College of Letters and Science
The College-at-the-Core
COLS Newsletter - Spring 2015
Fighting Islamophobia in Stevens Point
Religious Studies class connects Pointers with Muslim students in Egypt
By Scott Tappa
Central Wisconsin are
unlikely to have had
social interactions with
Growing up in
Muslims,” Luft says. “And
Washington, D.C.,
while they don’t like
Destany Johnson knew
to admit to believing
more than a little bit
stereotypes, they often
about Islam. While not
report at the end of the
a Muslim herself, one
project that speaking
of Johnson’s cousins
with their Egyptian
converted to the faith
partners caused them
after getting married,
to reconsider their
and answered many
preconceptions of
of the questions
Islam.”
Destany had about
Growing up in
the religion. “I like to
Milwaukee, Marissa
think I didn’t have any
Myers’ notions
misconceptions about
of Muslims were
Muslims,” she says. “But
influenced by the events
I might have, because of Destany Johnson (left) and Marissa Myers were students in
Shanny Luft’s Religion 101 class last semester and communicated
of September 11, 2001.
how news is portrayed
with students at American University in Cairo, Egypt.
The terrorist attacks on
here.”
the U.S. were portrayed as the act of Muslim extremists,
Challenging preconceptions is part of a unique
and while Myers says she was able to remove herself
exercise in professor Shanny Luft’s Religion 101 class at
from that mindset, “Islamophobia” was a topic of great
the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. In it, Johnson
concern to the Cairo students with whom she connected.
and her classmates established a dialogue with Muslim
“They said it’s hard to live with that stigma of being
college students at American University in Cairo, Egypt.
portrayed as a terrorist,” says Myers, who made a strong
Communicating with peers halfway around the world
connection with a student named Muhammad. “There
helped Luft’s students learn more about Islam, discover
was a lot to take away from it. Muhammad was talking
commonalities and apply their education in a real world
about how news is portrayed in America, and how what
setting.
we see is totally different from what they see.”
The project originated about 10 years ago, when
Says Luft: “I had a UW-Stevens Point student who did
Brooke Comer, an English and journalism instructor at
this project five years ago. He had come back from Iraq,
AUC, contacted Luft, then a graduate student at the
where he had extensive interactions with Muslims. When
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and proposed
he completed the project, he wrote his final reflection
the idea of connecting students from Egypt and the
about how the experience changed his perceptions of
U.S. in discussion groups. Though the two have never
Islam and Muslims.
met, Comer and Luft have organized these exchanges
“These cross-cultural dialogues were originally a
multiple times throughout the past decade. Luft has
way for students to learn about Islam, and they have
worked at three universities in that time, and organized
done that. But in reading my students’ reflections, I’ve
this exercise twice at UW-Stevens Point, most recently
learned that students come to discover something about
during the Fall 2014 semester.
themselves through these dialogues.”
“It’s been especially useful here since students from
Newsletter editor: Scott Tappa n www.uwsp.edu/cols n twitter.com/UWSPcols n facebook.com/UWSPCOLS
French professor earns prestigious honor
Toumi awarded Les Palmes académiques for contributions to French education, culture
J. Ingrid Lesley and her
late husband enjoyed
traveling internationally,
getting their passports
stamped in France on
several occasions. Yet,
beyond some of the most
basic phrases such as
“merci beaucoup!”, her
understanding of French
was limited. After Lesley’s
husband passed away,
she began studying
the language at the
University of WisconsinStevens Point as an
auditing, nontraditional student. After 10 years, she has
reached the point where she will hear a phrase in English
and think the words in French.
“The French language has become my lover,” she
says with a smile.
Ingrid credits World Languages and Literatures
faculty such as Marcia Parker (emerita) and Beverley
David with fostering her love of French, but has taken
her gratitude a step further in the case of Alek Toumi.
Thanks to Lesley’s nomination and support from David,
colleague Vera Klekovkina, department chair Richard
Ruppel and others, Toumi was recently honored with
Les Palmes académiques, one of the highest honors
awarded by the French government recognizing
outstanding contributions to education and culture.
The Palmes académiques was created in 1808
by Napoleon I and made a decoration in 1866 under
Napoleon III, at which time the honor was extended to
non-teachers who had rendered illustrious service to
French education. The “palms” is the country’s oldest
non-military decoration. Both foreigners and French living
abroad who contribute actively to the expansion of
French education and culture may be recognized.
In the U.S., dossiers for nominations and promotions
are typically prepared by the French Consulates and
forwarded to and reviewed by the French Embassy. They
are then transmitted to the French Ministry of National
Education in Paris, which makes the final decision on
French and foreign recipients. This is the procedure
followed by Lesley, who was inspired after learning of
a Palmes académiques recipient in a DePaul University
Your Gift Makes a Difference!
alumni newsletter. Lesley
says Toumi is richly
deserving of the honor.
“He brings life to the
French language in the
classroom, he brings
energy,” she says, citing
Toumi’s use of French
films and in-depth
discussion of Albert
Camus, on whom Toumi
has written 10 books. It
is believed Toumi is the
first person associated
with UW-Stevens Point to
receive the honor. Details
of when and where Toumi will officially receive the honor
from the French Consulate in Chicago are yet to be
determined.
“I was really surprised, it’s very flattering,” he says.
“This puts the department, college and UWSP on the
map. We are a teaching institution, and the Department
of World Languages and Literatures is very strong. My
colleagues Beverley David and Vera Klekovkina are
excellent teachers, and this gives recognition that UWStevens Point gives students great teachers that can
teach at any Big Ten or even Ivy League school.”
UW-Stevens Point professor
emerita of history Sally Kent
died Feb. 3 after a battle
with lung cancer. Sally was a
member of the history faculty
from 1987 until her retirement
in 2014. She won the Eugene
Katz Letters and Science
Distinguished Faculty Award
in 2012 and was nominated for
the University Service Award three times.
Sally coordinated the international
studies program and served as chair
of the History Department. Gifts in her
memory should be made payable and
sent to the UWSP Foundation for the
History Department Faculty Memorial
Endowment.
For information on creating a legacy at UW-Stevens Point or creating one for a friend, mentor or loved one,
please contact Tony Romano at 715-346-3406 or email tony.romano@uwsp.edu. For more information visit
www.uwsp.edu/cols/Pages/HowToSupport. Thank you for your consideration!
From the desk of COLS Dean Chris Cirmo
“Uncertainty!” This seems to be the operative word at UW-Stevens Point and
throughout the University of Wisconsin System, particularly this spring. How do
we absorb the potential budgetary reductions we are all facing? Is this a time
to hunker down and hope things pass by us with no effect? What is the reality
for students and parents who depend on a strong public system of higher
education for the state? What are the ramifications for programs, faculty and
staff members, and students as we adjust what we offer and make ourselves
more efficient? At UW-Stevens Point, we have taken a very proactive role in
responding to what we know will be dramatic budget shortfalls in the next two
years. At a time when tuition is frozen, and each campus is asked to reduce
what it does, do we cut everything a little bit and survive, or do we boldly
move ahead taking what is unique and excellent here, and simultaneously
addresses 21st century realities? The temptation to reduce budgets across the
board affects everyone equally as “shared pain,” but is nonstrategic and makes us a weaker institution. As we move
forward in this exercise, and look to the next decade at UW-Stevens Point, we wish to accent those programs that make
us special, and build on a very strong basic foundation of liberal arts and sciences, a critical mission of the College of
Letters and Science. As I look at the topics and articles in this newsletter, I am again proud, delighted and confident
that our faculty and academic programs will remain the focus of our efforts, while new programs and curricula
showing the promise of growth will be carefully considered. This is why, after all, we are the College-at-the-Core!
Innovation Center will boost domestic aquaculture
With support from a
$677,500 state economic
development incentive
grant, the University of
Wisconsin-Stevens Point
has built the Aquaponics
Innovation Center
to train workers and
enhance economic
development.
The center is
located in Montello
at Nelson and Pade,
Inc., UW-Stevens Point’s
partner in developing
an aquaponics training
program. It is housed in a portion of
Nelson and Pade’s new 13,500-square
foot, controlled-environment
greenhouse in Marquette County.
The AIC will provide education
and resources for economic and
workforce development. New
business innovation and ways to
overcome obstacles for this rapidly
growing food production industry will
be explored.
“It will serve as an economic
incubator for learning, a catalyst for
economic growth and a location for
new business and commercializing
discoveries,” said biology professor
Chris Hartleb, who leads the
university’s aquaculture program.
“The industry lacks the academic
training needed to run these systems
and to advance the industry for
large-scale commercial production.”
Aquaponics is a branch of
aquaculture, integrating fish and
plant agriculture in a single, seamless
system. Aquaculture, or fish farming,
is the fastest growing sector of food
production in the country, increasing
at an annual rate of 15 percent in
the last 20 years. Eighty-six percent of
the seafood consumed in the United
States is imported. The seafood trade
deficit exceeds $10 billion annually,
the largest trade deficit
of all U.S. agriculture
products.
UW-Stevens Point has
partnered with Nelson and
Pade, a global leader in
aquaponic system design,
construction and training,
for several years. Hartleb
developed an aquaponics
course with company
founders Rebecca Nelson
and John Pade.
UW-Stevens Point
continues to be the only
four-year accredited
university in the U.S. to offer a
semester-long aquaponics class,
and in the fall offered the nation’s
first professional certificate program
in aquaponics. Students learn how
to grow fresh fish and plants in an
economically sustainable, highly
productive food system.
“The Aquaponics Innovation
Center is a continuation of our
partnership that will enhance the
industry and result in expanding use of
this sustainable technology, creating
jobs and increasing the availability
of fresh, local food in Wisconsin and
around the world,” Nelson said.
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News Briefs
UW-Stevens Point biology graduate
Jason Cotter will serve Florence and
Forest counties as a newly hired wildlife
biologist with the Wisconsin Department
of Natural Resources. Cotter is stationed
in Florence, Wis., and will be responsible
for implementing broad scale wildlife
programs within Spread Eagle Barrens
State Natural Area, Pine-Popple Wild
Rivers Area and Little Rice Wildlife Area.
The Central Wisconsin Mathematics
League marks its 45th year in 2015. The
competition is administered by nine
UW-Stevens Point faculty members, who
volunteer to write and score tests. Stan
Carlson, a retired mathematics professor,
began helping with the league in 1971
and co-chairs the competition with
UWSP lecturer Kevin Schoenecker.
A group of UW-Stevens Point students,
including French majors Matthew
Kashdan, Jennifer Kozuch and Hayley
Bristol landed in France for their
semester studying abroad just after
al-Qaida attacks on a satirical weekly
newspaper sent the country into turmoil.
Accompanied by French instructor Vera
Klekovkina, the students experienced
life in a foreign country besieged by
terror. “There’s a real spirit of solidarity
that’s all over the country,” Bristol told
local media via Skype. “Obviously it’s
a very upsetting event and people are
worried if something else will happen,
but the atmosphere is good.”
The Interactive Menominee Place
Names Map is now accessible
online at www4.uwsp.edu/museum/
menomineeClans/places/flashmap.
html. The map is the culmination of more
than 30 years of research into traditional
Menominee location terminology and
related stories, using digital cartography
and Web production. UWSP personnel
associated with the project include Joe
Martell and Keith Rice of the GIS Center,
Ray Reser of the Museum and Natural
History and COLS Dean Chris Cirmo.
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The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution and a tobacco-free campus.