Voice Shorts

Music dept. sponsors holiday concert series

UW - River Falls is sharing the gift of music this holiday season through a series of concerts sponsored by the UWRF music department Dec 10-16. All concerts are to be performed in the Abbott Concert hall located in the Kleinpell Fine Arts Building. Events are subject to change; visit http://www.uwrf.edu/music/events.html for schedule changes or call the music department at 715-425-3183 for more information. Admission for some concerts is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and $2 for students.

Community helps organization raise money

The Community Action Theatre Troupe (CATTs) raised $500 and 236 shoeboxes during Operation Christmas Child last month. The diversity education initiative was coordinated by UW-River Falls Multicultural Services and students from various cultural organizations on campus, including the Native American Council and Latino Student Organization. The money and shoebox gifts were donated by students, faculty, staff and members of the River Falls community.

Student wins national proficiency award

A UW-River Falls freshman received a national proficiency award at the October National FFA Convention held in Indianapolis. Kaleb Santy, an agricultural education major from Pulaski, Wis., was named the national winner in the area of Emerging Agriculture Technologies. The award was presented to Santy for an innovative project that dealt with lowering the somatic cell count (SCC) in lactating dairy cows through the use of natural, homeopathic substances instead of antibiotics. Over the course of two years Santy developed a mixture of egg whites and honey that worked similar to antibiotics in lowering the SCC.

McNair scholar presents on retention rate

UW-River Falls McNair scholar Sage Lavant presented her paper on the retention rate of UWRF students at the Association for Institutional Research — Upper Midwest (AIRUM) conference, held in November in Bloomington, Minn. Lavant prepared a poster presentation and was asked to convene a session, which marks high honors for an undergraduate student. The McNair program is designed to assist low-income, first-generation college students to prepare for and enter graduate schools with the ultimate goal of a Ph.D. Accepted students receive paid internships, funding to attend research conferences, waived GRE and graduate school fees, eligibility for graduate fellowships and assistantships (up to $40,000 per year) and more.

Mural honoring history professor unveiled

Campus and community members showed up for the unveiling of a mural Nov. 28 in the west hallway of the Wyman Education Building honoring the late history professor Ed Peterson. The mural, composed of six different stances portraying the professor in action, was created by Garrett Bergemann, a senior fine arts major. While Bergemann said he never had taken a class from Peterson, he wanted to make an image that would inspire the campus community. Bergemann chose to represent Peterson for his passion, evident in classroom photographs. Peterson’s wife Ursula, of River Falls, also attended the event.

Last observatory session is scheduled

The final observatory session of the semester, “The Star of Bethlehem,”  is set for the first clear night of Dec. 11, 12, 13 or 14. UWRF physics professor Eileen Korenic will speak on the subject at 7:30 p.m. in Room 271 of Centennial Science Hall. The viewing will take place at 8 p.m. on the third floor outside deck of CSH.

Next semester’s observatory viewings are set for February (“Blood on the Moon: Lunar Eclipses”), March (“Remembering the Astronauts: Space Accidents”) and April (“Stars of the Pharaohs: Orion and the Pyramids”). All events are free, open to the public and suitable for all ages. Interested people are advised to check the UWRF physics department Web site at www.uwrf.edu/physics,  and click on “observatory,” or call 715-425-3560 on the night of a viewing to see if skies are clear enough. Contact Spiczak via e-mail to be placed on an e-mail viewing notification list.

Internships in China available to students

There will be an informational meeting Dec. 13 at 3:30 p.m. for UW-River Falls students who want to be part of an international experience this summer in China with UWRF distinguished alumnus Wong How Man. Wong founded the China Exploration and Research Society in 1986. The internship is based at his center in Yunnan, China. Students will explore remote regions of China, conduct multidisciplinary research, implement nature and culture conservation projects, and distribute results through education and popular channels. The meeting will be held in room 138 of Rodli. For more information call the Office of International Programs at (715) 425-4891.

Wal-Mart store no longer planned for RF

After years of probing and finding a tentative site at the juncture of Radio Road and Hwy. 35, Wal-Mart seems to have closed the door on building a Supercenter store in River Falls. The word came via e-mail from Olsson Associates, an Edina, Minn., engineering firm that represents the international retail chain. The company gave the following reasons for its decision: the Department of Transportation won’t allow a traffic signal to be installed at Radio Road and Hwy. 35 because a signal didn’t fit with overall plans; the DOT said it would take three to five years to build the planned interchange; and extending utilities to the site posed challenges. River Falls City Administrator Bernie Van Osdale said he thinks the traffic signal was the primary issue that influenced Wal-Mart’s decision not to build in the city.