Connections
A Newsletter for the Viterbo University Community
Vol. 16, No. 23 March 3, 2003
University Forum
Get an update on the status of the strategic planning that took place on August 20. The next step in the strategic planning process will also be outlined. The University Forum will be on March 6, at 3:30 p.m. in the BNC auditorium.
Celebrate 125 Years!
The Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration invite any groups at Viterbo to St. Rose Convent for a tour of Mary of the Angels Chapel and the Perpetual Adoration Chapel. August 1, 2003, marks 125 years of constant prayer by the FSPA and the tours are just one of many activities planned to mark the anniversary. To schedule a tour, contact Lydia Wendl, FSPA at 784-2288, ext. 432. Groups ranging in size from three to 50 can be accommodated and the length of the tour can vary depending upon time available. Following the tour, refreshments will be available in the Gathering Room at St. Rose Convent.
Connections Has Spring Fever
Connections has decided to go south during Spring Break this year so there will be no newsletter published on March 10. A full-tanned and relaxed Connections will resume with the March 17 issue. Copy deadline is noon on Thursday, March 13.
Three to Receive Pope John XXIII Award on April 1
Elmer Grassman, a retired educator, now recognized for his contributions to the Rotary Lights project; Sue Anne Gelatt, an active community volunteer; and Tony Melendez, a renowned musician, will receive the 2003 Pope John XXIII Award for Distinguished Service in a ceremony at Viterbo University Tuesday, April 1.
Recipients are selected by the Viterbo Board of Advisors and the award represents the highest non-academic honor conferred by the university.
Sue Anne Gelatt is well known for her commitment to many La Crosse-area organizations. Her involvement includes working with the La Crosse Public Library, Chileda, the Boy Scout and Girl Scout joint fundraising campaign, the La Crosse Symphony, St. Joseph Cathedral, Riverfront, and Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center. She has served as past president of the La Crosse County Historical Society and, with her husband, is co-chair of the Gundersen-Lutheran, “A Home for Hope” campaign.
Elmer Grassman is a very familiar face to the many professional educators and students of the La Crosse area as he spent more than 40 years as a teacher and principal before retiring in 1988. He was the first principal assigned to Hintgen Elementary School, a position he held for 20 years. In 1975, his colleagues named him area Principal of the Year. Elsewhere, Grassman has been active and visible. He was named a Paul Harris Fellow by Downtown Rotary and, in 2000, he was designated the Maple Leaf Parade Marshall. He currently puts an enormous amount of time into the Rotary Lights project, spending hours each day, checking and repairing the tens of thousands of lights that make up the Riverside Park holiday display.
Tony Melendez became an instant household name as the result of an unforgettable moment when, on Sept. 15, 1987, he played his guitar for Pope John Paul II in Los Angeles. Born without arms, he performed a touching song entitled Never Be The Same. When the Pope approached him from the stage to kiss him in appreciation, it seem to reflect the sentiments of the entire country.
Since then, Melendez has performed in every state in the union and in 27 foreign countries, making countless television appearances, including The Today Show, Good Morning America, and CBS This Morning. He has also received numerous awards and honors, including the first annual Inspirational Hero Award from the NFL Alumni Association at Super Bowl XXIII in Miami. When on the road with his band, Melendez often visits schools, colleges, and universities to give presentations on drug abuse, the importance of self esteem, disability awareness, cultural awareness, and family support.
The ceremony and banquet, which will be held in the FAC, is set for 6:30 p.m. ext. 3070 for ticket details.
Award Deadline
Recognize the good work and dedication of faculty, staff, and administration members by nominating them for an award. Possibilities include:
• Alec Chiu Memorial
• Outstanding Teacher
• Servant-Leader
• Pax et Bonum
• Finucan Exemplar of Mission
• Sister Helen Elsbernd
• Distinguished Service
• Outstanding Academic Advisor
All nominations are due by March 7. For additional criteria for these awards or to download nomination forms, please visit the Viterbo Web site at http://www.viterbo.edu.
Free Concert
with Tony Melendez
Monday, March 31, 7:30 p.m.
FAC Main Theatre
Free tickets available at the MC Reception Desk—open to the general public on March 10. Faculty: If you wish to secure tickets for your students, please return any unused tickets to assure that we are able to fill as many seats as possible.
Phone Change
Please note that the direct telephone number for Jessica Pintz, Advance program, has changed to ext. 1370 (on campus) and 796-1370 (off campus).
CREW Kick Off Today
Don’t miss the chance to learn something about Viterbo’s newest program, CREW (Campus Recreation, Education, and Wellness). Get involved and find out more during an all-day lobby party in the MC today. Explore the CREW Web site, get freebies, sign up for refreshments, and enjoy refreshments.
Conference, Talk to Focus on Child Maltreatment
Trauma-Impact on the Child and Caregiver, the 6th annual La Crosse Child Maltreatment Conference, will be held at the Radisson Ballroom on April 4, from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
This year’s conference will focus on trauma issues impacting both the child victim and caregiver. In addition to the conference, a special community educational event is planned for Thursday evening, April 3, from 79 p.m. in the Radisson Ballroom. This Pre-Conference Invitational will be a free community forum to discuss how domestic violence affects children and how communities can respond. Dr. Annelies Hagemeister from the University of Minnesota’s School of Social Work will discuss how children are traumatized by exposure to domestic violence and how a community can collaborate in ensuring the safety needs of those children. A panel of domestic violence program professionals will discuss how local agencies attempt to meet the safety needs of children and adults in the homes where violence occurs. Audience participation during a question and answer session will help raise local issues related to challenges and potential solutions that community collaboration offers.
This audience-interactive, educational approach to addressing child maltreatment issues is sponsored by Franciscan Skemp Healthcare in collaboration with Family and Children’s Center, Children’s Miracle Network of Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, Coulee Region Child Abuse Prevention Taskforce and the Cooperative Educational Services Agency (CESA) #4. For more information, or a free brochure, please call 608-791-4172.
Suzuki Festival is March 15
Combining the Suzuki style with the philosophy of creating beautiful, noble human beings through music is the main idea behind this year’s Suzuki String Festival Concert on Saturday, March 15, at 3 p.m. in the Viterbo FAC Main Theatre.
The Suzuki style performances will begin with the most difficult pieces by advanced students and there will be a “play down” in which more and more students will participate until, eventually, all of the students are on stage. Many of the students are studying through Viterbo’s Preparatory School of Arts. The remainder of the students will be guest performers from Holmen, Arcadia, Sparta, LaValle, Wisconsin Dells, Viroqua, La Crescent Minn., and other surrounding areas. There are 125 students in all. The cellists will be led by Marcella Steffes, FSPA, string instructor for the Viterbo Preparatory School of Arts. The violinists will be led by Janelle Filtz-Severson, Suzuki clinician from Eau Claire, and by Busya Lugovier and Paula Wegner, instructors in Viterbo’s Preparatory School of Arts. Lugovier will also lead the violists. The concert is free and open to the public but donations will be accepted to fund scholarships for Viterbo Preparatory School of Art’s students. A reception will follow the concert.
from the library
By Galadriel Chilton
Hoping for a Better Library: With the new building near completion, the library is beginning to explore ideas for expansion. If you have any suggestions or ideas for library improvements, please let us know: reference@viterbo.edu or ext. 3270.
Dare to Be Wise @ Your Library : The Winter 2003 issue of the library’s newsletter is available! Check it out at: www.viterbo.edu/library/ newsletter1-2.pdf. Like what you see? Subscribe! Contact Galadriel Chilton at ext. 3263 or gchilton@viterbo.edu.
Congratulations to Georgia Christensen, FSPA, director of evaluation & assessment. She won a $10 gift certificate that was kindly donated by Pearl Street Books to honor new subscribers. Appreciation also goes to Professor Ward Jones, biology, for being the 50th subscriber!
The next issue of Dare to Be Wise @ Your Library will be available in April.
Is it Good? With billions of Web sites, how can you tell if you found a good one? Determining the legitimacy of a Web site is not always easy, here are a few pointers:
Authority & Authorship
• Who is the author; can you contact them?
Objectivity & Point of View
• Does the author have an agenda or a bias?
• Does the author indicate the goal for the site?
Accuracy & Coverage
• Who is the audience?
• What is the Web site’s focus?
• Remember most anyone can publish on the Web!
Currency
• Are “last updated” dates included?
For more tips, go to: www.viterbo.edu/ library/evaluation.htm.
campus ministry
By Fr. Tom O'Neill
Lent 2003: Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, March 5. We will have Mass and distribution of ashes at 11:45 a.m. (classes end at 11:40 a.m. and resume at 12:20 p.m.) and 6 p.m.
Ashes to Easter: Collaborating with the religious studies class, “The Search for Human and Christian Values” we will sponsor the “Ashes to Easter” program. This program endeavors to raise $1 per week of the six weeks of lent from every member of the Viterbo community. You might rightly ask, “What can one person do with $1?” Well, the answer is nothing. A better question might be, “What might a community of people, each donating $1 a week for six weeks do?” Now, there is an exciting possibility.
When?: Ash Wednesday (March 5) Wednesday of Holy Week (April 16)
Where?: There will be drop boxes for your donations at the MC Reception Desk, The Student Union Desk, The BNC Office, and San Damiano Chapel. You can pick up brochures and envelopes for donations at the same locations.
What can we do with only $1 per week of lent?: If every person at Viterbo (roughly 2,500 students, faculty, staff, and administrators) gave $1 each week during the six weeks of Lent, we as a community could raise $15,000. With $15,000 we could provide:
1. A dairy goat for an African family. $50 provides a family with milk, cheese, butter, and yogurt. (300 goats)
2. 10 fruit trees in the Dominican Republic. $30 provides a family with fruit and a source of income. (5,000 fruit trees)
3. A sewing machine. $200 instills the dignity of self-sufficiency in a woman and provides a source of income. (75 sewing machines)
4. Water well for a family. $880 provides access to fresh, clean water and reduces health risks. (15+ water wells)
5. A boat and net for a fisherman. $355 enables a fisherman to feed his family in Bangladesh. (30+ boats and nets)
6. An ox and plow for a farmer. $400 enables a farmer to care for more land ensuring food for his family. (30+ oxen and plows)
7. Food to feed five children in Kenya for five months. $100 helps feed hungry children in Kenya. (750 children)
Prayer for Lent: God of times and seasons, you have brought us again to Lent—for the study of your Word, for the remembrance of the temptation of your Son, and for the contemplation of his cross. Grant us a Lenten blessing, and may no one miss this time of growth. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. (c) WLP
Lenten Regulations:
1. Catholics who have celebrated their 14th birthday are to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, all Fridays in Lent, and Good Friday.
2. In addition to abstaining from meat, Catholics who have celebrated their 18th birthday, until they celebrate their 59th birthday, are to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday (eat only one full meal; two smaller meals are permitted if necessary to maintain strength according to one’s needs, but eating solid foods between meals is not permitted).
Creating a Place for Peace: Being a Christian is a challenge. Jesus said we must forgive our enemies and do good to those who hate us. If we forgive terrorists, are we unpatriotic? If we don’t, are we un-Christian? The large task of peacemaking needs a beginning in the places we create for peace in our own lives. Let’s make this Lent a journey in that direction. Please see the “Creating a Place for Peace” link on the campus ministry home page. Each day of Lent will have a scripture reference and short daily reflection.
An evening with Arun Gandhi, Wednesday, April 2 at 7:30 p.m., Valhalla, Cartwright Center. grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Arun embraces the same principles of peace that his grandfather practiced. He speaks on how to cope with terrorism by developing a continual practice of nonviolence. Tickets may be purchased from the Cartwright Center Ticket Office.
Faithful Citizenship: Catholics at the Capitol, a day of education and advocacy for Wisconsin Catholics for all interested in learning about Catholic Social Teaching and the call to advocate for peace. The day will be held at the Monona Terrace Convention Center, Tuesday, April 29, 9:30 a.m.3 p.m. Featured Speakers, Most Reverend Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of Milwaukee, Rev. J. Bryan Hehir, President Catholic Charities. Cost: $10 students; $25/person (includes lunch). For a complete Agenda for the breakout sessions and registration form, please contact Fr. Tom O’Neill. If enough people plan to attend, we will hire a coach bus.
We remember those who have died: friends of Wendy Wegner and Jessica Deters, and the grandfather of Dan Peterson. May they rest in peace.
Half Marathon Benefits St. Clare
Registrations are now being accepted for runners who wish to take part in The St. Clare Health Mission Half Marathon on Saturday, May 3. Located on the runner-friendly Great River State Trail, this year’s half marathon is now certified by the USA Track and Field. Runners are bused from Festival Foods Support Center in Onalaska to the start of the race near Trempealeau.
Funds raised by this event will go to the St. Clare Health Mission, which provides no-cost health care for the growing number of individuals who do not have health insurance and for those whose income restricts healthcare access.
If you are interested in participating in the St. Clare Health Mission Half Marathon, donating to the cause, or sponsoring the event, call Mary or Lisa at (608) 784-4180, or send your tax-deductible contribution to: St. Clare Health Mission, 916 Ferry Street, La Crosse, WI, 54601. Registration brochures are available at the La Crosse YMCA and Schmocker Financial Services Inc. in La Crosse. Schmocker Financial Services will also mail a brochure to you at your request. Call 784-4180.
Viterbo Chorale Features Guest Artist
Viterbo University will present a chorale festival on Friday, March 7 from 14 p.m. in the FAC Main Theatre.
As part of the festival, a chorale clinic will be held with Libby Larsen as the guest artist. Larsen will offer feedback about the composer’s point of view about text setting and expression and will work with the conductors and choirs to listen for new elements in the music and to listen from a different perspective.
Performers in this festival include Oshkosh West High School Girls Chorus, Central High School Ninth Grade Girls Choir, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Women’s Chorale, Viterbo University Women’s Chorale, and women of the Viterbo Concert Choir.
At the conclusion of the individual performances, all choirs will sing Libby Larsen’s Ring the Bells.
Larsen is a national composer who has catalogued over 200 works and has addressed many music genres, including vocal and chamber as well as orchestral and choral scores and is currently conducting workshops and talks around the country. She is considered one of the most prolific and performed living composers and is the co-founder of the American Composers Forum, has served on the boards of The American Symphony Orchestra League and the Music Panel of the National Endowment for the Arts, and has been the Vice President of the American Music Center and director of the College Music Society.
Larsen has received numerous awards including a Grammy as producer of the CD: The Art of Arleen Auger. Her opera: Frankenstein, The Modern Prometheus, was selected as one of the eight best classical music events of 1990 by U.S.A. Today.
This event is free and open to the public and students are encouraged to attend.
Ride the Night Train
By Jason Ramaker, Residence Life
Wear your Viterbo University colors and join Viterbo staff and students at the “Night Train College Night” on Friday, April 4. The Night Train is La Crosse’s own Professional Indoor Football team which will play the April 4 home game against the “Show-Me Believers” at 7 p.m. in the La Crosse Center. For one night only, Viterbo has secured a special discounted rate of $5 per ticket as part of “College Night” along with UW-L and WWTC. If you are looking for something a little different and exciting to do for fun on a Friday night at a reasonable price. . . consider reserving your ticket today and taking a ride on the Night Train. A block of tickets have already been purchased and will be given out to students at no cost over the next month through Residence Life, Intramurals, RSB, and SDC. Reserve your tickets today for your department, an organization or for yourself/family by contacting Jason Ramaker at ext. 3841 or jwramaker@viterbo.edu.
Prep School Welcomes Suzanne Flater to Staff
The Viterbo Preparatory School of Arts is pleased to welcome Suzanne Flater to the faculty. Flater will be teaching voice lessons. As a competitor at the National Association of Teachers of Singing auditions she was awarded First Place in her divisions both in 1999 and in 2000. At the prestigious 2002 Schubert Club Auditions in St. Paul she received a Second Place award in her division. Flater has done featured solo work at Viterbo in Handel’s Messiah, Vaughn Williams’ Hodie, and Bach’s Magnificat. She also holds a great passion for theatre and opera. Her roles have included “Dorabella” in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte, “Little Red Riding Hood” in Sondheim’s Into the Woods, and most recently “Rosalinda” in Viterbo’s production of Die Fledermaus by Strauss. In addition she leads the contemporary worship services at Olivet Lutheran Church on French Island. She is currently completing a degree in Vocal Performance at Viterbo University. For further information on any of the programs offered by Viterbo’s Preparatory School of Arts call ext. 3767.
Noon Recital Focuses on Women Composers
Just in time for Women’s History month comes a special noon recital on Tuesday, March 4 at noon in the FAC Recital Hall.
Featuring the work of female composers, the recital includes works by: Fanny Hensel, Pauline Viardot, Maria Szymanowski, Luise Reichardt, Luise Adolpha Le Beau, Clara Schumann, Marsha Normann, and Viterbo’s own Chelsea Bassett.
Students and faculty performing are: Katie Anderson, Michel Shestak, Molly Nesbitt, Damion Edwards, Amanda Leigh Zeitler, Judy Stafslien, Sarah Severson, Amanda Rhatigan, Shelly Gorr, Edson Melendez, Carol Rhodes, Aaron Brewer, Nancy Allen, Amanda Drake, and Chelsea Bassett.
The concert is free and open to the public.
Enjoy Down-home Cookin’
Sample some Southern Cuisine at this year’s “Flavor of Soul” lunch on Wednesday, April 2. For just $6.25 per person, you’ll savor cornmeal catfish, praline chicken, collard greens, sweet potato fries, pecan pie, peach cobbler, and more. Lunch is served from 11 a.m.1:15 p.m. in the Marian Hall Dining Room. Tickets are available at the MC Reception Desk from 8 a.m.3 p.m., Mondays through Fridays, and must be purchased by March 28.
kudos to...
• Silvana Richardson, nursing, who published the article “Complementary Health and Healing in Nursing Education,” in a recent issue of the Journal of Holistic Nursing. Her study was a description of the status of complimentary health and healing in undergraduate nursing programs throughout the U.S.
• The 55 faculty, staff, and administrators who contributed recipes for the Viterbo University Community Cookbook. The Student Dietetic Association received a total of 218 recipes! The breakdown by recipe category is: Appetizers-30; Soups and Salads-40; Main Dishes-56; Vegetables-19; Breads-10; Desserts-52; and Misc.-10. The cookbook is now in production and will be for sale in time for Mother’s Day.
Title IX Talk is March 17
What are you doing for lunch on Monday, March 17? Bring your lunch and join Marlene Fisher for a Seventh Day Discussion on “Title IX: Have Women Achieved Equity in Sports at the Expense of Men’s Programs?” The talk will be from noon1 p.m. in MC 409 C.
The next Seventh Day talk will be on Wednesday, March 26, when Earl Madary, religious studies, discusses “Meditation: Healing the Body and the Soul” at noon in MC 419 C.
human resources
Viterbo University extends a warm welcome to new custodian, John Huber who begins work today, March 3.
focus on...
By Megan Voeltz ’06
Name: Judy Thesing
Title: Secretary
Dept: Student Development
Family: She has a husband, Don, and three children. Her husband is a teacher at WWTC. Two of her children graduated from Viterbo, and her youngest, Betsy, is currently attending Viterbo.
Education: She received her AA degree at Rochester Junior College, in Minnesota.
Hobbies/Interests/Enthusiasms: She enjoys cooking, baking, reading, and socializing with her friends.
Adventures and Travels: In 1990, Judy and her best friend traveled to Switzerland for three weeks to make a tribute to Judy’s grandma. As a full-blooded Swede, Judy had always wanted to go to Switzerland. She has also been to Florida, New York; and, this past New Year’s, Judy, her husband, and their best friends went to Las Vegas. Judy would like to go back to Las Vegas and says, “there is so much more I would love to see.”
Future Hopes and Plans: Judy is planning on enjoying retirement when that comes along. She has a number of projects that have been piling up for the past 20 years that she would like to do, and she is excited to watch her children (and, hopefully, grandchildren) live happy and productive lives.
Little Known Fact(s): Judy loves Mickey Mouse. She has a Mickey Mouse room in her house, which is filled with all of the Mickey Mouse belongings she has collected over the years.
Ethics Talk is Thursday
Don't miss Gregory Paul Wegner's talk this Thursday, March 6, on propaganda images in Nazi school curriculum at 7:30 p.m. in the FAC Recital Hall. Wegner, is the author of the book, Anti-Semitism and Schooling under the Third Reich, and is a UW-L professor.
March 7 Deadline
March 7 is the deadline for clubs and organizations to submit activities for Alcohol Awareness Week. Activity forms are available from Anne Ellefson in the SDC. Activites submitted on forms to Ellefson by March 7 will be included on the publicity materials developed for the week.
Students to Take part in International, Theatrical Protest
The Viterbo University Student Theatre Board will join in a global effort to protest war as they present a staged reading of Lysistrata on Monday, March 3 at 7 p.m. in the FAC Recital Hall.
The Viterbo reading of Lysistrata is one of five being done in Wisconsin and one of more than 250 being done in the world on March 3 as part of The Lysistrata Project, an organized, international anti-war protest.
A comedy by Aristophanes, Lysistrata examines the lives of women from opposing states who join together to stop a war by refusing to sleep with their husbands until the war has ended. Powerless in their society and distraught over too many of their children being slaughtered in battle, the women take the only tactic available to them: withholding sex. After matronly stormtroopers take over the building where public funds are kept, the women rise to end the war until; desperate for intimacy, the men finally agree to lay down their swords and see their way to achieving diplomatic peace.
“Lysistrata presents anti-war themes in a more comedic and less in-your-face sort of way,” says Viterbo student Amanda MacLeish, who is co-directing the play along with fellow theatre student Jennifer Spridco. This event will also involve some UW-L students.
Rick Walters, theatre professor at Viterbo, said, “I hope, at the very least, that it stimulates thought and dialogue among participants and those who see the readings...The war issue is so big and it feels like it’s out of the hands of the individual. It’s important for us as a community to be more actively aware of the process and about what going to war means.”
The Lysistrata project was organized by Theatres Against War. The Viterbo reading of Lysistrata is free and open to the public, but a freewill offering will be accepted at the door to benefit Doctors without Borders, an international volunteer organization of doctors who travel the globe providing medical assistance to countries in need.
For more information on The Lysistrata Project visit the official Web site at: www.lysistrataproject.org. To find out what students are involved, visit www.viterbo.edu/campnews/releases/ and click on the link for the “Anti-war Protest” news release.
connections
connections is published every Monday of each academic year.
Copy deadline is noon, Thursday.
Email copy to: connections@viterbo.edu or send interoffice to the Communications & Marketing Department, MC 228.
Visit us on the web at: www.viterbo.edu/ campnews/camppub/connections/.
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