University News

UW-Platteville, Madison College sign transfer agreements

Written By: Bill Bessette, Madison College | Published On: | Featured in: Applied Engineering Technology Management, Press Release, Business & Leadership, Law & Justice

UW-Platteville and Madison College celebrated the signing of three new transfer agreements between the schools, involving the programs of business management, construction management and criminal justice.


Christiansen gains knowledge on renewable resources at Pierce Manufacturing

Written By: Jason Piddington | Published On: | Featured in: STEM

Caleb Christiansen spent his summer interning with Pierce Manufacturing, where he had a chance to learn more about its electric fire truck – a perfect fit for his interest in renewable energy careers.


New director looks to reinvigorate orchestral music in the community

Written By: Alison Parkins | Published On: | Featured in: Arts & Culture

Megan Maddaleno is beginning her first full academic year as director of orchestral activities at UW-Platteville and said she is looking forward to expanding the UW-Platteville Symphony Orchestra and enhancing its presence in the Platteville community. 


UW-Platteville sees 13% increase in freshman class

Written By: Alison Parkins | Published On: | Featured in: Press Release

UW-Platteville announced its preliminary fall enrollment estimates, which include 1,430 students in the new freshman class – a 13% increase over last year.


NSF grants $1.5 million for new civil and environmental engineering scholarship program

Written By: Alison Parkins | Published On: | Featured in: Press Release, STEM

UW-Platteville is the recipient of a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation, which will create a unique scholarship program for civil and environmental engineering students and help bring an increased focus on equity in infrastructure to the field.


UW-Platteville to dedicate Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Written By: Alison Parkins | Published On: | Featured in: Press Release

UW-Platteville will dedicate a new Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Friday, Nov. 11, 2022. The memorial will honor 12 UW-Platteville students and alumni killed in action.


Engineering alumnus turns imagination into reality with custom playgrounds

Written By: Alison Parkins | Published On: | Featured in: Alumni, STEM

UW-Platteville alumnus Tommy Jacobs spends his days bringing people’s imagination to life. As a custom lead design engineer at Landscape Structures, in Delano, Minnesota, it’s his job to take clients’ most creative ideas for playgrounds and turn them into reality. 


Visual Arts program presents ‘The Figure in Multiple Dimensions’ exhibit

Written By: Alison Parkins | Published On: | Featured in: Arts & Culture

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville Visual Arts program will present “The Figure in Multiple Dimensions,” featuring works by professional artists Amy Fichter, Jason Ruhl and Jason Briggs in Nohr Gallery, Ullsvik Hall. The exhibition will run from Sept. 7 through Monday, Oct. 17, with an opening reception on Tuesday, Sept. 13 from 3:30-4:30 p.m.


Fall Engineering Seminar Series announced

Written By: Kristie Reynolds | Published On: | Featured in: STEM

The College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science is bringing real-world engineering projects to students, faculty and friends of the university with the fall 2022 EMS Engineering Seminar Series. Free and open to the public, the series will highlight five engineering projects and insight from experts in the field.


UW-Platteville wraps up inaugural summer coding camps, introduces high school students to growing field

Written By: Alison Parkins | Published On: | Featured in: Youth, STEM

UW-Platteville recently wrapped up its inaugural summer coding camps and hackathon, introducing nearly 60 high school students to the rapidly expanding computer science and cybersecurity fields. The camps – focusing on computer games programming, esports, and cyber defense – were the first of their kind to be offered in the region.


Xiao completes faculty internship with Strand Associates, bringing hands-on experiences into the classroom

Written By: Ruth Wendlandt | Published On: | Featured in: STEM

Dr. Danny Xiao, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, received the opportunity to learn firsthand about the inner workings of being an engineer in the private sector, through a faculty internship with Strand Associates, Inc.® in Madison, Wisconsin.


Harr Bailey receives WiSys Innovation Champion Award, discusses new entrepreneurship programming

Written By: Ruth Wendlandt | Published On: | Featured in: Business & Leadership

Dr. Marcia J. Harr Bailey, associate professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville School of Business, received the WiSys Innovation Champion Award.


Chancellor welcomes faculty and staff at annual convocation, outlines goals for new year

Written By: Alison Parkins | Published On: | Featured in: Campus & Community

UW-Platteville Interim Chancellor Dr. Tammy Evetovich kicked off the 2022-23 academic year at the annual faculty and staff convocation on Sept. 1.  


Friday impresses with second internship at August Winter & Sons

Written By: Jason Piddington | Published On: | Featured in: STEM

Dayne Friday, a senior at UW-Platteville and a member of the football program, recently completed his second summer internship at August Winter & Sons, impressing supervisors with his leadership and knowledge.


Cryptocurrency and NFTs are subject of Love of Learning lecture Sept. 12

Written By: John Christensen | Published On: | Featured in: Richland

Jesse Goplen, who attended UW-Richland in 1998-99, will give the first lecture in the Fall 2022 Love of Learning series at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Richland, discussing the development of cryptocurrencies and NFT marketplaces, and the ways they affect regular investors. 


‘A new era’: UW-Platteville celebrates opening of transformational Sesquicentennial Hall

Written By: Alison Parkins | Published On: | Featured in: Press Release, STEM

More than 300 members of the UW-Platteville community and tri-state region gathered to celebrate the opening of Sesquicentennial Hall – UW-Platteville’s newest, $55 million state-of-the-art engineering building – at a ribbon-cutting celebration on Sept. 1. 


Stanley honored with Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence

Written By: Kristie Reynolds | Published On: | Featured in: Campus & Community

Dr. Caryn Stanley, assistant director and professor in the UW-Platteville School of Business, is being recognized with the 2022 Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence.


Gadedji receives Excellence in International Advising Award

Written By: Ruth Wendlandt | Published On: | Featured in: Campus & Community, International

As a former international student himself, earning degrees in two different continents, Kokou Gadedji, assistant professor at the UW-Platteville School of Business, can relate to the challenges and rewards of adapting to new countries and cultures. Gadedji is being recognized with this year’s Excellence in International Advising Award.


LeSuer receives outstanding advising award

Written By: Kristie Reynolds | Published On: | Featured in: Campus & Community

Dr. Will LeSuer, UW-Platteville associate professor and interim chair of the Criminal Justice and Social Sciences Department, is receiving the 2022 Outstanding Faculty/Instructional Staff Advisor Award.


UW-Platteville receives funding from DRA Core Grant, plans basketball tournament event

Written By: Alison Parkins | Published On: | Featured in: Corporate Relations, Press Release

UW-Platteville is the recipient of a 2022 DRA Core Grant that will help sponsor a men’s basketball tip-off classic tournament on the UW-Platteville campus this year.


Bormann set to lead new innovation center, spark creativity on campus and in region

Written By: Alison Parkins | Published On: | Featured in: STEM

When UW-Platteville's newest engineering building, Sesquicentennial Hall, opens next week, it will be home to one of the largest makerspaces in the Midwest – the Huff Family Innovation Center – and Joe Bormann, the center’s newly appointed director, is looking forward to fostering innovation, among both students and the business community, in Southwest Wisconsin. 


Fields receives Dr. Carol Sue Butts Woman of the Year Award

Written By: Ruth Wendlandt | Published On: | Featured in: Campus & Community

Dr. Kristina Fields, professor of civil and environmental engineering at UW-Platteville, is being honored with the 2022 Dr. Carol Sue Butts Woman of the Year Award.


Lindahl earns academic staff award for excellence

Written By: Kristie Reynolds | Published On: | Featured in: Campus & Community

Gary Lindahl, UW-Platteville technology support and lecturer in the College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science, has been said to possess a helping nature that is a gift to others. Known as the go-to person for implementing new tools to make operational tasks as seamless and easy as possible, Lindahl is being honored with the 2022 Academic Staff Award for Excellence.


Hallstrom finds a top engineering education in her hometown

Written By: Alison Parkins | Published On: | Featured in: Alumni, STEM

Originally from Platteville, Rachael Hallstrom grew up close to UW-Platteville, but once she enrolled as a student, she found that the campus provided what she describes as a different world – a separate, unique community with an engineering education that rivals any bigger school. 


Student presents research on psychological profiling through Summer Undergraduate Scholar Program

Written By: Ruth Wendlandt | Published On: | Featured in: Psychology, Research

Through UW-Platteville's Summer Undergraduate Scholar Program, senior Kimberly Cummings received the opportunity to investigate the topic of psychological profiling.


UW-Platteville's Nollen part of U.S. soil judging team taking first place at world contest

Written By: Kristie Reynolds | Published On: | Featured in: Agriculture & Dairy

University of Wisconsin-Platteville senior Isaac Nollen was on the four-person American soil judging team that took first place at last month’s International Soil Judging Competition, hosted by the 20th World Congress of Soil Science in Glasgow, Scotland.


UW-Platteville to celebrate grand opening of state-of-the-art engineering building

Written By: Alison Parkins | Published On: | Featured in: Campus & Community, Press Release, STEM

UW-Platteville will celebrate the grand opening of its newest engineering building, Sesquicentennial Hall, on Thursday, Sept. 1. The $55 million building will adjoin Busby Hall of Engineering to create a 200,000-square-foot state-of-the-art complex that supports interdisciplinary engineering and computer science. 


UW System President Jay Rothman announces Wisconsin Tuition Promise with UW-La Crosse and UW-Platteville

Written By: UW System | Published On: | Featured in: Press Release

University of Wisconsin System President Jay Rothman today announced the creation of the Wisconsin Tuition Promise, a new initiative starting in fall 2023 to ensure underserved Wisconsin students can attend any UW System university without paying tuition or fees. 


Owusu-Ababio honored for impact on students and across globe

Written By: Alison Parkins | Published On: | Featured in: STEM

In his 30-plus years of teaching at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Dr. Samuel Owusu-Ababio, professor of civil engineering, has had a transformational impact on the education of countless students.


Prosise named ELATES Fellow in national leadership program

Written By: Provided by ELATE | Published On: | Featured in: STEM

Dr. Jodi Prosise has been selected for the Class of 2022-2023 of Drexel University’s Executive Leadership in Academic Technology, Engineering and Science (ELATES) program – a national leadership development program designed to promote women in academic STEM fields, and faculty allies of all genders, into institutional leadership roles.


‘Love of Learning’ series restarts for fall at UW-Platteville Richland

Written By: John Christensen | Published On: | Featured in: Richland

UW-Platteville Richland will restart the campus’ “Love of Learning” free series of public community educational presentations, offering three lectures on diverse topics in the campus’ Pippin Conference Center throughout the fall. 


UW-Platteville engineering education helps Ricks’ aviation career take off

Written By: Alison Parkins | Published On: | Featured in: Alumni, STEM

Andrew Ricks has always had a passion for aviation. He began taking flying lessons as a freshman in high school and earned his pilot’s license when he turned 17. But, his engineering education at UW-Platteville is what gave him the opportunity to turn his hobby into a career designing and creating airplane parts.


Faculty, student researchers to create microgrid cybersecurity testbed

Written By: Alison Parkins | Published On: | Featured in: STEM, Research

A group of faculty and student researchers are working to contribute solutions to the increasing threat of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure. With the help of the UW System Ignite Grant Program and several industry partners, including ABB Inc., UW-Platteville will soon be home to a smart microgrid cybersecurity testbed.


UW-Platteville Foundation celebrates record year in fundraising

Written By: Kristie Reynolds | Published On: | Featured in: Alumni, Press Release

For the third consecutive year, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Foundation achieved a record year in donations. Thanks to the generosity of alumni, friends and corporate partners, more than $7.4 million was raised during the 2022 fiscal year, which ended June 30.


Restructured industrial and systems engineering major set to bring new growth to program, respond to industry needs

Written By: Heidi Rhinehart | Published On: | Featured in: STEM

Beginning this fall, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s industrial engineering major will be renamed to industrial and systems engineering – a change that is driven by a growing demand for systems engineering.  


Zolper honored for creating opportunities for engineering students

Written By: Alison Parkins | Published On: | Featured in: STEM, Research

Ask a student of Dr. Thomas Zolper about their research, and the answers will be quite varied. Some have worked side-by-side with scientists from the USGS to combat invasive aquatic species. Others are helping to examine the resilience of the Wisconsin energy and information infrastructure against natural or man-made failures. And a few are getting a taste of a different kind of research, as they attempt to scientifically measure what makes people like ice cream. 


Students collaborate with athletics on hydration research, present nationally

Written By: Kristie Reynolds | Published On: | Featured in: Health and Human Performance, Research

Two seniors in the Department of Health and Human Performance recently presented at the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s annual conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.


Grad finds passion, career success with UW-Platteville MSISCM program

Written By: Stephen Kelley | Published On: | Featured in: Distance Education, Graduate Studies, Business & Leadership

Some career paths are easily navigated – with a clear, straight road ahead. However, for recent Master of Science in Integrated Supply Chain Management graduate Kristy Knautz, her career path included a sharp right turn.


Recent grads set to make an impact in growing field of plant breeding and biotechnology

Written By: Alison Parkins | Published On: | Featured in: Agriculture & Dairy

Garrett Larsen had a passion for plant biotechnology even before he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. Thanks to the Wisconsin Youth Apprenticeship Program through BioPharmaceutical Technology Center Institute and Promega, he had his first real exposure to research before college, which validated his decision to pursue it professionally.


UW-Platteville team places third in national competition

Written By: Kristie Reynolds | Published On: | Featured in: Applied Engineering Technology Management

The UW-Platteville TeamWorks team placed third out of 14 post-secondary schools in the Construction SkillsUSA national competition in Atlanta, Georgia.


UW-Platteville alumna reflects on student teaching opportunity in Bayfield

Written By: Ruth Wendlandt | Published On: | Featured in: Education

University of Wisconsin-Platteville alumna Jillian Meister wrapped up her final semester student teaching in Bayfield, Wisconsin, where she received the opportunity to implement culturally responsive teaching practices in her classroom.


Platteville Summer Arts Festival presents the musical ‘Once’

Written By: Ann Dillon Farrelly | Published On: | Featured in: Campus & Community, Arts & Culture

The Department of Performing and Visuals Arts and the Platteville Summer Arts Festival present the Tony-Award winning musical “Once" July 29, 30, Aug. 5, and 6 at 7:30 p.m. and July 31 and Aug. 7 at 2 p.m. in the Richard and Helen Brodbeck Concert Hall in the Center for the Arts on the UW-Platteville campus.


Zucker receives Early Career Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence

Written By: Ruth Wendlandt | Published On: | Featured in: Campus & Community, Psychology

Dr. Jenna Zucker, assistant professor of psychology, is being honored with the UW-Platteville 2022 Early Career Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence. The award recognizes a tenure-track faculty member who has made distinguished contributions to the mission of the university as an outstanding teacher.


Students from multiple programs collaborate on clandestine grave documentation research

Written By: Ruth Wendlandt | Published On: | Featured in: Law & Justice, STEM, Research

Faculty from Forensic Investigation and Computer Science and Software Engineering are collaborating on clandestine grave documentation research.


Local artists to exhibit at Schwalbach Gallery

Written By: John Christensen | Published On: | Featured in: Baraboo Sauk County

Sauk County artists Roberta Condon and Lorraine Ortner-Blake will be featured in the Schwalbach Gallery on the UW-Platteville Baraboo Sauk County campus, starting Friday, July 1.


Savoy recognized with staff award for excellence

Written By: Alison Parkins | Published On: | Featured in: Campus & Community

UW-Platteville will recognize Josh Savoy, Information Technology Services Help Desk supervisor, with the 2022 University Staff Award for Excellence.


Students have first opportunity to attend largest human resource conference

Written By: Alison Parkins | Published On: | Featured in: Business & Leadership

Nine students recently attended the 2022 annual Society for Human Resource Management Conference and Expo, the largest gathering of human resource professionals in the world. Dr. Sameer Ahmed made this opportunity possible for students – for the first time – by arranging with conference organizers the possibility for students to volunteer at the conference in exchange for admission. 


Selent selected as Wisconsin Teaching Fellow

Written By: Ruth Wendlandt | Published On: | Featured in: Campus & Community, STEM

Dr. Douglas Selent, assistant professor of computer science and software engineering, is bringing awareness to neurodiversity through his Wisconsin Teaching Fellows and Scholars (WTFS) Program Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) project.


Sherman honored with Outstanding Woman of Color Award

Written By: Ruth Wendlandt | Published On: | Featured in: Diversity Equity and Inclusion, Press Release

Brittany Sherman, a multicultural advisor in the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, is being honored with this year's UW-Platteville Outstanding Woman of Color Award.


Show your Pioneer pride, get free admission at Summerfest

Written By: Kristie Reynolds | Published On: | Featured in: Alumni, Press Release

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville is taking part in Summerfest’s Show Your College Pride Day. Students attending Summerfest who arrive at the Mid Gate Promotions Booth between noon and 3 p.m. on Friday, July 8 wearing UW-Platteville branded gear, such as a shirt or hat, will receive a free admission ticket.