Rita Tallent Picken Regional Center for Arts and - University of ...

Chancellor Deborah Ford Remarks
Rita Tallent Picken Regional Center for Arts and Humanities
Dedication Ceremony
Saturday, January 28, 2012
On behalf of the entire University of Wisconsin-Parkside campus community,
welcome, to The Rita Tallent Picken Regional Center for Arts and Humanities.
Our first Chancellor, Irvin G. Wyllie, said, the dreams of our early founders
included “a university with a grand vision of research corridors and bustling
student centers; the beginning of a cultural and learning center; a place where
ideas are born, challenged, and changed. And, a place where tens of thousands
of people would come to enrich their minds, brighten their futures and change
their lives.” The grand opening of The Rita confirms that the University of
Wisconsin-Parkside will continue to be a place where ideas are born,
challenged, and changed; and a learning community that enriches minds,
changes lives, and brightens futures.
Tonight’s celebration demonstrates the power of dreams, planning,
partnerships, and perseverance. There are many partners inside and outside of
the university who played important roles and I deeply appreciate your
dedication and commitment.
Earlier this evening, Dean Yohnk mentioned mission and vision and
acknowledged campus colleagues for their support of this project. I’d like to
recognize additional dedicated partners for their investment in the University of
Wisconsin-Parkside. In agreeing to create this building, the state of Wisconsin
made an investment in the education, creative economy, and enjoyment of arts
and humanities in southeastern Wisconsin.

We have a number of our state legislators with us tonight. Ladies and
gentlemen, thank you for your commitment to arts and humanities as essential
to learning in the 21 st century.
David Miller, associate vice president for UW Capital Planning and Budget,
and the Wisconsin Department of State Facilities lead by Heather Belke and
Kevin Trinastic were vital in the development and completion of The Rita.
HGA Architects, David Lang, Ray Sachs and D’Andre Willis designed The
Rita as a first-class facility to showcase the arts. David Voss and the team of
professionals from Miron Construction built this marvelous new and enhanced
learning environment. Please stand so we can thank you for your involvement
and tireless effort.
We have developed many new vendor partnerships and I am proud to
introduce representatives from Family Piano and Hailun Piano who have
joined the celebration this evening. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in
recognizing and thanking these individuals for their business partnership.
Albert Schweitzer once said, “In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire
goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human
being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the human
spirit.” I am thankful for the generosity of the UW-Parkside Foundation Board,
the Heide family, the Klopcic family, Frances Bedford, and Kathleen Picken for
leading the way by investing in naming key areas of The Rita.

Members of the UW-Parkside Foundation Board wanted to show their
continued loyalty to our students and community through a leadership gift. In
February we will celebrate the official naming of one of our three art galleries as
the Foundation Art Gallery. Members of the UW-Parkside Foundation Board,
please stand to be recognized.
Through the generosity of Chuck and Kathryn Heide, I’m proud to announce
the naming of the main entrance and lobby as the Brookwood Entrance.
Back in 1931, Christen P. Heide, Chuck’s father, moved the family home …
brick by brick … from its location along the Lake Michigan shoreline to land
just west of campus at highway 31 and county highway A. Christen Heide
named the area … Brookwood.
We are pleased to have a number of members of the Heide family with us
tonight. Join me in thanking Chuck and Kathryn Heide and their entire
family.
Many of you here tonight have had the pleasure of attending a performance at
the Fireside Theatre in Fort Atkinson. But, did you know, the props and
scenery for those shows are built right here … right behind us as a matter of
fact.
This unique partnership began in 1986. Financial support from the Fireside
Theatre and the Klopcic family has greatly enhanced the educational experience
for hundreds of theatre arts students here at the university.

It gives me great pleasure to officially announce the naming of our scenic
studios as the Fireside Theatre Scenic Studios. Please join me in thanking the
Klopcic family for their continued support of the university. We’re so pleased
this evening to have with us Betty Klopcic, who along with her late husband,
Dick, founded the Fireside in 1964. She is joined by her grandson Ryan and his
wife, Kristi. Betty’s son Rick and his wife Jane were unable to be here, as you
can imagine, the show at the Fireside must go on! I encourage each of you to
visit the area behind this theatre sometime during the evening. Ladies and
gentlemen, please help me recognize the Klopcic family.
Some of you were here in December for Handel’s Messiah, the first public
performances in the new Frances Bedford Concert Hall. If you were here, you
know how beautiful music is supposed to sound. Frances Bedford arrived on
campus in 1970. During her time here, Professor Bedford’s knowledge and
virtuosity on the harpsichord brought her global acclaim.
The concert hall that now displays her name is already bringing a similar level
of acclaim to the university. A member of the Messiah audience, who has heard
music performed in some of the best venues in the world, described the Frances
Bedford Concert Hall as the finest she has been in.
Professor Bedford, thank you so much for your generosity. It will enable
students and faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and members of
our communities to experience world-class musical performances. Professor
Bedford, please accept the thanks and recognition of our audience for your
commitment to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

It was a little more than one year ago when Kitty Picken and I discussed the
idea of recognizing her stepmother, Rita Tallent Picken, by naming the
university’s new arts and humanities center in her honor.
Since that time, I have had the great pleasure of getting to know Kitty … and
through her I feel as though I have a much better understanding of what Rita
means to this university.
Kitty described her stepmother as a fellow adventurer. Rita was also a lifelong
learner … and isn’t learning really an adventure?
Rita’s lifelong vision was to connect learning with the community, whether that
connection was in Wausau, Wisconsin, where she and Bernard Tallent first
met, or Kenosha, Wisconsin, where she worked to elevate learning
opportunities for students of all ages through the UW Kenosha Center and
then the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
That’s why it is so fitting that this building, an arts and humanities center that
will connect the communities and learners of southeastern Wisconsin, is named
the Rita Tallent Picken Regional Center for Arts and Humanities … The Rita!
Kitty, please allow our audience to recognize your generosity and your vision …
and that of your fellow adventurer ... Rita Tallent Picken.

Thank you for sharing your passion for education, arts, and humanities with
UW-Parkside. Before I close, I must thank our presenters, the planning team,
and all of my colleagues and our students who have worked tirelessly to make
tonight a huge success. Special thanks to Greg Berg, our education partner
from Carthage College and WGTD at Gateway Technical College, for a
wonderful job as our master of ceremonies.
This university is not complete without the involvement of the communities we
serve. The Rita Tallent Picken Regional Center for Arts and Humanities is a
wonderful connection between the university … and southeastern Wisconsin.
Together, I know we’ll benefit from how the arts and humanities enhance our
quality of life. Thank you for your support of the University of Wisconsin-
Parkside, and let’s make the Rita a place for our campus and community where
the human spirit is rekindled, nurtured, and burst into life.