News in Brief
COMMUNITY
New employees invited to “know your university”
A new employee orientation program, “Know Your University,” is planned Feb. 15, 8:30 a.m-12:30 p.m. at the Kohl Center.
New Employees will meet in the Kohl Center under “The Mendota Wall” glassworks by UW alum Dale Chihuly, join colleagues for coffee and conversation, and visit with knowledgeable resource representatives for various offices on campus.
Representatives will be on hand from Employee Compensation and Benefits Services, Division of Information Technology, Extension Conference Centers, Office of Visitor Services, Morgridge Center for Public Service, Office of Quality Improvement, Classified Personnel Office, Wisconsin Union Mini Courses, Division of Recreational Sports, State Historical Museum, Wisconsin Department of Tourism and more.
In the Nicholas Johnson Suites from 9-10 a.m., employees can learn more about the rich culture, history and overall priorities of the university and about their relationship with the UW–Madison. Speakers include Donald Schutt, director of the Office of Human Resource Development; Maury Cotter, director of the Office of Quality Improvement; and Luis Pinero, assistant vice chancellor and director of the Equity and Diversity Resource Center.
Attendees may register at the door for the “Know Your University” giveaways such as Faculty Concert Series tickets from the School of Music, campus facilities passes from rec sports, women’s basketball and men’s hockey tickets, and other items.
Badger Trolley campus tours and Kohl Center tours are scheduled at 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. New employees should call 263-1016 or register online: http://www.ohrd.wisc.edu/NEO.
Business gets $5 million for faculty enhancement
Two executives have given $5 million to help recruit and retain top faculty at the School of Business.
The executives are Michael Lehman, vice president and chief financial officer of Sun Microsystems, Palo Alto, Calif., and David Grainger, senior chairman of W.W. Grainger, Inc., Lake Forest, Ill., and The Grainger Foundation.
Lehman’s gift of $4 million and Grainger’s gift of $1 million enable the school to offer an enhanced package of benefits tailored to meet faculty needs in different stages of their careers.
The new plan, called the Life Cycle Model for Faculty Support, provides for the development and support of productive faculty members.
Business schools are facing the challenge of attracting and retaining top faculty, says School of Business Dean Andrew J. Policano. The UW–Madison business faculty is known for its top researchers and teachers as well as leaders in industry and professional organizations. In recent years, competition for top faculty from wealthy private business schools and private enterprise has made it more difficult for public business schools to compete for and retain talent.
The new plan – already in action – has made it possible for the school to hire four new faculty members and retain another in the face of competitive offers in the past four months, the dean reports.
Grainger, for whom the business school’s Grainger Hall is named, is a 1950 UW–Madison engineering graduate. Lehman earned his undergraduate degree in business in 1974.
$1 million gift establishes chair in entrepreneurism
A permanently endowed chair established with a $1 million gift will provide support for an outstanding faculty member at the School of Business.
The Glen A. Skillrud Family Chair in Business will focus on entrepreneurism. The gift will allow the school to increase its emphasis on the growing field of entrepreneurism. The chair is named for retired businessman Glen A. Skillrud of San Antonio, Texas, and his wife, Wendy.
Skillrud said he made the gift to support people with an enthusiasm for entrepreneurial efforts in business.
ON CAMPUS
Conservative politician is first speaker of the spring
Leading black conservative Alan L. Keyes will speak at the Wisconsin Union Theater in Memorial Union Tuesday, Feb. 13, at 7:30 p.m.
Keyes, a former Reagan administration official, is a two-time presidential candidate and a two-time U.S. Senate Republican nominee.
Keyes served as the president of Citizens Against Government Waste from 1989-92 and founded the National Taxpayer Action Day and the Declaration Foundation.
Keyes’ lecture is sponsored by the University Book Store, Associated Students of Madison, College Republicans, Chadbourne Residential College, Pro-Life Action League and the Distinguished Lecture Series, one of 10 Wisconsin Union Directorate student committees which develop, coordinate and promote more than 800 events annually at UW–Madison.
Free tickets will be available at the Union Theater Box Office for UW–Madison students and Wisconsin Union members Wednesday, Feb. 7.
Other upcoming DLS speakers include Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew Shepard, gay rights activist, Feb. 27. Information: 262-2216, mjreisch@ students.wisc.edu.
Hoofer Clubs kick off as one
For the first time in recent years, representatives from all seven Hoofer Clubs will assemble in the same place at the same time to promote outdoor recreation for all abilities.
Visitors to Great Hall in Memorial Union Tuesday, Jan. 30 at 7:30 p.m. can learn more about or join Hoofer Clubs for gliding, mountaineering, outing, riding, sailing, scuba, and ski and snowboard.
Also, the Hoofer Club-wide kickoff will feature door prizes, including a $100 Hoofer gift certificate; free giveaway items; refreshments; opportunity to sign up for lessons from all the Hoofer Clubs; and the first chance to register for the Jackson Hole Spring Break Ski trip.
“The kickoff will give people the chance to explore all the clubs at one event,” says Stacy Trisco, Hoofer marketing coordinator. “Participants can even join multiple clubs for year-round outdoor recreation.”
The Hoofer Club-wide kickoff is sponsored by Associated Students of Madison, Hoofers, the Wisconsin Union Directorate and the Wisconsin Union Marketing Department.
Information: 263-3928, akgauger@facstaff.wisc.edu.
Photo contest planned
Outdoor photography enthusiasts are invited to enter the Hoofer Photo Contest. All you need to do is submit an 8 x 10 inch (or smaller) print and negative by Friday, Feb. 2, at 4:30 pm in the Hoofer Office in Memorial Union. Please include name and phone number with entry.
Photo entries will be judged during the Hoofer Winter Carnival by the Wisconsin Union Directorate Art Committee on Saturday, Feb. 3, at 2 p.m. Winners will received a personal framed copy and have their work permanently displayed in the Hoofer Lounge.
Anyone can enter: You do not have to be a Hoofer or Wisconsin Union member. Information: 262-1360, 239-3828, smthoma2@students.wisc.edu.
Gallery of Design opens Judaica exhibit
“Tevet to Av: Celebrating Contemporary Judaica” will be on view in the Gallery of Design Jan. 30-March 8.
This exhibition offers a selected group of finely crafted Judaica or Jewish ceremonial objects created by contemporary artists. Tevet to Av, meaning January to July in Hebrew, refers to spring rituals including Passover, Purim, Shabat and weddings, which use and display these objects as part of the celebration.
The tradition of creating Judaica has been carried on by artists for thousands of years and continues today. Contemporary Judaica is being collected by individuals and synagogues alike, for use in private ceremonies in the home as well as in community observances. As one participant in the exhibition, Department of Art professor Fred Fenster says, “These objects are made to enhance the religious experience, and to bring visual joy and tactile pleasure in their use.”
This national invitational exhibit will show a variety of objects including wedding, kiddush, Elijah and Miriam cups, spice and tzedakah boxes, mezuzahs and Seder sets. More than 60 pieces made by 22 artists will be on display, including glass, ceramics, fiber, beadwork, metals, enameling, wood and mixed-media. Guest curator Judy Sidran says her goal is to present the current state of evolution in the continuation of the Jewish tradition of creating sacred objects. The selected works reflect and strengthen the connections between a rich cultural legacy and contemporary Jewish life by bringing ancient ceremonies and celebrations to life in a personal way. The range of thought, expression, creativity and talent of artists from around the country is exceptional.
In conjunction with the exhibition, Laura Kruger, chair of the Gallery Advisory Committee of Hebrew Union College in New York City, will give a public lecture, “Jewish Ceremonial Objects: An Expression of Tradition” Sunday, Feb. 11, at 1:30 p.m. in 70 Human Ecology. A reception will follow in the gallery, 2:30-4 p.m. Information: 262-8815.
Oliveros auditions scheduled this month
Various cast and crew positions are still available for the April premiere of “Io and Her and the Trouble with Him,” a new work by composer Pauline Oliveros. Auditions and interviews are scheduled Jan. 27-29 at Old Music Hall.
Participants should have the ability and desire to experiment with movement and sound.
This “dance-opera” will be a collaborative venture among artists of all types, a multimedia panorama of experimental theatre and technical virtuosity that includes aerial ballet, masks, video projection, a sinister thousand-eyed monster and a highly imaginative electronic soundscape.
The one-act story, set in primeval time, retells the myth of Io from a matriarchal perspective. Io, Argivian priestess, is transformed by a terrible spell and roams the world, lovely but tormented. While enduring entrapment by Argus, the terrible monster, she is befriended by the brilliant Bird who helps her discover the key to her escape. Only upon her arrival in Khemt (Ancient Egypt) does she begin to understand the true mystery of what her journey has been about and its meaning for the future of the world.
Avant-garde composer Pauline Oliveros’ music is informed by the concept of “deep listening,” an aesthetic based upon principles of improvisation, electronic music, ritual, teaching and meditation designed to inspire both trained and untrained performers to practice their art by responding to the global sound environment.
Information: 263-9222, slschaffer@facstaff.wisc.edu.
MILESTONES
Author Kate Banks wins 2001 Zolotow award
Kate Banks, author of “The Night Worker” published by Frances Foster Books, is the fourth annual winner of the Charlotte Zolotow Award for outstanding writing in a picture book.
The award is given by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, a library of the School of Education. The award will be presented Oct. 3 at the annual Charlotte Zolotow Lecture at UW–Madison.
“The Night Worker” is the fourth picture book in which author Kate Banks has been paired with illustrator Georg Hallensleben.
The award committee named one Honor Book, “Wings” by Christopher Myers, edited by Tracy Mack and published by Scholastic Press.
Established in 1998, the award honors the work of Charlotte Zolotow, a distinguished children’s book editor for 38 years with Harper Junior Books, and author of more than 65 picture books.
The Cooperative Children’s Book Center is a noncirculating library for adults with a professional, career or academic interest in children’s and young adult literature. The Friends of the CCBC, Inc. is a nonprofit organization offering lectures, speaker receptions, book sales and other benefits for members, as well as assistance to CCBC.
Information: 263-3930, horning@education.wisc.edu.
School for gardeners scheduled Jan. 18-20
Have you wondered what it would take to turn your vegetable-growing skills into a small business? The Wisconsin School for Beginning Market Gardeners, Jan. 18-20, may provide some answers. Now in its fourth year, the course, details the operation of a fresh produce business. The school emphasizes sustainable production methods and direct marketing strategies. Cost: $200. Information: 265-3704.