Connections
A Newsletter for the Viterbo University Community
Vol. 16, No. 29 April 28, 2003
Honoring Students and Colleagues
Join in the fun and help honor students and co-workers at the annual Rose Awards and Student Triumph Awards Recognition (STAR):
• The STAR ceremony is Monday, April 28, at 7 p.m. in the FAC Main Theatre. It features singing and dancing from Viterbo’s Platinum Edition. Refreshments in the lobby will follow.
• The Rose Awards, honoring faculty and employees, is Thursday, May 1, from 3:304:30 p.m. in the FAC Recital Hall. A reception in the Hospitality Suite follows.
The New Center is Yours to See
The $11 million Center for Ethics, Science, and Technology is looking great. See for yourself this Thursday, May 1, and plan to attend a “Construction Progress Tour” of our newest facility. Because of the anticipated size of the tour group, two tours are scheduled to keep the group size manageable. The first tour is set for 23 p.m. and the second, following the Rose Award Ceremony which is expected to conclude at 4:15 p.m., will start at approximately 4:30 p.m.
You are welcome to choose the tour time most convenient for you and your schedule. Both tours will meet on site.
Nurses’ Week Celebration Kicks Off This Week
Viterbo University will host a Nurses’ Week celebration with the theme, “Nurses: Lifting Spirits, Touching Lives.” The week’s capstone event will be on Saturday, May 3, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. when U.S. Congressman Ron Kind, Mayor of La Crosse John Medinger, and Donna Warnzynski from the Wisconsin Nurses Association will speak in BNC 122. Additional presenters that day include representatives from local hospitals, Viterbo University, Western Wisconsin Technical College (WWTC), and the Wisconsin Nurses Association. After the celebration, there will be refreshments, live music, and door prizes in the courtyard.
“It is important to celebrate nurses as positive role models for the compassionate care they provide. Hopefully, this will inspire other people to touch lives by becoming a nurse,” says Joyce Heil, a Viterbo nursing professor.
Nurses’ Week activities kick off with a visit from the president of Sigma Theta Tau International, May Wykle, who will be talking to Viterbo junior and senior nursing students on May 1.
There will be a proclamation of Nurses’ Week on Monday, May 5, by Viterbo President William Medland with a flag raising in Assisi Courtyard near BNC at 9:45 a.m. At noon, Mayor John Medinger will raise the flag at City Hall.
Throughout the week, Image of Nursing posters, made by the Viterbo sophomore nursing students, will be displayed in BNC as a show of appreciation for the tender care of nurses.
These events are free and open to the public. They are sponsored by the La Crosse District Nurses’ Association and co-sponsored by Franciscan Skemp, Gundersen Lutheran, Viterbo, and WWTC.
Spring Fling Lunch
Join the social committee for lunch Wednesday, May 7, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the SAC Lobby. Make your own sandwich by choosing from ham, turkey, and humus. There’s also pasta veggie salad, chips, cookies, and lemonade. Tickets are $3 and you can purchase them from Dana Burt, institutional advancement, ext. 3071. Tickets must be bought before Friday, May 2.
Dance Concert
Can’t dance the night away? Watch other people do it at a dance concert FridaySunday, May 24, at 7:30 p.m. in the La Croix Black Box Theatre. The concert features fully produced jazz, tap, ballet, modern, and hip-hop dance with the help of student dancers, choreographers, and designers. Music ranges from Janet Jackson and Simon and Garfunkel to country classics. Tickets are $9; call ext. 3100.
Spring Chorale Concert
The Viterbo music department will present a Spring Chorale Concert on Sunday, May 4, at 2 p.m. in the Maria Angelorum Chapel. Free and open to the public, it features the Women’s Chorale, Concert Choir, and 9th Street Singers.
correction
Human resources extends an apology for accidentally omitting Anne Bodine’s name from a list published in last week’s Connections in honor of national Administrative Assistants’ Day. Bodine works in nursing. We hope her day was terrific!
Viterbo to Host Rising Star
By Timothy Schorr, Music
The Viterbo music department will host pianist Titus Vettrus in a Guest Artist Recital on Sunday, May 4, at 7:30 p.m. in the FAC Recital Hall. The program includes solo piano works by Bach, Haydn, Schumann, Schoenberg, and Rachmaninoff.
A senior at the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, Vettrus was the winner of the 2002 La Crosse Symphony Orchestra Rising Stars Concerto Competition. He earned top honors at both the state and regional levels of the Music Teachers National Association Piano Competition, and has received grants for research and study from the Wisconsin Center for Academically Talented Youth, the Cecilian Society of Duluth, and the Schubert Club. He has also participated in music festivals at the Eastman School, Oberlin College, the Taubman Institute, and Arts Week in Madison, where he received a special Merit Award.
The event is free and open to the public. For information, contact Timothy Schorr at ext. 3769 or tbschorr@viterbo.edu.
SGA Update
By Jean Moore, FSPA, Student Development
Congratulations to the newly elected Student Government Association (SGA) representatives for 200304! They are: seniors John Sheski and Tim Boehnen; juniors Sam Decker and Chad Gonczy; sophomores Lacy Meyers and Abby Strozinsky; at-large representatives Andy McLees, Elizabeth Kassulke, Cole Dolan, Rachel Duffy, Sara Heil, Crystal Kreye; and commuter representative Nancy Arndt.
Election of officers for 2003-04 takes place on Sunday, April 27, so stay tuned for those results!
Thank You SGA!
Special thanks to the 200203 SGA for their efforts on behalf of the student body. Those efforts include:
• Conducting a survey to research student preferences regarding campus health services.
• Securing a change machine and ATM in the Student Union.
• Initiating a free MTU bus pass for all students for 200304.
• Allocating money for club field trips and activities.
• Revising and implementing a new and improved Parent/Family Weekend.
• Securing an increase in the student activity fee to fund the free bus pass and cardio/fitness and weight equipment for the SAC addition.
Their work and dedication to the welfare of the student body is appreciated.
Thank You SAB!
Special thanks also goes out to the 200203 Student Activities Board (SAB) for all of their work providing monthly bowling and movie nights, Homecoming, Courtyard Carni, open mic nights, dances, improv and a hypnotist, Family Feud and Price is Right, SlamFest, and all the other activities they planned for the student body. Their ideas, commitment, and hard work make Viterbo a better place.
focus on...
By Megan Voeltz ’06
Name: Eric Schmidt
Title: Admission Counselor
Dept: Admission
Family: He has a wife, Amy, and two boys, Zach, 9, and Nick, 5.
Education: Eric received an associate’s degree in human resources from Western Wisconsin Technical College. He also attended UW-L for one and a half years for sociology. Currently, Eric is pursuing a Bachelor of Integrated Studies in psychology and sociology at Viterbo.
Hobbies/Interests/Enthusiasms: Eric enjoys the outdoors, including golf, biking, hiking, and camping.
Adventures and Travels: Eric has traveled to Switzerland and France. Within the U.S., he has been to New York, Florida, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania.
Future Hopes and Plans: He is currently in the process of building a new house and is excited for that to be done this summer. Eric is also looking forward to traveling more, especially to the West Coast.
Little Known Fact: Eric once shook hands with Paul Molitor who played baseball for the Milwaukee Brewers. They also share the same birthday.
focus on...
By Megan Voeltz ’06
Name: Eric Schmidt
Title: Admission Counselor
Dept: Admission
Family: He has a wife, Amy, and two boys, Zach, 9, and Nick, 5.
Education: Eric received an associate’s degree in human resources from Western Wisconsin Technical College. He also attended UW-L for one and a half years for sociology. Currently, Eric is pursuing a Bachelor of Integrated Studies in psychology and sociology at Viterbo.
Hobbies/Interests/Enthusiasms: Eric enjoys the outdoors, including golf, biking, hiking, and camping.
Adventures and Travels: Eric has traveled to Switzerland and France. Within the U.S., he has been to New York, Florida, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania.
Future Hopes and Plans: He is currently in the process of building a new house and is excited for that to be done this summer. Eric is also looking forward to traveling more, especially to the West Coast.
Little Known Fact: Eric once shook hands with Paul Molitor who played baseball for the Milwaukee Brewers. They also share the same birthday.
campus ministry
By Fr. Tom O’Neill
Lent 2003—Ashes to Easter: Our Lenten activity of providing gifts of hope for the poor of the world has come to an end. We will forward to World Vision a wonderful gift of $1200. Thanks very much to all who contributed.
Understanding the Easter Cycle, By Sandra DeGidio, O.S.M.: The early Church’s annual calendar began and ended with the celebration of Pascha (Easter)—the “Big Sunday.” Easter celebrates the central event in our salvation. It is the highest of Church feasts. Easter is the oldest Christian festival. For seven weeks—a week of Sundays—we observe and celebrate the resurrection of Christ by the power of God. Pentecost (the 50th day) concludes the Easter Season. On Pentecost, we celebrate God’s gift of the Spirit (the breath, the unseenness of God). The inseparable relationship between cross and resurrection in Christian faith declares the unity of this cycle. We observe Lent in anticipation of the resurrection and we celebrate the Easter weeks remembering the cost of the victory of the cross. Finally, Pentecost recalls the outpouring of the Spirit—God’s gift that empowers us to be impassioned witnesses to the crucified and risen Christ. This gift draws us together as a people, helps us comprehend what God is doing in our world and commissions us to proclaim—in word and deed—God’s plan of reconciling all people in the name of the risen Christ.
May 1—St. Joseph the Worker: Thursday is the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, patron of the Diocese of La Crosse. Apparently in response to the “May Day” celebrations for workers sponsored by Communists, Pius XII instituted the feast of St. Joseph the Worker in 1955. But the relationship between Joseph and the cause of workers has a longer history. In a constant necessary effort to keep Jesus from being removed from ordinary human life, the Church has, from the beginning, proudly emphasized that Jesus was a carpenter, obviously trained by Joseph in both the satisfactions and the drudgery of that vocation. Humanity is like God not only in thinking and loving, but also in creating. Whether we make a table or a cathedral, we are called to bear fruit with our hands and mind, ultimately for the building up of the Body of Christ.
Rest in Peace: We ask God’s mercy on the grandfathers of Elizabeth Florin and Mike DeLine. May they enjoy eternal life and the peace of God’s kingdom.
Parent Newsletter Submissions Welcome
The LINK Newsletter to the parents of all of our students will be sent out late in August. The newsletter will contain information of interest primarily to parents and guardians of students.
If you would like to include something in the newsletter, please send your material to Terry Norman by May 15. Both email and print materials are acceptable. The Enrollment Management Committee and communications & marketing will have editing rights due to space limitations. Suggested ideas for submissions include special dates, special events, deadlines, important policies, and tips for homesick students and their empty-nest parents. Send to twnorman@viterbo.edu
from the library
By Galadriel Chilton
Senior Salute: Thirty-one students make up an amazing and imperative part of the library’s service staff. Six of these students will graduate in May after working in the library for four years. While wishing we could have paid them more for their fantastic work, we extend our congratulations and good luck!
• Stacey Boberg, education: One of our most dependable library assistants, she will make a great teacher with her excellent people skills!
• Amy Brown, nursing: One of our most organized library assistants that we have ever had, Amy has a job waiting for her after graduation.
• Julie Cepress, nursing: It has been interesting watching Julie juggle her hectic schedule this year; she is an amazing person! Good luck with your new job, Julie!
• Lori Doni, psychology: Lori is a very high-energy person, and we are pleased that she will still be around the library as our new part-time Information Services Assistant/ Resources Assistant!
• Derrick Harper, theatre: Derrick is one of our most active library assistants. Remember his name; we would not be surprised if we saw it on a marquee someday!
• Rachelle Pohlman, education: Rachelle is a take-charge kind of library assistant who does a great job handling our interlibrary loans. She will make a fantastic teacher.
Columnist’s Note: Thanks to Rita Magno & Sue Spiker for providing student profiles!
connections
is published every other Monday of each academic year. On days it’s not published, an email version, e-connections, is distributed electronically.
Copy deadline is noon, Thursday.
Email copy to: connections@viterbo.edu or send interoffice to the Communications & Marketing Department, MC 228.
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