News from the Vice Chancellor
January 2012
Student Centered
Revitalized MSC exceeds expectations
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Student Centered........... 1
Overhauling Fleming.... 1
Welcome....................... 2
Good news.................... 3
Reminders.................... 3
Employee of the month...4
Sustainable Stout......... 5
A visit to the student center before the
opening reveals a remarkable transformation: The old MSC, with its dated
layout and dim lighting, has morphed
into a warm collection of open spaces
bathed in natural light and teeming
with functionality. The transformation
is the result of a focused effort to meet
the expectations of our students—now
and in the future.
“ went above
the planners
and beyond
to figure out
what students
want
”
News from the Vice Chancellor
is published for ASLS division
employees.
Publisher: Ed Nieskes
Vice Chancellor of Administrative
& Student Life Services
nieskese@uwstout.edu
(715) 232-1683
Editor: Tom Dye
Communication Specialist
dyet@uwstout.edu
(715) 232-1681
225 Administration Building
Menomonie, WI 54751
Fax: (715) 232-1527
Dana McKinnon, Kelsey Aleckson, Tyler Johnson,
and Nate Daniels outside the Fireside Cafe’
The visit also
reveals a buzz of activity as workers arrange furniture and prep kitchens in anticipation of opening
day. When they pause for lunch, several student
workers take a minute to discuss the renovation
and the part they played in it. (See MSC on page 4.)
Overhalling
Fleming renovation under way
A fter relocating residents to other campus locations, Housing closed
Fleming Hall at the end of the semester in preparation for an extreme
makeover.
“We moved some of the students who were in Fleming to second and third
floor McCalmont, which had been faculty offices for the past 25 years,”
Housing Director Scott Griesbach noted.
In preparation for the move, Physical Plant personnel spent most of the
fall semester transforming those McCalmont floors back into a residence
hall. Students began moving there in
the middle of December. (See Overhall
on page 6.)
ASLS VICE CHANCELLOR’S OFFICE • 225 Administration, Menomonie, WI 54751 • 715-232-1683
Welcome
Adam Curynski joins Athletics as the assistant baseball coach, working
with the pitchers. In college, Adam helped lead Monroe Community College
(Rochester, NY) to two successful seasons and made 33 starts at Division I
Southern Illinois University, while earning a bachelor’s in recreation management. A native of Rochester, NY, Adam played minor league baseball
with the Texarkana Gunslingers and coached at Southern Illinois, Bishop
Kearney High School (Webster, NY), and Monroe Community College. Most
recently, Adam was the director of Baseball Operations for the Pro Sports
Academy in Fort Myers, Fla. Adam enjoys weightlifting and being outdoors.
Toby Gardenhire joins UW-Stout as head baseball coach and as an instructor in the Physical Education Department. An infielder, Toby played college
ball at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith Junior College, at Southwest
Missouri State, and at the University of Illinois—where he earned his bachelor’s in community health. Drafted by the Minnesota Twins, he played in
the minors from 2005 to 2011, most recently with the AAA Rochester, MN,
Red Wings. From 2005 to 2009, Toby also worked as an instructor with
the Lovdahl Pitching Academy, and from 2009 to 2011, he was an instructor with the Twins Training Academy. A native of Roseville, MN, and son of
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, Toby married Lindsay Wlaschin on January
21.
Tim Sell, electrician, joins Physical Plant from UW-Eau Claire. Tim lives in
his hometown of Fall Creek. In his free time, he enjoys the outdoors and
riding his Harley.
Shawn Shafer joins Dining Services as the PM Service Lead at the Memorial Student Center. Before joining Stout, Shawn was a cook at St. Joseph’s
Hospital in Chippewa Falls; before that, he worked in an Eau Claire restaurant. An Eau Claire native, Shawn spent most of his childhood in Madison
but returned to the area after high school. He and wife Kayla have a 10year old son, Logan, and a 3-year old daughter, Riley. Shawn loves watching sports and going fishing in his free time.
Tom Vorpahl joins Physical Plant as an electrician. Before joining Stout,
he spent 33 years working for regional electrical contractors. Tom and his
wife Julie have two grown daughters, Kelly and Carrie. Tom is from Eau
Claire but currently lives in the town of Wheaton. In his spare time, he
enjoys working in his shop, racing, and fishing.
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NEWS FROM THE VICE CHANCELLOR
Good news
M ove It Stout 2012, University Recreation and Student Health Services’
7-week program to encourage a healthy and active lifestyle, runs from
January 29 to March 17. Register your teams now. For more information,
visit http://www.uwstout.edu/urec/hfc/move-it-stout.cfm.
.I n October, Housing began accepting electronic housing contracts and
prepayments from new students. Prior to this year, Housing only accepted
paper contracts, along with cash or checks from new students.
T he first large group of students from Saudi Arabia participating in the
English as a Second Language Institute’s immersion program arrived on
campus this month. ASLS personnel have been, and will continue to be,
instrumental in helping the students adjust to their new surroundings.
T he Campus Card Office is poised to provide Student Voter IDs. When
coupled with new UW-Stout Enrollment Verification documents, the IDs enable students to register to vote in their local districts or wards, facilitating
civic engagement.
S tudent Business Services activated the mobile payment system so stu-
dents can now access their account information and make payments using
web-enabled phones.
S tudent Business Services implemented a new cashiering system that will
streamline the cashiering process and provide new functionality.
A fter a final meeting with the artists, Scott Griesbach and other members
of the Campus Gateway Project Committee submitted a striking design for
the chancellor’s approval. When complete, the artwork will help define and
beautify key campus entrances.
U Rec’s Jeff Keenan and nine students
recently returned from a 24-day trip to New
Zealand, where they enjoyed experiential
learning beneath the southern hemisphere’s
summer sun. The trip included a volunteer
project helping New Zealand’s Department
of Conservation plant native trees and
grasses. The new plants will provide wind
cover for endangered native trees, enabling
them to regenerate in the area.
Reminders
Can’t find a file online?
Remember to log in to
the intranet.
Recycle rigid plastic
containers numbered 1
to 7 in any bin designated
for commingled recycling.
EDGE sessions:
•Student Employment
Tuesday, February 7
9:30 – 11:00 a.m.
•Mail/Shipping Services,
Central Receiving, and
University Stores
Tuesday, February 21
9:30 – 11:00 a.m.
•Student Services
Tuesday, February 28
9:30 – 11:00 a.m.
A lly Initiatives and others hosted a Martin
Luther King Jr. commemorative event at the
Mabel Tainter on January 16.
Saving native species in New Zealand
ADMINISTRATIVE AND STUDENT LIFE SERVICES
3
MSC (continued from page 1)
Referring to the center’s new functional layout and technology-friendly
features, Event Services Technical Supervisor Tyler Johnson, a senior
majoring in Information Technology Management, notes that “the planners went above and beyond to figure out what students really want and
need to be productive and involved.”
Classified Employee
of the Month
Vicki Knutson, academic
custodian at Louis Smith
Tainter, has been named
Classified Employee of the
Month for November 2011.
The individuals nominating Vicki stated: “She takes
great pride in this building
and in its use to welcome
visitors to the university.
Vicki goes well beyond her
job description to prepare
the Louis Smith Tainter
House for events and for
individual visitors...”
And, “Vicki’s attitude toward
customers is exceptional–
she goes way out of her way
to welcome them, guide
them to the right office or
person, make sure they
have a good experience in
this historic building. She’s
liked and well respected by
her peers here in the building, and we count her as
one of our important team
members...”
Also, “We believe she puts
Stout’s best face forward
day after day, and we count
her as an exceptional teammate here in the Louis
Smith Tainter House.”
4
Gesturing at the base of the Terrace’s wall of windows, he points out
an example of the attention planners paid to student requests—a series
of electrical outlets. “In a laptop school, students need to plug in their
computers,” he says. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a building with as
many outlets as the new MSC.”
That kind of functional detail results from the planners’ ongoing engagement with students, from concept, to design, to implementation. “They
asked us what we expected in a student center,” says Nate Daniels, a
senior Marketing Business Administration major and executive producer
at Blue Devils Productions. “About 95% of those student requests are in
this room.”
Stout Student Association President Neal Peterson agrees, “I see this
building attracting more
students and becoming
a lively building at the
heart of campus.”
He notes that one key to
attracting more students lies in relocating
the involvement center
(right), putting it “out
front... at the center of
attention.”
Another key lies in the
increase of lounge
The new Involvement “center of attention”
space, including a variety of seating options and meeting rooms. Neal notes that the upper-level lounge spaces and food court will draw plenty of visitors because the
building “finally has easy access to the second floor with more prominent stair cases, which the old building desperately lacked.”
Like fellow students, Dana McKinnon was also unimpressed by the old
“dark and gloomy” MSC, which struck her as overly compartmentalized. “When I visited the campus for the first time, I didn’t understand
the building at all,” she says. But now she appreciates the redesigned
indoor and outdoor spaces. “This layout actually feels like a student
center. It flows.”
NEWS FROM THE VICE CHANCELLOR
As a Tech Ed major and Event Services technician, Dana also appreciates
the state-of-the-art equipment and control mechanisms incorporated
in the design. “The new technology will make our jobs so much easier.
We can give the students exactly what they like—and even exceed their
expectations.”
“Before, we still managed to surprise students with what we could offer
at the MSC,” Tyler notes. “But now we’ll push the envelope much further.”
“Plus, this building is built for the future,” he adds. “We can implement
new technologies easily and with minimal expense because we planned
ahead.”
It’s obvious that these hard-working students value the student center,
their jobs, and their MSC family, so it’s no surprise when Kelsey Aleckson, a Family and Consumer Science Education major, expresses her
feelings. “I love coming to work every day. It’s a great group of people,
and I like the amount of respect we get from the permanent workers.”
“We do a phenomenal job getting the campus involved and engaged,”
she adds. “The environment is a very positive one. The full-time staff
and students are very dedicated to this building, and I can’t wait for
everybody to see it.”
Nate sums up the student-centered transformation like this: “Before the
renovation, we were accommodating to the building. Now the building
accommodates us.”
Left: Student workers prepare the
MSC for opening day
Below: The Terrace on a quiet openingweek morning
Recyclemania
It’s Recyclemania time!
Recyclemania is a friendly
competition between
universities across the country
that helps to promote waste
reduction. UW-Stout measures
its commingled recyclables,
mixed paper, corrugated
cardboard, compostable waste,
electronic waste, and trash,
then reports it to Recyclemania
to see how we match up
against other schools.
The competition runs from
January 22 to March 31.
We are asking the campus
community to participate by:
•minimizing the amount
of trash you dispose of
by recycling your bottles,
cans, paper, corrugated
cardboard, compostable
waste (at the MSC), and
university-owned electronic
waste (through Surplus)
•encouraging others to do
the same.
For more information about
Recyclemania, visit:
http://www.recyclemania.org
5
ADMINISTRATIVE AND STUDENT LIFE SERVICES
ADMINISTRATIVE AND STUDENT LIFE SERVICES
People working together for service excellence and innovation.
Overhall (continued from page 1)
Snapshots
Once the students were out of Fleming, Physical Plant personnel spent
a week moving out the furniture. Then contractors began the remodeling
process on January 2.
In the next few months, Fleming will get a complete update, including new
windows, bathrooms, plumbing, and wiring. The 50-year old building will
also receive new heating and fire suppression systems, as well as all new
carpet, paint and furniture.
The $6.5 million project will be completed this summer.
MSC’s Overlook Lounge unveiled
Flashback 1964
Stout State College renamed Stout State University
Fleming Hall infrastructure is 2 years old
Gulf of Tonkin incident occurs
The average annual income is $6,000
The average cost of a new car is $3,500
Gas is 30 cents a gallon
A loaf of bread costs 21 cents
A postage stamp costs 5 cents
Fleming Hall hosts the nifty mixer shown below
Darrin Witucki preps
a wall plaque
Fleming Hall Mixer 1964
Dining staff train at
the Fireside Cafe’
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ASLS VICE CHANCELLOR’S OFFICE •
225 Administration Building
• (715) 232-1681