for emotional
weight; passages about their shared
moments, and Drews’s feelings of
emptiness in the decades since, are
remarkable.
PAGE
OCW Food Drive: Can for a Cookie
Last year, over 160 UW-La
Crosse students used the
“Helping Our Own” food
pantry on campus. Already
this semester, there has been
an increase in the number
of students relying on this
service. As part of the
Inclusive Excellence initiative,
the Organization for Campus
Women will be hosting a
“Can for a Cookie” Food
Drive from December 10
through January 19.
Donate a non-perishable item
and receive a cookie at the
Chancellor’s All-Campus
Address in January.
UW-LA CROSSE’S
“HELPING OUR
OWN” FOOD
OCW will distribute donation
boxes to department/division
offices across campus beginning December 10th. Departments are asked to display the
donation boxes and encourage
faculty and staff to donate non
-perishable food items or
small personal care items to
support the on-campus
“Helping Our Own” food
pantry. Items of greatest
need are soup, pasta sauce,
noodles, cereal/breakfast
items, and basic hygiene items
(i.e. shampoo, soap, toothpaste, etc.). Each department
will then bring their box of
donated food items to the
Chancellor’s Address on
January 19, 2011 where it will
be displayed on stage during
the address.
PANTRY FAST
FACTS
The UW-L “Helping Our
Own” food pantry is open to
all students with a valid ID.
The pantry is located in 221
Cartwright Center and is
open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Monday through Friday.
In 2009-2010, over 120
students used the food
pantry service.
Nearly 40 students have
already used the service
this year from September to
mid-October.
Most needed items are soup,
pasta sauce, noodles, cereal,
breakfast items, “fast meals”,
and basic hygiene items
(soap, shampoo, toothpaste,
etc.)
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” ~Margaret Mead~
Join OCW
OCW has a lot of exciting,
new events planned for the
2010-2011 academic year,
and we want you to be a part
of it.
OCW is open to all female
faculty, staff, and graduate
students on campus.
Membership is only $10 for
faculty/staff; $8 for LTE’s, and
$5 for graduate students.
The membership year
runs October 1 through
September 30. Make
checks payable to OCW
and send to Krista Shulka,
154 Center for the Arts.
For more information or to
download a membership
application form, please go
to www.uwlax.edu/ocw and
click on the “Join Now”
button.
Membership fees go to
support OCW programming
on campus including the
Holiday Social, Spring Picnic,
and Symposium as well as
scholarships, printing costs,
etc.
CURRENT OCW
MEMBERS
Thanks for supporting
OCW!
Donna Anderson
Jennifer Bell
Francie Biesanz
Melissa Bingham
Sharie Brunk
Susan Butterfield
Bonnie Daines
Diane Dobbs
Audrey Elegbede
Cindy George
Kathleen Gorman
Joy Gutknecht
Deb Hanson
Lori Hanson
Jen Holman
Stefanie Huber
Ingrid Iverson
Catherine Jambois
Nancy Jones
Mahruq Khan
Jennifer Kosiak
Ginny Kreyer
Karen Lange
Brenda Leahy
Rebecca Lee
Sue Lee
Mary Love
Maggie McHugh
Betsy Morgan
Karyn Quinn
Jaralee Richter
Kathy Ring
Krista Shulka
Rachel Slough
Saundra Solum
Maureen Spencer
Michele Strange
Karmin Van Domelen
Deanna Wachter
Gloria Wiener
Maureen Wilson
Becky Yoshizumi
3
In Memoriam:
Jean L. Foss
On October 24, 2010, Jean Lois Foss, 83, passed
away at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in
La Crosse surrounded by her friends. Jean was
a woman of many passions and strived for
excellence in all she did.
Jean was born on Jan. 3, 1927, in Antigo, Wis., to
Edward R. and Lois (Iotte) Foss. She graduated
from La Crosse State Teachers College with a
Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Education
in 1948 and was awarded her Master of Arts
Degree in 1951 from New York University
and subsequently her Ph.D. in 1966 from the
University of Iowa in physical education with an
emphasis in higher education.
Jean’s lifelong commitment to physical education
began with her early years as a counselor at Camp
Pinemere in Woodruff, Wis., where she spent 14
summers as the head camp counselor. She began
her career as a physical education teacher at Beloit
High School in Beloit, Wis. and also spent several
years as a physical education and dance teacher at
Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Ind. and later at
Pomona College in Pomona, Calif.
Jean’s commitment to excellence was exemplified
in preparing physical education teaching majors
after her arrival to Wisconsin State College at La
Crosse in 1962 and as the Chair of the Physical
Education Department for Women from 19701974. She was one of the first women in the
University of Wisconsin System to complete a
UW System Administration Internship and for 15;
years provided outstanding leadership at UW-La
Crosse in her role as Associate Vice Chancellor
in which she instituted an automated registration
system, an Office of International Education, and
the library planning process.
At one time Jean was the highest ranking female
on any campus in the University of Wisconsin
System. She served as a role model for her
students in providing equality for women in higher
education and as a mentor for women faculty and
staff. Jean was instrumental in the establishment
of Women’s Studies Department, Minority
Studies, the Affirmative Action Office, and the
Organization for Campus Women, and was
ultimately honored with the Outstanding Women
Award for Education by the La Crosse YWCA.
Jean was an active member of numerous
professional organizations including President of
the Midwest Association of Physical Education
for College Women from 1981-82. She retired
from UW-La Crosse in 1989, as the Associate
Health, Physical Education and Recreation
Excellence Award for dedication and professional
accomplishments. Jean also served for many years
on the board of Bethany Homes.
In addition to her professional career achievements, Jean was an active member at St. Paul’s
Lutheran Church, serving on the church council
and as an assisting minister, and was a willing
volunteer. She later became a member of Mary,
Mother of the Church Parish at St. Thomas More
Catholic Church.
If you are interested in donating to the Jean L. Foss
and Norene A. Smith OCW Scholarship, please
send donations to the UW-La Crosse Foundation,
109 Cleary Center, 1725 State Street, La Crosse,
WI 54601.