College of Letters and Science
The College-at-the-Core
COLS Newsletter - Spring 2016
Students document life stories
Legacies project matches student writers with local elders for rich experience
When Sallyann Siira began meeting with Beulah
Oksiuta as part of the Life Story Legacies project, she
would find a closed door upon arrival. The two met once
a week for one or two hours, with Sallyann asking Beulah
questions about her life, with the intention of compiling
the assembled stories into a coherent narrative.
Regardless of how well Beulah’s story turns out, it will not
be the most gratifying part of the experience for Sallyann,
a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
“Now, when I arrive, her door is wide open,” she
says. “This is an indicator she enjoys my presence and
anticipates having conversations with me, which has
been so rewarding. She brings a lot to the table. I learn
so much from her and would hope she’s taken away
something from it, too.”
Life Story Legacies is the creation of Lynn Ludwig,
assistant professor of English at UW-Stevens Point. Ludwig
conceived the idea as part of an advanced writing
course she taught at St. Cloud State and continued
it upon arriving in Stevens Point. The service learning
project allows students to extend their writing footprint
beyond the classroom and reach across generational
borders, by entering the world of the elderly.
Students are matched with local elders, and capture
interviews on digital recorders before transcribing drafts
of the story. Elders review sections of the draft to suggest
revisions, corrections and additions, before a final draft
is submitted. After Ludwig conducts a final review, UWStevens Point Printing and Design contributes a cover,
layout and proof. Multiple copies are printed for the elder
and family members, the student, the care facility and
UW-Stevens Point and Portage County Library Archives.
“It is important to provide writing opportunities outside
the traditional classroom that unite college students with
local elders,” Ludwig says. “The project has remained true
to those initial goals, and I have expanded my personal
skill set to support the students in end-of-life education
and bereavement counseling, when necessary.”
When Brittany Falk was assigned to work with elder
Jean Hamm, she was excited, but admits to being
“overwhelmed – I knew there was a lot of information to
The Life Story
Legacies project,
coordinated by
English professor
Lynn Ludwig
(above) matches
local elders like
Ray Stroik with
UW-Stevens Point
students, including
the now graduated
Ashley Remington
(right).
sift through.” Yet, by meeting with Hamm regularly and
preparing diligently beforehand, Falk has uncovered a
compelling story she is eager to tell.
“Jean’s a spitfire! She’s very intense,” Falk says. “She
has a lot of great advice. As I kept asking her questions
about what kind of person she is and what she would
have done in certain situations, the way she answered
them is how I approach those kinds of situations, so I’ve
learned a lot about myself in the process, too.”
Ludwig’s students partner with residents from Portage
County Health Care Center, Harmony Living Center,
Brookdale and Atrium Care, and other elders living
independently. For information on becoming involved
with the Life Story Legacies project, contact Ludwig at
lludwig@uwsp.edu.
Newsletter editor: Scott Tappa n www.uwsp.edu/cols n twitter.com/UWSPcols n facebook.com/UWSPCOLS
A strategic enrollment initiative in physical sciences
The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point has an
opportunity for growth in majors and minors in its physical
science departments, which include:
• Physics and Astronomy
• Chemistry
• Geography and Geology
• Mathematical Sciences
• Computing and New Media Technologies
• Soils and Water Resources
It has been estimated that many sectors in our economy
will require life scientists with stronger backgrounds in
mathematics and chemistry, and that the life sciences
will increasingly converge with the physical sciences. It is
unlikely that we will see a reduction in student demand
for majors within STEM disciplines (science, technology,
engineering and mathematics). We typically face
difficulty recruiting and retaining students in programs
that require a deeper background in mathematics and
chemistry.
A Strategy
These realities present UW-Stevens Point with capacity
for new-student recruitment in the physical sciences and
retention of these students, linked with an opportunity
to increase our overall undergraduate student diversity.
Recruitment will be an active process in an effort to
clarify career opportunities and the desirability and
national need for associated occupations.
Recruiting students for these quantitative fields
requires us to develop an outreach model that aims at
specific schools, teachers and students who can be
tracked and encouraged in mathematics and chemistry.
Once enrolled at UW-Stevens Point, we need to develop
a program of assistance in alleviating mathematics and
quantitative science anxiety through faculty mentoring,
tutoring, advising and research experiences. We can aim
at future recruitment success by building the “pipeline”
of potential majors in these areas and working with local,
regional and targeted national school systems.
This points us to three simultaneous approaches to
accomplishing our enrollment goals.
A. Recruitment from within. We must work with
admitted students “in-transition” who may be leaning
toward the sciences, but who may not have full
information on the opportunities available in the physical
sciences. This spring, College of Letters and Science
Dean Chris Cirmo launched a colloquium speaker series
Your Gift Makes a Difference!
New Science Building Groundbreaking
Official groundbreaking for the new UW-Stevens
Point biology and chemistry building has been set
for 11 a.m., Thursday, May 5. Visit www.uwsp.edu/
newsciencebuilding for more information and to
follow updates as construction progresses.
introducing students to career paths in the physical
sciences and mathematics. Speakers included the dean,
COLS faculty and alumni.
B. External recruitment: We must attract more
students to the physical sciences from current high
school graduate pools. Existing programs such as STEM
Exploration Days for Boys and Girls, and the Central
Wisconsin Mathematics League, as well as COLS centers
such as the Museum of Natural History and Allen F. Blocher
Planetarium expose high school students to our offerings.
C. Pipeline programs: Developing partnerships with
local and regional school systems to encourage success
and reduce anxiety in mathematics at the grade school
and middle school levels.
Institutional Leverage
We wish to pursue a specific enrollment management
plan that focuses on the physical sciences as part of a
larger plan to reach the chancellor’s enrollment goals.
Attracting students interested in such programs is already
well-leveraged at UW-Stevens Point by:
• our existing reputation as a “place of excellence”
for higher education in the sciences, natural resources,
mathematics and computer science;
• the new chemistry/biology science building with
new facilities and equipment for the Department of
Chemistry;
• the recent receipt of a Title III Grant with the
Department of Education — Strengthening Academic
Success: More Graduates in Wisconsin;
• the specific goals of our Healthy Communities
Initiative that focus our attention on creating an
intentional diversity pipeline of students interested in
the sciences —
­ rural, low-income, first-generation,
Hmong, Native American and other underrepresented
communities from the northern two-thirds of the state;
• our need to increase our student body diversity with
federal aid eligible, underrepresented students.
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
“Partnering.” This word is used frequently as we ponder our role in a new world
of expectations for the public university. BusinessDictionary.com defines it
as “Establishing a long term win-win relationship based on mutual trust and
teamwork, sharing both risks and rewards.” Trust, teamwork and sharing are
critical. In the public academy we feel increasing pressure to demonstrate
how we cooperate and bring our expertise and message to meeting the
needs of our partner communities. Here in the College of Letters and Science
we take this charge seriously. We are stewards, and we cannot afford to live in
a vacuum of what is assumed to be our students’ greater interest. Our college
consistently demonstrates our commitment to outreach to our partners
through relationships with the Medical College of Wisconsin (sharing a faculty
position), local information technology interests (positions, resources and
curricula), in aquaculture and aquaponics (through the Northern Aquaculture
Demonstration Facility and Red Cliff Tribe in Bayfield, and with a private firm in Montello), in cooperation with the
needs of Wisconsin in professional health care training, molecular biology, genetics and chemistry (the new science
building), and in citizen outreach and student placements in the new social work major. As I work to help our faculty
develop new partnerships with our community, region and state, I use one mantra in looking to share this university:
”How will this relationship advance the status and employability of our students, and how can we help our community
address its continuing needs with the expertise and brain trust at our university?” Across this college, and indeed the
university, we are making great strides toward enhancing our role as the “steward of place” for Central Wisconsin.
New course prepares students for drone revolution
Much has been made about the rise in popularity of
unmanned aerial vehicles, more commonly known as
drones. Design, manufacturing and software advances
have made contemporary drones user-friendly, relatively
easy to operate right out of the box.
Yet while observers project that tens of thousands of
drones will be in use by the end of the decade, drones
are currently approved primarily for recreational use and,
with the exception of select exempt parties, banned
from commercial use. A new class at the University of
Wisconsin-Stevens Point is preparing students for the time
when drone use is more widely sanctioned.
This spring, assistant professor of geography Tim
Kennedy is teaching GEO 391/591, Special Topics/UAS
Operations in Remote Sensing.
The first phase of the course covers Federal Aviation Administration regulations, reading aeronautical charts,
communicating by radio with air traffic controllers and
learning about how UAV systems work. The second phase
covers actual flight training. Since outside operation is
prohibited, students (like Nicolaus Anderson, pictured)
practice inside the Multi-Activity Center. Finally students
will move on to data collection and analysis. This is the
holy grail of drone use from Kennedy’s perspective.
“Before the first lecture, I was developing a list of
drone applications and had to quit after three pages
because it just goes on and on,” says Kennedy. “This could
permeate all parts of our lives. Our hope is that when the
FAA comes out with a regulatory process to train and
certify UAV operators, we’ll have students ready to go.”
Once given the green light, Kennedy envisions
students flying drones to collect imagery, perform
biophysical analysis, monitor crop health and support
forest operations. “We’re also interested in mapping
the campus, developing three-dimensional models of
campus buildings and structures,” Kennedy says.
Beyond campus, Kennedy sees a couple of Internet
heavyweights leading expansion of drone use. “One of
the big areas for growth is the commercial area, with
Google and Amazon using it for delivery,” says Kennedy.
“UAVs are also really good for dull, dirty or dangerous
missions. For example, infrastructure uses like inspecting
bridge piers. If we have to put somebody in a cherry
picker, bucket lift or boat, it takes a long time. But it’s easy
to take a drone out and record imagery of that pier.
“We will be able to throw one in the back of a vehicle,
drive to Schmeeckle Reserve or Treehaven or another
study area and start collecting imagery pretty quick.”
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
College of Letters and Science
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Stevens Point, WI 54481
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News Briefs
Java or .Net applications. The program
is expected to be operational by
this summer with eight students. The
long-term goal is to provide jobs for
approximately 25 students.
Social work alum Marcia McDonald was
recently hired as Portage County Health
Care Center Administrator.
Political science graduate Timothy Fair
has been hired as assistant dean of
students at Cornell University.
Biology graduate Harrison “Gabe” Frank
recently opened the Frank Institute for
Health and Wellness in Wilmington, N.C.
Sociology graduate Pamela Handrow
has been named executive director of
Bethany Apartments in Racine.
CNMT lecturer David Chrisinger is editing
a book of essays on soldiers’ experiences
on and off the battlefield titled “See Me
For Who I Am.”
Sentry Insurance announced the
development of a new Information
Upcoming COLS Events
●● April 12, 6:30 p.m. — Problematic
Plastics: Effects on Brain and
Behavior, Heather Molenda-Figueira
(Community Lecture Series)
●● May 10, 6:30 p.m. — Cultivating
Tomorrow’s Leaders: The Value of the
Model United Nations Experience,
Mert Kartal (Community Lecture
Series)
●● May 6, 2 p.m. — College of Letters
and Science Undergraduate
Research Symposium
Technology Co-op for University of
Wisconsin–Stevens Point students within
walking distance of campus at 1105
Main Street in downtown Stevens Point.
The cutting edge program will provide
opportunities for Computing and New
Media Technologies students to get
real work experience while pursuing
their degree. Co-op employees will
work as part of Sentry’s Application
Development team in IT, assisting with
Biology professor Sarah Jane Alger has
been awarded a UW System Women in
Science Program grant.
Lon Roberts, a political science/
economics alumnus, is Wisconsin’s new
secretary of the Department of Financial
Institutions.
Skyward Inc. honored English graduate
Cathy Tritz as 2016 Central Wisconsin
Teacher of the Year.
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The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution and a tobacco-free campus.