Smith to Head 150th Celebration

Peyton Smith, who holds a joint appointment with the Office of Outreach Development and directs the Program Information and Publications Office in the Division of Continuing Studies, has been named coordinator of the UW–Madison’s Sesquicentennial activities by Chancellor David Ward, it was announced last week.

Smith accepted a three-year reassignment to new duties to help plan and carry out Sesquicentennial programs across the campus. He will head a small Sesquicentennial office, supported solely by discretionary gift funds.

“I am delighted that Peyton has agreed to lead this important institutional effort to mark our 150th anniversary,” Ward said. “Peyton’s experience in outreach programming and communication, his organizational abilities and his broad knowledge of the campus made him an excellent choice for shouldering these campus-wide responsibilities.”

“Most of the campus Sesquicentennial activities will be developed by the various schools and colleges,” said Henry Lufler, executive assistant to the chancellor. “Peyton will help coordinate those diverse activities, and help plan and carry out a few more centralized programs that reach both the university and the broader community.”

The University of Wisconsin was chartered in 1848, but the first classes were held in 1849. Campus Sesquicentennial celebrations will occur primarily during the 1999 calendar year, Lufler said. One high-profile activity already on the drawing board is a conference of international alumni, to be held in the new Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Monona Terrace Convention Center in May 1999.