‘So much fun for me’: Kinesiology grad, now gym owner, always fired up to go to work
Cassie Murphy, who graduated in 2013 with a kinesiology degree from UW Oshkosh, celebrated the third anniversary of the opening of her 9Round kickboxing gym in Oshkosh last month.
Oshkosh campus welcomes back Grandparents University
After a year off because of the pandemic, Grandparents University returned to the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh on July 15. Grandparents University is a summer academy that allows grandparents and their grandchildren, ages 8 to 12, to select a “major” to learn and explore together. Majors this year included Awesome Artists, Roaring Rockets and Spectacular Scientists. Each major included hands-on activities and demonstrations that helped encourage participants to learn and have fun.
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Peregrine falcons Moderna, Pfizer banded on campus
The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh is again playing host to a pair of young peregrine falcon chicks nested atop the Gruenhagen Conference Center. In an operation overseen by UW Oshkosh’s Sustainability Institute for Regional Transformations (SIRT), the young birds were banded last week as part of a statewide program for tracking and monitoring peregrine falcons.
UW Oshkosh’s 147th spring commencement
It was a historic day in the 150-year history of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. The 147th spring commencement featured four ceremonies spread over a Saturday, with 1,474 students earning bachelor’s, master’s, associate and doctoral degrees from all three UW Oshkosh campuses. Here’s a morning-to-evening look at the incredible day.
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UW Oshkosh thanks donors for ‘essential’ support to students
It’s been a challenging year for everyone. Our students needed support more than ever and our family of donors came through. We paid out over $1.1 million in scholarships and awards for the 2020-21 academic year.
The impact these scholarships and awards have had on our students is vast and long-lasting.
We are excited to share this message of thanks from Chancellor Andrew Leavitt and a few of our award recipients.
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Spring semester closes with historic commencement
With Qbot, senior paves way for future researchers in engineering tech
This spring, Trevor Carlson, a senior computer science major from Berlin, is a student research assistant in the engineering technology department. He’s worked with a mobile robot called a Qbot, made by a company called Quanser Inc., that was purchased in 2020. Carlson installed and configured the software to make it operational. He conducted a series of lab experiments to check whether the Qbot performed as specified by the manufacturer and the results of his work will be presented at UW Oshkosh’s Celebration of Scholarship & Creative Activity later this month.
“He created a detailed guideline on how to use the Qbot,” said Ahmed Nasif, an associate electrical engineering technology professor who’s worked with Carlson on the project. “This paves the way for future student researchers, who can get hands on experience using the Qbot to learn about mobile robot kinematics, autonomous mapping, remote sensing and navigation.”
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UWO’s August STAR award winner ‘keeps things running’ on Fox Cities campus
Jenean Hodge
Jenean Hodge, who serves as campus administrative specialist for the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Fox Cities campus, has been named the recipient of the August 2021 STAR Award.
She was nominated by two Fox Cities employees: Beth Johnson, associate geology professor; and Rose Marie Lewis, senior laboratory preparation technician:
“Jenean has truly gone above and beyond since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. She is the one who keeps our campus going! When all the faculty were rushing to make the transition online for the spring semester and scrambling to get materials, she made sure we could email her to get whatever we needed from our campus offices and would have them waiting for us on a lab cart. She would even tuck in a bag of candy to cheer us up! She always makes sure to buy the campus cookies or other sweet treats to celebrate major milestones (i.e. her anniversary with the system, the first day back to classes, etc.).
“Jenean is the best procurer of knowing who to contact; where to get a form; what you can and can not do; collecting forms; and getting answers to every type of question possible under the sun for faculty, staff, students and the community. She gets this campus the material supplies we need in almost lightening fashion. And she does this with a happy and smiling attitude every single day.
“She educates us on how to do things ourselves and particularly when others are not available (for example, I haven’t had the need to use the Microsoft Team app; she walked me through it and made sure before my meeting that I had a camera and functioning headphone set). Some people have never really had to fax/email or use the printer a great deal. So she walks them through it.
“Jenean is an extraordinarily generous soul that helps to keep things running and the instructors sane. She truly is a STAR!”
Brosman named director of UWO’s Small Business Development Center
Alumnus Dan Brosman ’15, recently was promoted to director of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.
Dan Brosman
Brosman has been with UW Oshkosh since 2018 as the director of the Alta Resources Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and as a business consultant with the SBDC. He received a bachelor’s degree from UWO and expects to receive an MBA from UWO in December 2021.
A strong advocate of UWO student entrepreneurs and small businesses throughout the community, Brosman has worked with hundreds of businesses, supporting new entity formations, job creation, revenue growth and capital infusion efforts.
Most recently, Brosman and UWO marketing lecturer Kathy Fredrickson launched the Digital Marketing Clinic, a no-cost resource for small businesses throughout Wisconsin staffed by eight student interns, a program coordinator and a managing director.
Brosman is a member of many regional committees that support entrepreneurial growth, including IGNITE! (Envision Greater Fond du Lac), the NEW Launch Alliance (New North), and The Fox Connection. He also serves as the faculty adviser for the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization at UWO.
The Wisconsin Small Business Development (SBDC) Network offers no-cost, confidential consulting and business education to new and existing businesses through 13 centers across the state. In 2020, the SBDC at UW Oshkosh served 291 clients, resulting in $5.1 million in capital investment, 26 new businesses and 1,104 jobs supported.
In collaboration with the SBDC, the Alta Resources Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation supports UWO students through robust entrepreneurial programming that connects students with crucial resources early on in their startup journey, such as funding and mentorship.
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UWO human resource management student org earns merit award
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) awarded a 2020-21 Superior Merit Award designation to the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh SHRM student chapter for providing superior growth and development opportunities to its student members.
The SHRM Student Chapter Merit Award program encourages the development of more effective student chapters and distinguishes outstanding activities and projects. Chapters are recognized based on operations, chapter programming and professional development of members, support of the human resource profession and SHRM engagement.
“The members of our SHRM student chapters represent the next generation of HR leaders, and it’s critical to highlight the instrumental role they play in SHRM’s success,” said Johnny C. Taylor Jr., SHRM president. “The hard work of University of Wisconsin Oshkosh shows the future of the profession is, indeed, in good hands. I applaud their accomplishments and ability to foster innovative programming, development and interest in HR as we navigate changing workplaces.”
SHRM student chapters have the opportunity to earn the award based on the number of activities they complete during the merit award cycle, the most recent one of which lasted from May 1, 2020, to April 30, 2021.
The UWO chapter members were particularly proud of their event this past spring entitled “Women at Work: Taking Organizations and Leadership to the Next Level.”
This virtual event included a panel of women who help to propel their organizations forward. These women have a variety of academic backgrounds (e.g., human resources, finance, marketing, political science, etc.) and a wealth of experience in both for-profit and non-profit organizations. This interactive session allowed the audience to learn about the panelists’ individual career paths, the impact they have made on their organizations, their experiences starting organizations, and their tips for those getting ready to start their careers.
The chapter anticipates hosting more great events this fall.
UWO SHRM is sponsored by the local Fox Valley and Oshkosh area chapters of SHRM.
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UWO physics prof honored for contributions in modeling instruction
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh physics professor Mark Lattery received the David Hestenes Award for Exceptional Contributions to Modeling Instruction at the 2021 American Modeling Teachers Association annual summer meeting.
Lattery joined the UW Oshkosh faculty in 1997.
Mark Lattery
The modeling instruction method is a guided-inquiry approach to teaching science that organizes instruction around a coherent storyline of model development. This method provides content instruction while students are immersed in the process of doing science. Research has shown students in modeling instruction classrooms perform significantly better on measures of conceptual knowledge compared with similar students in traditional classrooms
Lattery has created multiple, engaging, research-based continuing education course experiences for current physics teachers in which they can see modeling instruction in action and learn how it can be used in their classroom.
Through his graduate-level classes at UWO, he has created networks of veteran modelers to help teachers who have not been through a modeling workshop yet and need guidance on how to begin modeling.
He has reached many teachers who may have heard of modeling but haven’t thought to use it themselves. Through the course experience and testimonies of modeling teachers who have taken his courses, the modeling instruction method has reached a much larger audience.
Lattery has a doctorate in experimental particle physics from the University of Minnesota. He recently served as president of the Wisconsin Association of Physics Teachers. He is the author of Deep Learning in Introductory Physics: Exploratory Studies of Model-Based Reasoning.
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UW Oshkosh Alumni Association board elects new members
The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Alumni Association board of directors elected six new members and reelected four to serve starting fall of 2021.
The 24-member volunteer board works to build connections among alumni students and the University.
The reelected alumni board members for 2021 are Linda Bailey Boilini ’73; Matt Eldred ’08; Jeff Lawrence ’04, MPA ’08; and John Strous ’72, MS ’82.
The new board members include Justine Braun ’15, of Green Bay; Martine D’Amour ’07, of Leesburg, Virginia; John Erickson ‘09, of West Hollywood, California; Angela Fermali ‘94, of Berlin; Jeffrey Herzig ‘06, of Greenville; and Timothy Ward ‘70, of Milwaukee.
“We are thrilled to welcome several new members to our alumni board of directors,” Alumni Director Chris Gantner said. “These alumni bring a wealth of expertise in a variety of areas and represent several geographic locations in Wisconsin as well as on the East and West coasts. I look forward to working with them to engage fellow alumni and support their alma mater.”
The new board members take over for the following members who fulfilled their terms: Amanda Betts ’10; Chris Ciancimino ’01; Logan Dixon ’05, MBA ’16; Jim Hoffman ’75, MS ’82; and Brandon Whittle ’14 MBA. Stephanie Scaccianoce ’18 stepped down.
Justine Braun is the video production specialist for the city of De Pere. She has a bachelor’s degree in radio TV film from UWO. During her time at UWO, she worked at Titan TV as a station manager, operations manager, producer and director. She also was a member of the Film Society.
Martine D’Amour is the marketing director for Diversey, Inc. She earned a bachelor’s degree in communication from UWO. While at UWO, she was on the board of directors for the College Republicans club and the Student NRA.
John Erickson has a bachelor’s degree in English and was a member of the University Honors program. During his time at UWO, he was a member of the men’s volleyball team, Sigma Tau Delta, the Gender Equity Council, the director of the Women’s Advocacy Council and wrote for the Advance-Titan. Erickson is currently a council member for the city of West Hollywood.
Angela Fermali is a teacher in the Berlin Area School District. She has a bachelor’s degree in speech from UWO, and a Master of Education-Professional Development and Master of Education from UW-La Crosse. During her time at UWO, she was a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority.
Jeffrey Herzig is a lead system administrator for the Appleton Area School District. He earned a bachelor’s degree in management information systems from UWO. During his time at UWO, he was the Oshkosh Student Association President and OSA Senator.
Timothy Ward is formerly the assistant undersecretary for health for dentistry at the Department of Veterans Affairs. He has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from UWO, a master’s in psychology from Bradley University and a dental surgery doctorate from Marquette University. During his time at UWO, he was a resident advisor at Fletcher and Scott halls and a member of Sigma Tau.
Board meetings are held during the academic year. Membership on the board is open to all UWO alumni who are excited about the University’s past, present and future. Candidates are elected through a nomination process.
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