Posted p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014
An annual UW-L alumni gathering in Madison has fostered connections and collaboration between alumni across the political spectrum for 25 years. This year's Political Science and Public Administration event will be Wednesday, Feb. 4, at Top of the Park at the Inn on the Park in Madison.
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The annual event always ends with Chancellor Joe Gow leading the group in the school’s alma mater, says State Sen. Jennifer Shilling. “UW-L pride is alive and well under the dome,” she adds. Here Chancellor Joe Gow, right, led the singing of the alma mater during the 2012 Political Science and Public Administration event in Madison.[/caption]
State Sen. Jennifer Shilling, '92[/caption]
“It’s a day that none of us have an R or D behind our name,” says State Sen. Jennifer Shilling, '92, D-La Crosse. “We all have UW-L.”
Kyle O'Brien, ’09, vice president of government relations for the Wisconsin Hospital Association, first attended the event as a UW-L student in 2007. He remembers feeling intimidated by all the high-ranking officials. But he says alumni were quick to make him feel at ease. Now, it’s fun to look around at the event and see how he and his classmates have risen up the ranks in Wisconsin’s political scene.
“We are the people we aspired to be,” he says. “And it’s fun to watch the new students first come in, when all the alumni are excited about their potential.”
O’Brien says people would be surprised to learn how many UW-L alums are at work shaping public policy in Wisconsin — on both sides of the aisle. The UW-L connection has fostered bipartisan collaborations that have led to some of those policy changes, he adds.
[caption id="attachment_4646" align="alignright" width="156"]
Kyle O’Brien, ’09, vice president of government relations for the Wisconsin Hospital Association[/caption]
O’Brien worked with Shilling and numerous other legislators to get a bill passed that gives patients with mental illness more comprehensive healthcare by allowing other practitioners, such as primary care physicians, to review their full medical records, including mental health. Shilling became one of the lead authors of the bill, which was signed into law in April.
Kara Pennoyer, '06, a legislative aide for Shilling, says it was easy to reach out to Dan Romportl in Republican Sen. Scott Fitzgerald's office to set up a meeting between Shilling and Fitzgerald to create a new scholarship for the Senate Scholarship Program because she had a UW-L connection with Romportl.
“One of the biggest barriers to collaboration — especially bipartisan collaboration — is being able to approach someone you don't know,” says Pennoyer. “Having the UW-L connection takes away that barrier.”
[caption id="attachment_4671" align="alignright" width="150"]
Kara Pennoyer, '06, legislative aide.[/caption]
The event is one of the most successful and longest-standing for the Foundation, says Al Trapp, retired UW-L Foundation president. Prior to 1991, the event was an informal gathering of former students of Political Science Professor Joe Heim. Trapp, a planned giving officer at the time, worked with alumni to formalize the event through the Foundation. The event wouldn’t have succeeded all these years without the great faculty who’ve made a lasting impression on their students, he adds.
“It starts in the classroom with teacher-student interaction,” says Trapp. “This event has succeeded because of Professor Joe Heim and other great faculty who were influencing students who believed in and still believe in public service, and have retained their bond with UW-L.”
Shilling says she had a wonderful experience at UW-L and she, like other alumni, wants to pay that forward by staying engaged in the university.
“We all want to pay it forward because of the valuable experience we had with our professors — people who have become lifelong friends,” says Shilling.
To sign up for this year's event visit the Alumni Association's website.
The annual event always ends with Chancellor Joe Gow leading the group in the school’s alma mater, says State Sen. Jennifer Shilling. “UW-L pride is alive and well under the dome,” she adds. Here Chancellor Joe Gow, right, led the singing of the alma mater during the 2012 Political Science and Public Administration event in Madison.[/caption]
Annual Political Science and Public Administration event celebrates 25 years
UW-La Crosse alumni in Madison say their university ties open doors for communication across the political spectrum — even at a time when Americans are more ideologically polarized than they’ve been in decades. An annual UW-L alumni gathering in Madison has fostered those connections and collaborations between alumni across the political spectrum for 25 years. The annual Political Science and Public Administration event in February salutes UW-L’s friends and alumni involved in Wisconsin government and recognizes the university’s role in political science and public administration. All alumni are invited to this year’s event from 5-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4, at Top of the Park at the Inn on the Park in Madison. [caption id="attachment_4645" align="alignright" width="150"] State Sen. Jennifer Shilling, '92[/caption]
“It’s a day that none of us have an R or D behind our name,” says State Sen. Jennifer Shilling, '92, D-La Crosse. “We all have UW-L.”
Kyle O'Brien, ’09, vice president of government relations for the Wisconsin Hospital Association, first attended the event as a UW-L student in 2007. He remembers feeling intimidated by all the high-ranking officials. But he says alumni were quick to make him feel at ease. Now, it’s fun to look around at the event and see how he and his classmates have risen up the ranks in Wisconsin’s political scene.
“We are the people we aspired to be,” he says. “And it’s fun to watch the new students first come in, when all the alumni are excited about their potential.”
O’Brien says people would be surprised to learn how many UW-L alums are at work shaping public policy in Wisconsin — on both sides of the aisle. The UW-L connection has fostered bipartisan collaborations that have led to some of those policy changes, he adds.
[caption id="attachment_4646" align="alignright" width="156"] Kyle O’Brien, ’09, vice president of government relations for the Wisconsin Hospital Association[/caption]
O’Brien worked with Shilling and numerous other legislators to get a bill passed that gives patients with mental illness more comprehensive healthcare by allowing other practitioners, such as primary care physicians, to review their full medical records, including mental health. Shilling became one of the lead authors of the bill, which was signed into law in April.
Kara Pennoyer, '06, a legislative aide for Shilling, says it was easy to reach out to Dan Romportl in Republican Sen. Scott Fitzgerald's office to set up a meeting between Shilling and Fitzgerald to create a new scholarship for the Senate Scholarship Program because she had a UW-L connection with Romportl.
“One of the biggest barriers to collaboration — especially bipartisan collaboration — is being able to approach someone you don't know,” says Pennoyer. “Having the UW-L connection takes away that barrier.”
[caption id="attachment_4671" align="alignright" width="150"] Kara Pennoyer, '06, legislative aide.[/caption]
The event is one of the most successful and longest-standing for the Foundation, says Al Trapp, retired UW-L Foundation president. Prior to 1991, the event was an informal gathering of former students of Political Science Professor Joe Heim. Trapp, a planned giving officer at the time, worked with alumni to formalize the event through the Foundation. The event wouldn’t have succeeded all these years without the great faculty who’ve made a lasting impression on their students, he adds.
“It starts in the classroom with teacher-student interaction,” says Trapp. “This event has succeeded because of Professor Joe Heim and other great faculty who were influencing students who believed in and still believe in public service, and have retained their bond with UW-L.”
Shilling says she had a wonderful experience at UW-L and she, like other alumni, wants to pay that forward by staying engaged in the university.
“We all want to pay it forward because of the valuable experience we had with our professors — people who have become lifelong friends,” says Shilling.
To sign up for this year's event visit the Alumni Association's website.