Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE - Danen M. Detloff will serve as the senior valedictorian for the University of Wisconsin-Platteville's 2 p.m. commencement ceremony on May 10.

Detloff is a 2003 graduate of Geneseo High School. She "found" UWP at the young age of 14. She attended UWP's Women in Engineering Summer Camp twice before making her decision to pursue her college career at UWP. A high quality industrial engineering program, small class size, and the opportunity to interact directly with professors are the factors that made Detloff a Pioneer.

Detloff is graduating with a major in industrial engineering with an engineering management emphasis and a minor in business administration. She has an excellent academic record, having earned Chancellor's and Dean's honors during her collegiate career. Detloff has been active in Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society and has served as president and vice president of Alpha Pi Mu Industrial Engineering Honor Society. She has also invested her time and talent with the local chapter of the Institute of Industrial Engineers, having served two terms as secretary.

Detloff has been very active in student government at UWP. She served as a senator for the College of Engineering, Mathematics, and Science. She accepted leadership roles as special projects coordinator, gender issues director, and vice president. Detloff communicated students' views and ideas to the faculty and administration and worked with her fellow senators to bring positive change to the campus environment.

Detloff has gained valuable experience in her chosen profession through a number of work experiences. She completed two summer internships and a co-op experience with the Department of the Army - TACOM - Soldier Biological Chemical Command at the Rock Island Arsenal. During the summer of 2007, Detloff worked in the Non-Woven Abrasives Manufacturing Division of 3M. She served as team leader for her senior design project, which focuses on process improvement at a Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services facility.

Detloff has accepted employment as a site engineer with J.P. Cullen and Sons in Janesville. She will be married in early June to UWP mechanical engineering graduate Eric Busch. Detloff is the daughter of Deve and Renee Detloff. Her siblings, Deven and Dominque, as well as her brother-in-law, Jeff, are also Pioneers.

Contact and written by: Barb Daus, special assistant to the chancellor, (608) 342-1282, daus@uwplatt.edu

PLATTEVILLE - Michael A. Jansen will serve as the principal speaker for the University of Wisconsin-Platteville's 2 p.m. commencement ceremony on May 10.

Jansen is chief executive officer at IIW Engineers and Surveyors, P.C. in Dubuque, Iowa. He has responsibility for the management of this 60 person professional consulting firm, providing leadership for strategic planning, operations, firm culture, core values, growth and leadership development.

Jansen has spent his entire professional career with IIW. He joined the firm in 1987, after earning his UWP undergraduate degree in civil engineering. He is the principal in charge of structural and civil engineering for commercial, institutional and industrial building projects; water storage and treatment facilities; wastewater storage and treatment facilities; waterfront development; earth retention systems; and bridge projects. Jansen has served as project engineer for several site development projects as well as a variety of commercial, institutional and industrial building projects. He is a licensed professional engineer in Iowa and Wisconsin and a licensed structural engineer in Illinois.

Jansen, a UWP alumnus, is a current member of the UWP Foundation board of directors. Additionally, he served nine years on the Engineering, Mathematics, and Science Alumni Chapter Board accepting leadership roles as treasurer and president. During his tenure as president, he represented the chapter as liaison to the UWP Alumni Association Board.

Jansen is also active in his profession and community. He serves on the Wisconsin State Leadership Team for Project Lead the Way, an initiative designed to promote skill development in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics to K-12 students through special programming within K-12 schools. Jansen has served on the Southwestern School District School Board, the Town of Jamestown Plan Commission, and the Town of Jamestown Park Commission. He is an active supporter of the Immaculate Conception School and Parish in Kieler, serving on the technology and education committees and coordinating the design and construction of the school's playground. Through his civic involvements, Jansen has provided opportunity for countless UWP engineering students enrolled in senior design projects to gain real-world experience.

Jansen was honored by UWP in 2002, receiving the Outstanding Recent Alumnus Award.

Contact and written by: Barb Daus, special assistant to the chancellor, (608) 342-1282, daus@uwplatt.edu

PLATTEVILLE - Anthony J. Manoni will serve as the senior valedictorian for the University of Wisconsin-Platteville's 9:30 a.m. commencement ceremony on May 10.

A graduate of Port Washington High School, Manoni matriculated at UWP in the fall of 2003. He had visited a number of college campuses during his junior year of high school. He reports that he chose UWP based on its excellent reputation for quality engineering and manufacturing education and his feeling of being "at home" during his visit.

Manoni is graduating with a major in industrial technology management with an emphasis in computer-integrated manufacturing and a minor in business administration.

Manoni has been active in his academic major and with his academic department. He held a summer position for two years with the Kohler Company, working as an application specialist to set-up, run, repair and strike power equipment for PGA golf tournaments nationwide. Manoni completed an eight month co-op experience with General Motors in Janesville. As a material supervisor, he led a team of 32 associates in the timely storage and delivery of materials to the main assembly line. He also completed a manufacturing engineer internship with Plexus, in Neenah. During the fall 2007 semester, Manoni served as project manager and budget officer for a senior design project that designed and manufactured 40 steel pillar palms used in the restoration of a 300-foot wrought iron ship, the Wavertree. All of these experiences involved applying what was learned in the college classroom to real-world situations.

Manoni competed on the Pioneer men's soccer team, as a freshman, earning a position on the Gabe Miller Honor Roll and the Academic Excellence Award for men's soccer at the 2006 National Student Athlete Day. He also served on the Segregate University Fee Allocation Committee, assisting with the distribution of over $650,000 to 80 student groups. Manoni has also been active with the UWP Student Ambassador Corps, assisting with student recruitment and alumni and community relations. He chaired the organization's annual tuition raffle and co-chaired the 2007 Homecoming parade. He was also a featured presenter at two regional Ambassador conferences.

Manoni is the son of Tom and Debbie Manoni of Port Washington. He has one sister, Laura (fiancee, Bill). Manoni has accepted employment as an industrial engineer with Oshkosh Truck Corporation in Oshkosh.

Contact and written by: Barb Daus, special assistant to the chancellor, (608) 342-1282, daus@uwplatt.edu

PLATTEVILLE - David G. Walsh will serve as the principal speaker for the University of Wisconsin-Platteville's 9:30 a.m. commencement ceremony on May 10.

Walsh was appointed to the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents in 2003 by Governor Jim Doyle. He is a spokesperson and leader for public higher education in the state of Wisconsin. Walsh serves on the board of regents executive committee and the physical planning and funding committee and is chair of the chancellor search committee for UW-Madison. Additionally, Walsh is the regent member of the Hospital Authority Board and the Research Park Board. He served as president of the board from 2005-2007.

Walsh earned his bachelor's degree, with honors, in 1965 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His J.D. degree was conferred in 1970 by Harvard Law School. A Vietnam veteran, Walsh was a LTJG in the United States Navy in southeast Asia in 1967-68.

Walsh is a partner in the Madison office of Foley and Lardner, a national law firm, and is a member of the firm's government and public affairs practice and the sports industry team. He has represented communications entities for over 30 years, developing particular skill in cable television and telecommunications law. Walsh has assisted cable television companies and competitive local exchange carriers in all aspects of their business, including corporate structuring, franchising and facility siting. Walsh has served as primary counsel in a number of significant litigations involving telecommunications law. An experienced litigator, he is admitted to practice in Wisconsin, the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin, the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Walsh has been listed among "The Best Lawyers in America" for over 10 years, and was named to the 2006 and 2007 lists of "Wisconsin Super Lawyers" by "Law and Politics Media Inc." for his administrative law work. Walsh was also ranked by Chambers USA as one of the top mergers and acquisitions lawyers in the state of Wisconsin in 2007.

Walsh has served as an adjunct lecturer at the UW-Madison Law School. He is a former owner of the Milwaukee Brewers baseball club and serves on a number of for-profit corporations. He is a former chairman of the University of Wisconsin Business School Advisory Board and received the Distinguished Business Alumnus Award from the UW-Madison Business School in 1997.

Contact and written by: Barb Daus, special assistant to the chancellor, (608) 342-1282, daus@uwplatt.edu

PLATTEVILLE- Four students from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville won the video studio or live performance segment category in the National Broadcasting Society National Undergraduate Student Electronic Media Competition. This is the third time in a row that UWP has won.

"It's extremely difficult to win the grand prize because there's only one in each category. To do it three times in a row is unprecedented for our program. It speaks well to the quality of our students and the quality of our program," said Robert Snyder, associate professor of broadcast production.

Valerie Ackerman, a senior majoring in communication technologies with an emphasis in broadcasting from Cassville; Jeremy Hach, a senior majoring in communication technologies with an emphasis in broadcasting and a minor in business administration from Middleton; Jennifer Scarpaci, now an alumna in communication technologies with a minor in public relations from Arlington; and Mitch Pritchard, a former UWP student from La Crossse, produced the winning video, "30-CC Presents: The Willie Harris Singers." Videos were judged on use of the camera, lighting, audio, artistic use of medium and overall quality.

The group produced the segment containing a music video with an interview for the show 30-CC on UWP-TV. The 30 minute show reaches over one million people each week.

"30-CC is sort of like old school M-TV. We play music you won't hear anywhere else. We don't play mainstream songs, but we play everything from gospel to soul to rock," said Hach.

The video was filmed at the Cup of Joy coffee house in Green Bay. Hach said that viewers don't always realize how much work goes into making a video. Before the camera is even turned on, video producers spend hours deciding where to shoot, creating story boards and ideas for shots, writing the script, choosing and setting up the background and setting up the desired lighting. The footage is then shot using at least three different cameras to capture the band from different angles. After the footage is shot, editors combine the footage and add things like transitions, special effects and graphics.

Hach said classes like Post Production, Audio and Visual Systems and Audio Production gave the group the skills they needed to produce their award winning video. The hands-on skills and experience the group gained from classes and the 30-CC video also helped the students get jobs in the broadcasting field.

Hach currently works for John Roach Projects Inc. in Madison, as a director and producer. The company produces commercials for large companies. He applied there as an intern and was hired because of his experience. For one of his classes, Hach was required to make a résumé reel of his work. He said if he hadn't had the resume reel and hands-on experience from UWP, he may not have gotten the internship, which led to his current job.

"UWP is good at pumping out producers and directors because of the hands-on experience they give students," said Hach.

Ackerman's career goal is to be a news anchor. The on air experience she received at UWP-TV helped her get an internship at NBC-15 in Madison.

Any student can work at UWP-TV as a volunteer or for class credit. No experience is necessary. UWP-TV airs every Thursday at 6 p.m. and Friday at 7 p.m. on channel five in Platteville.

Anyone wanting more information about UWP-TV or the award may contact Snyder at (608) 342-1630 or snyderro@uwplatt.edu.

Contact: Robert Snyder, associate professor, broadcast production, (608) 342-1630, snyderro@uwplatt.edu Written by: Krystle Kurdi, UWP Public Relations, (608) 342-1194, kurdik@uwplatt.edu