The University of Wisconsin-Platteville understands the importance of professionals illustrating their learning achievements in a competitive business landscape. That's why students who take advantage of UW-Platteville's graduate-level certificate programs will now begin receiving a digital badge following the successful completion of the program. These badges serve as a visual verification of the achievement and highlight the learned skills. 

A group of University of Wisconsin-Platteville mechanical engineering students partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey to help combat the spread of invasive species by designing a ballast tank injection system. The project was one of more than three dozen Senior Design projects presented at the spring 2022 College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science Senior Design Open House. The team included Nathan Christy, Cameron Ertl, Nick Schroeder and Tom Vanderwyst and was advised by Dr. Gavin Saari of the USGS and Dr. Thomas Zolper, associate professor of mechanical engineering. 

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville was recently awarded the Anderson Corporate Foundation Grant in the amount of $5,000 for Women in STEM K-12 outreach and programming.

“Grantmaking through the Anderson Corporate Foundation extends the reach of our company’s community impact to more people and more communities,” said Anna Bosak, community relations and corporate giving manager at Anderson Corporate Foundation. “We are fortunate to be able to give back and make a difference through the foundation and are proud to support organizations working every day to empower people and communities to achieve their full potential.”

When one hears the words “project management,” some may envision a profession embedded in the construction, business or supply chain fields. These assumptions wouldn’t be wrong, as project management professionals play pivotal roles in each of these industries, but they wouldn’t form the full picture either. Today, project managers are part of every profession – though they don’t always go by that exact title.

Ryan Munz is not your typical project manager. As the University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s newest head football coach, Munz spends his days recruiting student-athletes, fundraising, working with campus relations for various initiatives, and – of course – coaching. It’s this last responsibility that Munz especially enjoys.

A group of forensic investigation students at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville had the opportunity to learn more about the field by attending two virtual conferences, the 74th Annual Scientific Conference hosted by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) and Mayo Clinic’s 7th Annual Forensic Science Symposium. The research based AAFS conference took place in Seattle, Washington, in February, where professionals, educators and students presented their research results. The Mayo Clinic symposium was held in April in Rochester, Minnesota, and covered topics related to death investigations.

The Department of Social Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville recently announced awards highlighting outstanding student work and accomplishments, including the Outstanding Political Science Graduate Award, special recognition certificates for political science graduates and Outstanding Social Sciences Paper awards.

“It's great to see our students recognized for their significant achievements and successes here at UW-Platteville,” said Dr. Shan Sappleton, associate professor of political science. “Given the recent COVID-19 disruptions the last two years, I was particularly excited to see our students continue to thrive and excel – both within and outside of the classroom. The recognition of the excellent work these students have done is truly well-deserved.”

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville is expanding the reach of its engineering programs with a new partnership with University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point at Wausau.

The agreement, signed on May 16, 2022, will offer students in the Wausau area the opportunity to earn a UW-Platteville industrial and systems engineering degree through the UW-Platteville Engineering Partnership Program. This is the first partnership that will be offering a degree in industrial and systems engineering. 

“This partnership is win/win/win for our universities, our students and the taxpayers of Wisconsin and demonstrates how serious UW-Platteville is at meeting the statewide need for engineers,” said Dr. Philip Parker, acting dean of the College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science. 

Two students from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville School of Agriculture, Kimberly Van Donsel and Hannah Lemke, presented research posters at the University of Wisconsin System Symposium at UW-Whitewater last month. 

Timothy Juedes, University of Wisconsin-Platteville lecturer of criminal justice and forensic investigation, and a group of his students are investigating the longevity of fingerprints through his project titled, Outdoor Fingerprints. According to Juedes, the research is in its initial phase and is being conducted at the Forensic Investigation Crime Scene House Outdoor Research Facility (FICSH-ORF), where they are determining how long fingerprints can stay on surfaces outside and inside, while comparing results with climate data. Through the UW-Platteville Scholarly Activity Improvement Fund Research Grant, FICSH has a new Onset HOBO Weather Station with wireless soil monitoring probes where it logs multiple daily readings.

The Robotics Club’s VEX U team at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville traveled to Dallas, Texas, on May 5 to compete in the VEX Robotics World Championship, where they won the VEX U College and University Competition.

The VEX Robotics World Championship celebrates STEM excellence as robotics teams compete in heart-pounding competition matches to showcase their game strategy, design and teamwork skills to be crowned champion. Every year, colleges construct two different robots, using custom parts and components. Colleges compete against other college teams in head-to-head matches on a 12-by-12-foot field. Matches start with an autonomous routine, where robots run off of pre-programmed instruction, followed by a driver-controlled period. At the end of the match, the field is scored, and a winner is determined for the match.

At a recent Aspiring Educators of Wisconsin Conference, two representatives from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville were honored with awards for their commitment to the organization. Kayla Murphy, recruitment and retention coordinator for the School of Education, received the Devoted Chapter Advisor Award. Nathan Murrin, a junior English education major from McHenry, Illinois, received the Dedicated Student Leader Award.

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville celebrated its 208th commencement, recognizing the class of 2022 and graduates of spring 2020, summer 2020, fall 2020 and spring 2021. The two ceremonies took place on May 14 in the Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium.

Chancellor Dennis J. Shields acknowledged how navigating an academic path is not always easy and reflected on the perseverance it took for the graduating classes to earn their degrees.

“Today’s ceremony is not only a celebration of your transition from one chapter to the next of your life’s journey, but is also representative of the opportunity that you all share in making a positive difference in your lives, in the lives of others and in the world,” said Chancellor Shields. “Some of you have been patiently waiting for this moment since the early days of the pandemic. I applaud your collective patience and persistence in being here to participate in today’s graduation ceremony.”

After several years of planning, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s collaborative Master of Physician Assistant Studies program is officially open to applicants, with the first cohort scheduled to begin in summer 2023. The UW-Madison wisPACT@UW-Platteville program will allow UW-Platteville students to earn a degree through UW-Madison’s nationally-recognized Master of Physician Assistant Studies program, while remaining on the UW-Platteville campus to complete the coursework.

“We’re really excited about this program,” said Dr. Wayne Weber, dean of UW-Platteville’s College of Business, Industry, Life Science and Agriculture. “This is a strategic initiative to increase access to health care education opportunities in Southwest Wisconsin and the Tri-State area, growing the health care professional workforce in high need rural areas in the region.”

To celebrate a special UW-Platteville commencement, the lighting of the M and fireworks are planned for this Saturday around 9:15 p.m.

The university will celebrate the class of 2022 and graduates of spring 2020, summer 2020, fall 2020 and spring 2021 at the 208th commencement on Saturday. The College of Business, Industry, Life Science and Agriculture ceremony, which will include graduate programs and associate degree candidates, will take place at 10 a.m. The College of Liberal Arts and Education and College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science ceremony will take place at 2 p.m.

The two ceremonies will take place in the Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium to accommodate space for this spring's graduates as well as those whose ceremonies were postponed due to COVID.

Dr. Ryan Haasl, associate professor of biology at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, recently published “Nature in Silico: Population Genetic Simulation and its Evolutionary Interpretation Using C++ and R” with Springer Nature, a leading scientific publisher. Set to be released in June, the book explores the use of computer simulations to study evolutionary biology and genetics. 

Starting this May, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville will participate in the Group Student Membership plan offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI®). This collaboration provides free PMI memberships for all degree-seeking students in the Master of Science in Project Management program, and all other non-MSPM students enrolled in PROJMGT-prefixed courses.  

The program is only available to PMI-accredited institutions, reaffirming the university’s commitment to preparing students for the highly demanded field of project management. Each student membership includes online access to all PMI standards and practice guide publications, including the widely-known PMBOK® Guide, as well as PMI’s new digital content portal (PMIstandards+), which includes many more templates, articles and other material students will find useful for both classroom work and professional practice.

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville cast in steel team won the grand prize at the Steel Founders’ Society of America (SFSA) CastExpo 2022 Cast in Steel competition in Columbus, Ohio, on April 24.

The 2022 competition challenged university students to use modern casting tools to creatively design and produce a functioning version of a Celtic leaf sword. Each sword was put through a series of tests appropriate for these types of swords.

UW-Platteville competed against 34 other teams, including teams from UW-Madison, Ohio State University, Penn State University and Texas A&M. Despite being a smaller school, team captain Tyler Bleifuhs, an industrial technology management major with a minor in metals processing technology and German from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, credits UW-Platteville’s first-place win to a great team and professors dedicated to the metalcasting program and the competition.

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville TeamWorks team recently qualified for the Construction SkillsUSA national competition. Team members are Noelle Elfering, Brennan Sullivan, Jake Gathje and Henry James.

TeamWorks, a three-day competition within SkillsUSA, consists of a construction build in teams of four members. Together, teams review a detailed blueprint and special instructions, prepare a material list, create a schedule and action plan and give a presentation before the build. The build is limited on time to simulate a real building project as teams demonstrate their carpentry, roofing, electrical, plumbing and masonry skills. Judging is based on the team’s presentation skills, ability to construct the project per competition specified building codes, jobsite safety and cleanliness, proper use and accountability of tools and equipment and the rate of completion of the project.

The We Energies Foundation recently donated $5,000 to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Women in STEM program to support outreach and programming efforts. 

UW-Platteville’s nationally-recognized Women in STEM program offers many programs and events for young women and girls from fifth grade through college, in order to create a supportive community where women prosper at UW-Platteville and in their future.

“Women in STEM program individual and corporate partner support are essential in helping to create a diverse workforce for the future,” said Tammy Salmon-Stephens, Director of the College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science Student Success Programs at UW-Platteville. “Our students benefit greatly from the engagement with these partners.”

In a year and a half, the Women in STEM program has grown from serving 15 majors to 35 majors, doubling the number of women on campus who benefit from the program to more than 1,000.

Teacher Appreciation Week is celebrated this year from May 2-6, and a group of University of Wisconsin-Platteville School of Education students received the opportunity to learn from retired educators at two recent luncheons. Students from Dr. Lindsay Hollingsworth’s Reading and Language Arts in Elementary and Middle School class interviewed retired teachers and administrators, with many of the participants being UW-Platteville alumni. Through their discussions, the students are creating picture book biographies in honor of their careers. Hollingsworth called the gathering an important experience for her students.

When Baird Miller came to UW-Platteville, the Madison, Wisconsin native and former competitive swimmer described himself as feeling “like a fish out of water.” However, his love for swimming opened up new, unexpected connections for him on campus and in the greater Platteville community that he still holds on to today, even after graduating with his degree in psychology last December. 

“I experienced a little culture shock,” said Miller. “Spending my whole life in Madison, I was more accustomed to larger metropolitan areas.”

Miller looked for any excuse to be in the pool. After the first couple weeks of classes, he started teaching children’s swim lessons for UW-Platteville’s Continuing Education Institute. Miller found out that the Continuing Education Institute also coordinated senior water classes and thought teaching would be a great way to meet the community.

University of Wisconsin-Platteville alumnus and Vice President of Electric Vehicle Excellence at General Motors Tim Herrick recently visited campus and shared advice with students from his 38 years with General Motors, many of which were spent in leadership roles. 

Herrick toured Russell Hall with members of the Industrial Studies Department and Cole Olson, a student who will graduate this May and work at General Motors. He also spoke with students and other members of the campus community in Doudna Hall and at UW-Platteville’s new IDEA Hub on Main Street. Herrick ended the day with a discussion with students in the Society of Automotive Engineers and a tour of the new Sesquicentennial Hall. 

“Skills are great, but to have mentorship and leadership is paramount. If you take anything away from this, please be a steward of mentorship.” –Tim Herrick 

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville Collegiate Soils Team competed in the 60th Soil Science Society of America National Collegiate Soils Contest April 18-23. The event was held in Union, Logan and Champaign counties in Ohio and was hosted by The Ohio State University. 

Participating in the event were students from 21 universities, representing seven different regions of the United States. Representing Region 3, which includes universities in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, were UW-Platteville, Purdue University and UW-Stevens Point. The team qualified for nationals by placing among the top three teams in the regional competition held in fall 2021. 

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville Department of Performing and Visual Arts and Pioneer Players will conclude their theatre season with the return of the annual One Act Festival: An Evening of Short Plays. The first festival since the spring of 2019, the production opens on Thursday, May 5 at 7:30 p.m. and continues with evening performances on Friday, May 6 and Saturday, May 7 at 7:30 p.m. All performances will be held in the Center for the Arts-Theatre at UW-Platteville.

Ann Farrelly, professor of theatre at UW-Platteville who teaches the upper-level directing course, said that putting the theories and techniques the students are learning in the classroom into practice is a vital component of the theatre major and minor at UW-Platteville.

Growing up on a small dairy farm in Northeast Wisconsin, Liz Rehberg, a 2010 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, always knew she would be involved in agriculture. From a young age, she watched a crop scout come to her family’s farm and walk the fields—advising on everything from managing weeds to insects to disease—to help her dad make decisions. 

“I saw what that agronomist did with my dad and the support he was able to provide, and I thought, ‘what a great way to work with farmers and help them,’” said Rehberg.

Now, in her eighth year with Pioneer, Corteva Agriscience’s flagship seed brand, she has found her own way to help farmers. “I love the depth of services and resources that we have to help farmers,” said Rehberg, who is a strategic account manager, now living in Whitewater, Wisconsin. “Every farm is different, and having all these resources in our back pocket and the team and services to support our customers is amazing.”

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville will celebrate the class of 2022 and graduates of spring 2020, summer 2020, fall 2020 and spring 2021 at the 208th commencement on Saturday, May 14. The College of Business, Industry, Life Science and Agriculture ceremony, which will include graduate programs and associate degree candidates, will take place at 10 a.m. The College of Liberal Arts and Education and College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. The two ceremonies will take place in the Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium.

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville announced a new program to strengthen the connection between athletics and academics. Launching this fall, the Athletic Mentor for the Pioneers (AMP) program will match faculty and academic staff mentors with athletic teams in order to enhance the experience of the 500-plus student-athletes on campus, as well as the greater university and Platteville community. 

The faculty and staff mentors will build relationships with the student-athletes and coaches on their assigned athletic team, giving everyone the opportunity to gain insights into both the athletics and academic side of the student experience. 

“This will give the AMP mentors an inside look at the commitment and dedication required by an intercollegiate athlete,” said Dr. Tim Deis, a professor of mathematics who helped spearhead the new program. “It will also help communicate to athletes and coaches the academic expectations of a college student.” 

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville Continuing Education Institute announces a new partnership with the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM), a global leader in supply chain certification, in order to prepare learners to meet the ever-growing demand for well-trained and knowledgeable workers in the supply chain industry. As part of the partnership, UW-Platteville will offer two courses designed to aid and support those seeking their APICS certification.

"UW-Platteville is proud to offer the Certified Planning and Inventory Management (CPIM)," said UW-Platteville Continuing Education Institute Executive Director Kerie Wedige. "This in-demand certification will help regional businesses should they choose to send cohorts through the program by providing them with functional knowledge of production and inventory management."  

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville is continuing its commitment to sustainability with the construction of its newest engineering building, Sesquicentennial Hall. Set to open this fall, it will be the university’s first building to seek certification by the U.S. Green Building Council’s internationally-recognized Leadership in Energy and Environmental Development rating system, known as LEED. To achieve LEED certification, a building project earns points based on meeting prerequisites in the areas of carbon, energy, water, waste, transportation, materials, health and indoor environmental quality. 

A team of six University of Wisconsin-Platteville construction management students recently competed in the 2022 National Associated Builders and Contractors’ annual Construction Management Competition, where they placed fifth overall. The team was one of only 14 collegiate teams, nationwide, to participate in the competition, held in San Antonio, Texas. The UW-Platteville team included Evan Meyers, Jon Beyer, Logan Niesen, Zach Wynstra, Colton Ervin and Matt Peterson.

University of Wisconsin-Platteville Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Dr. Tammy Evetovich, who becomes the university’s interim chancellor on June 1, announced that Dr. Wayne Weber will replace her as the interim provost and vice chancellor when she assumes the chancellor role. 

Weber has served as the dean of the College of Business, Industry, Life Science and Agriculture since 2011. He came to the university as a biology professor in 1997 and became the department chair in 2002. During Weber’s tenure, the College of BILSA has added such things as a cadaver lab, new branch campus degrees, Dairy Innovation Hub, Boebel Hall renovations, Russell Hall lab expansions, and a physician assistant program with UW-Madison that begins in 2023. 

The beekeeping season is underway, and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Bee Squad is ready to observe honeybees and native pollinators across campus. The Bee Squad, which consists of nearly a half dozen students, is advised by  Dr. Becky Doyle-Morin and Dr. Jeffrey Huebschman, both professors of biology. The club, which formed nearly five years ago, constructed the pollinator “P” on campus and the honeybee hive.

One Bee Squad member, Rachel Padour, a junior biology major from Chilton, Wisconsin, said she’s always been interested in bees, flowers and pollination. Padour explains how bees fulfill an important ecological niche.  

Eli Trast, a senior civil engineering major at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville from Green Bay, Wisconsin, was recently honored with the 2022 Outstanding Senior Civil Engineering Student Award by the America Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Wisconsin Section. The award recognizes civil engineering students in their senior year who demonstrate excellence in engineering, academic achievement and service to the profession.

Just in time for Earth Day, University of Wisconsin-Platteville students had the opportunity to contribute to the stewardship of campus lands – an important part of the university’s commitment to sustainability. They did so by participating in prescribed burns across Memorial Park. Prescribed burns have played a varying role in the university’s land management plan for the past several decades, helping to keep campus prairies and savannas in good health by promoting growth of native plant species while clearing invasive species. 

Four members of the Agribusiness Club at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville recently participated in the 2022 North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Judging Conference in North Platte, Nebraska. The student club members included Jenna Feavel, Rebecca Wilke, Shealyn Klosterman-Havens and Jada Flannery. Dr. Kishore Joseph, assistant professor in agribusiness and club co-advisor, accompanied the students to the event.

All four students competed in the Agribusiness and Knowledge Bowl competitions against other four-year universities. The Agribusiness contest included two sections, a written exam and a case study. The written exam covered key topics from microeconomics, macroeconomics, sales, marketing, finance and management areas relevant to the agricultural industry. 

Located in the ecologically unique Driftless Region, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville has long played an important role in sustainability, both on campus and in the wider region. From the first wind turbine installed in 2011 to the 2.4 megawatt solar array installed a decade later, UW-Platteville has remained unwavering in its commitment to sustainability. See a full timeline of sustainability highlights below. 

Many of today’s students – like Ryan Lodico and Megan Kaufmann – are continuing the tradition of advocating for sustainability on campus. 

“I’ve been interested in sustainability for a lot of my life, but I didn’t get involved in advocacy until I came to UW-Platteville,” said Lodico, a senior engineering physics major from Moline, Illinois. He joined the student organization Renewable Revolution his freshman year and became involved in advocating for the solar array. 

In a ceremony today, University of Wisconsin-Platteville Chancellor Dennis J. Shields announced a monumental gift of $10 million from Todd and Susan Johnson – the largest gift to support the university in history. This transformational gift will establish the Capstan Scholarship Program, which will allow selected students to graduate debt free, providing scholarships covering full tuition, room, and board to students every year, beginning this fall.

“From all of us here at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, I thank Todd and Susan Johnson for their monumental investment in our institution and the future of our students,” said Chancellor Dennis J. Shields at today’s ceremony. “Investing in the future of our students and university is one way that we can work together towards realizing a better tomorrow.”

The work of two University of Wisconsin-Platteville faculty members, Dr. Shan Sappleton and Dr. Douglas Adams, was recently published in The Professional Educator, a peer-reviewed, open-access journal. In “On Decolonizing US Education: Lessons from the Caribbean and South Africa,” the authors use cases of the English-speaking Caribbean and post-apartheid South Africa decolonization efforts to move away from Eurocentric norms and values in the United States education system.

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville announced a new housing and dining grant for select incoming freshmen, offering them total potential savings of $4,000 across their four years of attendance.

Incoming new freshmen admitted to the Platteville campus for fall 2022 will be eligible to receive $500 per semester to be applied to on-campus housing and dining services. The grant is eligible for renewal for up to eight semesters, while a student lives on the UW-Platteville campus. Admitted students should check their UW-Platteville email for more information on how to accept the grant.

“We are proud to be able to offer this opportunity to our incoming students,” said Victoria Livingston, executive director for Enrollment and Student Success. “No one should have to worry about how they will pay for their education.”

To demonstrate that the University of Wisconsin-Platteville is preparing students for the rapidly growing and highly demanded field of project management, the Master of Science in Project Management program has been reaffirmed by the Project Management Institute Global Accreditation Center for Project Management Education Programs (GAC) through 2027.

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s Technology Education program recently welcomed a new coordinator. Duane Elfering started full-time as the technology education coordinator last fall after first joining the university in 2020 as an adjunct professor in Construction Management.

As the technology education coordinator, Elfering’s goal is to the grow the program. 

“[The tech ed program] is a feeder program,” said Elfering on the importance of the program. “Applying core classes from the program will help students better understand so that they can fill the skills gap which, in turn, will help with the labor shortage.”

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville Master of Science in Integrated Supply Chain Management program has renewed agreements on accepting professional credits transfers from two industry leaders in supply chain management certifications. The agreements affirm the quality of these certifications and allow another avenue for students to join UW-Platteville’s online master’s program.

One of the renewed agreements pertains to the Institute for Supply Management. Successful completion of the Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM) or Certified Purchasing Manager (CPM) certificates will equate to the waiver of BUSADMIN 6100 Supply Chain Management course in the M.S. in Integrated Supply Chain Management program.

With sights set on creating enduring change in higher education, seven universities – University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Boston College, Drexel University, Rowan University, University of St. Thomas, University of North Alabama and Clarkson University – are launching a transformation of industry engagement in higher education. The intent is to help advisory boards move from a traditional advisory role to an active partnership in engineering education with a goal of helping institutions advance an entrepreneurial mindset in engineers.

University of Wisconsin System Interim President Michael J. Falbo today named Provost and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Tammy Evetovich as interim chancellor of UW-Platteville. Evetovich will begin that position June 1.

Evetovich replaces Dennis J. Shields, who is departing to become President of the Southern University System and Chancellor of Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge. Shields has been the Chancellor at UW-Platteville since 2010.

“We will miss Chancellor Shields, who has been a true asset to UW-Platteville, but I am confident in Provost Evetovich and the university’s leadership team,” Falbo said.

“History is troubling, but once you get through the anger, you can fully comprehend what you read and can move forward to fix it,” said Grace Trenkamp, a UW-Platteville senior environmental science and conservation major and social and environmental justice minor, from Preston, Iowa. “The point of history is to look back and not do it again.”

Nathan Murrin, a junior English education major from McHenry, Illinois, is leading a community of future educators through the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Aspiring Educators chapter. Aspiring Educators is a national organization managed through the National Education Association (NEA). According to NEA, the Aspiring Educators Program, “supports, develops and empowers diverse, pre-service teachers with the resources, networks and opportunities to lead in their schools, communities and in all phases of their career.”

Dr. Sara Getz, assistant professor of forensic investigation at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville earned the highest professional certification available in her field and is now a Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Anthropology (ABFA). According to the ABFA, a forensic anthropologist applies specialized knowledge of the human skeleton and its cartilaginous structures, as well as archaeological methods, to assist with medicolegal death investigations. Since 1977, only 163 professionals have been awarded the ABFA Diplomate status with only two practicing in Wisconsin.

“I have been working towards this since I was 14,” said Getz. “I planned every step of my career, from where I wanted to earn my undergrad, graduate and doctorate degrees, as well as what internships or classes to take based on the fact that this was something I wanted to do. I have been working towards this for 20 years.”

JP Cullen continues to support its long-time relationship with the University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s Construction Management program.

"JP Cullen has partnered with UW-Platteville through student scholarships, advisory committees, program donations, engineering and construction clubs, and guest lectures for 30 years,” said Laura Cullen, fifth-generation owner of JP Cullen. “With over 40 UW-Platteville alums currently on our team and many interns every summer, we recognize UW-Platteville students as hard workers, team players and leaders.”

The partnership started in 1992 when, in celebration of their 100-year anniversary, JP Cullen started giving scholarships to UW-Platteville students. The scholarships are funded through the JP Cullen Foundation, which was formed by Mark, David and Richard Cullen in honor of their father, J.P. Cullen.

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering is offering three interactive summer coding camps for high school students. The first camp, Computer Games Programming, will run from Wednesday, June 8 through Friday, June 10. Cyber Defense, will take place from Monday, Aug. 15 through Friday, Aug. 19. The series wraps up on Saturday, Aug. 20 with the Hackathon, where a participant has the opportunity to win a $5,000 UW-Platteville scholarship.

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville will receive $55,373 in support from the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin this year to enhance its water-related academic programs. The funding is part of a statewide initiative, backed by the Wisconsin State Legislature and Gov. Tony Evers, to tackle 10 grand water challenges and support curriculum development, undergraduate research opportunities, career development and field training experiences for students interested in studying water-related fields at the 13 UW Schools. 

Funding includes support for the following projects at UW-Platteville: