Letters

We’re excited to announce Erika Monroe-Kane as the Academy’s new Executive Director. We look forward to her energy and leadership as we face the challenges and embrace the opportunities ahead.

Wisconsin writers: send us your best short fiction and poetry! Contest awards include $1,700, publication in Wisconsin People & Ideas, a residency at Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts, and a reading at the Wisconsin Book Festival. Deadline: March 15, 2022.

Registration is open for our winter/spring Courses which provide opportunities for lifelong learning and personal enrichment in creative writing and the visual arts. Academy members receive a 10% discount on course fees. Space is limited. wisconsinacademy.org/courses.

Emily Arthur's solo exhibit "Re-membering" and "Contemporary Indigenous Printmaking," curated by Emily Arthur, will be on view February 11 -April 3 at the James Watrous Gallery in Madison. Closing reception April 1. wisconsinacademy.org/ gallery.

Join us at Climate Fast Forward 2022, our Climate & Energy Conference on October 17, 2022. Save the date and watch the website for registration details this spring. Interested in being a conference sponsor? environment@ wisconsinacademy.org.

Consider adding the Wisconsin Academy to your will or estate plans. Legacy gifts provide the foundation for better world inspired by Wisconsin ideas. Learn how at wisconsinacademy.org/legacy.

We want to hear from you. Send your thoughts and comments about our programs and publications to: cchambers@wisconsinacademy. org.

I write to commend you (Jason A. Smith) on your work at WASAL, especially with the excellent leadership in producing an ever-better Wisconsin People & Ideas magazine. While articles and visuals in this publication have always been interesting, you have moved the dial forward with excellence in both content and presentation. It is one of the few magazines I receive that I like to savor from cover to cover. Well done. We have several mutual friends who have given counsel and support including Bill Berry whom I have known since he joined the staff of the Stevens Point Journal in the 1980s. I value my acquaintance with Bill, who like you, keeps his head down making steady progress with beneficial results for the citizens of the State of Wisconsin—without receipt of the full credit deserved for his/ your contributions. With whatever you do I offer my best wishes and thanks.

Don Last, Madison

I am grateful to the Wisconsin Academy for sponsoring the WP&I writing contests in poetry and fiction. Showcasing local talent and judged by writers of national renown, the selected stories consistently reveal unique twists in plot, storytelling, points-of-view, and in general uncover new perspectives on our fragile and ever-changing (or not!) human condition. They are stories for aspiring writers like me to learn from, and for all WP&I readers to enjoy.

Steve Fox, Hudson

I work in environmental studies, and one of our greatest challenges is to communicate with a public audience about the issues facing our planet. The even greater challenge is to do this with something more than simply statistics. “The Last Glacier” exhibit (at the James Watrous Gallery) has an incredibly powerful message. The images are arresting in both their beauty and their implications for the warming world. I was overwhelmed by the show. Thank you for supporting such an endeavor. The arts are such an important way to change our world for the better.

Heather Swan, Madison

In “Fellows in the News” in the Fall 2021 issue, the year that Bassam Z. Shakhashiri emigrated from Lebanon and the length of his tenure at the National Science Foundation were incorrectly noted. Professor Shakhashiri emigrated with his family in 1957 at the age of 17. He served as assistant director for science and engineering education at the National Science Foundation for 6 years. To keep up with Professor Shakhashiri’s activities in retirement, go to his website: www.scifun.org