News in Brief

LEADERSHIP

New university calendar captures memorable campus images
This photo of a UW–Madison commencement is among 14 full-color images of some of the most noteworthy moments on campus included in a new calendar produced in a unique partnership between the university and The University Book Store. More than $10 of the $12.95 retail price goes to the Chancellor’s Undergraduate Scholarship Fund. The 14-by-20-inch wall calendars for the year 2000 are now available at all University Book Store locations. Each month’s double-page spread in the “Memories for a Lifetime 2000 Calendar” captures beautiful scenes and memorable moments in photos from the UW–Madison Office of News and Public Affairs. For more information or to order by phone, call (800) 957-7052.

Cornell official to lead DoIT
Ann Stunden of Cornell University will be the new director of the Division of Information Technology (DoIT) and campus chief information officer.

As DoIT director, Stunden will develop and carry out strategic plans for information technology applied to instruction, research and administration. She also will manage information technology services and oversee a staff of more than 700 and a budget of more than $70 million.

Stunden has served as director of academic technology services at Cornell since 1996. She previously served as director of academic computing and network services at Northwestern University (1991-1995) and director of the university computing center at the University of Rochester (1986-1991).

Earlier in her career, Stunden directed hospital information technology organizations and worked as a consultant in health care management. Prior to that, she developed operating systems and compiler software. She holds a bachelor’s degree from UCLA.

“We are extremely fortunate to have Ann Stunden as our chief information officer,” Provost John Wiley says. “She brings a wealth of experience as both a manager and a leader, and she has consistently won high praise for her strong ‘customer focus.'”

COMMUNITY

Library adds cameras
To improve security for people who work in and use Memorial Library, the university will be installing cameras at the entrance and exit to the library.

The cameras will record, but will not be monitored. Tapes from a particular date and time will be reviewed only when illegal behavior is reported in the building. Many businesses use similar systems, and Wendt Library on campus has used cameras for more than a year.

“We are installing cameras to help protect people, the collections and the facility itself from any type of criminal behavior,” says Ed Van Gemert, assistant director of public services for the General Library System. “It is a public safety issue to reduce theft of library and personal property and to reduce the likelihood of other illegal activity.”

According to Dennis Hill, the Memorial building manager, very often a victim has a brief description of someone after an incident. The tape may help the police make a positive ID, Hill says.

None of the cameras will be in locations that might show which library materials or electronic resources are in use. The action, recommended by campus police, has been endorsed by the Memorial Library Committee, an advisory committee of the Faculty Senate. Signs will be posted telling library users in the entrance and exit that those areas are being recorded.

Terra data tower installed
An antenna tower has been installed on the roof of the Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Science Building in the first stage of a process to receive data from the Terra satellite, the first spacecraft in NASA’s Earth Observing System. Terra is planned for launch late in 1999 and will collect a stream of earth science data that rivals any ever collected before. On Nov. 27, only the tower will be put on the roof of the building; later this winter, the receiving antenna and large translucent dome will be set on top.

To learn more about the Terra satellite, visit: http://terra.nasa.gov/.

L&S reorganizes services
A new structure for student academic services should make it easier for undergraduates in the university’s largest college to get the services they need.

The College of Letters and Science Office of Student Academic Affairs underwent the overhaul during the past year and the new plan went into effect over the summer. SAA staff developed the blueprint around three areas key to student life:

Academic and career advising, coordinated by Assistant Dean Kathryn Simmons, consists of programs designed for academic and career advisory support for students.
The L&S Policy Group and General Deans Staff, administered by Assistant Dean Christopher Lee, develops college policy and interprets it to students.
The Enrichment Group, responsible for a wide array of programs to deepen, strengthen and enhance the undergraduate educational experience, includes undergraduate research and honors opportunities, diversity programs for students of color and others, leadership training for students, mentor matching and more. Coordinators for the group are Assistant Dean Consuelo Lopez Springfield and classified Supervisor Debby Bushey.

“We think this new structure is more coherent and understandable,” says Letters and Science Associate Dean Judi Roller. The college will evaluate the effectiveness of the new organization in coming months.

NOTABLE

Graduation features Abrahamson
Shirley S. Abrahamson, Wisconsin Supreme Court chief justice since 1996, will address midyear graduates as they commemorate the university’s last commencement before 2000.

About 2,500 students will be eligible to participate in the two ceremonies in the Kohl Center:

All Ph.D., M.F.A., master’s and professional degree candidates, and bachelor’s degree candidates in agriculture, education, human ecology, and nursing should attend the ceremony at 1 p.m.
Bachelor’s degree candidates in business, engineering and letters and science will celebrate their graduation at 4 p.m.

“The Kohl Center is a superb venue to celebrate the accomplishments of our graduates who are now poised to address the many challenges of the twenty-first century,” says David Musolf, secretary of the faculty.

Chief Justice Abrahamson, who earned her doctor of juridical science degree from the UW Law School, will speak at both ceremonies. She has served on the Wisconsin Supreme Court since 1976.

No tickets are required. For more information: Commencement Hotline, 262-9076.

University reaccredited
As expected, the university has been reaccredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The NCA Nov. 19 approved the university’s reaccreditation through 2008-09. The university was last accredited in 1989 and has been continuously accredited since 1913.

The 1989 reaccreditation and university self-study led to the “Future Directions” report, which Chancellor David Ward used in part to formulate “A Vision for the Future,” an updated strategic plan, in 1995.

The 1999 self study, along with the NCA evaluation team’s report and the “Vision” document, will form the basis for future strategic planning at the university. Information: Joseph Wiesenfarth, 263-9233, or visit: http://www.wisc.edu/newdirections/.

System’s Ward to retire
David J. Ward, UW System senior vice president for academic and student affairs, plans to step down from that position in July. Ward has served in the post since 1994, after serving as vice chancellor for academic affairs, deputy to the chancellor and acting chancellor at UW-Oshkosh. He had served on the faculty at UW-Oshkosh since 1976, and had chaired UW-Oshkosh’s Department of Finance and Business Law. “Serving in System Administration has been a capstone to my 31 years of service to the University of Wisconsin System,” Ward says.

UPDATE

Fluno Center on schedule
The Fluno Center for Executive Education is on schedule to open on campus in March. The eight-story building, 601 University Ave., will host university-related programs and events for units from across campus.

Ted Beck, associate dean for executive education at the School of Business, says, “Although the Fluno Center was created though the initiative of the business school, we recognized that other schools and departments on campus would want to make use of this world-class facility for their programs. It was developed as a campus resource.”

The $24 million Fluno Center contains 100 residence rooms, four classrooms, a 150-seat auditorium, a fitness center and dining room. The facility is being built with a combination of private funding and is owned and operated by the Center for Advanced Studies in Business Inc., a nonprofit organization that supports the School of Business. Information: 262-9788.

Still time to be a partner in giving
The seven-week State, University and UWHC Employees Combined Campaign of Dane County officially ended Nov. 30, but there is still time to help the campaign reach its 1999 goal.

Late contributions will be accepted, and those made between now and Jan. 31, 2000, will be credited to the 1999 SECC campaign. However, if you wish to contribute by payroll deduction and want your deductions to begin in January, you should turn in your pledge form before Wednesday, Dec. 15.

To date, the annual charity fund-raising drive has raised $1,753,739, or 80 percent of the $2,200,000 goal set by its administrative board.

On the university side, 2,737 employees have contributed $649,898, with an average gift of $237.44. On the state side, 6,354 employees have contributed $1,067,339, with an average gift of $167.97.

Hospital treats HIV patients
Using a three-year, $1.2 million grant, UW Hospital and Clinics in the past year has treated 103 HIV-positive individuals who do not have adequate health insurance.

The grant, know as the Ryan White Title III program, provides HIV treatment and comprehensive health care from a team of specialty physicians, nurses, pharmacists, social workers and dieticians.

Primary care services under the program include diagnosis and treatment of HIV disease, early intervention and prevention of HIV-related complications, general medical care, referrals to specialty clinics and screening for clinical trials.

The Ryan White program, is named in honor of an Indiana teen-ager who died of AIDS in 1990 at age 19. An estimated 4,000 HIV-infected individuals live in Wisconsin, and the program expects to enroll up to 100 patients a year. Information: 263-9346.

MILESTONES

Former L&S associate dean dies
Yvonne Ozzello, 66, former associate dean in the College of Letters and Science, died of cancer Nov. 19.

Ozzello, a native of Versailles, France, came to the university in 1969 for doctoral work. She began teaching in the UW–Madison Department of French and Italian as a lecturer in 1970 and rose to the rank of full professor in 1988. In that year she also received the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award. In 1996 the French government commended her for advancing French culture in the United States.

Ozzello chaired the Department of French and Italian between 1988 and 1992. In 1994 she became associate dean with responsibility for the humanities in the College of Letters and Science, a position she held until she retired in 1998.

A memorial mass was held Nov. 23.