UW-Platteville's Pioneers Helping Pioneers emergency grant program was honored last week with the UW System Board of Regents’ 14th annual Diversity Award. The award recognizes individuals and programs that foster access and success for students who are members of historically underrepresented populations. 

Chemistry majors Brooke Steeno and Natalie Hayes will travel to the state capitol on March 9 to present their research project, “Turning on the Light: Developing Next Generation Agrochemicals via Organic Photochemistry” at Research in the Rotunda.

Christopher Gordon knows the importance of preparing for a mission – his 18-and-a-half years in the military ensured that. Now, he's training for a mission that will take him outside of his comfort zone – life as a civilian.

Phosphorous concentrations are at an almost dangerously high level in Wisconsin, says senior Olivia Kozlowska – an environmental engineering major from Chicago, Illinois – and it’s a problem she hopes her research will address. Kozlowska will present her project, “Evaluation of Filter Media for Phosphorous Removal Systems” at next month’s annual Research in the Rotunda event in Madison, Wisconsin.

As Luke Strenn navigated his professional career in law enforcement, he always felt he was missing his calling of working in the fields of engineering, mathematics and science. Now, after 20 years, Strenn is preparing to graduate this May from UW-Platteville with a degree in mechanical engineering, which he credits to the Platteville Engineering Partnerships program.

Growing up, Katelyn Zajicek saw firsthand the entrepreneurial spirit of her grandparents and parents who are all small business owners. Now Zajicek, a business administration major at UW-Platteville Baraboo Sauk County, is researching the question, “How Will Small Hometown Businesses Survive the Age of Technology?”

UW-Platteville's Midwest Culturally Inclusive Conference will return in March for a full month of workshops, presentations and panels. The conference is open to the public, and registration is available online at www.uwplatt.edu/mcic. 

A group of mechanical engineering students are tackling the growing problem of plastic waste in landfills by creating a way for anyone in any community to easily get involved in reusing and recycling plastic.

UW-Platteville's Black Student Union will host the 17th annual Ebony Weekend Conference Friday and Saturday, Feb. 18-19.

The School of Education announced a plan to help address the critical shortage of substitute teachers in the state by offering current UW-Platteville students an opportunity to have an associate degree conferred, while in the process of earning their bachelor’s degree, in order to meet the state’s substitute teacher eligibility requirements. 

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

UW-Platteville's Dairy Judging Team traveled to Fort Worth, Texas, for the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo Intercollegiate Dairy Judging Contest, held on Jan. 16, where they took home top honors.

Early childhood educators, parents and caregivers from across the country will have the opportunity to attend this year's Early Childhood Conference on Saturday, March 19.

A team of biology students have been researching watersheds in Southwest Wisconsin to study mussels and the environmental factors that may influence them. They will present their findings in March at the annual Research in the Rotunda event.

UW-Platteville launched its new brand campaign and tagline this week, “A Smart Investment,” which underscores the university’s longtime commitment to affordability, a student-centered experience, and strong focus on career-readiness. 

The Harry and Laura Nohr Gallery will host an exhibit by artist Carole Spelić from Monday, Jan. 24 through Friday, Feb. 25.

The UW-Platteville Alumni Awards Committee is now accepting nominations for candidates for the 2022 awards.

Rural Schools Collaborative just announced its 2021-22 Celia B. Godsil Grants in Place Fellows, and among those selected was Abigail Parker, a May 2021 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, who currently teaches kindergarten at Coloma Elementary, a small, rural school in Coloma, Wisconsin.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has announced that the School of Business has aligned its Human Resource Management undergraduate program with SHRM’s HR Curriculum Guidebook and Templates through 2025 and recognized UW-Platteville as a SHRM recertification provider.

Education has been the vehicle to a better life for Mickey Peasley. Last month, the soon-to-be 70-year-old earned her bachelor's degree in business from UW-Platteville. It's a journey that has spanned decades and is far from finished.

Among the athletes invited to participate in the upcoming Olympic speedskating trials next month in Milwaukee is alumnus Brian Bullard '17.

UW-Platteville's online and graduate programs are ranked amongst the best, according to Intelligent.com. The rankings are based on flexibility, faculty, course strength, cost, and reputation.

As part of its ongoing investment in student success, UW-Platteville announced that its Merit Scholarship is now renewable for all four years of a student’s education, offering a potential for up to $8,000 in savings. 

UW-Platteville engineering students have had a hand in some of the new or redesigned household appliances recently hitting the market and industry trade shows, thanks to a partnership between Spectrum Brands and the College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science’s Senior Design program. 

UW-Platteville celebrated more than 600 students as they walked across the stage to receive their diplomas and hoods at the 207th commencement held on Saturday, Dec. 11. The three ceremonies took place inside Williams Fieldhouse.

A group of animal science students spent a portion of this semester designing and conducting a feeding trial in broiler chickens, with the goal of helping Wisconsin growers better understand how to use and market hazelnuts. When the trial ends next week, they will donate the 60 processed chickens to local food pantries across the Driftless region.

Ashley Lundt was already working in the childcare field, but recently took the opportunity to develop her expertise and skillset with UW-Platteville’s Infant-Toddler Credential program, offered through the Continuing Education Institute. Lundt completed her credential in December and, along with other teachers, was honored at a ceremony on Dec. 4.

Dr. Andrey Ivanov, associate professor of history at UW-Platteville, received two awards for his recently published book, “A Spiritual Revolution: The Impact of Reformation and Enlightenment in Orthodox Russia”

UW-Platteville recently hosted nearly 100 high school students from across the tri-state area for Medical Exploration Day. The event focused on prospective students interested in becoming health care professionals. Students toured Boebel Hall and the Cadaver Lab, along with learning about potential careers. 

The UW-Platteville community is coming together to give back this holiday season by stocking the shelves at Pioneer Provisions. To help raise awareness, the UW-Platteville Alumni Association is partnering with Pioneer Provisions, a free pantry and grocery service on campus for students experiencing food insecurity.

Globally-recognized and renowned keynote speaker, author, leadership educator and executive coach Maya Hu-Chan will be speaking on Tuesday, Dec. 7, from 6-7 p.m. on the topic “Saving Face: How to Preserve Dignity and Build Trust in Global Business.”

Three civil engineering students recently conducted research at MnROAD, the largest full-scale pavement research facility of its kind in the world, located near Albertville, Minnesota.

UW-Platteville hosted several specialty visits this fall, bringing dozens of students from across the tri-state area to campus. The events included Spanish Visit Day on Oct. 16, a Darlington [Wisconsin] High School ESL group visit on Oct. 21 and, most recently, a Multicultural Visit Day on Nov. 13.

Corey Young, advisor in the UW-Platteville Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, received the 2021 Dr. P.B. Poorman Award for Outstanding Achievement on Behalf of LGBTQ+ People.

UW-Platteville's Midwest Culturally Inclusive Conference will return this March to offer workshops, presentations and panels on various topics related to diversity, equity and inclusion. Conference organizers are currently accepting program proposals through Dec. 29. 

Having a passion for Division III athletics, and experiencing an NCAA Division III basketball tournament berth himself, alumnus Mike Shaw ’10 had an idea: create a NCAA Division III football bowl game to give one team from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin an opportunity to play one final game.

UW-Platteville will hold its 25th annual Holiday Gala on Dec. 3 and 4 in the Richard and Helen Brodbeck Concert Hall, Center for the Arts, at 7:30 p.m.

Fourteen education students recently spent two weeks in Bayfield, Wisconsin, for a unique practicum experience, giving them the opportunity to learn more about culturally-responsive teaching practices and implementing Act 31 in the classroom.

Twelve students from the Methods in Elementary Physical Education course attended the Wisconsin Health and Physical Education Convention in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, including two groups of students who presented and were the only undergraduates invited to present.

UW-Platteville’s Department of Performing and Visual Arts-Theatre and Pioneer Players will present Christopher Marlowe’s classic tale of a man who sells his soul to the devil, “Doctor Faustus,” Dec. 1-5.  

UW-Platteville's School of Education has a long history of looking toward the future and anticipating and responding to the needs of the communities and schools it serves — and in recent years, those needs are increasingly revolving around technology. That is why UW-Platteville education students are leading the way in pursuing voluntary Google for Education certification, long before they even graduate. 

More than 70 criminal justice students currently enrolled in Corrections and Criminology courses at UW-Platteville recently had the opportunity to enhance their coursework when they engaged in Zoom sessions with a panel of inmates from the Prairie du Chien Correctional Institution.

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville will celebrate its 207th commencement on Saturday, Dec. 11.

Senior Spencer Butterfield is one of only two student-athletes nationwide handpicked to represent the United States at the International University Sports Federation (FISU) World Forum in Costa Rica this spring.

Internationally-renowned bioregional herbalist Linda Conroy has signed on to teach three courses for the UW-Platteville Continuing Education Institute this winter and spring. 

The 2021 UW-Platteville Pioneers Day of Giving received over 640 donations totaling more than $143,000 from alumni and friends. A record number of people participated this year, including more students than ever before.

Syrian refugee Mariela Shaker will perform and speak on the topic of civil liberties at UW-Platteville on Monday, Nov. 22. The presentation will be held in the Richard & Helen Brodbeck Concert Hall in the Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. Admission is free.

The Distance Education Alumni Board selected students Luis Cano and Wara Pirzada as the 2021 recipients of its scholarship. The scholarship was created by the board in 2016 to help provide additional financial support to distance education students as they complete their degree.

Spencer Butterfield had a summer internship experience like few others. Combining his double majors in sustainability and renewable energy systems and Spanish, he spent two months in the Amazon Rainforest, conducting research on solar panel policy in the rural community of Monterey, Peru.

As Melynda Vang prepares to graduate next month, she reflects on the opportunities the university offered her, setting her up for success and a job before graduation. Vang is majoring in computer science with a minor in business administration, and recently accepted a position at Travelers, in Saint Paul, Minnesota.