UW-L celebrates 10 major accolades in 2013 UW-L is one of only two public colleges in Wisconsin to make “Kiplinger’s Personal Finance” magazine’s list of top 100 best values in public colleges for 2014. UW-L has received “best value” recognition from the leading financial magazine for more than a decade. Read more »

In this issue: Announcements & Notices Campus Kudos Human Resources In The News Classifieds

UW-L aided discovery could mean new treatment for TB A group of UW-L faculty and students have collaborated on the discovery of an antibiotic that could fight a common and sometimes lethal disease. Read more	Student researches beauty standards overseas In a culture obsessed with beauty and body image, UW-La Crosse senior Brittney Long is looking for answers. Read more
Students to work with international artist Two UW-L students will take part in a major city mural. Internationally renowned artist John Pugh has selected Alyssa Shurbert-Hetzel and Shelby Jo Phillips to work for four weeks at his Truckee (Lake Tahoe), Calif., studio while he works on a major city mural. Their lodging, travel and stipend are funded by a UW-L grant, a National Endowment for the Arts grant to the city and the Pump House Regional Arts Center. Read more	Pay back; ’81 alums find themselves in a position to give Brian and Lori Hesprich know what it’s like to struggle financially in college. Brian’s parents couldn’t help with tuition, so he took out loans and worked. Lori’s parents helped, but she still needed loans as well. Thirty-plus years later, they’re changing that. They’ve endowed a scholarship to help students stay in college and graduate with less debt. Read more
UW-L program director receives Board of Regents Diversity Award Director of UW-L’s McNair Scholars Program Roger Haro will receive the 2014 Board of Regents Diversity Award during the Feb. 7, 2014, UW System Board of Regents meeting in Madison. Read more	Faculty, students make toy donation A group of UW-L faculty and staff are giving Santa and his elves a run for their money. Biology Department members Scott Cooper and Kurt Grunwald constructed 50 tug boats that pull wooden barges, which students in Cooper’s biology lab painted bright colors. The barges were filled with toys donated by UW-L faculty and staff. Biology Faculty Member Renee Redman wrapped the gifts to deliver to area families in time for Christmas. Read more
Students rock out to economics   UW-L students earned third place in a national Rock-O-Nomix competition. Read more	UW-L selected to host NCAA III Wrestling and Outdoor Track & Field The NCAA announced Dec. 11 that UW-L has been awarded bids to host the 2017 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships and 2018 NCAA Division III Women’s and Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Read more
Textbook rental saves students money UW-L’s unique textbook rental program allows students to check out textbooks from its extensive collection for just under $86.96 per semester — a savings of almost $500 per year. Read more	Meeting a regional health care demand Learn what is considered the "single best master’s degree" program for salary outlook and long-term employment. Read more
Grads walked the stage Dec. 15 Read about a UW-L senior who has overcome obesity and plans a future career in health education. Read more	Students ring up more than $9K for Salvation Army UW-L students collected $9,235 Saturday, Dec. 7, while ringing bells at every Salvation Army collection site in the La Crosse area. Read more

Winter is here! Here's a reminder about UW-L's Inclement Weather Plan UW-L implements its Inclement Weather Plan when conditions make travel dangerous or other events cause serious safety concerns. During deteriorating weather conditions, it should be assumed that scheduled activities will continue unless an official announcement is made via University Communications and University Police. Those who travel to or from campus should use their judgment as to whether or not such travel is wise. When the plan is implemented, employees, students and others should look to the following for changes to the regular university schedule: • university’s home page, http://www.uwlax.edu • email to all employees and students via EagleApps accounts • Social media venues (Facebook and Twitter) • updates via phone and email from City Watch (sign up at: http://www.uwlax.edu/emergency) • Campus-wide monitor system in academic buildings • Local media: On air and via their websites. These include:

• TV-8, WKBT http://wkbt.com
• TV-19, WXOW  http://www.wxow.com
• TV-25, WLAX http://www.fox2548.com
• Midwest Family Radio  http://www.familyradioinc.com
• La Crosse Radio Group  http://www.lacrosseradiogroup.net
• La Crosse Tribune http://www.lacrossetribune.com
• Wisconsin Public Radio  http://www.wpr.org/regions/lax/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/UWLaCrosse
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/uwlacrossenews

Get easy access to this weather plan summary at: www.uwlax.edu/weatherplan When university classes and events are cancelled — Typically, employees must report for work with any work changes in accordance with the <UW System Inclement Weather Policy.>  <http://www.uwlax.edu/hr/current/Policy/inclement_weather.htm> In summary: • Classified employees who do not report to work, report late, or leave work before the end of the work day because of weather conditions will be allowed to make up lost time during the remainder of the work week, as much time as is beneficial to the work unit. Make up time shall be at the regular rate of pay. Hourly employees may also take leave without pay, vacation, personal holiday, or compensatory time to cover the absence. • Unclassified employees may use available annual leave (vacation), compensatory time, available holidays, or leave without pay to cover inclement weather absences. An employee and the employee’s supervisor may agree that the employee can account for the time of the absence in another manner consistent with the professional nature of the employee’s work assignment.

UW System President finalist public forums set for Jan. 6 via videoconference

Interact with UW System President finalists and provide feedback via statewide videoconferences of public forums.

Three open forums will be held Monday, Jan. 6, in 102 Wing Technology Center:

• 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. — Robert L. King, President, Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education,  Curriculum Vitae
• 2:30-3:30 p.m. — Raymond W. Cross, Chancellor, University of Wisconsin Colleges & UW-Extension, Curriculum Vitae
• 3:45-4:45 p.m. — Peter H. Garland, Executive Vice Chancellor/Chief Operating Officer, Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, Curriculum Vitae

Training for e-commerce ordering system upgrade set for Jan. 8, 9

UW-La Crosse implemented the e-commerce ordering system Shop@UW in June. Shop@UW, hosted by UW-Madison, is comparable to sites such as Amazon.com that allows users to search items and compare prices from various vendors. Shop@UW is currently engaged with 16 vendors, including: Staples, Fisher Scientific, VWR, Sigma-Aldrich, Grainger, Fastenal, and Kranz. More vendors — up to 40 — will be added in the future. Shop@UW will be upgraded with a new interface in January. Purchasing Services is providing training sessions from 9:30-11 a.m. in 102 WingTechnology Center Wednesday, Jan. 8, and Thursday, Jan. 9. Purchasing staff will provide additional training sessions as needed. Benefits of using Shop@UW:

• Orders processed through Shop@UW are billed directly to a department’s account, eliminating the need to use procurement cards or purchase orders for these transactions.
• Shop@UW provides a re-allocation tool allowing users to change the funding string for each line item on an order prior to the expense posting, thus reducing the number of expense transfers required.
• Users can compare prices from multiple vendors, make more informed procurement decisions and save time. Departments can place orders with multiple vendors from one website via a single transaction.
• Departments will have fewer procurement card transactions and fewer expense transfer requests.

For more information, contact UW-L Purchasing Director De Anne Otto at 608.785.f8724 or dotto@uwlax.edu.

Records and Registration temporarily moved to 116 and 235 Graff Main Hall

Records and Registration has relocated from 117 Graff Main Hall to 116 — right across the hall — while the office is being remodeled. For transcripts, information about registration or transfer credit, name changes and any other student services, go to 116 Graff Main Hall. Faculty and staff with questions about grades, scheduling and courses, should talk with staff in 116 as well. For curriculum changes, LX forms, catalog questions or to speak with the Registrar, go to 235 Graff Main Hall. Office hours are 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Records and Registration has a new Facebook page. For announcements and deadlines like UW-L Records on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/UWLRecords.

January Eagle Mail newsletter online

Jeff C. Bryan, Chemistry, published "Polymorphism, phase transitions, and thermal expansion of K₃Lu(PO₄)₂” in the Journal of Alloys and Compounds.  The work was a collaborative effort with scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and will appear in the March 5 (vol. 588) issue. View it now at ScienceDirect. Kate Parker, English, co-edited the collection "Eighteenth-Century Poetry and the Rise of the Novel Reconsidered." It was published in December 2013 by Bucknell University Press. Heather Walder, Sociology and Archaeology, is the winner of the Society for Historical Archaeology's Student Paper Prize. The prize will be presented at the annual meeting of the SHA in Quebec City, Canada, Jan. 8-12.   Congratulations to the following UW-L retirees: Karla Stanek, Director, Career Services and Academic Advising Center, Dec. 31, 2013. Patricia Sterling, Counselor, Counseling and Testing Center, Dec. 31, 2013.  

UW-L in the news

A summary of some of the stories about UW-La Crosse spotted in the news. "Regents approve $53.3M UW-L student union," La Crosse Tribune, Dec. 7. The University of Wisconsin Regents on Friday authorized construction of a $53.3 million UW-La Crosse student union. The project is expected to be considered next week by the State Building Commission, the final approval step ... "Vocal jazz program grows under Walth's leadership," La Crosse Tribune, Dec. 7. Gary Walth loves classical choral music, but he isn't above composing a rap remix of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The 61-year-old Onalaska resident’s music career has spanned multiple states and genres, but has been tightly bound for the past two decades to the Coulee Region, where Walth has helped the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse's music program expand ... "UW-L student health director: U.S. should have meningitis B strain vaccine," WEAU-TV, Dec. 9. On Monday, students at Princeton University became the first in the country to get a vaccine protecting against the meningitis B strain. UW-L student health director Dr. Brian Allen said the U.S. doesn't have a vaccine that protects against the B strain, because it hasn't been studied and approved ... (video clip) "UW-L chosen to host two more NCAA Championships," WXOW-TV, Dec. 11. UW-La Crosse has chosen by the NCAA to host the Division III Wrestling Championships in 2017 and the Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 2018 ... (video clip) "UW-L named to top college list," La Crosse Tribune, Dec. 12. The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse was named one of the top 100 best values for college students in the country, according to a Wednesday announcement from the university. Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine listed UW-L as the 49th best value for out-of-state students and 57th for in-state students ... "UW-L Dept. of Exercise and Sport Science hosting free presentation Wed." ...WXOW.com Dec 11. The UW-La Crosse Department of Exercise and Sport Science is celebrating 100 years in operation this year. As part of ... "UW-La Crosse Student Union project advances," WXOW.com  Dec. 11. The State Building Commission approved the final design of the new University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UW-L) Student ... "NCAA wrestling, track championships returning to La Crosse," La Crosse Tribune Dec. 11. UW-La Crosse was the host site for the national track and field meet last spring, and this marks the return of the wrestling tournament after it was hosted at the La ... "UW-L student center gets green light from building commission," La Crosse Tribune, Dec. 11. The State Building Commission gave final approval today for a $53.3 million student union at UW-La Crosse. Nearly 50 percent larger than the aging Cartwright Center it's replacing, the new union will be located on the parking lot next to Wimberly Hall ... "Teachers to get hands-on archaeology experience at UW-L," La Crosse Tribune, Dec. 12. Teachers will fashion arrowheads, use spear throwers, take part in archaeological site excavations and more during a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute for Teachers at UW-La Crosse. Twenty-five K-12 teachers from across the nation will attend the three-week program to explore how human cultures adapt to complex and ever-changing environments ... "UW-L offers study tour to Rwanda," La Crosse Tribune, Dec. 12. University of Wisconsin-La Crosse economics Professor Donna Anderson and Professor Emeritus of Modern Languages Barbara Rusterholz will lead an educational tour to Rwanda for students and others May 18-June 7, 2014 ... "UW-L a 'top producer' of Fulbright awards," La Crosse Tribune, Dec. 12. The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse is a national leader in producing scholars in the Fulbright program, the U.S. government's flagship international exchange program. The university was listed among the 80 "top producing" institutions that had the highest number of Fulbright grants this year for faculty, administrators and other professionals ... "Neala Frye's family presented Extraordinary Degree at UW-L graduation," WXOW-TV, Dec. 15. Students put on their caps and gowns Sunday for the UW-L Winter Commencement. About 700 undergraduates received their diplomas in front of family and friends at the La Crosse Center ... (video clip) "Cancer forced UW-L student to delay graduation," La Crosse Tribune, Dec. 15. Graduating from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse feels surreal for Danielle Dove. It's a day she's waited for longer than most of her fellow students. It's a day the 25-year-old thinks will begin a new chapter. It was a day forcibly delayed by a cancer diagnosis, chemotherapy and repeated surgeries ... "College police expand reach," Associated Press, Dec. 19. The police officers who patrol America's colleges are empowered these days to do far more than respond to campus emergencies. Campus police around the country are increasingly expanding their jurisdiction beyond the school and into the surrounding neighborhoods, blurring a town-gown divide that colleges say is arbitrary when it comes to crime...Campus police at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse will handle a situation off campus, but only after checking with city police, UW-L police Chief Scott Rohde said ... "Allison Geyer: Excited to call La Crosse home," Column, La Crosse Tribune, Dec. 20. So apparently, a California real estate blogger thinks La Crosse is an exciting place to be. Movoto, a website that covers “the lighter side of real estate,” published a top-10 list of the “most exciting small cities in America” — a list that ranked our fair city No. 2 in the nation, behind Hoboken, N.J,. and ahead of Chapel Hill, N.C. ... "UW-L boosters to host New Year's Eve celebration," La Crosse Tribune, Dec. 27. The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Athletics Booster Club is hosting a New Year’s Eve celebration at the Roger Harring Stadium at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex ... Year in preview: Area colleges plan to grow in 2014," La Crosse Tribune, Jan. 2. Construction is scheduled to begin this summer on the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse's new student center. The $53.3 million project is a fitting example of the continued growth expected to happen in 2014 at all three of La Crosse's college campuses ...