Colleagues,
Happy Spring! I hope you enjoyed your Spring Break and took some time to rest, renew, and recharge as we begin the second half of the semester. Spring is my favorite season as it is a time of renewal, growth, and joy. The birds are singing, the flowers and trees are beginning to bloom, and the days are longer. I encourage you to take a few minutes to enjoy the beauty of our learning environment as spring unfolds at UW-Parkside.
One of my goals for this year has been to fully engage with students in their learning inside and outside of the classroom. Last fall, I had the pleasure of co-teaching the Freshmen Seminar with Dr. Bryan Lewis. I was so impressed by the students and their dedication to their education. I enjoyed learning about their life goals, their challenges as a result of the pandemic, and why they selected UW-Parkside.
Being with students in the classroom reminded me of the transformative impact of our work, which made each week of my teaching experience even better. Both the Provost and I will co-teach freshmen seminars this coming fall.
While I enjoy interacting with students in the classroom, I also take pride in watching our students share their scholarly, athletic, and creative talents in other settings. I decided to capture the lessons I have learned from them this academic year. Here are few reflections from our students:
- Do the right things
- Believe in me and support my desire to learn and to grow
- Be yourself and do your best
- We are hopeful about our future
- Think beyond self
- Give voice to the voiceless
- Speak up
- Live in the present
- Be part of making a better future
These inspiring themes expressed by our students align with the bigger vision and values of our university as we advance the mission, the Strategic Framework 2025, and ASAP2025 to exceed our Bold Goal to significantly increase the number of graduates.
To inform our purposeful work, the Cabinet adopted the following guiding principles in 2019. I invite you to join us in embracing these guiding principles as we “sprint” to the finish of the 2022 spring semester:
- Live by the Platinum Rule –Treating others as they want to be treated.
- Keep students at the center of all decisions
- Support and trust each other
- Work for the overall good of the University
- Be open to change
- Maintain a fun working environment
- Remain calm, absorb chaos, give back hope
The work we do as scholars and educators is more important now than ever, and even with positive outcomes, we have more work to do for our region. As a result of your continued efforts, we are enjoying the best student success, financial, and campus outcomes in the history of our university. WE are breaking new ground, transforming lives, and making positive impacts in the lives of others despite the challenges and obstacles that remain in our path.
I see colleagues doing their best each and every day. I see colleagues taking time to listen and support our students. I see colleagues balancing new demands in their family lives. I see colleagues taking time for self-care and saying “enough is enough.” I see the best of UW-Parkside through each of YOU!
Thank you for all you do to advance the mission and vision we share to educate the next generation of UW-Parkside graduates and leaders.
If I or any member of the campus leadership team can be of assistance to you, let us know or stop by the office for a visit. We are still engaged in the Wyllie Hall renewal in our office areas but we are available to you.
Thank you for all you do at UW-Parkside! Congratulations on another successful Academic Year!
With Gratitude,
Debbie Ford
Chancellor
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UW-Parkside to Host Film Festival Featuring Work of Young Filmmakers
The College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside is excited to host “The Wild Midwest and Other Short Films” by student filmmakers at 6 p.m. on April 1 at the Rita Main Stage Theatre. The premiere film festival will feature student videos created in partnership with the Racine Unified School District’s Extended Learning Program and the Racine Video Production Workshop.
Read the Journal Times article to learn even more! Learn more
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UW-Parkside Receives Funding from Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin |
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The University of Wisconsin-Parkside will receive more than $40,000 from the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin (FCW) to enhance its water-related academic programs.
Funding at UW-Parkside includes support for the following projects
Freshwater Camp (Freshwater Career Related University-Introduction Summer Experience) – Student Experience for High School Juniors
The Root Magazine – WATER issue
Human Interactions with Lake Michigan Coastal Ecosystems – Field-Study Course
Principles of Freshwater Informatics – Laboratory and Field-Study Course
FCW funding is part of a statewide initiative, backed by the Wisconsin State Legislature and Gov. Tony Evers, to tackle 10 grand water challenges and support curriculum development, undergraduate research opportunities, career development, and field-training experiences for students interested in studying water-related subjects at the 13 UW schools.
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We're not joking - it's First Friday!
University Advancement and the Parkside Employee Alumni Group (PEAG) invite you to an in-person First Friday on Friday, April 1, starting at 4:30 in the Callahan Student Success and Learning Commons on the D1 level of Wyllie Hall. Join us for food, fun, socialization, and all the insider details about the biggest Parkside celebration of the year – Parkside Day (April 7)!
Learn how you can participate and take home some Parkside Day prizes. Hope to see you there!
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Parkside Day 2022 is April 7!
This action-packed day brings alumni, friends, parents, faculty, staff, and students together for 24 hours of UW-Parkside celebration and support. We know there's a lot to Parkside Day, but the Advancement team is here to make getting involved super easy.
Fill out this quick engagement survey to tell us the ways you want to participate in Parkside Day and we will be in touch to help make sure you are signed up for everything and have the tools you need to make a difference. |
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Launch Party - Volunteers!
Do you want to learn more about Parkside Day and have fun at the same time? You are invited to Oakfire Pizzeria & Bar for the first-ever Parkside Day Launch Party. Bring your Ranger Spirit and an eagerness to rise to the challenge. With your help, we will kick off the biggest Parkside Celebration of the year.
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Get ready for Parkside Day, get out there, and make an impact on UW-Parkside student success. Whether you are a serious runner or looking for a great outdoor activity for your family this spring, the Ranger Run is perfect for everyone.
Ranger Run proceeds benefit the Future Focus Fund (providing vital support to UW-Parkside students facing financial challenges) and other UW-Parkside programs. Your participation helps students have meaningful experiences at UW-Parkside and ultimately complete their degrees.
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Theresa Castor presents project in Copenhagen!
Communication Professor Theresa Castor will be an invited Visiting Scholar to the Department of Management, Society and Communication, at the Copenhagen Business School in Denmark through April.
During this time, she will present her research project on "The materiality of discourse: relational positioning in a freshwater controversy," which was previously published in the journal Communication Research and Practice. Castor will co-teach in a graduate course on Organization and Communication to address the topic of theorizing on materiality and the communicative constitution of organizations (CCO). She will also present on her invited book chapter in progress on qualitative research approaches in CCO at a seminar of the Communication, Organization, and Governance (COG) Cluster.
The Copenhagen Business School is a public university that was established in 1917 and is among one of the most prestigious business schools in Western Europe and the world.
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Benson & Singsen discuss book on WGTD
Drs. Josef Benson and Doug Singsen were interviewed Tuesday by Greg Berg, host of the Morning Show on WGTD, on the topic of whiteness in comic books.
The conversation focused on their captivating new book Bandits, Misfits, and Superheroes: Whiteness and Its Borderlands in American Comics and Graphic Novels (University Press of Mississippi, 2022).
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View photos from Career Prep Week!
Check out more photos from last week:
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The Wild Midwest and Other Short Films: The Premiere of Racine Student Videos at UW-Parkside
April 01 |6 pm | The Rita, Main Stage Theatre
Join us for an evening showcasing the next generation of filmmakers when UW-Parkside hosts students from the Racine Video Production Workshop, an after-school program at Jerome I. Case High School for high school students in Racine County. You can see their work, a full lineup of short films, and behind-the-scenes footage, and hear from student panelists at this exciting, premiere event.
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Find Your Cause Fair
March 31 | 11 am-1 pm | The Commons
Join the Office of Community and Business Engagement for the first ever Find Your Cause Fair in the Commons on March 31 from 11 am-1 pm!
Enjoy free food and drinks while exploring exciting internship, fellowship, CBL, and career opportunities; as well as sign up to volunteer on #ParksideDay.
Learn how you can make a real difference in the community and the world.
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Parkside Day 2022 - Rise to the Challenge
April 7
Let's Rise to the Challenge
With hard work, persistence, and a big belief in students, Rangers are doing incredible things at UW-Parkside. On April 7, every action makes a difference.
What is Parkside Day?
This action-packed day brings alumni, friends, parents, faculty, staff, and students together for 24 hours of UW-Parkside celebration and support. Get ready for some challenges on Parkside Day – don’t worry, these will be fun! With your help, these challenges turn into opportunities for UW-Parkside students.
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The University of Wisconsin-Parkside’s Goodman Ambassadors, in partnership with the Kenosha Coalition for Dismantling Racism, will present a Courageous Conversation: Election Integrity and its Impact on Communities of Color at 6 p.m. on March 31.
The event will be held on Zoom (registration required) and live streamed through Facebook. The purpose “is to bring together people from the campus and surrounding community to talk about an issue that affects communities of color, and motivate people to take action,” said Debra Karp, community, and business engagement director for UW-Parkside.
The public is welcome to join this interactive event, where panelists Corey Prince, founder of Community Consulting LLC, Janet Serrano, member of Voces de la Frontera Action Board and organizer since 2011, and Debra Gimler, interim city clerk treasurer for the City of Kenosha. Gimler, who has more than 33 years of experience in election administration, will lay out the issues after which participants will have a chance to share their own voting experiences and discuss ideas to address voting access and election integrity. 
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UW-Parkside Recognized for Commitment to HERA Goals
UW-Parkside is among southeastern Wisconsin colleges and universities recognized in a recent Biz Times article for their commitment to a collective goal to close achievement gaps in the region as part of the Higher Education Regional Alliance (HERA).
HERA, a collaborative network comprised of 18 higher education institutions in southeastern Wisconsin that includes UW-Parkside, has set a combined goal to increase the rate of students re-enrolling, from one year to the next, by six percentage points over the next two years.
“Closing the achievement gap is at the center of the work we are doing on many levels at UW-Parkside," said Chancellor Debbie Ford. “We are proud to be recognized by BizTimes, along with our local higher education partners, as we make bold moves together to increase retention rates, and ultimately close the gap in college completion in our region. "
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University Communications
University of Wisconsin-Parkside
900 Wood Road, Kenosha, WI 53144
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