Association
News
Alumni
with Honors
At
Alumni Weekend in May, WAA celebrated the contributions
that UW-Madison alumni have made to the world and
their university by honoring six graduates with Distinguished
Alumni Awards.
"I'm
really proud of what this year's distinguished alumni
have contributed," says WAA President and CEO
Paula Bonner MS'78. "They've worked through
many spheres — academic, political, administrative,
and as volunteers — to improve every aspect of
the university."
This
year's distinguished alumni include Barney Easterday
MS'58, PhD'61, Tom Hefty '69, JD'73, John Rowe '67,
JD'70, Nancy Sennett '73, and Tommy Thompson '63,
JD'66. Tricia Nordby Hamrin '92 is the Distinguished
Young Alumna.
Barney
Easterday and his spouse, Char. Barney's research
revealed that the swine influenza virus can be
transmitted from pigs to humans. |
Dean
emeritus Barney Easterday worked through the
late 1970s and early 1980s to help create UW-Madison's
School of Veterinary Medicine, which celebrates its
twentieth anniversary this year.
Easterday
received his DVM from Michigan State University, and
shortly afterward joined the army, which sent him
to Kenya to study livestock diseases. This assignment
inspired in him a lifelong love of Kenya and a desire
to pursue research in veterinary medicine. He returned
to the U.S. and soon began graduate study at the UW,
joining the faculty after earning his PhD. In 1978,
when UW-Madison began the work of creating its School
of Veterinary Medicine, Easterday was tapped as the
school's first dean. He remained in that post until
his retirement in 1994.
"With
his leadership," says Professor Ronald Schultz,
chair of the Department of Pathobiological Sciences,
the school "was established after many years
of political controversy, and during his fifteen years
as dean, the school moved quickly into a position
of national prominence."
Today
Easterday serves as chair of WAA's lifelong learning
committee. He and his spouse, Char, have made several
trips to East Africa, including four tours that they
hosted for WAA. On a 2002 safari, he was honored as
an elder by the residents of a Masai village, who
gave him the name Leshan, "born during the rains,"
as a token of respect.
Now
retired, Tom Hefty spent seventeen years as one
of Wisconsin's leading insurance executives. |
As
the former president and chief executive officer of
the insurance company Cobalt Corporation, Tom Hefty
led the effort that resulted in the largest single
contribution to fund medical research in Wisconsin.
Between
1999 and 2001, Hefty helped engineer the merger of
Blue Cross Blue Shield United of Wisconsin with United
Wisconsin Services to form Cobalt, a publicly traded
company. As part of this merger, 31 million shares
of Cobalt were transferred to the Wisconsin United
for Health Foundation, which supports UW-Madison's
Medical School and Milwaukee's Medical College of
Wisconsin.
"These
funds," says economics Professor John Kennan,
"will strengthen the research and education missions
of the schools, while advancing public health to the
benefit of all the people of Wisconsin."
Hefty
has served Wisconsin and the nation in a variety of
government positions, including counsel at the Federal
Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition and deputy
insurance commissioner for the state of Wisconsin.
He became chief executive officer of Blue Cross and
Blue Shield and of United Wisconsin Services in 1986,
and after merging the two companies, he retired in
February 2003.
John
Rowe (left) speaks with history professors Thomas
Spear, center, and Steve Stern prior to the Distinguished
Alumni Awards ceremony. |
As
the top executive at the Chicago-based Exelon, John
Rowe is one of the most powerful people in the
power industry. Exelon is among the nation's largest
electrical utilities, serving as many as 13 million
people, but Rowe also focuses much of his own energy
on educational causes. He aids UW-Madison through
participation in the Bascom Hill Society and on the
WARF Board of Trustees. He has also been a trustee
with Northwestern University and Bryant College, as
well as Chicago's Art Institute and Field Museum.
"John
Rowe is an exemplar of the public-minded citizen that
we treasure and seek to develop at Wisconsin,"
says history professor and department chair Thomas
Spear MA'70, PhD'74. "A living embodiment
of the Wisconsin Idea, he has extended the reach of
the university far beyond the borders of the state
as a dynamic businessman, public citizen, and philanthropist."
Rowe's
eclectic interests include a special fascination with
history, his undergraduate major. He is an avid collector
of Greek, Roman, and Egyptian artifacts, and in his
office, he keeps an ancient sarcophagus.
"Reading
history has taught me how to handle the human things
in business," says Rowe, who endowed a professorship
for the study of Byzantine history. "I've always
been interested in how this major incarnation of the
Roman Empire survived for so long," he says.
"And yet the study of Byzantine history is disappearing."
"I've
been blessed at work and with a wonderful family,"
says Nancy Sennett (center). "It only seems
right that I give back to the community." |
Nancy
Sennett isn't just a leading attorney in the field
of securities litigation, she has also exerted considerable
influence on the way that UW-Madison connects with
its graduates. As the volunteer president of WAA from
2000 to 2001, she helped lead the association through
a major reorganization.
"Through
her boundless energy and her work with our alumni,
Nancy has made an indelible mark on WAA and on the
university," says Bonner. "She's a model
of what people can accomplish when they work with
passion."
Sennett
studied English and communication arts at UW-Madison,
and taught high school for three years before entering
law school at Northwestern University. After graduating
in 1979, she joined the firm of Foley & Lardner
in Milwaukee, and she has been with them ever since.
In 2002, she was made a managing partner.
However,
her time has been dedicated to community service as
much as to professional advancement. Sennett was a
founding board member for After Breast Cancer Diagnosis,
Inc., and for the Betty Brinn Children's Museum in
Milwaukee. She has also served on the board of directors
for WAA and the University of Wisconsin Foundation,
and on the board of visitors for the School of Education.
Tommy
Thompson receives a warm greeting from three old
classmates and former cheerleaders: from left,
Nan Hayden Field, Barb Sundene Wood, and Renee
Cohen Epstein. Thompson addressed the Class of
'63 at its fortieth reunion celebration. |
As
Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services for the last two years, Tommy Thompson
has led the national debate on such topics as preparedness
for bioterrorism and stem cell research. But within
Wisconsin, Thompson is best known as the state's longest
serving governor, having served in that role from
1987 to 2001.
"Not
only has Secretary Thompson had a long and distinguished
public career," says Bonner, "but he's also
been a staunch supporter of the UW. Thanks to his
advocacy, the UW has been able to maintain its premier
role among American universities as both a research
and teaching institution."
In
1966, following his graduation from law school, Thompson
entered the Wisconsin State Assembly, where for two
decades he held increasingly important legislative
roles until being elected to the governorship. While
in office, he championed causes that brought UW-Madison
more than $400 million. These include WISTAR, a program
to improve research facilities; HealthStar, which
aided study in pharmacy and health sciences; BioStar,
which provided support for bioscience research; and
the Madison Initiative, a private/public partnership
that led to the hiring of more than one hundred new
faculty.
During
his stay in Madison, Thompson also addressed his graduating
class, the Class of '63, which was celebrating its
fortieth reunion. As Secretary of Health and Human
Services, he said he has become more conscious of
his own health, and he urged his classmates to be
more active in pursuing a healthy lifestyle.
Tricia
Nordby Hamrin was the university's second Distinguished
Young Alumni award winner. |
Tricia
Nordby Hamrin received the association's Distinguished
Young Alumni Award, which honors achievement by a
graduate under the age of forty.
Within
two years of graduating from UW-Madison's honors program,
Hamrin left the security of a corporate job to launch
her own company. Today she describes herself as the
"head hoop-jumper" of the Minneapolis-based
UpFront Productions, which offers its clients integrated
services from graphics to printing and direct mail.
"Our slogan is, 'Choose your hoop; we'll jump
through it,' " she says.
James
Haney, president of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce,
describes Hamrin as an "everachiever," one
who regards achievement as an ongoing journey. "In
the years since she graduated, Tricia Hamrin has revolutionized
an industry and the way people succeed in it,"
he says. "Anyone who has witnessed Tricia's vision
or her values would agree: her achievements transcend
not just her years, but the perceived limitations
of an industry."
Hamrin's
success has enabled her to endow a scholarship for
UW-Madison students. First awarded in 1998, the Hamrin
Research Award helps students fulfill their honors
theses. The current recipient of the scholarship is
Brennan Young x'03, who met with Hamrin while
she was back on campus.
"I'm
so proud to be able to help students like Brennan
excel," says Hamrin. "The UW gave me a wonderful
opportunity, and it's very important to me to pass
that advantage along."
—
John Allen
Distinguished
Alumni Awards
Do you know a UW alum whose achievements match
those of this year's honorees? WAA wants to know.
We welcome nominations for our highest honor,
the Distinguished Alumni Award. This award connotes
achievement in professional and volunteer service.
We're also soliciting nominations for the Distinguished
Young Alumni Award, which recognizes alumni under
forty. Honorees will accept their awards during
Alumni Weekend in May 2004. Click
here for more information. |
Party
On!
Two
students enjoy free pizza at the All- Campus party,
sponsored by the Wisconsin Alumni Student Board
and numerous campus organizations. The festivities
also included performances that ranged from breakdancing
to a concert on the Terrace. |
Free
food, free entertainment, and hanging out with Bucky
— literally — made the All-Campus Party
(ACP) 2003 the week of fun and relaxation that students
needed just before the pressure of final exams.
Organized
by the Wisconsin Alumni Student Board (WASB) to provide
a safe, alcohol-free venue to celebrate spring, the
party is becoming a staple of the end of the academic
year. Although ACP is now in its third year, Director
Adam Sheridan '03 says that the 2003 program
was groundbreaking.
"We
took a big step this year," he says. "For
the first time, we held concerts on the Memorial Union
Terrace, a dance on Friday night, and added a three-on-three
basketball tournament at the Nicholas Johnson Pavilion
in the Kohl Center.
We
had a free, a cappella concert at the Wisconsin Union
Theater — people usually have to pay to hear
groups as good as Tangled up in Blue and Redefined."
Events
that made a return appearance this year included Breakfast
on Bascom, a film festival, a pizza lunch, and a climbing
wall on Library Mall, where students could "just
hang" with Bucky Badger — all free of cost.
Arrested
Development, the nationally known band that created
such mid-1990s hits as "Mr. Wendel" and
"Everyday People," played on the Union Terrace
on Saturday night.
ACP
also brought speaker Tom Farley, of the Chris Farley
Foundation, to campus. Tom is the brother of the late
comedian Chris Farley, and he delivered the foundation's
message of "think, laugh, live" to a crowded
audience in the Wisconsin Union Theater.
Sheridan
says this year's success was due to the fact that
the events were open to all students, ranged across
campus, and covered so many interests. The celebration
also marked an extraordinary cooperative effort. "More
than two dozen campus sponsors, student organizations,
and community businesses came together to put on this
one event," says Sheridan. "I think the
All-Campus Party will become a spring celebration
as big as Homecoming."
—
Candice Gaukel Andrews '77
Where
the Wild Things Are
When
seventy-five Badgers went to the San Diego Wild Animal
Park in March, they had no idea they'd end up in a
tiger's bedroom. The visit was part of WAA's San Diego
Animal Adventure, co-sponsored by the Division of
Continuing Studies. The group enjoyed a presentation
by Jeff Zuba '81, DVM'87, the park's veterinarian,
as well as a behind-the-scenes tour — including
a stop at the "tiger bedroom," where veterinarians
feed and care for the big cats.
"My
dream is to be a veterinarian at the San Diego Wild
Animal Park," says Tonya Leavitt '03.
"After this experience, I'm even more sure this
is what I want to do."
In
addition to encouraging alumni to learn about zoo
life, the trip helped celebrate the twentieth anniversary
of the creation of UW-Madison's School of Veterinary
Medicine. Zuba was a member of that school's inaugural
class.
While
in San Diego, Badgers encountered critters ranging
from prairie dogs to elephants in the internationally
known sanctuary, where animals live in the open rather
than behind bars. Participants also learned about
the park's mission of species conservation.
—
Erin Hueffner '00
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