TALKIN' - University of Wisconsin - Green Bay

CAMPUS NEWS
Almost UW-Green Bay’s most-honored show
A cast of 13 student actors
dramatized the nine romance-incrisis
vignettes of “Almost, Maine,”
which depicts one wintry evening
in one tiny town in northern
Maine. Here, snowmobilers played
by seniors Jessica Breest and Zach
McLain shed a comically large pile
of warm clothes before preparing
to embrace.
UW-Green Bay’s Theatre
program made history even if it
came up just short in pursuit of
its first bid to college theatre’s
final four.
Update on
‘the plan’
In 2010, UW-Green Bay heard
from hundreds of campus and
community volunteers who helped
brainstorm institutional priorities
for the coming decade. This year,
the results of those sessions are
informing University planning.
The priorities are summarized in
seven “Strategic Planning Themes”
as outlined by Chancellor Thomas
Harden. Broad areas for focused
attention are Academic Programs
and Enrollment; Commitment to
Community; Diversity and Institutional
Environment; Finance, Budget,
Resources; Identity, Image,
Marketing; Meeting the Needs of
Students; and Sustainability.
Updates on strategic planning can
be found at www.uwgb.edu/chancellor/strategic-planning/.
12 May 2011
The campus production of
the quirky romantic comedy
Almost, Maine was rated one
of the best half dozen shows
in the nation this year, earning
selection as an alternate
behind the four schools invited
to the 2011 American College
Theatre Festival national finals
in April at the Kennedy Center
in Washington, D.C.
Even for a program with a
history of frequent regional
festival appearances — five
invitations in the last decade
— there was something special
in the standing ovations and
glowing reviews that greeted
the UW-Green Bay student
cast after their two regional
performances at the Pasant
Theater on the Michigan State
University campus in January.
“The fact that the national
selection team asked us to hold
our show and save the set, and
considered us for the National
Festival was the cherry on
the sundae,” said Prof. John
Mariano, the director. “I’m
proud of our students and our
program.”
The road to national consideration
began with hundreds
of colleges and universities
vying for invitations to perform
at one of eight ACTF regional
festivals. In UW-Green Bay’s
case, Almost, Maine was one of a
dozen shows invited to perform
at the Great Lakes festival
after visiting judges reviewed
on-campus productions. The
Kennedy Center finalists and
alternate were then chosen
from the 57 productions staged
at the various regionals.
STUDENTS LIKE ‘NEW-ROOM SMELL,’
A sizeable portion of the Cofrin
Library’s fifth floor has been converted
to a popular new “reading
space” for students.
Library Director Paula Ganyard
says patron surveys in recent
years have consistently mentioned
the desirability of a quiet
reading room. The increasing
number of team projects and
group assignments have tended
to boost the number and volume
of student conversations, making
“shhhhhhh…” an outmoded part
of most librarians’ vernacular, if
it ever was.
The new space is called the Norman
and Shirlyn Miller Reading
Room. Shirlyn Miller and her late
husband Norman were among
UW-Green Bay’s earliest supporters,
with Shirlyn an original
member of the Board of Visitors
and Norman a board member for
the Founders Association.
A donation from the Miller Family
made it possible for the University
to convert a former office
and conference room. The chairs
are even designed specifically for
the way college students sit.
“I like it. I like the chairs. It’s new.
It’s got that ‘new room smell.’ I
like the art,” said UW-Green Bay
sophomore Paul Malcore, who
called it his favorite study place.
Added Ganyard, ““We hadn’t
actually finished arranging the
furniture and students were in
there to use it.”