2022–23 College of Liberal Arts and Education Annual Report

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND EDUCATION

A YEAR IN REVIEW: AN ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 2022–23

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSINPLATTEVILLE

OUR VISION

The College of Liberal Arts and Education will be a regional model for preparing students for lives of leadership and service in a diverse, global, and complex world.

OUR MISSION

The College of Liberal Arts and Education develops students for lives of leadership and service, critical and creative thinking, and stewardship of place.

OUR CORE VALUES

The College of Liberal Arts and Education’s core values must guide our decision-making and actions in great and challenging times. We are committed to promoting, supporting, and advocating for:

• Boundless and creative inquiry

• Equity and justice

• High-impact learning

• Interdisciplinary problem-solving

• Well-being of students, faculty, and staff

IN THIS ISSUE

4 Letter from Dean Hilton Kelly

6 Core Value: Boundless and Creative Inquiry

10 Core Value: Equity and Justice

12 Core Value: High-Impact Learning

15 Core Value: Interdisciplinary Problem-Solving

17 Core Value: Well-Being of Students, Faculty, and Staff

19 Who We Are and What We Do

21 College of LAE by the Numbers

22 The Art of Philanthropy

23 Supporting Faculty through the Dean's Fund

An illustrator by trade, Jacob Muller didn’t expect to be working with cutting-edge technology while earning his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. But, an Undergraduate Research, Scholarly and Creative Activity Scholarship is allowing him to delve into a project that leverages his design skills and new technology – including equipment in the University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s new Huff Family Innovation Center. As part of his project, Muller is recreating a two-dimensional drawing into sculpture in as many different mediums as possible. “The art department got me into things I never thought I’d be into – expressing some of these stories in different ways, whether in painting, sculpture, puppetry or computer illustration. It’s great how diverse things are,” said Muller.

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UW-Platteville College of Liberal Arts and Education

LETTER FROM THE DEAN

When I applied to become the next dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Education at the University of WisconsinPlatteville, the decision had as much to do with the name of the college as the place itself. I remember scanning the executive leadership advertisements and pausing with delight to see “liberal arts” and “education” in the title. I had been a chair of an educational studies department for nine years and had spent a total of 17 years working, teaching, and learning in top-ranked liberal arts colleges. As an advanced graduate student, I became a visiting instructor of Black studies at Amherst College, and the following year received a Consortium for Faculty Diversity Pre-Doctoral Fellowship to finish my dissertation at Denison University. Following these two incredibly rewarding intellectual and pedagogical experiences in liberal arts education, I became an assistant professor of educational studies and later sociology and Africana studies at Davidson College. With a doctorate in sociology, I developed as a scholar in interdisciplinary programs rooted in the liberal arts.

The job title signaled to me that there would be this synergy of vision, purpose, and mission among the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and education. While I knew the whole college would not “train teachers,” I trusted that students would learn more than pedagogy and management. Rather, in my mind, they would spend a great deal of time thinking through educational problems using the tools and perspectives from sociology, philosophy, history, literature,

and criminal justice—just to name some of the programs. Within a college of liberal arts and education, I imagined future teachers, police officers, and crime investigators would be in conversation about the school-to-prison pipeline, or unjust schooling policies and practices. I imagined a place where it made sense to study the philosophy and history of race, gender, and class as students prepared for high-impact learning opportunities in environmental and conservation agencies. It would also be a place where the visual and performing arts infused all disciplines and challenged students to embrace creativity, improvisation, and design in their work. Ultimately, as a sociologist who landed in the field of education with a historical and sociological lens, I had no doubt that this deanship was divine intervention.

When asked “why Platteville?” throughout my campus visit, I was brutally honest about how I came to apply to UW-Platteville based upon the title of the deanship. My enthusiasm for and commitment to the liberal arts and education must have been evident, because I received a job offer without a sharp vision. In fact, I did not have a vision at all. As I stated to the search committee, and later to faculty, staff, and students, I felt strongly that it would have been ludicrous and disingenuous for me to have a vision for a place I had never seen and for a people I was just getting to know through a formal interview process. Understanding the necessity and importance of an organization having a vision, I stated the following during my job talk:

As we start a conversation about our vision, I want to outline some fundamental aspects of any vision that we might imagine together.

Strategic decision-making: Here I am thinking about the need to have a vision that is grounded in collaboration and innovation, and that guides the decisions we make daily and throughout the years.

Resources: Here I envision both economic resources and non-economic resources, such as time and space, which will allow students, faculty, and staff to succeed in the ways they choose.

Interdisciplinarity: Here I see a college identity that sends a clear message that we prepare students to solve complex problems for an unknown world by working at the intersection of multiple disciplines.

Here, I have provided the text as I wrote it in February 2022. Faculty and staff can judge to what degree strategic decisionmaking, resources, and interdisciplinarity have been aspects of our conversations.

After a year of meetings and a listening tour, edits and rewrites, disagreements and discussions, I am happy to introduce to our engaged alumni, generous donors, and supportive friends, our “Vision, Mission and Core Values” document that will guide our work in the college. Instead of undergoing a strategic plan, I started with a set of questions that would help us make strategic decisions: Who are we? What are our “sacred cows,” or things we are not willing to give up? What will we do well? The 2022–23 Annual Report aims to identify, define, explain, and illustrate how our vision, mission, and values reflect many of the things the college is already doing and underscore new directions we all wish to go. In my first year as Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Education, I am also proud of the collaborative and inclusive process we implemented to produce a document that represents who we are, what we do well, and what we hold dear. Beyond a title that fits me well, I have a new purpose and renewed passion for the liberal arts and education at UW-Platteville.

With gratitude,

NATIONAL BOARD MEMBERSHIP

Dr. Hilton Kelly, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Education, was recently selected as a Council of Fellows Board Member at the 2023 annual American Council on Education meeting in Washington D.C. The ACE Council of Fellows serves as the alumni organization for the ACE Fellows Program, a national leadership development program for higher education. Its mission is to provide opportunities for continued professional development and networking opportunities for former ACE Fellows and to promote, contribute to, and provide partial financial support for the ACE Fellows Program.

BOUNDLESS AND CREATIVE INQUIRY

The College of LAE offers a broad range of majors promoting students' boundless and creative inquiry in English, Environmental Science and Conservation, Fine Arts, History, Interdisciplinary Philosophy, Music, Political Science, Spanish, and many more programs. The table below shows recent enrollment in our five most popular majors.

Enrollment numbers are 10th day enrollment for the fall terms of the academic year listed.

Source: Platteville Analytics and Institutional Research Services

BOUNDLESS AND CREATIVE INQUIRY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES AND SOCIETY

By Chris Underwood, Department Chair

Students and faculty in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Society engage in boundless and creative inquiry in all we do. It is such an integral part of our curriculum. In fact, we require our majors to complete at least seven credits of research-based coursework in which they investigate all aspects of the environmental sciences. These courses include Planet Earth, where students study the effects of climate change on nature through a series of hands-on laboratory exercises; The Land Ethic, where students learn about and engage in reciprocal relationships between humans and nature; and our Guided Research courses, in which students partner with faculty to execute externally-funded research projects on environmental change, plant-human relations and land practices, wildfires, biogeography, and more. The Department of Environmental Sciences and Society endeavors to engage with some of the most difficult, complex, and important questions posed today—the answers to which could determine the very fate of our species and planet.

For the past several years, UW-Platteville students and faculty in the Environmental Sciences and Society and History programs have helped establish a sugarbush on the Platte Mound. Tapping maple trees and boiling maple syrup and maple sugar has helped students connect with and learn about the land and its history in important ways. Jon Greendeer, former president of the Ho-Chunk Nation, helped mark the start of the sugarbush season with events open to the campus and community in March. Greendeer delivered a guest lecture in Nohr Gallery, Ullsvik Hall, on Land and Indigenous Knowledge. He also led the sugarbush opening event at the Platte Mound.

The faculty and staff in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Society have shown me how I can make an impact on the world by studying environmental sciences and conservation.

Lindsey Barnes, ‘25

Related student organization: Environmental Sciences and Society Club

BOUNDLESS AND CREATIVE INQUIRY

DEPARTMENT OF PERFORMING AND VISUAL ARTS

By Ann Farrelly, Department Co-Chair

The Department of Performing and Visual Arts provides students with many opportunities for boundless and creative inquiry. Our general education courses, such as Music Appreciation, Art Survey, and Introduction to Theatre, survey broad concepts in each area of the arts. Our hands-on studio courses, such as Ceramics, Graphic Design, Stagecraft, and applied music lessons, allow our students to examine practical concepts culminating in artistic capstone projects. Our theoretical courses, such as Art History, Music Theory, and Dramatic Literature, teach students to conceptualize and investigate the necessary role of the arts in a civilized society. The large-scale public events, including concerts, exhibitions, and shows, highlight the collaborative nature of the arts and give our students a chance to showcase their work. The Department of Performing and Visual Arts provides students with a full examination of the creative drive within all humans that has existed for thousands of years. One of the biggest strengths of UW-Platteville is our desire to provide every student with an opportunity to pursue their love of the arts no matter what their major might be.

I believe my work in the arts is helping me with my professional writing. I have gained characteristics and skills in public speaking and empathizing with others. In the Theatre program, we cover the motto ‘risk, fail, risk again.’ That can apply to every avenue of life.

Isabelle Sander, ‘23

Related student organizations: Art program – Clay Club

COLLEGE OF LAE IN ACTION

Dozens of UW-Platteville performing and visual arts students traveled across the pond to embark on short-term faculty-led trips to Europe over Winterim. Dr. Tyler Ostergaard, Associate Professor of art; and Gregory Nelson, Professor of art and Program Coordinator, led the Art Study Abroad to Rome. Dr. Bob Demaree, Director of choral activities; and Stephanie Klein, Associate Director of choral activities, organized the Chamber Choir London Tour. Dr. Ann Farrelly, Professor of theatre and Program Coordinator; Jeffrey Strange, Professor of theatre; and Sarah Strange, Senior Lecturer of theatre, guided the Theatre Study Abroad to London.

Read the full article online at go.uwplatt.edu/across-pond

Music program – MTNA, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Sigma Alpha Iota Theatre program – Pioneer Players

In the 2022–23 academic year, the Department of Performing and Visual Arts hosted:

28 Master classes

8 Concerts

21

Theatre performances

6 Art exhibitions

17 Recitals

EQUITY AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

By Will LeSuer, Department Chair

Our mission is founded on our dedication to the many facets of equity and justice to prepare students who are intellectually mature, ethically responsible, and culturally aware. As a multidisciplinary department, we are united in our goal to prepare students for lives of public, social, and human services including law enforcement, legislature, corrections, government, nonprofit organizations, law, victim services, and forensic investigation. Whether ensuring public safety, lobbying for legal reform, or protecting civil rights, these vocations all serve to promote equity and justice in society at all levels. We endeavor to prepare students for successful careers in these systems, while also empowering them to be the leaders who champion justice from within and beyond.

COLLEGE OF LAE IN ACTION

UW-Platteville recently rolled out its first women-focused mentoring program for criminal justice majors, in collaboration with the Wisconsin Department of Justice and the UW-Madison Center for Law, Society, and Justice. The University of Wisconsin Women in Criminal Justice Mentoring Program provides students with mentors from multiple agencies at the federal, state, and local levels. Twenty-two UW-Platteville students and nearly 40 mentors are participating in the program, including 22 alumni and faculty from UW-Platteville. Mentors represent 26 different organizations, covering a variety of experiences in the criminal justice field.

Read the full article online at go.uwplatt.edu/woman-cj

The faculty at UW-Platteville are amazing. They are always looking out for their students and are approachable. I have specifically enjoyed working with Instructor Jeremy Miller and learning about the legal process. He has helped push me toward the law side of political science. He is one of my favorite professors on campus due to his willingness to help his students and his teaching style.

Ali Risley, ‘24

Related student organizations: Criminal Justice Association, Forensic Investigation Club

EQUITY AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY

By Adam Stanley, Department Chair

All too often, the lessons of historical study demonstrate the ways in which societies have failed to provide equity and justice, sometimes at a myriad of levels. As historians, we seek to learn from those lessons of the past, and to imbue our students with a sense of the importance of those values as part of the mission and values of our program and the college. Both equity and justice fundamentally revolve around the notion of impartiality, which is important to historical study as well. While history is an interpretive discipline, we want our students to make their assessments of historical events from as impartial a perspective as possible—not because history is magically value-free, but rather an understanding of one's pre-conceptions can inform more responsible historical study and scholarship. Sometimes that means a better appreciation of the historical circumstances underlying ongoing gender inequities, for example, as a means to grasp the ways in which historical circumstances have influenced gender norms and opportunities in our own world. In other cases, students are even empowered to attempt to provide a small modicum of justice in retrospect, such as bringing to light instances of the illegal practice of slavery in 19th-century Wisconsin. In any of these respects, the need to comprehend the historical roots and realities of inequity and injustice is crucial to an education grounded in the nature and significance of our core values as a college.

COLLEGE OF LAE IN ACTION

Related student organization: Platteville History Club

UW-Platteville held the eighth annual Indigenous Peoples’ Day Lecture, featuring Jordan Marie Brings Three White Horses Daniel who shared the message of “Running for Justice.” “Since 2015, the goal of the UW-Platteville Indigenous Peoples’ Day Lecture is to amplify Native American voices at this institution,” said Dr. Eugene Tesdahl, Associate Professor of history and founder of this event. “Even today, these speakers connect with community members, students, staff, and faculty. Observing Indigenous Peoples’ Day makes UW-Platteville a stronger and more welcoming university.”

Read the full article online at go.uwplatt.edu/indigenous-peoples-day

Our university is in a unique position to offer students opportunities normally unheard of to undergraduates and provides us with a welcoming location to flourish.

Grace Trenkamp, ‘23

HIGH-IMPACT LEARNING

High-impact practices are active educational practices that encourage deep learning by promoting student engagement. Highimpact learning is a core value of the college and something we know is essential to student success. Below are just a few of the opportunities available to College of LAE students in every major.

Internships and Student Teaching

Field Trips and Education Abroad

Senior Capstone Experiences

Service-Learning

Research and Creative Endeavors with Faculty Learning Communities

Early Elementary Student Teaching Level II Wellness-Fitness Internship

History of Science and Technology in Europe

Political Science Field Trip in Washington, D.C.

Senior Art Show

Senior Capstone in Theatre

Geography of the Natural Parks

Platteville Children's Chorale Internship

Behavioral Research II

Spirit Lake Review

Criminal Justice Living Learning Community

HIGH-IMPACT LEARNING SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

By Lindsay Hollingsworth, Interim Director

The UW-Platteville School of Education has a rich history of training educators for more than 150 years. Since the state's first Normal School was established in 1866, UW-Platteville has been preparing teachers. The School of Education takes great pride in this long-standing tradition and is committed to providing quality educational programs rich with high-impact practices. Our faculty and staff partner with community organizations and school districts to create meaningful opportunities for our teacher candidates to engage in authentic work with students, families, and community partners. Beyond the local area, we encourage our students to complete a two-week practicum experience in Bayfield, Wisconsin, and/or join Pioneers Across the Pond, a short-term faculty-led study abroad program in the United Kingdom. The School of Education also takes great pride in the many opportunities provided to our students to support teaching and learning in area schools. Beginning with Introduction to Education, students complete field observations and experiences in schools culminating with a student teaching experience in their final semester of coursework.

COLLEGE

Related student organizations: Aspiring Educators

Students enrolled in the Community Based Learning class traveled to architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin for a tour and lab day. The experience was a lesson in placebased education – a foundational component of UW-Platteville’s School of Education that focuses on using students’ own communities, including their history, culture, and environment, as a primary resource for learning.

Read the full article online at go.uwplatt.edu/taliesin

I believe that UW-Platteville's program helped to open my eyes to what education could be and how we can partner with our community to educate our students.

Nathan Murrin, ‘23

HIGH-IMPACT LEARNING DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY

By Elizabeth Gates, Department Chair

High-impact practices are critical to the success of the Psychology program and UW-Platteville's strategic goals, particularly fostering transformative education and promoting academic and career success.

On average, 52%* of our psychology students complete a cooperative field experience prior to graduation. A wide variety of internships are available, including placements with school districts, homeless shelters, correctional facilities, hospitals, domestic violence shelters, and residential treatment facilities. Approximately 90%* of our students have participated in volunteer work or service-learning opportunities prior to graduation.

An increasing number of students are completing independent research with faculty members, which is a highly encouraged experience for students pursuing school psychology, experimental or clinical master's degrees, or careers in UX (user experience design), to name a few. Students often present their research at national or regional conferences or Research in the Rotunda, hosted by the University of Wisconsin System.

Related student organization: Psychology Club

Psychology student Maddie Gehl never foresaw herself conducting undergraduate research, but the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade sparked an interest in wanting to see how the ruling would affect college students and dating apps. Her research was showcased at the 19th annual Research in the Rotunda in March 2023 at the Wisconsin State Capitol. Gehl presented her findings to legislators, state leaders, and peers from across the UW System.

Read the full article online at go.uwplatt.edu/post-roe-v-wade

To create and conduct research is one of the most challenging yet rewarding things. I was able to see how my work intrigued others. I have been able to get accepted into other conferences and presentations. It’s beyond what I thought I would ever be able to do.

Maddie Gehl, ‘23

* Source: Annual Department of Psychology Program Assessment, 2021–22

INTERDISCIPLINARY PROBLEM-SOLVING

In addition to its foundational major programs, the College of LAE offers a range of interdisciplinary minors and certificates that allow students to push past traditional boundaries and pursue their passions. These are some examples.

Women'sand Gender Studies minor

SpeakersTeachingEnglishto LanguagesofOthercertificate

Substance Abuse Counseling certificate

Architecture minor

Cybersecurityminor

INTERDISCIPLINARY MINORS AND CERTIFICATES

EthnicStudiesminor

Geographic Information Systems certificate

SportsManagement minor

Social Work certificate

Social and Environmental Justice minor

Lawcertificate

StudiesInternational minor

INTERDISCIPLINARY PROBLEM-SOLVING DEPARTMENT OF HUMANITIES

By Shane Drefcinski, Immediate Past Department Chair

There are a variety of ways in which Department of Humanities faculty and instructional academic staff engage in interdisciplinary problem-solving. The most prominent examples are the Spirit Lake Review, an annual online magazine that contains creative writing, art, and photography by faculty, instructors, students, and alumni, and the Raven Revisited, a collection of creative writing published annually in The Exponent. Another prominent example is the LAE Faculty Forum presentations by our faculty and instructors. Over the last several years, philosophy and Spanish faculty members and instructors gave presentations on ethical and cultural issues with responses from members of the Department of Biology, Department of Criminal Justice and Social Sciences, and Department of History. The German professor and a Spanish professor gave guest lectures to the Platteville History Club. The English program recently offered two study abroad courses taught by our professors in Great Britain. In addition, the Philosophy program worked with the Department of Mathematics to develop and team-teach a course in data science ethics. Finally, for many years, philosophy and geography faculty team-taught the Introduction to Social and Environmental Justice course.

Related student organization: The Exponent Student Newspaper

UW-Platteville celebrated the 20th anniversary of the literary magazine Spirit Lake Review with a launch party featuring contributor readings, live music and visual art displays. Spirit Lake Review was founded by now retired UW-Platteville Baraboo Sauk County professor Kelly Dwyer in 2003. The annual student-run literary magazine was named after Baraboo’s popular landmark, Devil’s Lake State Park, which was known as “Spirit Lake” by the Ho-Chunk. For two decades, it has served as a significant creative outlet for the region, as well as an important learning tool for students, who produce the publication as part of the Literary Magazines class.

Read the full article online at go.uwplatt.edu/spirit-lake-review

I underestimated how much my study abroad experience in Argentina would impact my admiration for educators, students, and the Spanish language.

Brianna Fisher, ‘23

WELL-BEING OF STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND STAFF

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN PERFORMANCE

By Matthew Fencl, Department Chair

The well-being of the campus community is a core value and passion of the Department of Health and Human Performance. The dedicated faculty and staff place the highest of value on helping students achieve optimal physical, mental, emotional, and social wellness outcomes during their college experience and beyond, utilizing practical, authentic learning experiences such as high-impact practices, internships, and hands-on learning activities. The general education curriculum of health and human performance provides all campus students with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions associated with living a healthy lifestyle, and the three majors and four minors within the Health and Human Performance program prepare future professionals for careers dedicated to enhancing the health and wellness of others.

COLLEGE OF LAE IN ACTION

UW-Platteville was honored by the Society of Health and Physical Educators at its annual convention. The organization,

known as SHAPE America, selected the Department of Health and Human Performance’s Adapted Aquatics program to receive its Adapted Physical Education/Activity Program of the Year Award. The Adapted Aquatics program is a component of one of Dr. Tim Swenson's health and human performance courses. The program partners with local K-12 schools, which bring students with disabilities to campus to receive specialized swim instruction from Swenson’s students. Swenson begins the semester instructing his health and human performance students on disability law, the Americans with Disabilities Act and accessibility in public buildings, as well as common disabilities and ways to modify instruction. After this period, students from local schools come for swim instruction one day a week. Swenson spends the other class sessions during the week preparing for the swim day. He receives information in advance from the teachers about the students’ disabilities so that his students can work on plans for how to best adapt their instruction in the pool that week.

Read the full article online at go.uwplatt.edu/adapted-aquatics

The professors in the HHP Department are wizards when it comes to building a teacherstudent connection. They give great input, support, and recognition of positive work. Their passion for the profession is contagious.

Riley Glonek, ‘22

Related student organization: Health and Human Performance Club

WELL-BEING OF STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND STAFF - STAFF SPOTLIGHT

SARA FAIRCHILD KOELLER, DEPARTMENT ASSISTANT

How long have you been at the university?

I’ve been with UW-Platteville for the past 13 years. Officially, I’ve been with the Department of Humanities since January 2012, but I also did a stint in English for six months in 2006. However, because my dad was a music professor (Dr. G. Daniel Fairchild), I grew up on campus.

Tell us about your fitness journey. Who inspired you? What do you practice and teach?

Like so many kids, I took dance when I was young, but quit at some point before middle school. I also took dance classes in college as my physical education requirement and loved it. I ended up teaching ballet, tap, and jazz to children while managing a dance studio in the Milwaukee area in my 20s. After moving home to Platteville, I didn’t really have a place to take or teach class until I decided to get myself back in shape before my 40th birthday. Along the way, I discovered Zumba classes here in Platteville (being taught by UW-Platteville music alumna Amelia McConnell) as well as another cardiodance format called WERQ taught locally by Adelei Graffin. They are such dynamic instructors and I loved being back in dance! After Graffin opened a studio in town, I was certified and began teaching WERQ as well as a few other dancerelated formats, before deciding to get certified to teach yoga. Now, I teach five to seven classes a week, ranging from yoga to cardio dance.

How does your yoga practice positively affect your work and your overall well-being?

Yoga has taught me that it’s okay to slow down. My brain tends to run 1,000 miles per hour, and it can’t do that when I’m practicing or teaching yoga. Those lists, chores, and to-dos will still be there when I’m done with class. It has also taught me that it’s okay to not be perfect and how to better manage my stress levels. I’m often heard in yoga class saying “some days are balance days; some days are not, and that’s okay” - and yes, I’m usually falling over when I say it. That concept applies to my job in humanities as well—some days I’m going to get that entire to-do list done, and some days the department is buzzing and it’s not going to happen.

It’s been helpful to learn how to translate my meditations in yoga to work by closing my eyes for just a moment and breathing to ease the feeling of being overwhelmed. My goal when teaching yoga or dance is to always make it accessible to anyone who wants to try it, and that frequently involves

finding new ways to demonstrate or explain what we’re doing. That also translates into my daily work life when working with staff and students who rely on me. Our goal at the studio and in the Department of Humanities is to make sure that we are creating a safe, inclusive, and welcoming space for everyone. Anything I learn that helps create that warm environment at one location is always something I can apply at the other.

How has your involvement in yoga and fitness influenced others in terms of wellness?

I’ve been fortunate to have been asked twice by Dr. Elizabeth Gates to talk to health psychology classes about my fitness/ health journey. This spring, I was invited by Swati Kukreja to join a Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion meeting to teach chair/office yoga, some simple breathing exercises and demonstrate that yoga is really accessible to everyone—you don’t need special equipment or even a class. I work with Thomas Pitcher, an English Lecturer who owns Rooted Yoga Studio here in town, and we both enjoy encouraging our faculty and staff to try out a yoga class. One of our Spanish instructors, Catherine Van Paemel, started practicing yoga with me and we’re hoping to work together to offer occasional Spanish language yoga classes, with me teaching and her translating.

You are so inspiring! How can we take a class with you? Currently, I teach at a studio on Main Street in Platteville called Driftless Fitness and Yoga. We’re right next to Badger Brothers Coffee (an ideal location, if you ask me) and we teach a variety of cardio, strength, and yoga classes. We can be found online at driftlessfitnessandyoga.com or by emailing us at driftlessfitnessandyoga@gmail.com. People are welcome to stop in any time before or after classes, or just drop by for class and we’ll find a spot for you. We offer student, veteran, and senior discounts and the best part is that your first class is always free, so it’s risk-free to try out something.

WHO WE ARE

Lives of leadership and service: The College of LAE prepares students for lives of leadership and service, starting with their first placements after graduation. Our graduates get jobs. Note that seven programs had placement rates last year that were 90% or higher. Also important, though, is the fact that 12% of these LAE placements involve students continuing their education by going straight to graduate or law school. We’re proud of our students and of the preparation they get for careers, service, and continuing education.

WHAT WE DO

2022 Undergraduate Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity: The following are just some examples of the facultysupported research and creative activities our students engaged in this year.

Student Faculty mentor Research topic

Mollie Johnson Kameko Halfmann Interoception and Social Exclusion

Jacob Muller Scott Steder Art and Technology

Madison Rouse Jenna Zucker

Maddie Gehl

Examining the Relationship Between Adolescent Intercultural Sensitivity and White Identity Development

Chris Wilbur The Influence of Restricted Abortion on Women's Mate Choices

Mollie Johnson Kameko Halfmann Looking In When You're Left Out: Regulating Emotions Following Social Exclusion

Kimberly Cummings Alec Eshelman

Meta-Analysis of Psychological Profiling: Overall Accuracy and Factors That Influence Accuracy

Melanie Bisbach Scott Steder Clay Body and Glaze Development: Creating a Sensory Art Experience

John Rodwell Melissa Gormley The History of the Exponent: Our Editors, Art, Academics, and Accessibility

Amiya Peterson

Mike Jones

Macy Ahrens

Lindsay Neefe

Vincent Curci

Ian Kendrick

Alex Grosshans

Mikayla Babcock

Hannah Fliss

Trevor Wilkinson

Chris Wilbur Lending a Helping Hand

Chris Wilbur Effects of Stress Types on College Student's Eating Behaviors

Chris Wilbur The Human Touch: Analysis of the Effects of Eye Contact and Emotional Delivery on Memory

Ben Krings

Analysis of Body Composition and Nutritional Habits in Division III Female Cross-Country Runners During a Competitive Season

Anna Fassbinder Sarah Strange The Use of Prosthetics in Special Effects Makeup

Jadyn Dahlke

Grace Diljak

James Digman

Blossom Ramos

Jon Rodwell

Chris Wilbur How Music Influences our Perceptions of Love

Evan Larson

James Riser II

Groundwater Access Impacts Tree Productivity in the Central Sands of Wisconsin

COLLEGE OF LAE BY THE NUMBERS

People are priority: In the College of LAE, where understanding and elevating the human experience is a goal, our core value of supporting the well-being of faculty, staff, and students is affirmed by the numbers. The vast majority of our resources goes toward supporting the faculty and staff who bring the LAE mission into the classroom.

Overall college budget in FY2023

$12,017,440

Total salary expenses

$8,335,057

Faculty salary costs (includes tenured and tenure-track): $4,693,570

Academic staff salary costs (includes instructional staff and administrators): $3,214,110

Personnel: $10,965,728

Supplies, equipment, travel: $1,051,771

University staff salary costs (administrative support staff): $427,377

100+ Number of faculty and staff

Public events held

210

This number includes 188 full- and parttime dedicated and talented instructional staff who teach in person, online, and at our branch campuses. Twenty-two administrators, advisors, and other support staff keep operations running smoothly so our faculty can focus on teaching.

During this academic year, LAE welcomed the general public to over 100 live and in-person events hosted by departments across the college. These included plays, concerts, exhibits, lectures, panel discussions, and readings.

21.6 Average class size

We continue to advocate for small class sizes to maximize learning.

THE ART OF PHILANTHROPY

Budgets tell a story. They paint a clear picture of what an organization values by showing where resources go. If the College of LAE’s 2022–23 budget were transformed into a mural, it would depict over 200 hard-working individuals dedicated to providing UW-Platteville students with an excellent liberal arts education. This year, 91% of the College of LAE’s budget went to supporting our faculty and staff through salaries and benefits. There’s no question that this is money well spent. All UW-Platteville students— that’s 100% of Pioneers—pass through the College of LAE’s doors. If they don’t major or minor in one of our disciplines, they enter the college through our array of general education courses. Any number of the College of LAE classrooms reflect the vibrance of our university. Students from all corners of our campus can be found in our lectures, discussions, and labs.

Budget cuts are, unfortunately, a reality in public higher education as Wisconsin works to keep tuition affordable even as operating costs rise. For this reason, we are increasingly reliant on help from alumni and donors like you to support the people in the College of LAE. Our remarkable faculty and staff have chosen to make their lives here, dedicating their careers to preparing students for lives of leadership and service in a diverse, global, and complex world. That we have remained strong and peoplefocused through this year is all thanks to your generosity and enthusiasm.

Foundation Giving:

FY2023 gift total

$543,324

Top 5 College of LAE funds:

G. Olin Gunderson Visual Arts Scholarship

Elia Butterworth Piano Scholarship

William and Virginia Oosterhuis Fund for Middle Level Education

Swinging for Scholarships Fund

Wendell (’66) and Janet A. (Dreher) Sisson (’69) Endowed Scholarship

FY23 gifts received

662

If you'd like more information on ways to support the College of LAE, please contact Jimmy Collins at collinsjam@uwplatt.edu or 563.580.7908, or visit uwplatt.edu/give.

SUPPORTING FACULTY THROUGH THE DEAN'S FUND

The LAE Dean’s Fund provides vital professional development support to LAE faculty and instructional staff. Funds may be used to support travel costs associated with presentations at professional conferences, scholarly research projects, or creative endeavors. The 15 faculty and staff below received Dean’s Funds awards for scholarly travel in the last year.

Theron Parsons, Professor of psychology, to attend the Police and Criminal Psychology Conference in Quebec City, Canada

Erin Edgington, Associate Professor of education, to present at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Annual Conference in Los Angeles

Kaju Lee, Assistant Professor of piano pedagogy, to perform in concert and teach a master class at UW-Superior

Chris Schulenburg, Professor of Spanish, to present a paper at the Midwest Modern Language Association Conference in Minneapolis

Shan Sappleton, Associate Professor of political science, to support her sabbatical research trip in West Africa

Laura Roberts, Assistant Professor of English, to present at the Conference on College Composition and Communication in Chicago

Doug Adams, Assistant Professor of education, to present at the American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting in Denver

Nancy Gartner, Associate Professor of criminal justice, to serve as a panelist at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Annual Meeting in National Harbor, Maryland

Hannah Korell, Visiting Assistant Professor of English, to present at the Shakespeare Association of America Conference in Minneapolis

Timothy Swenson, Assistant Professor of health and human performance, to accept the Adapted Physical Education Program of the Year Award at the Society of Health and Physical Education (SHAPE) conference in Seattle

Claudine Pied, Associate Professor of sociology, to present at the XIX Biennial Conference through the International Association for the Study of the Commons in Nairobi, Kenya

Laura Dev, Assistant Professor of environmental science, to present at the American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting in Denver

James Riser, TREES Lab Research Scientist, to study at the University of Arizona Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research’s archive

Catherine Van Paemel, Senior Lecturer in Spanish, to study Spanish in Mexico City over the summer

Stormy Stipe, Associate Professor of English, to work and write in residence at the Elizabeth Bishop House in Great Village, Nova Scotia, Canada