Realizing Our Vision as The College-at-the-Core
COLS
College of
Letters and Science
April 2012
Perspectives from
the Undergraduate
Research Symposium
By Shane Stricker
College of Letters and Science students will showcase their
collaborative research with posters and oral presentations in the
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point’s 13th Annual Undergraduate
Research Symposium. As the Symposium quickly approaches, we take
Oral pre­sent­ation at 2011 COLS
Under­graduate Research Symposium
a look at the profound effect the event has had on students, alumni
and professors.
Tracey Oudenhoven, a chemistry major and recent alumna of UWSP, presented at the symposium last year. Her research
project was many years in the making, starting the project when she was a freshman. Oudenhoven said, “Presenting my research
at the symposium was really gratifying. After putting in months and years of work, I enjoyed sharing my results and showing how
I had improved the knowledge in my field of research. It led me to pursue graduate school and to continue to do research as I
work towards my doctorate in chemistry.”
Current student Jenna Hulke also presented at last year’s symposium with her research project on helminthes in stoneflies.
Hulke said, “The symposium really is about presenting something that you love in hopes that other people will find it interesting
and exciting.” Hulke notes it is nice to conduct research side-by-side with professors. The symposium allows students to work with
professors on a more personal level. This year Hulke joined the Symposium Committee as a student representative. “I have really
enjoyed doing research and presenting at the symposium and being on the committee has allowed me to appreciate the
amount of work that goes into preparing a research symposium of such magnitude,” said Hulke.
The College of Letters and Science has hosted the symposium for over a decade. UWSP alumnus Andrew Williams presented
at one of the first symposiums back in 2003. He currently teaches in the Department of Art and Art History at UW-Stout. Williams
said, “The symposium was my first real experience with professional public speaking. The fact that I had to address a broad
audience, who was not necessarily familiar with my area, forced me to consider the audience’s perspective and allowed me to
become a better, more inclusive communicator.”
Assistant Dean for Current and Student Affairs Dona Warren is a professor of philosophy and the chair of the Symposium
Committee. Warren, who has worked with the symposium since its
early days, said, “The symposium has become a regular, dependable,
element of university life.” As a professor, she sees great value in
working closely with students. Warren noted, “By bringing students
into our own research, or entering into a new research project with
students, we can foster a healthy intellectual community and unify the
teaching and research aspects of our professional lives in a way that is
very fulfilling.” The students benefit greatly, even after the Symposium
has passed. “After the event,” Warren said, “they can continue their
research and use their participation in the Symposium as evidence of
their intellectual maturity, problem-solving abilities, and work ethic,
qualities that are highly prized by employers and graduate schools.”
Poster presentation at
This year’s Symposium will be held April 27 in the Science Building
2011 COLS Undergraduate
from 2 to 5 p.m. The Symposium is free and open to the public.
Research Symposium
University of Wisconsin
Stevens Point
Living in Hungary: A UWSP Study Abroad Experience
By Shane Stricker
It’s difficult to explain four months in a foreign country to
someone who’s never done it. After my semester studying
abroad in Hungary last year, I told stories and showed pictures,
but my friends and family in the U.S. were more surprised
by the changes. It was inevitable. During my four months
abroad, I changed. Hungary stopped being foreign and
became my second home. My return to the U.S. came entirely
too soon. On the airplane home, I realized that I now had
friends from all over the world. At the University of Szeged in
Hungary, I attended class with students from France, Finland,
Austria, North Korea, and Belgium. I still keep in contact with
Hungarian booth selling delicious meats
amazing people I met from Italy and Slovakia. Travel in Europe
is inexpensive once you arrive and study abroad programs are
designed to encourage travel.
What does this study abroad experience do for me now
that I’m back in the U.S., finishing up my college education,
and getting ready to enter the work force? Does a semester
abroad really help in
the real world? The
short answer is yes.
Chris Cirmo, dean of
the College of Letters
and Science, said,
“The fundamental
mission of a liberal
arts education is
Shane Stricker (right)
to ‘liberate’ the
at a Festival in Hungary
mind and open
it to experiences,
knowledge and skills to be used in being a professional and a
contributing, socially minded citizen.” Potential employers are
always seeking individuals who are creative, adaptable, and
personable, all of which can be acquired abroad.
For me, living in another country was an exciting,
unpredictable, and life-changing experience, especially since
I didn’t know how to speak the language. The challenges
forced me to adapt and become a more open-minded,
adventurous, and resourceful person. I’m also better at
talking with people. This skill was fostered by months of
communicating via charades because I didn’t know the
language of my host country. I’ve learned how to read
body language. If I can get the gist of what a Hungarian
is telling me based only on his gestures and tone of voice,
understanding English-speakers is a cakewalk. Living in a
foreign country was a challenge which, now accomplished,
has given me the confidence to easily overcome whatever life
hits me with next.
Please consider making a positive impact on UWSP students and programs with a donation to the International Programs Scholarship
by visiting www.uwsp.edu/foundation. For information about creating a legacy at UWSP or creating one for a friend, mentor, or loved
one, please contact Julie Smith at 715-346-2406 or email julie.smith@uwsp.edu. Thank you for your consideration.
Video Games Featured at Community Lecture Series
Video Games can change the way we think about education, according to UWSP Computing and New Media Technologies
Assistant Professor, Trudi Miller. Part of the 2011-12 COLS Community Lecture Series, Miller’s presentation, “Living, Earning, and
Learning: Video Games in the 21st Century,” was an informative, playful, and surprisingly funny history of video games from Pong
to present. Miller explained how games have evolved to support sharper graphics, how beeps and boops morphed into beautiful
orchestrations, and how the numbers on the game screen have become smaller and smaller because “game developers have
figured out that people are a little scared of numbers.”
The latter half of Miller’s presentation focused on current gaming. She highlighted
the trends and increasing relevance of gaming today. Miller said, “If you have electronic
devices, you have access to games. You have home consoles, computers, tablet PCs,
iPads, cell phones, and you also have them in social media.” People who have never
played a video game before are now spending hours with Facebook’s Farmville, an online
farming simulator. Rather than shying away from gaming, Miller suggested we embrace it.
According to Miller, we can use gaming culture to improve education by implementing a
Over two decades of advancements
video game-like awards and achievements system that would encourage students to take
full advantage of their education.
On April 12, Assistant Professor of Chemistry Mike Zach will present “UWSP’s Nanowires: High-tech, Cutting-edge Research in
an Unexpected Place.” On May 10, Assistant Professor Jody Lewis will present “Social Class in Education: Psychological Factors
Limit Upward Social Mobility.” The entire lecture schedule and previously recorded videos, including Miller’s presentation, can be
viewed online by visiting www.uwsp.edu/cols/lectureseries.
www.uwsp.edu/cols/lectureseries
The Cards We Are Dealt…
from the desk of Dean Chris Cirmo
We counsel students about the importance of seeing the endgame, the target, the “prize” at the end of each student’s
winding, unpredictable road. During a time when political, fiscal and leadership uncertainty reign, we remind ourselves of the
endgame in our mission at a public liberal arts comprehensive university, and specifically as the College-at-the-Core, where the
fundamental mission of a liberal arts and sciences education is housed.
Our continuing focus on excellence in student-centered and participatory education is unchanging,
and our students need to be held harmless from these external uncertainties. Our foundation is strong, our
faculty superb, our staff dedicated and assistive, and our focus on the prize is unwavering. Indeed, we
are moving forward with new initiatives in the humanities,
health care, social work, and a state-of-the-art science
building. Our development work is expanding, and we are
creating new ways to support students, faculty and staff in
what they do. We are the true engine of economic growth
This Spring, the Academy of Letters
for our region and all of central Wisconsin.
and Science decided to establish an
We will emerge from this somewhat unpredictable
endowment that will fund Academy
“poker game” stronger, leaner and perhaps wiser. Our newsletter highlights
activities that have long benefited the
this with the celebration of undergraduate research, Shane Stricker’s
College, including the Spring Award
experiences in Hungary, our Community Lecture Series as public engagement
ceremony. The volunteer members of
with our stakeholders, initiatives in sustainable aquaponics technology and
the Academy’s Executive Committee
environmental monitoring, and work on bringing our students new environments
have pledged nearly $20,000 as this
for study and experience. Our place at the table in this poker game is assured.
publication went to press! Those who
We simply need to dedicate ourselves to playing our chips wisely, in novel ways,
wish to help support the endowment
and with the future of this magnificent university in mind. We all have a stake in
should contact, Julie Smith at 715-346helping the college and university play its cards strategically, with attention to
2406 or jsmith@uwsp.edu.
not overreaching our mission or overspending our resources. I look forward to
an invigorated College of Letters and Science, with programs and strategies in
place to allow us to cash in more chips than we pay out. I wish you all a very happy spring and encourage you to support this
college with your own actions, words and resources, and as public relations advocates for the College of Letters and Science.
Our endgame has always been and remains…the success of our students.
Academy News
Introduction to Aquaponics
By Shane Stricker
Aquaponics, a combination of aquaculture and hydroponics, is an innovative method of agriculture that may be the
solution to providing fresh food efficiently and sustainably. At the forefront of the green movement, the University of Wisconsin
Stevens Point has teamed up with Nelson and Pade, Inc., a Wisconsin-based company specializing in aquaponics technology, to
offer a 3-credit course titled Introduction to Aquaponics in Spring 2012.
The course has been developed in part by Chris Hartleb, professor of biology. Hartleb co-directs the Northern Aquaculture
Demonstration Facility (NADF) that is also being used as an aquaculture education tool. NADF has earned over $1.3 million in
external grants which contributes to the $21 million aquaculture industry of Wisconsin. Most NADF operations occur in the 8,500
sq. ft. aquatic production building in Bayfield which is capable of raising warm, cool, and cold-water fish species. The goals
of the facility include conducting research in commercial aquaculture, providing training opportunities and assistance to fish
farmers, and working with industry on advancing regional aquaculture.
The private/public partnership between Nelson and Pade, Inc. and
UWSP is a new stage in the development of the aquaponics industry
and will provide comprehensive training in aquaponics at the university
level. Rebecca Nelson of Nelson and Pade, Inc. comments, “As the
aquaponics industry grows, one of the big issues we face is a lack of
trained and educated individuals to fill jobs as aquaponic greenhouse
managers and workers. The launch of this course, which I believe is the
first of its kind in the nation, has the potential to grow into a knowledgebased economic engine to help the aquaponics industry.”
The course Introduction to Aquaponics is open to students at UWSP
as well as students from other colleges and universities through UWSP
Continuing Education. Students can register online at www.uwsp.edu/
conted/credit. More information about the UWSP aquaculture program
can be found at http://aquaculture.uwsp.edu.
Inside NADF
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
College of Letters and Science
130 Collins Classroom Center
Stevens Point, WI 54481
Non-profit Org.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PERMIT NO. 19
STEVENS POINT
WI 54481
New Courtyard
Herb Garden
The Science Building’s courtyard
has been transformed from a plain
walkway to an herb garden which will
allow students hands-on experience
with plant biology. Associate Professor
of Biology Virginia Freire said, “The
garden is designed to be an interactive
educational experience for students and
the public.” The idea for an herb garden
was provided by a campus organization,
Sustainable Agriculture in Communities
Society, and initially funded by Alumna
Samantha Parfrey through a research
grant. Further funding was provided by
UWSP’s Student Government Association.
The garden consists of over 50 types of
plants, each with a station that tells the
name of the plant and information on
how to grow, harvest and prepare it.
Expansion on the garden will continue in
the spring thanks to volunteers from the
Society of Ethno-biology.
A Look into the Environmental
Effect of Wood Smoke
Central Monitoring Site
As the popularity of wood burning rises and the sales of outdoor wood
boilers increase, Assistant Professor of Chemistry David Snyder seeks to gather
information about what these changes could mean for air quality in Wisconsin.
Working with organizations like the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources,
the Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium, the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Snyder is conducting a nonregulatory study which will provide information on the effect of wood smoke
on air quality in Grand Rapids.
The study, which is fully funded by grants, gives four undergraduate
students hands-on experience in the field. Snyder says, “The students are
actually doing the day-to-day operation, including operating three air
monitoring stations during the study and eventually they will be involved with
analyzing samples and data.” If the project proves enlightening, this summer
Snyder and his partners intend to provide outreach and education to the
public about the effect of wood smoke and he hopes to conduct a follow-up
study the following winter.
www.uwsp.edu/cols
Shane Stricker, Editor