FOR UNIVERSITY OF -MADISON ALUMNI AND FRIENDS SPRING 2016

Sweet Spot Tales of the UW’s treasured land Page 22 Vision Students get an early jump on Terrace time in March 2015. Temperatures soared into the sixties, giving Madisonians a chance to get some sun even though remained frozen. Photo by Bryce Richter On Wisconsin 3 4 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 Contents Spring 2016, Volume 117, Number 1

A snowshoer with the Hoofer Outing Club casts light at Picnic Point’s tip, with backup from the capitol. DEPARTMENTS JEFF MILLER

2 Vision 7 Communications 9 Observation

OnCampus

11 13 Bygone Boom Box Parade 14 Calculation Study Abroad 17 Conversation Laura Albert McLay 18 Exhibition Dalton Trumbo’s Papers 20 Contender Annie Pankowski FEATURES 21 Sports 22 Sacred Ground Picnic Point is a beloved campus playground, but it’s also a landscape rich in history that goes back thou- sands of years. By Erika Janik MA’04, MA’06 OnAlumni 28 Bet on It 46 News If you’re not familiar with ’03 from

48 Tradition Annual Spring or The Mindy Project, no doubt you’ll BRYCE RICHTER Powwow see him in one of several movie roles he’s landed 49 Class Notes lately. By Addie Morfoot ’02 60 Diversions 66 Destination Allen Centennial 32 Drawn Wisconsin! Garden A former Daily Cardinal cartoonist reflects on his years at UW-Madison in an original comic strip.

RON BLUNT By John Kovalic ’86 34 Story Time Doctors in training at the UW write down patients’ memories — along with their symptoms — in a VA hospital program that documents the lives of military veterans. By Meg Jones ’84 38 The Mysterious Mastodon Organic art: a UW professor uses A mashup of science and old-fashioned detective unconventional materials to realize her work revealed the true origins of a mastodon skele- unique vision. See page 16. ton on display at the UW for a century. Cover By Kelly April Tyrrell MS’11 A map of Picnic Point depicts some of its popular — 42 The Man Who Saved Pinball and mythical — Roger Sharpe ’71 wrote the book on pinball — literal- features. ly — and has become a guardian of the game since he Illustration by first got hooked at the UW. By Daniel McKay x’16 Spencer Walts.

On Wisconsin 5 WHEN AGRICULTURE AND COMMUNITIES WORK TOGETHER, WE ARE BOUNDLESS.

6 On Wisconsin WISC.EDU | #BOUNDLESSTOGETHER SPRING 2016 Communications WACKY WINTER Students hoping for a Bascom Skill Knows No Gender as far away as Antarctica, but Hill snowball fight to help relieve Thank you for your article on the apparently, On Wisconsin is their stress before finals were recently discovered remains of not so good at it. The researcher out of luck as the fall semester Homo naledi [“Chamber of Dis- in the Bygone photo is actually ended. A key ingredient was covery,” Winter 2015]. I want to Stephen Den Hartog. In the photo missing: snow. Some experts particularly applaud the author below, Charles Bentley is in the suggested Lake Mendota might and editors for not emphasizing center, along with Dick Cameron not freeze, but winter finally (nor even mentioning) the gender on the left and an unidentified showed up in the new year. of the scientific recovery team researcher on the right. that crawled into the cave. UW-MADISON ARCHIVES S09934 I’ve longed for the day when I could just read about someone’s work without it being implied that, “Wow, she can even do this in spite of being female!” I’m hap- 3,592 py to see On Wisconsin reporting people liked this image @UWMadison post- on the quality of the work and ed on Instagram in mid-December skill of the workers; the gender is KEVIN CASTRO irrelevant, as it should be. Todd Strother PhD’01 Madison A Case of Missing Identity Very exciting stuff, and congrat- I enjoyed the article “Hunters No ulations to Professor Hawks and More” [Winter 2015] except for team [“Chamber of Discovery”]. one omission: none of the Maasai So glad to see that UW-Madison warrior/helpers is identified by remains a leader in this field. name, a racist omission. The article could have men- Robert Quentin Bick ’66, tioned UW-Madison professor MS’73 John T. Robinson (zoology and Dubuque, Iowa anthropology, 1963–2001), who participated in the 1947 discov- A Thousand Apologies ery and analysis of A. Africanus Just got the Winter issue, and I with his mentor Robert Broom find something that irritates me, at this same South African cave but it apparently didn’t bother complex. Professor Robinson your copy editors. It’s in News was kindly and inspiring as my Feed, where you tell us that the major adviser. His course Pale- cadmium in Professor Song Jin’s ontology of the Primates was a catalyst “costs one thousand campuswide blockbuster. times less than platinum.” It Michael Stevens ’73 seems to me that just one time “There will be a time Seattle, Washington less would bring the cost to zero. Writing about a thousand times when Mendota will miss A Case of Mistaken less is mathematical nonsense. a year and not freeze.” Identity Owen Nelson MS’58 — John Magnuson, director Thank you for the lovely feature Las Vegas, Nevada emeritus, UW on my father, Charles Bentley, [Bygone, Winter 2015] who in- Stylin’ deed is a member of the last great At a time when the best and era of Antarctic exploration. most historic print titles are January 30, However, as much as I delighted shuttering, On Wisconsin has 1932 in the photo of the man reviewing managed to stylishly step up its The latest freeze date on record for Lake his forms, the photo is not of game. With absorbing editorial Mendota my father. and smashing photography, On Molly Bentley Wisconsin has moved to the top Oakland, California of my reading stack. You’ve got my attention! January 11, Editor’s Note: The IRS might Mary Beth Gaik ’83 2016 excel at tracking people down Valley Village, California This year’s freeze date

On Wisconsin 7 8 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 Observation

Spring 2016

PUBLISHER Wisconsin Alumni Association 650 North Lake Street, Madison, WI 53706 Voice: 608-262-2551 Toll-free: 888-WIS-ALUM Email: [email protected] Web: onwisconsin.uwalumni.com

CO-EDITORS Niki Denison, Wisconsin Alumni Association Jenny Price ’96, University Communications

SENIOR EDITOR John Allen, Wisconsin Alumni Association

ART DIRECTOR Nancy Rinehart, University Marketing Theories abound about how to find a profession Carson, a muskrat, PRODUCTION EDITOR that brings you joy, but my favorite asks us to draw appears in every Eileen Fitzgerald ’79, University Marketing inspiration from a simple question: what did you comic strip by John Kovalic, who first DESIGN, LAYOUT, AND PRODUCTION love to do when you were ten years old? made his name as Toni Good ’76, MA ’89, Kent Hamele ’78, At that age, John Kovalic ’86 was attempting a cartoonist for Christine Knorr ’99, Danielle Lawry, to re-create Charles Schulz’s Peanuts comic strips. Preston Schmitt ’14, University Marketing . He was a fan of Snoopy and captivated by Schulz’s Image courtesy of PHOTOGRAPHERS seemingly minimal lines. And he watched his John Kovalic. Jeff Miller, University Communications mother write Hops, a comic strip for the children’s Bryce Richter, University Communications magazine Weekly Reader. For this issue, Kovalic created “Drawn Wisconsin!” (see page 32), a CLASS NOTES/DIVERSIONS EDITOR Paula Apfelbach ’83, Wisconsin Alumni tribute to his time at UW-Madison and to fellow artists who drew com- Association ics for the Daily Cardinal in the 1980s. Since then, Kovalic has worked as a successful cartoonist and cofounded a game company. He’s illus- EDITORIAL INTERN trated more than one hundred games, including Apples to Apples and Daniel McKay x’16 Munchkin, for which he has drawn more than five thousand cards. ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Kovalic drew a poignant tribute to Schulz in 2012 that caught my Madison Magazine: 608-270-3600 eye and prompted me to ask if he would be willing to create a UW- focused strip for our readers. On what would have been Schulz’s nine- ALUMNI ADDRESS CHANGES AND DEATH NOTICES tieth birthday, Kovalic devoted his Dork Tower comic strip to Charlie Toll-free: 888-947-2586 Brown’s creator and charted his own growth from that ten-year-old Email: [email protected] struggling to copy Peanuts to drawing his first daily comic strip, Wild Life, for the Cardinal. Kovalic noted that Carson — a muskrat who has Quarterly production of On Wisconsin is appeared in every strip he has produced since high school and looks supported by financial gifts from alumni like a member of Snoopy’s extended family tree — owes a debt to and friends. To make a gift to UW-Madison, Schulz. please visit supportuw.org. At his mother’s urging, Kovalic wrote to Schulz in 1998 when Wild Life was syndicated. Schulz sent back a letter of congratulations, and it Printed on recycled paper. contained wisdom that suggests that we should all listen to our inner Please remember to recycle this magazine. ten-year-old. “If I were to give you any advice,” Schulz wrote, “it would be simply to work as hard as you can, and to always be yourself.”

Jenny Price ’96 Co-editor

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10 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 OnCampusNews from UW-Madison

BETTER Apple Core BUILDING BLOCKS Lego wants to turn its iconic Whose tech is at the heart of iPhones and bricks green by investing $150 million to find cleaner iPads? A court says the UW’s is. ways to manufacture them. But

JEFF MILLER the iconic toy company isn’t alone in trying to change the process for the better. Most of the chemicals used to make plastics, includ- ing water bottles, are derived from petroleum or natural gas. George Huber PhD’05, a UW chemical engineering profes- 752 sor, has developed methods to The patent name for the technology use biomass and other renew- UW computer sci- able resources instead. ences professor “We can make the same Gurindar Sohi (at plastics from renewable mate- If you like the speed of your iPhone or iPad, thank UW-Madison and left) developed, rials like biomass,” he says. computer sciences professor Gurindar Sohi. That, at least, is the ar- which is at the Huber, who holds a profes- gument made by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), center of a legal sorship named for the late Har- and though Apple, Inc., disagrees, a federal court sided with WARF in dispute with vey D. Spangler ’56, is cofound- Apple, Inc. October, ordering the tech giant to pay up some $234 million. er of a company that’s working Known at the UW as “752 Patent,” the technology in question is a toward making 100 percent computer circuit designed nearly twenty years ago by Sohi and three renewable plastic drink bottles. graduate students — Andreas Moshovos PhD’98, Scott Breach “Everything we do is focused on MS’92, PhD’98, and Terani Vijaykumar MS’92, PhD’98. reducing cost,” he says, noting According to WARF general counsel Michael Falk JD’97, MBA’97, his graduate students have MS’02, the circuit helps computers run multiple instructions at once. developed a catalyst for one “It was sort of a magical discovery,” says Falk. “Guri and his stu- chemical used to manufacture dents didn’t anticipate the iPhone, but many years later, they have plastic that is “20,000 times greatly improved how computers run.” cheaper” than other catalysts. Apple isn’t the first computer manufacturer to make use of this in- How soon before these new vention. In 2009, WARF settled a claim with Intel to license use of the plastics can come to market? same patent. Huber says it depends on oil Should the decision stand, the award will be divided among WARF, prices: “The final thing at the Sohi, and his former students. The research foundation’s is to end of the day is, can we be give 20 percent of a patent’s proceeds to the inventors, so Sohi and his cheaper than petroleum?” students would each receive a 5 percent share. WARF would use the JENNY PRICE ’96 remaining funds to support more research at UW-Madison. However, the UW has yet to receive any funds from the decision. Apple will likely appeal, and the legal process could take years to run its course. Still, Falk says, the purpose of WARF isn’t to win lawsuits but to ensure that UW discoveries make it to the marketplace. “For ninety years, WARF has served the UW as its patent man- agement organization,” he says, “and we take our responsibility to de- SHUTTERSTOCK fend the interests of the university and its faculty, staff, and students seriously. In the end, our focus is on pushing technology out, and we want to use the money from licensing technology to help research and improve the world.” JOHN ALLEN

On Wisconsin 11 OnCampus BRYCE RICHTER

Hope for Hair Hair loss may not be the worst side effect of chemotherapy — after all, there’s pain and nausea — but it’s the most noticeable, and one that cancer patients often dread. But William Fahl ’72, PhD’75, a UW professor of oncology, may have found a way to keep chemo from killing off hair: vasoconstrictors. WINE GUIDE Chemotherapy is a means of A few things immediately come to mind at the Nick Smith (above) mention of Wisconsin: cheese, beer, the Green Bay is the UW’s first attacking cancer cells, but che- Packers. Nick Smith wants to add wine to that list. enologist. What is Smith just wrapped up his first year as the an e·nol·o·gist? A specialist in the UW’s enologist and associate outreach specialist mo drugs affect healthy cells as science of wine- for the Department of Food Science, mixing the making. well — including, often, the cells science behind wine with the business of making a commercial product. in hair follicles. In a recent study, As an academic, Smith researches new ways to improve efficiency in the winemaking process for Wisconsin’s 110 wineries. On the in- some 47 percent of women said dustry side, he helps winemakers address quality concerns and other potential issues before the year’s grape harvest. that hair loss was the most trau- After earning his business degree from the University of Minne- sota, Smith’s growing interest in home brewing led him to pursue matic aspect of chemo treatment. a career in fermented-beverage science. He worked in Oregon, California, and before coming to Madison. Now Smith, Vasoconstrictors (such as epi- whose job is funded by state and industry grants, is focused on developing a fermented-beverage outreach program that includes nephrine) are drugs that constrict short courses for wine and cider makers. Alongside the outreach program, the food science department blood vessels. Applying a vasocon- is also connecting students with Wollersheim Winery, located about twenty-five miles from campus in Sauk City, to develop new wines. strictor solution to the scalp, Fahl While Wisconsin isn’t known for its wine, Smith says that the state offers a strong market with signs of solid growth. “Most of the winer- discovered, can keep chemo drugs ies I’ve gotten to are either expanding or looking to expand,” he says. “They’re actually running out of space.” from reaching hair follicles while For all of his wine expertise, there is one question Smith strug- gles with. “I get asked [about my favorite wine] a lot. I wish I had one still allowing them to fight cancer specific wine I could say is my go-to, but I don’t,” he says. “At the end of the day, the best wine you can get is the one you like.” elsewhere in the body. DANIEL MCKAY X’16

12 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 Bygone Boom Box Parade ED STEIN/ WISCONSIN STATEWISCONSIN JOURNAL

When former student Leon rights demonstrations evolved Leon Varjian was a more successful politician Varjian passed away last Sep- into a student strike. (above, fore- than student. He got himself tember, UW-Madison lost one of Into this scene stepped Varji- ground) leads a elected WSA’s vice president for its true legends. Varjian, who was an, a graduate student from New boom box parade two years, but he never finished down State Street the vice president of the universi- Jersey with a sense for street in June 1983. a degree — in fact, he appears to ty’s student from 1978 theater. Varjian and Jim Mallon The marchers have earned only one academic to 1980, was a leader of the Pail ’79 created the Pail and Shovel wore old Indiana credit. and Shovel Party, the outfit that Party with the openly stated in- University band The photo above shows one of put the Statue of Liberty on Lake tent of wasting as much time and uniforms that his Madison pranks: a boom box Mendota and brought pink flamin- money as possible. (The party’s Varjian bought at parade that had Varjian and his gos to . name came from a proposal to an auction. cardinal-clad crew high-stepping When the Pail and Shovel exchange the entire budget of through downtown Madison with Party arrived in Madison in the the Wisconsin Student Associa- giant radios, tuned to stations 1970s, the campus had nearly tion [WSA] for pennies, and then playing march music, on June 1, worn itself out with political give it all away on Library Mall, 1983. It followed “the First Annu- earnestness. Opposition to the where students could scoop up al April Fool’s Boom Box Parade,” led to riots and the their refunds with buckets.) which was held on April 1, 1982. bombing of Sterling Hall; civil While at Wisconsin, Varjian JOHN ALLEN

On Wisconsin 13 Calculation Study Abroad BACKGROUND IMAGE, SHUTTERSTOCK/GR ITALIAN PHOTOGRAPHER; WORLD MAP, ISTOCK; PHOTO ILLUSTRATION, DANIELLE LAWRY

Top 10 Study Abroad Destinations for UW-Madison Students, 2013–14

recognized by faculty and staff Far and Away and students here as being a really From Italy to Iceland and from ing in business, Spanish, political critical experience,” he adds. “We China to Cape Verde, Badgers science, and biology made up the have programs that are over fifty are studying abroad in record largest portion of UW students years old.” numbers. who went abroad. Gold credits the longevity and Nearly 30 percent of UW- Two-thirds of students who variety of programs — more than Madison students who earned study abroad say they do so to Dan Gold, direc- two hundred — for the high par- bachelor’s degrees in 2013–14 went improve their chances in the job tor of Interna- ticipation rate. The most popular overseas, a rate three times the market after graduation, says tional Academic destinations for UW students — national average. Dan Gold, director of Interna- Programs, says and students nationally — are A total of 2,276 undergradu- tional Academic Programs, who his office award- Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, ate and graduate students stud- first studied abroad in Finland ed scholarships France, and China. Gold says ied in more than seventy coun- as a high school exchange stu- to 269 students those choices have as much to this year; 40 tries on six continents during dent. “One of the things that has percent targeted do with the quality of those pro- that time period. Half of them changed, especially with the in- students from grams as their location or culture. took part in semester-long or terconnectedness and globalized groups who don’t “We’re trying to shift students full-year programs, while the nature of today’s world, is [that] typically study to think about not where you want rest chose from shorter offer- such experiences are important for abroad, including to study, but what do you want to ings over winter, spring, or every student,” Gold says. first-generation study,” Gold says. summer breaks. Students major- “Study abroad has always been college students. JENNY PRICE ’96

14 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 OnCampus LARRY HULST/MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGES Ten songs most mentioned by Vietnam veterans in We Gotta Get Out of This Place: 10. “Green Green Grass of Home” by Porter Wagoner 9. “Chain of Fools” by Aretha Franklin 8. “The Letter” by The Box Tops 7. “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding 6. “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival 5. “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix 4. “Detroit City” by Bobby Bare 3. “Leaving on a Jet Plane” by Peter, Paul and Mary 2. “I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die Rag” by Country Joe and the Fish War Anthems 1. “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” by The Animals

No one song defines the Vietnam War for the more than 2.5 million U.S. soldiers who © ABKCO RECORDS served, but a new book reveals a rich playlist. Top 10 Study Abroad Destinations for Craig Werner, a UW-Madison professor of Afro-American studies and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s nominating committee, and Doug Bradley, a re- UW-Madison Students, 2013–14 tired academic staff member and Vietnam veteran, spent ten years working on We Gotta Get Out of This Place. Rolling Stone named it the magazine’s Best Music Book of 2015. They conducted interviews with hundreds of Vietnam veterans around the country to capture their voices and memories. The initial idea of building a list of top twen- ty songs multiplied into hundreds of songs and experiences. They learned that the soundtrack to the war is highly personalized. Many veterans mentioned the song by The Animals that inspired the book’s title. While many civilians thought of it as an anti-war song, service members heard the echo of their desire to go home. A former Armed Forces Radio DJ, who served in Vietnam from 1967 to 1969, says that most soldiers regarded “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” as their “We Shall Overcome.” At its heart, the book is about survival and healing. “There’s still an awful lot of healing that needs to be done,” Bradley wrote in a Veterans Day blog post last fall. “And we’ve become convinced that music can help.” JENNY PRICE ’96

news feed

A UW study is exploring Wisconsin’s Mead Adjunct law professor Dean Strang, psilocybin, the halluci- Witter Founda- at left, became a hot commodity when nogenic ingredient found tion has given the Netflix launched its ten-episode docu- in “magic mushrooms,” School of Music mentary Making a Murderer. The series and its potential to reduce $25 million to covers the case of Steven Avery, a Wis- depression and anxiety help complete its consin man who was wrongly convicted in patients with terminal new performance of rape, but two years after his release, cancer. The first stage is facility. Construc- was rearrested and convicted of murder. testing psilocybin’s effects tion will begin late Strang is one of Avery’s criminal

ISTOCK; MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL LAW MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY ISTOCK; on healthy people. this year. defense lawyers.

On Wisconsin 15 OnCampus RONBLUNT (2) WEB ATLAS

When first wrote about the Internet in 1983, it called our modern digital communications system an “infor- mation superhigh- way.” According to UW computer sciences professor Paul Barford, that analogy isn’t anachronistic — it’s relevant. Barford, along with research assistant Ramakrishnan Durairajan MS’14 and Joel Som- mers PhD’07 from Colgate Univer- sity, and Walter Willinger of the network security BEAUTIFUL BUGS Insects are the unexpected firm NIKSUN, and wonder-inducing stars of In the Midnight Garden, an mapped the phys- exhibit UW design studies professor Jennifer Angus created for ical infrastructure of the Internet — the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery that is on display through the high-speed, July 10. Angus made patterns mimicking fabric and wallpaper fiber-optic cables using five thousand beetles, cicadas, grasshoppers, katydids, that make massive and other insects from her collection of thirty thousand that data transfer she has used for other art installations. None are endangered possible. They — yet. Angus hopes her work gets people thinking about that found that data possibility if the insects’ habitat continues to disappear. traffic follows the same paths as vehicle traffic: the cables trace the same routes as the Interstate Highway

ISTOCK years 4.13 System. The time it takes UW-Madison students to earn their under- The map is the graduate degrees, the lowest on record in the school’s history, product of four according to the Office of Academic Planning and Institutional Re- years of research search. The UW conferred 6,902 bachelor’s degrees last year, an and is the first of increase of more than 200 compared to the previous academic year. its kind.

news feed CARY KOPCZYNSKI & COMPANY; JEFF MILLER

Gustavo Parra-Montesinos UW-Madison and Recently retired Jim Leary, believes he may have a solu- ExxonMobil an- UW professor of folklore and tion to help skyscrapers sur- nounced a two-year Scandinavian studies, got vive earthquakes. The profes- partnership that a Grammy nomination for sor of civil and environmental will pair company his work on album notes for engineering helped design scientists with UW Folksongs of Another America: fiber-reinforced concrete students to investi- Field Recordings from the Up- beams that are simpler to gate cost-compet- per Midwest, 1937–1946. He construct and sturdier than itive fuels derived cofounded the Center for the traditional rebar. from biomass. Study of Midwestern Cultures.

16 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 Conversation Laura Albert McLay

For sports fans, March Madness My favorite ranking model is good. I’ve worked on homeland means filling out an NCAA college the Logistic Regression Markov security and emergency-response tournament bracket. Chain model, but others are good, problems, anything from ambu- For Laura Albert McLay, asso- too. Math-based ranking methods lances and fire engines respond- ciate professor of industrial and will help get you in the ballpark ing to 911 calls to post-disaster systems engineering at UW-Mad- and will identify some likely emergency response. We live in ison, it’s a chance to apply her upsets to pick. Math modeling has a world with limited resources, work in data and analytics. This limitations, but you can then sup- and effectively using those scarce semester, McLay is teaching plement your bracket picks with resources is sometimes the differ- an upper-level course, Discrete other information, like preseason ence between life and death. Optimization and Modeling rankings and injury reports. Techniques, while also exploring What sorts of topics do you unique data topics — including Has bracketology work been enjoy exploring in your blog? bracketology — via her blog, an engaging way to connect One of my favorite posts is about Punk Rock Operations Research. to students? vampire population growth in- It’s been a great way to connect spired by Markov chain model- What mistakes do people material we are learning about in ing I was teaching in class. The make when they pick their class to a real-world application. theoretical solutions to the model teams? For many students, sports analyt- were that either the vampire The 7–10 and 12–5 matchups ics is a great avenue for intro- population dies off or it explodes. sometimes produce upsets more ducing how to do mathematical I was a little bit skeptical about often than not. But don’t worry modeling and make data-driven the seemingly stable vampire too much about the early rounds decisions. Sports can really help a populations in movies, so I wrote — the scoring rewards getting it topic “click” for certain students. about that, and that post went right in the later rounds. Another And it’s a lot of fun for me. viral. Other popular posts have common mistake is to pick too been about zombies, election many No. 1 seeds in the Final What kinds of projects forecasting, being struck by Four. You can use some game are you and your stu- lightning, and how to theory [instead]: pick different dents working on? optimally snow-blow teams in the Final Four than My research studies your driveway. everybody else to differentiate discrete optimiza- your bracket. It’s hard to win if tion applications Interview conducted, everyone picks the same teams. for the public edited, and condensed by Daniel McKay x’16. What’s your number one tip Photo by Bryce for filling out brackets? Richter. My top tip is to check out various rankings methods based on math modeling.

On Wisconsin 17 Exhibition Dalton Trumbo’s Papers WISCONSIN CENTER FOR FILM AND THEATER RESEARCH (3); BLEECKER STREET

The Hollywood blacklist blocked more than two The blacklist nomination for his portrayal of Trumbo. hundred actors, directors, writers, and others from forced Trumbo Trumbo’s papers reveal what it was like to try working in film and television during the late 1940s (above with to keep working in an industry in which he could and 1950s. actress Dolores not use his name. The collection includes hate mail Dalton Trumbo, the highest paid screenwriter in Del Rio on the he received, letters to his wife and daughter during set of The Devil’s the business, made the list. Named one of the Holly- Playground) to his eleven months in prison, and correspondence wood Ten, he was cited for contempt of Congress as use fake names detailing the deals he made to keep writing scripts an unfriendly witness during its investigation aimed for his work on while still on the blacklist. at rooting out communism during the McCarthy films including “Some of his best work during the period was ac- Era. Roman Holiday tually material he wrote, but couldn’t sell under his The blacklist effectively ended in 1960, when (top right). He own name,” says Jeff Smith MA’89, PhD’95, the Trumbo received credit for the hit filmsExodus received credit center’s director and a professor of communication and Spartacus. That same year, the UW’s speech for his work arts who has researched Trumbo’s efforts to get off on Spartacus and theater department formed the Wisconsin Cen- (middle right) in the blacklist. ter for Film and Theater Research, now one of the 1960. Actor Bryan That work includes Roman Holiday and The world’s major archives documenting the entertain- Cranston (lower Brave One, for which he won ment industry. right) received an he could not collect. The first film was credited to The center’s staff recognized the historical im- Oscar nomination another writer, and the second to one of the many portance of the Hollywood Ten, and invited them to this year for his pseudonyms Trumbo used on the black market. house some of their personal papers at the UW, says portrayal of the Smith says the Oscar victories aided the demise of Mary Huelsbeck, the center’s assistant director. screenwriter. the blacklist. Trumbo was one of six who said yes. Still, Trumbo’s story is a potent reminder of how Today, the center is home to Trumbo’s scripts, cor- threats to free expression gain a foothold. “Every respondence to family and friends, and more than two now and then,” Smith says, “we still have politicians hundred audio recordings. The UW collection — filling who will float the idea that maybe we should inves- forty-five boxes — received renewed interest in recent tigate people because they’re not really quite Amer- months with the release of the movie Trumbo, which ican enough.” garnered actor Bryan Cranston an Academy Award JENNY PRICE ’96

18 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 OnCampus NELSON INSTITUTE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

SHELL SHOCKER Meet Chelonoidis donfaustoi, a newly identified species of tortoise found only on the Galápagos Islands and, as it turns out, in UW-Madison’s Zoological Museum. The UW has one of the world’s largest collec- tions of skeletons and skeletal fragments from the islands. Scientists at Yale Univer- sity studied DNA samples from one of the UW’s tortoise skulls and found that it was genetically distinct from other species. The university has only a skull and a scute (a scale from the animal’s shell) from a C. donfaustoi, and yet these constitute the most complete skeletal representation anywhere. These samples were declared the species’ holotype — that is, the physical example that all others will be Off to Oxford compared to. Curator Laura Monahan ’02 “I entered freshman year looking for conservation and left a geogra- says the museum has about half a million pher,” wrote Colin Higgins ’15, MPAx’16 in his application for the specimens, but only “something like eight Rhodes Scholarship, the oldest international study program in the of them are holotypes.” world. JOHN ALLEN Now Higgins, a native of Middleton, Wisconsin, is charting a course to Oxford University in England, one of an elite group of students GALAPAGOS NATIONAL PARK/DPNG awarded the honor this year. As an undergraduate at UW-Madison, Higgins triple-majored in environmental studies, geography, and history, and he encouraged in- terest in environmental and sustainability issues on and off campus. Now a graduate student in the Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs, he will complete an accelerated master’s degree in May. At Oxford, Higgins will pursue a master of philosophy in geog- raphy and the environment to seek philosophical and practical solu- tions to environmental governance issues. The UW’s other recent Rhodes Scholars were Drew Birrenkott ’14 in 2013 and Alexis Brown ’12 in 2011. SUSANNAH BROOKS ’02, MA’09

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A faster, easier, and more precise The UW’s labs may soon be student Jordan method for “editing” genes is UW singing the praises of speech Gaines x’16 has revived The Black law professor Alta Charo’s focus as pathology professor Nathan Voice, a UW student publication she co-chairs a study committee that Welham and his colleagues from the early 1970s she discov- the National Academies of Sciences, — literally. Welham and crew ered while doing research for a Engineering, and Medicine appointed to have bioengineered vocal Black History Month display. The examine the new technology’s implica- cord tissue that could help new version at blackvoicesuw. tions for human health. victims of throat injuries, wordpress.com includes arti- cancer, and other illnesses. cles by student writers. JEFF MILLER; UW-MADISON ARCHIVES S17070 ARCHIVES UW-MADISON MILLER; JEFF

On Wisconsin 19 Contender Annie Pankowski

Annie Pankowski x’18 grew up in Sophomore Annie “We spent all summer On that visit, Wisconsin Laguna Hills, California, wanting Pankowski con- training and then to start playing defeated Mercyhurst in a playoff to be good enough to play hock- tinues to score games — it’s really exciting, game at the to ad- ey with her older brother and her big following especially when we’re doing as vance to the Frozen Four. “It was sister, Ali, who went on to play a standout well as we are,” she said when insane. I just thought it was one freshman season for Princeton. interviewed last November. of the coolest things I’ve ever that garnered her She reached for a bigger Rookie of the Year Pankowski’s expectations seen,” she says. “The camara- dream in 2014 as the U.S. wom- honors. have been high since her first derie of so many people with so en’s hockey team prepared for trip to Madison, which served as much Badger pride is pretty cool the Winter Olympics in Sochi, a memorable introduction to the to be a part of.” Russia. But Pankowski, a mem- UW’s big-campus atmosphere DANIEL MCKAY X’16 ber of the 2013 national team, and the strength of the women’s PHOTO BY JEFF MILLER didn’t make the final Olympic hockey program. roster. The U.S. lost to Canada in the gold-medal match in overtime. Two years later, Pankowski views the devastation of being one cut away from winning the silver medal as a major turning point. “It definitely hurt. Even though the outcome wasn’t exactly what I had wanted, it was probably one of the best experiences I think I could have had at that point in my career,” she says. “It’s just kind of been almost a secret weapon I can tap into to say, ‘I don’t want to feel that way again.’ ” In her breakout freshman season, Pankowski scored twenty-one goals, including three in the NCAA tourna- ment, and won National Rookie of the Year hon- ors. This season, she’s won WCHA Offensive Player of the Week multiple times, and the Badgers are once again ranked among the top teams in the country.

20 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 OnCampus Sports UW-MADISON ARCHIVES S16987 ticker

When Bo Ryan retired in December after defeating Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, he left the UW as its winningest coach, with 364 victories in fourteen and a half seasons. In second place is Bud Foster, with 265 wins from 1934–59. Longtime assistant Greg Gard took over for the rest of the season. DAVID STLUKA/WISCONSIN ATHLETICS (2)

History in Their Own Words The Badger women’s volleyball team finished its season with a top ten rank- A project documents the UW’s pioneering black athletes ing by the American Volleyball Coaches Association for a third consecutive year. In the years following World War Former Bad- inantly white campus. When the II, African American athletes ger football younger Ritcherson first arrived Swimmer Matt Hutchins joined UW teams in larger num- player Lewis during the tumultuous 1960s, the x’18 blew his own school bers, and for decades, they were Ritcherson, UW had only two hundred black record out of the water by the most visible minority students Jr. ’70 (above students. He describes division more than eleven seconds in 1967) on campus. But they often faced ob- between white and black players at the Texas Invitational in spoke with 2015. His time for the stacles and discrimination. campus in the locker room, and notes that 1,650-yard freestyle was also the Many athletes’ stories went historians. some white students did not want fastest in the nation so far this season. untold until the UW-Madison to sit or study with black students. Archives’ Oral History Program began “In the South, people will tell you to your Wisconsin men’s soccer player Drew documenting their experiences, making face what they think or how they feel, [but] Conner x’17 signed a Homegrown Player them available for future historians. when I came here, it was kind of a little bit contract with the Chicago Fire.

“A project like this helps to flesh out the more subtle,” he said during the interview. DAVID WEIGEL/WISCONSIN ATHLETICS history of the University of Wisconsin,” Ritcherson was frustrated when he Two members of the Wisconsin wom- says was benched for throwing an interception en’s soccer team were given postsea- Gregory Bond MA’99, PhD’08, son honors by TopDrawerSoccer.com. MA’14, who is leading the effort with during his first game as starting quarter- Rose Lavelle x’17 was listed as the Troy Reeves, head of the program, which back. He saw little playing time afterward, fourth-best player in the nation, and has collected more than fourteen hundred despite the white teammate who replaced Victoria Pickett x’19 was interviews on UW-related topics. him making similar errors. “You better ranked as the The seed for the effort was planted not make a mistake,” he says that he and fifteenth- when Bond wrote his dissertation on Jim his African American teammates came to best Crow and sports in America. As a student realize. “If you make a mistake, you might freshman. working at the athletic department, he not get back out there.” helped to create a website featuring the Support from the Ira and Ineva Reilly first African Americans to compete on Bad- Baldwin Endowment and ger teams. A few years later, he and Reeves UW Libraries has given the project new began recording the experiences of African life, but Bond and Reeves are facing the American athletes and coaches. Their ini- harsh challenge of time. Bob Teague tial effort included interviews withLewis ’50, one of the first African Ameri- Henry “Les” Ritcherson, the UW’s first can starters for the football Badgers, African American assistant coach, and his died in 2013, and Welford Sanders son, Lewis Ritcherson, Jr. ’70, a highly ’71, MS’74, the first African American touted quarterback from Texas who played member of the UW’s fencing team, died for the Badgers. last year. The interviews cover life on a predom- JENNY PRICE ’96

On Wisconsin 21 22 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 Sacred Ground The long and winding path to Picnic Point as we know it includes Madison’s earliest inhabitants, shifting landscapes, and a lot of trespassing picnickers.

BY ERIKA JANIK MA’04, MA’06 FACING PAGE: WHS IMAGE ID 27199; LEFT: JEFF MILLER

n July 4, 1864, John Boeringer launched his Picnic Point Middleton River and University Bay Creek. As gla- sailing yacht St. Louis in Lake Mendota. Cus- (above), shaped cial ice advanced southward 1.5 million years ago, tomers paid twenty-five cents for the round- by a glacier and hills and bluffs were sheared off right down to the O by time, has long trip ride to Picnic Point, the site of his dancing hall, bedrock. The glacier’s retreat fifteen thousand years where they could indulge in the finest red wine from been a popular ago shaped the landscape of much of the northern leisure desti- Missouri and other “wholesome stimulants.” The nation for UW , opening the land to human settle- Wisconsin State Journal lauded the boat as “just the students and ment as the ice sheets receded and creating Madi- thing for pleasure parties,” and one patron called Madison resi- son’s lakes. the destination “as fine a scene of surrounding wood dents, including Paleo-Indians settled in the Madison area about and water as ever greeted a mortal’s eye.” this group (left) thirteen thousand years ago. They lived on the It’s a recommendation that rings through the photographed shores of Lake Mendota, and over time left behind centuries. Humans have been drawn to Picnic Point during an 1870s projectile points and piles of chipped tools. Native for thousands of years. Extending more than a half- picnic. people also likely set fires to keep the peninsula mile into Lake Mendota, it’s one of the most recog- open, as early white settlers described the point as a nizable and beloved spaces in Madison and on the savanna with scattered trees. UW campus. More than one thousand years ago, native peo- “Picnic Point is a cultural landscape that exists ple built effigy mounds. There are more in the Mad- in space and time,” says Daniel Einstein MS’95, his- ison area than in any place in the world. Six remain toric and cultural resources manager for the UW’s on Picnic Point; relic hunters destroyed another. Division of Facilities Planning and Management. “If These mounds, writes archaeologist Bob Birming- you understand how to read the landscape, you can ham, are “detailed maps” of the beliefs and world- see the layers of Picnic Point’s story.” view of North American Indians, and they provide Before glaciation created Lake Mendota, Picnic a visual reminder of the deep human history on the Point once soared above two stream valleys, a high peninsula. Cambrian sandstone ridge between the pre-glacial The Madison lakes became a major hub of

On Wisconsin 23 WHS IMAGE ID 85412; JEFF MILLER; UW ARCHIVES S12770

Among other Ho-Chunk activity in the eighteenth century. The legends (above), tribe called Picnic Point Mo-pah-sayla, or Long the Ho-Chunk Point.The Ho-Chunk expanded southward from believed a spirit their ancestral home around modern-day Green named Waak Tcexi lived in Lake Men- Bay after facing pressure from other tribes and then dota and over- European explorers. An 1829 Indian agent census turned canoes. counted nearly six hundred people living in villag- At left, one of six es on all five Madison-area lakes. But hostility from effigy mounds, white settlers and the 1832 Black Hawk War forced that native people the Ho-Chunk to cede their land, including De Jope built on Picnic (Ho-Chunk for Madison), and move to reservations. Point. Several Some, however, refused to move, and others eventu- farm families ally returned to Wisconsin from reservations estab- operated dairies on or near Picnic lished first in Iowa, then Minnesota, , Point; below, two and finally Nebraska. members of a White settlers were, by this time, already mak- herd graze on the ing inroads. Boeringer’s dancing and dining venture, peninsula, circa despite the view and top-tier beverages, didn’t last. 1923. By the late 1860s, he sold the property to James Herron, who established a farm with grazing cattle. The land continued to be used for farming into the twentieth century. The point also became narrower as locks con- structed in 1847 to connect Lakes Mendota and Monona, at what is now Tenney Park, raised Lake Mendota water levels. But the spot’s beauty and im- portance was not lost on residents who visited its shores to picnic and swim, despite private owner- ship. In 1876, the Madison Democrat made a plea to

24 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 CLOCKWISE FROM UPPER LEFT: JEFF MILLER (3),WHS IMAGE ID 16694

A place for all seasons: boys splash off the shore on a hot day in 1993 (above), and a family enjoys a toasty fire on a brisk autumn night in 2005 (right).

Picnic Point’s footpaths (right) were originally intended for horses. Edward the city to acquire Picnic Point: “The beautiful point Young planned a is in reality the most charming spot to be found on sprawling private either lake. At present it is used as a pasture for cat- estate with an tle, and consequently it is not a neat, safe, or pleas- oval track for ant place for visitors.” horses, stables and pasture, Despite that appeal, Picnic Point would not be- formal gardens, come a public space for more than a half century. as well as squash In 1924, wealthy lumberman Edward Young pur- and tennis courts. chased Picnic Point as a wedding gift for his wife, His mansion (left) Alice. He envisioned a sprawling private estate and burned down in commissioned a massive stone gate, made of rocks 1935. from all over southern Wisconsin, which still stands at Picnic Point’s entrance. Young renovated the the home. All that remains is a brick walk that led to simple farmhouse and turned it into a fifteen-room the side porch. The couple decided not to rebuild. mansion. The Youngs loved horses and established The UW had considered purchasing Picnic Point more than five miles of bridle paths, today’s foot- before, often in the face of development threats. In paths, throughout the property. 1910, word spread that a developer wanted to pur- Madisonians continued to venture out to Picnic chase the land for a subdivision. In the late 1920s, Point, particularly for romantic rendezvous. Young Wisconsin Governor Walter Kohler, an aviation en- tolerated visitors and allowed educational field thusiast, proposed building a base for seaplanes on trips to his property, but he employed a caretaker to University Bay. None of these schemes panned out. keep trespassers out. One night, the caretaker came In 1939, within days of Young informing them across two students embracing in a state of undress. of his decision to sell, the UW Board of Regents se- He marched them back to the house to call the po- cured an option to buy the property through a one- lice. According to the caretaker’s notes, the boy told year lease. But the UW was unable to find the nec- the girl to run. She did. The boy escaped when the essary donors to make the purchase. Rather than caretaker went inside to place his call. face criticism for spending public money on land in- The Youngs lived on their Picnic Point estate un- stead of academics, UW and city officials proposed til September 1935, when a massive fire destroyed turning University Bay into a harbor for boats and

On Wisconsin 25 JEFFMILLER (3) WHS IMAGE ID 66000 A bird’s-eye view constructing buildings, parking, and a road. Outrage (above) shows from UW faculty halted those plans, and discussions winding stone about Picnic Point’s future continued as the proper- steps, added in 2012, that give ty’s value rose. visitors access Finally, the UW negotiated a deal to buy Picnic to the water. Girl Point from the Youngs. The sale included a land swap Scouts gather in with the UW trading 33.5 acres of Eagle Heights, 1950 for a day- which had been campus property since 1911, along camp at Picnic with a payment of $230,000 for Picnic Point. The Point (left). Sun- UW eventually bought Eagle Heights back from rise illuminates a heirs to the Young estate in 1951. fire pit and stone The UW purchase removed the land from active gathering circle (lower left), part cultivation and led to its transition from farm to for- of the improve- est. And as time goes by, Picnic Point continues to ments made to change. the point’s tip. For many years, brush and trees obscured views The massive from the tip of Picnic Point. In 2012, a gift from the stone gate (right) estate of Paul R. Ebling ’47, ’52, MD’55 reopened from the Young historic views of downtown Madison from the tip, estate still stands funded the construction of a fire pit and stone gath- today. ering circle, and provided easy access to the water. Only seven years after its acquisition, in 1948, the Wisconsin Alumnus called the “beckoning fin- ger” of Picnic Point “one of the loveliest spots owned by any university anywhere.” But it’s also, as history reminds us, land that could have gotten away. •

Erika Janik is a historian, author, publisher, and radio producer. Her forthcoming book is Pistols and Petticoats: 175 Years of Lady Detectives, in Fact and Fiction.

26 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 On Wisconsin 27 LARRY BUSACCA/GETTY IMAGES BET ON IT If you think that Anders Holm is everywhere these days, you’re right. A combination of hard work and a few lucky breaks has put the writer-actor in the spotlight.

ADDIE MORFOOT ’02

28 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 COMEDY CENTRAL COMEDY

telemarketing company during the day and party at Anders (pronounced nders Holm ’03 was in New Orleans when night. The underachieving trio proved an instant hit ON-ders) Holm, he got a call from his manager about a with viewers. at left during last job opportunity. The following day, sit- The show and its go-getter stars also caught the year’s Sundance ting in his hotel room, Holm auditioned attention of Hollywood. Film Festival, broke out as co-creator for The Intern via Skype. Hours later, he Since the 2011 debut of Workaholics, Holm land- and star of the Awas on a flight to New York City to meet with the ed a recurring part in Mindy Kaling’s television se- Comedy Central movie’s director, Nancy Meyers, and its stars, Anne ries The Mindy Project, as well as a slew of highly hit Workaholics. Hathaway and Robert De Niro. coveted small roles in major Hollywood films, in- Holm, at top right, And that, as Holm puts it, “was that.” He nailed cluding Inherent Vice, The Interview, and Top Five. clowns around with the audition and landed the job. And while Holm is best known for his improv and castmates Adam Garnering a starring role opposite megastars in a absurd comedy, he earned unexpected praise at Devine and Blake Warner Brothers romantic comedy is just the latest 2015’s Sundance Film Festival for his dramatic act- Anderson, who play career triumph for Holm, who grew up in Evanston, ing chops in Unexpected, an independent film about his fellow slackers on the show. Illinois. Since moving to Los Angeles twelve years an unlikely friendship. ago, he’s made a name for himself in a town known The writer-actor closed out 2015 on a high note for its cutthroat mentality. both personally and professionally. Holm’s real-life Cinderella story began five In December, Holm and his college-sweetheart- years ago when Comedy Central greenlit Worka- turned-wife, Emma Nesper ’04, celebrated their holics, a series the thirty-four-year-old co-created, son’s second birthday. That was preceded by The produced, and wrote with , Adam Intern’s splashy Manhattan premiere; news that Devine, and Kyle Newacheck. The single-cam- Comedy Central extended Workaholics for a sixth era comedy centers around three slackers (played and seventh season; winning yet another notewor- by Holm, Anderson, and Devine) who “work” at a thy role in a Hollywood romantic comedy, How to Be

On Wisconsin 29 BRYCE RICHTER Left, Holm Single, starring Rebel Wilson and Dakota Johnson; returned to and being chosen to write a screenplay for a project campus to speak that he’s developing with Seth Rogen. at commence- But Holm is quick to point out that while his ment in spring rise in the entertainment industry came quickly, it 2013, when he told graduates, certainly didn’t happen overnight. His big breaks in “Be prepared to both television and film required the Roman philos- work harder than opher Seneca’s recipe for luck — loads of prepara- anybody else for tion paired with opportunity. what you want. ... Holm’s preparation began during his college but always take years at UW-Madison, where he was a member of time to watch the varsity swim team and majored in history. In be- cartoons.” Below, tween the 50-meter freestyle, homework, and hang- Holm appeared ing out with friends at the Essen Haus, Holm wrote opposite Oscar winner Anne screenplays. A lot of screenplays. Hathaway and “I’d go out on Thursdays and Fridays, and then child star JoJo stay in on the weekends to write,” he says. “None of Kushner in The the scripts I wrote in college were that good, but at Intern. that point, it didn’t matter. I was just trying to just write as much as I could.” The effort paid off. One year after graduation

COURTESY OF WARNER BROS STUDIO and nine months after moving to Los Angeles, Holm landed an internship at power producer Barry Jo- sephson’s Josephson Entertainment. That led to a meeting with Bones creator Hart Hanson, who, after looking at some of Holm’s screenplays, hired him as a writer’s assistant. It was while working on Bones that the actor had a revelation. “When I moved to LA, I wanted to be a writer and write movies,” Holm explains. “What I didn’t know then is that you write the movie, you sell the screenplay, and usually it’s out of your control. It could be rewritten or changed significantly. So it’s no longer yours. You just hope for the best. But in television, the writers hold a lot of creative control. If you create a TV show as a writer, then you are in control. You’re the auteur. So I quickly learned that my ego was better suited for TV.” During this time, Holm also learned that he didn’t exactly enjoy being an assistant. “I’m just not very good at getting lunches,” he says. “Dealing with somebody who can’t handle that their favorite soup isn’t available is frustrating. But I never got too down about it, because when I moved to Hollywood, I was naïve and confident enough to [tell myself], ‘You’re going to be making money in this town for your writing.’ The problem was I never knew how it was going to come to me. So I got by with the help of my then-girlfriend, now-wife [Nesper], and doing the classic charge-everything-to-the-Visa. I told my- self that I’d pay it off when I ‘made it.’ It definitely wasn’t the safest bet, but I decided to bet on myself.” While Holm never planned on becoming an ac- tor, he soon found out that as a comedy writer, the quickest way to prove to people that his words were funny was to perform his own material. In 2005, right before starting a job as an assistant on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, Holm met his soon-to-be

30 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 NBC/GETTY IMAGES NBC/GETTY

his “I made it” moment. That came a few months later, when Comedy Central ordered a second sea- “When I was shooting The son of Workaholics before season one had even aired. “It’s such a timing thing that comes into play Intern, I would look at Anne with Hollywood,” Holm admits. “There is no ladder in the business of entertainment. You can’t just put Hathaway and Robert De in hard work and work your way up. Out here, it’s more like you can do no work and get a big break in two weeks, or you can work hard for ten years and Niro and think, ‘I come from never catch a break. So it’s kind of a crapshoot.” While betting on himself paid off for Holm, he the land of fart jokes.’ ” still experiences moments of insecurity about his career. “When I was shooting The Intern, I would Workaholics co-stars Devine and Anderson while look at Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro and performing at the renowned sketch-comedy group think, ‘I come from the land of fart jokes.’ So I start- Second City LA. In 2006, the trio, along with Kyle ed to think to myself, ‘All right. Who really thinks I Newacheck, formed Mail Order Comedy — a group Above, Holm had should be here?’ But then, by day two [of shooting], devoted to writing material, performing at various a recurring role it wasn’t as wild as I thought it might be. And lis- venues, and filming their own skits, which they up- on the television ten, it’s amateur to not think you should be there. loaded to YouTube. series The Mindy You have to show up and do your job and have the Cut to 2011. After viewing their online content, Project as Mindy confidence.”• an executive at Comedy Central approached the Kaling’s hip pas- tor boyfriend. group to make a pilot. While Holm considers that Addie Morfoot’s work has appeared in Variety, the Wall Street call a highlight in his career, he doesn’t regard it as Journal, Marie Claire, and the , and she is completing her first novel.

On Wisconsin 31 32 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 On Wisconsin 33 Story BYTime MEG JONES ’84 PHOTOS BY BRYCE RICHTER

“A friend of mine said, ‘Ells, you’ve flown three llsworth Shields was tired. He missions in a row, and I’m trying to get my thir- was about to climb aboard a B–24 ty-fifth. Can I take your place?’ I said, ‘Sure, I need bomber for his fourth mission in a break,’ ” recalls Shields as he thumbs through the six days in the dangerous skies flight journal he maintained throughout the war, over Germany. keeping track of missions, dates, and close calls. By spring 1945, U.S. bomber Combat veterans know intimately how fate and crews needed thirty-five missions luck are intertwined, and how a seemingly inconse- to earn a ticket home, and this would be Shields’s quential decision can have a profound impact. The Ethirty-fourth. But when a fellow crew member — plane Shields was supposed to fly that day as a radio who needed just one more mission to hit the magic operator exploded over its target. The entire crew number — asked Shields to switch places, the twen- was lost. ty-year-old Milwaukee man agreed. Shields, who turned ninety-one last November,

34 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 The veterans talk. The volunteers listen. And together they create lasting records of remarkable lives.

doesn’t mind talking about his World War II experi- That encounter was part of the My Life, My ences in the Army Air Corps — even describing the Story program started at the Madison VA hospital in “Anyone who shock and pain of losing friends — but they don’t 2013. A UW School of Medicine and Public Health reads this will come up much in casual conversation. And rarely psychiatry resident was the first to suggest that ask- know I’m a WWII had a nurse or doctor asked him about the war — ing veterans to tell their life stories would provide vet. There’s not until a recent hospital visit, that is. He was at the a way to get to know patients as more than ill or in- many of us left,” says Ellsworth William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital jured people. Shields, above, in Madison, seeking treatment of hearing problems During the program’s first two years, more than in his Madison associated with flying those missions without ear- five hundred veterans talked to volunteers who home. plugs, when a volunteer asked him to tell his story. then wrote their life stories. All volunteers receive Shields talked about his life and his military service, hands-on training in interviewing and writing tech- a conversation that the volunteer crafted into a one- niques from program staff. The innovative proj- thousand-word narrative. ect quickly drew the attention of other VA medi-

On Wisconsin 35 cal centers, and in spring 2015, My Life, My Story — but never knowing if they were actual bombs or expanded to six other facilities across the country. decoys. Or the veteran who hid his rifle in a barrel of Ellsworth Shields “I think it’s very good if the veterans treat it seri- sauerkraut to avoid detection by Nazi troops. (second from ously, which I did. I really opened up,” says Shields, Ho and Matti Asuma ’10, MD’15, who graduat- right, back row) a retired insurance executive who lives in Madi- ed from the UW medical school last May, thought served on a B-24 son. “They can read it before they operate on me. the My Life, My Story program could also provide a bomber crew in Anyone who reads this will know I’m a WWII vet. valuable learning experience for doctors in training. World War II. He still has his flight There’s not many of us left.” They suggested creating an elective for fourth-year journal from the Written as first-person narratives, the stories medical students who would embed in the program, war, where he de- are part of the patient’s chart, easily accessible to spending two weeks interviewing veterans and tailed missions, medical personnel anywhere within the VA system. writing their stories. The elective kicked off at full dates, and close According to Thor Ringler ’86, the program’s man- capacity during the spring semester, with four med- calls. ager, veterans such as Shields welcome the chance ical students enrolled. to tell their stories to someone who isn’t treating Asuma learned about the program while serving them as simply a collection of symptoms and medi- a psychiatric rotation at the Madison VA hospital, cal data, and it helps busy health care providers con- and he began requesting volunteers to interview nect with their patients on a more personal level. his patients. “The great thing with the stories is “I think veterans appreciate it when we read you have a little window into their lives,” he says. their stories, and they always get a kick out of “You learn about patients from a social standpoint.” us mentioning it to them,” says Aaron Ho, a sec- Asuma, who joined the army right before medical ond-year internal medicine resident. Ho says he is school, is now serving a five-year orthopedic sur- often surprised by his patients’ stories. Consider the gery residency in Tacoma, Washington. veteran who talked about flying around the country Jennifer Sluga ’10, who spent six years in the during the Cold War armed with nuclear weapons Wisconsin National Guard, told her interviewer

36 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 “The things they said have changed how I look at things. It’s changed who I am,” says Alex Siy x’17, a neurobiology student, at left, who volunteered to interview veterans.

Interviews usually last an hour. Volunteers are free to ask any questions, although most start by asking the veterans what they would like their care- givers to know about them. Some of the volunteers are UW students enrolled in a literature and med- icine class designed for those considering careers in health care. The interviews provide a unique learning opportunity, says Colin Gillis, an associate lecturer who teaches the course, because students learn listening skills and essentially become custo- dians of the veterans’ stories. The veterans’ stories become “Most of the students in my class are at the be- part of their ginning of their lives,” Gillis says. “One of the things medical charts. we talk about is how narrative is important in find- “They always get ing the meaning of your life. When you’re twen- a kick out of us ty-one, the narrative you’re making for your life is mentioning it to about her childhood and family, her deployment to abstract because it’s all about the future. them,” says Aaron Kosovo, and her duties in the military. She also talk- “Patients at the VA are usually a lot older than Ho, at far left, ed about being sexually assaulted by a sick-call med- the students,” he adds, “and the way they tell their a second-year internal medicine ic a few weeks into basic training. She hoped that stories is often in a way the student might not resident. having that experience included in her story would expect.” help her health care providers understand why she Alex Siy x’17 volunteered during Gillis’s class wants a female physician to perform breast or gyne- last spring, spending one afternoon each week lis- cological exams. tening to veterans from every military branch who Now, as a psychotherapist who works with vet- served in peace and in war. The hardest part for the erans, Sluga sees the program as a form of therapy sophomore neurobiology student was walking into for service members who might never have spoken hospital rooms and asking patients to open up about to anyone about their experiences. It also creates a their lives, he says. But once they started talking, historical record of narratives from a rapidly dwin- Siy was transported to another world. dling population of veterans of World War II, the “The things they said have changed how I look at Korean War, and the Vietnam War. things. It’s changed who I am,” says Siy, who hopes “If anything were ever to happen to me, I would to become a physician. “Veterans talked about how want my family to know there’s this free autobiog- they view life — that it’s not always the best ride, raphy I’m leaving behind,” says Sluga. “It’s import- but [they say], ‘You know what? It’s my life. I own ant to me to let them know that even though there it. It’s who I am, and I wouldn’t change anything that were bad things that happened to me, there were happened.’ ”• also a lot of good, positive things I got out of the military.” Meg Jones ’84 is a reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and a freelance writer.

On Wisconsin 37 THE MYSTERIOUS MASTODON

BY KELLY APRIL TYRRELL MS’11

A faded photograph inspired a n a black-and-white photograph bearing the fade UW curator to dig into the past of age, five men stand in a deep pit. Four of them Iare clad in workmen’s clothes, while the fifth, and discover that Wisconsin’s standing slightly in front of the others, is dressed in a bow tie and vest. In his right hand, stretching famous fossil wasn’t quite from shoulder to knee, is a massive bone with a large chunk missing from one end. what it seemed. That bone, the femur of an ice-age behemoth, would become the smoking gun. The photograph first arrived at the UW’s Geol- ogy Museum a decade ago, brought in by a curious visitor hoping to learn the whereabouts of the old bone. The visitor’s ancestor owned the now-gone farm where it was found more than a century ago,

38 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 Carrie Eaton (near left), curator of collections, helped solve the mystery of the UW BY KELLY APRIL TYRRELL MS’11 Geology Museum’s Boaz mastodon skeleton.

Key clue: a pho- tograph depicting the discovery of mastodon bones in 1898 (far left).

The UW’s mast- odon, seen below in Science Hall in the 1940s, marked its 100th year on display in 2015. ABOVE: JEFF MILLER; LEFT: COURTESY OF UW GEOLOGY MUSEUM (2)

and the photo had survived the ages. am not sure but that may be my Grandpa Anderson But museum staff lacked an answer; their only standing in the hole holding the large bone. Pictures collection of similar bones belonged to the Boaz from W Paul Dietzman grandson.” mastodon — perhaps Wisconsin’s most famous fos- More photographs, also inscribed by Dietz- sil. Based on the ages of its bones, it was thought to man, documented a treasure trove of mastodon represent one of the last mastodons standing in the ribs, vertebrae, teeth, and much more. There was Midwest after the glaciers retreated from the Great little doubt that the elephantlike creature from Lakes region. A feature of the museum since 1915, the the Pleistocene — the geologic time period en- ancient skeleton has helped put Boaz, Wisconsin, on compassing the most recent ice age, which ended the map. A historical marker erected in 1995 sits at 11,700 years ago — had been found on the farm, the site where the mastodon remains were found. around the same time as the Boaz discovery. But Yet words handwritten on the back of the photo- the bones in the photos were nowhere to be found. graph offered a clue: “Hole where mastodon bones And that femur, with that large piece broken off, were discovered on the farm of J.W. Anderson in was distinctive. the 1890ties [sic] at Anderson Mills, Wisconsin. I For years, the bones remained a mystery.

On Wisconsin 39 COURTESY OF UW GEOLOGY MUSEUM (2)

CSI: Pleistocene: Eaton and muse- um scientist Dave Lovelace collect small core pieces from the skeleton to send to labs for testing.

n 2013, Geology Museum curator Carrie Eaton for years have been stored in Science Hall.” Boaz is MS’04 was hungry for a good project. She realized located in Richland County. Ithe museum was two short years from the centen- Leith was following up on a letter to Birge writ- nial of the Boaz mastodon’s mounting — first at Sci- ten by Maurice Mehl, a recently hired paleontolo- ence Hall and later moved to its current location at gist who wanted to mount the remains, in part to Weeks Hall — so she embarked on what she thought promote his field. “The work of restoration here in would be an easy journey to reinvigorate its story. the [geology] department will do much to arouse She could not have been more wrong. interest among students and others in paleontol- “This whole project started off as this tiny little ogy,” Leith wrote. “It is peculiarly fitting also that thread that I started yanking,” she says. “And the the Geological Museum should have an actual rep- sweater kept getting bigger, and I just kept pulling resentative of one of the big animals that formerly and pulling, and we discovered more, and it got roamed through this part of Wisconsin. It should be more interesting and complicated.” of considerable interest to visitors and to the state.” Early on, Eaton enlisted the help of David Null, Eaton and Null kept digging, and they soon found director of the UW Archives, which catalogs the a letter, dated July 29, 1898, from Birge to the re- vast array of files, books, photographs, and other gents. “The heavy rains of last week washed out A CT scan rich materials that preserve the university’s long portions of the skeleton of a mastodon on a ravine revealed that and storied past. Together, the two began digging not far from Fennimore, Wisconsin,” Birge wrote. a break in the through boxes heavy with records: accession led- The Anderson farm was located near Fennimore, mastodon’s gers, correspondence among university leaders, ge- about thirty miles southwest of Boaz. “I directed femur matched ology department scrapbooks, clippings, Mr. Buckley, Assistant on the Geological Survey, to the one from the and more. go down … and investigate the matter. He found a old photograph They came upon minutes from a May 1900 considerable number of bones and purchased them taken at Ander- son Mills. meeting of the UW Board of Regents, which not- for $75. … The price which he paid was moderate, as ed a request for $250 for “the purpose of proper- the bones are worth, at a low estimate, three times ly mounting a mastodon’s bones now belonging to as much as those for which the Department of Ge- the University.” But in June, the motion was voted ology paid $50 last year.” The only entry recording down, and the record of the mastodon went quiet a purchase of a mastodon — for $50 — referred to for more than a decade, with the bones lying some- bones from Boaz, which Eaton found in the geolo- where in the bowels of Science Hall, forgotten and gy department ledger dated January 1898. But the collecting dust. university, it seemed, paid for two different sets of In October 1913, C.K. Leith 1897, PhD1901, chair mastodon bones. of the geology department, wrote to E.A. Birge, then The letter also noted that Charles Van Hise dean of natural history and the College of Arts and 1879, 1880, MS1882, PhD1892, a geology pro- Sciences, asking that $500 be allotted to mount “the fessor who later became university president, mastodon remains found in Richland County which was interested in “accumulating enough” bones

40 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 to “make a complete skeleton,” indicating a will- son relative, the museum has heard from the Dosch ingness to combine mastodon bones for one family of Boaz, whose members are excited by the display. renewed interest in “their mastodon.” And an officer The yellowed letters represented a pivotal mo- of the Fennimore Railroad Historical Society Muse- ment for Eaton. They suggested that the Boaz mast- um, which has two bones from the Anderson Mills odon — standing proud all those years in the muse- find on display, has told Eaton that he and the bones um — might actually be a composite from multiple planned to visit the museum soon. creatures. She and Rich Slaughter, director of the Like Leith before her, Eaton wants to inspire Geology Museum, knew that pulling out the old Wisconsinites by teaching more about the megafau- Dietzman photographs was a critical step. na — from giant beavers to stag moose, caribou, and What they discovered next took Eaton’s breath mammoths — that once roamed the Badger State. away. Along with Geology Museum assistant director Brooke Norsted MS’03 and a team of undergradu- f the Boaz mastodon was more than one mast- ates, Eaton spent the summer of 2015 giving library odon, how would Eaton be able to link the bones presentations throughout Dane County, and in the Ito where they were found? After she looked over fall, they opened a new exhibit at the museum fea- UW’s mastodon the skeleton and noted some differences in the size, turing these giant creatures. is a composite shape, and staining of some of the bones — caused “They roamed all over the Midwest, and it’s made from bones by the organic elements under which the bones had really neat that these were found in Wisconsin,” discovered in lain for nearly 12,000 years — Eaton realized the she says. “It’s an opportunity to teach people about two Wisconsin femur in the photograph could be key to solving the something they’ve never heard of — that this is their communities just thirty miles apart puzzle. If she could only find that funny fracture. natural history.” • (shown below in One hundred years earlier, the bones had been red and blue) and restored in plaster and painted, so finding the break Kelly April Tyrrell MS’11 is a science writer for University sculpted replicas would take some creativity, and some science. Eaton Communications. (in gray). enlisted the help of museum scientist Dave Lovelace and staff at the Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research, who ran the femur through a CT scan, a type of medical x-ray that would allow her to exam- ine the natural features of the bone. While viewing the three-dimensional, black-and-white image of the massive thigh, Eaton gasped, realizing that the fractured bone — the one in the old photographs from Anderson Mills — was the very one she had removed from the Boaz skeleton in the museum. To verify her findings, Eaton sent small bits of material from telltale bones on the skeleton to labs in Arizona, Massachusetts, and Ontario, Canada. The samples were dated by measuring the age of decaying carbon, and their genetic identities were checked, ensuring that they were bones from a mastodon, not from a mammoth, a similar ice-age creature found throughout the Midwest. Eaton also tracked down E.R. Buckley’s field notes from Boaz. According to university corre- spondence and historical , Buckley — the man sporting the bow tie and vest in Dietzman’s photos — was at the scene of both mastodon dis- coveries. His sketches from Boaz revealed that few bones were recovered there on behalf of the univer- Anderson Mills mastodon sity. There were so few, in fact, that they could not COURTESY OF UW account for the seventy real fossils that make up the mastodon on display. (The rest of the mastodon is Boaz mastodon replica bone.)

Today, Eaton and museum staff have rewritten GEOLOGY the story of the Boaz mastodon, demonstrating that

the town’s famous creature is, in fact, two animals MUSEUM found by farm children a year apart in southwestern Wisconsin. While she has not yet located an Ander-

On Wisconsin 41 42 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 THE MAN WHO SAVED PINBALL First hooked during his college days, Roger Sharpe wrote the definitive book on the game and made playing it legal again.

BY DANIEL MCKAY X’16 PHOTOS BY JEFF MILLER

hen I arrive at GameWorks arcade in Schaumburg, Illinois, Roger Sharpe ’71 W escorts me upstairs, sets up a two-player game on an Iron Man pinball machine, and tells me to go first. My turn is over before I can turn around to see if he’s laughing. It could be a while before I play again. After all, this is the man who saved pinball. “The big thing with pinball is understanding Roger Sharpe the geometry of the game, the sequences,” he says, ’71 (at left in his describing a game that has evolved since the eigh- Illinois home) teenth century. In today’s version, players hit a steel started playing ball with “flippers” on a decorated board. He starts pinball at the calling his shots, drawing paths on the glass with his UW. His life has finger. “See? I’ll hit up the right lane now.” intertwined with the game ever Calling his shots is what Sharpe is known for. since. In 1976, as the New York City Council reexamined the city’s ban on pinball as gambling, Sharpe tes- tified that the game involves more skill than luck. After he successfully called several shots on a ma- chine of the council’s choosing, the officials had seen enough. They voted unanimously to lift the ban, and then-mayor Abraham Beame signed it into law. “So I’m now a historical footnote,” Sharpe says. Before he became a star in the pinball world, Sharpe studied marketing at the UW, where he and his Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity brothers would kill free time playing pinball at hangout spots such as The Pub or the old Kollege Klub. The turning point, Sharpe says, came as he watched a friend expertly balance a burger, fries, soda, and a cigarette as he played.

On Wisconsin 43 Sharpe’s alter ego, a mustachioed Old West gunslinger, appears in Sharpshooter, the first pinball game he designed. The 1979 game, pictured here, is among the many machines that fill the home he shares with his wife, Ellen, depicted in the orange dress (below right).

“He was controlling everything,” Sharpe says. “It was an epiphany of sorts.” After graduation, Sharpe moved to New York, taking an editor position at GQ magazine. His desire to play pinball, which had been banned in the city since 1942, led him to pursue a feature story that eventually evolved into a book, Pinball!, establish- ing him as the expert who could save the game. After his famous testimony and time at GQ, the Chicago native returned to Illinois, working in the gaming industry for twenty-six years. Today he leads his own company, Sharpe Communications, which spe- cializes in the design, marketing, and promotion of gaming systems. After my defeat on the Iron Man machine, Sharpe moves down two places to a game that’s based on the television series 24. He starts slowly, but soon seems unaware that anything else exists outside of the game. One ball seems to become dozens, danc- ing around under the glass in controlled chaos. When his three turns are up, he’s set the new high score on that machine. He turns around with a knowing grin and shrugs. “I showed off a little bit,” he says. “I got caught up in the moment.” He still plays competitively, and his sons have followed his lead. Zach and Josh Sharpe are ranked fifth and eighteenth worldwide, according to the In- ternational Flipper Pinball Association (IFPA), and they compete often in tournaments sponsored by IFPA and the Professional and Amateur Pinball As- sociation, which their father cofounded. Despite a very early influence — Sharpe recalls rocking them to sleep as infants in one arm while he played an Evel Knievel game with the other — he says he nev- er expected them to pick up where he left off. People have since joked about them as the “first family of pinball.” As our time together comes to a close, I ask Sharpe if he worries that pinball will fall by the way- side as new technologies such as virtual reality gain attention. “It’s not going to disappear,” he says firmly. “I’ve said it before: if anybody can offer me something that provides the same type of entertainment experience as pinball, tactilely, sensorially, in every which way, then I’ll consider it. But until then, pinball is pinball. It’s that incredible wonderland under the glass.” • Daniel McKay X’16 serves as editorial intern for On Wisconsin.

44 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 On Wisconsin 45 OnAlumniAlumni News at Home and Abroad BRYAN JULIAN International Events Founders’ Days will take more of an international focus this year. In addition to more than sixty domestic events, which feature university speakers and celebrate the founding of the universi- ty, the WAA: Paris chapter will expand its Founders’ Day, and the Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong alumni chapters will host their $20 first-ever Founders’ Days. WAA million also partnered with the Global The match Health Institute and the Wiscon- commitment sin Academy of Sciences, Arts & selected by the Letters to livestream a panel dis- Learning for the Love of It UW Foundation’s board in 2008 for cussion among Wisconsin leaders For Badgers, learning from UW experts the Great People who were in Paris to participate does not stop with graduation. Scholarship in the United Nations climate program, which conference in December. The “The noblest pleasure,” wrote Leonardo da Vinci, “is the joy of under- raises money Paris chapter hosted a reception standing.” He could have been describing Alumni College in the North- for need-based for the panelists and local alumni woods — perhaps the noblest event to hit Arbor Vitae, Wisconsin, this scholarships. afterward. summer. From June 2 to 5, alumni can learn more about nature and JEFF MILLER how we interact with our surroundings while savoring the scenic lake country near the Red Crown Lodge. $43 The program includes tours of UW-Madison’s Trout Lake Station million and Kemp Natural Resources Station that highlight how the Wisconsin Funds raised as of Idea plays out “up north.” Activities include exploring wildlife and for- November 2015, estry topics under the guidance of UW-Madison professors and local when the Great alumni experts, as well as enjoying leisure activities such as a sunset People program pontoon boat ride. celebrated the The Alumni College event is just one of the Wisconsin Alumni As- completion of sociation’s many alumni learning opportunities offered in partnership its matching Terrace Pavers with campus and community organizations. component. The Want a spot on the Union Ter- aid remains a top Other programs include the Wisconsin Film Festival Preview Event priority for the race? You can have one (com- in Madison on April 12, which features a special screening, reception, university and the plete with your name) if you buy and talk with behind-the-scenes details. The Made in Wisconsin se- All Ways Forward a paver as part of the Memorial ries, which hosted a February tour of blade manufacturer Fisher Bar- campaign. Union Reinvestment campaign. ton Technology in Watertown, provides an insider view of specific The pavers — which are sized Badger State industries. from six by twelve inches to two The Global Hot Spots Series at UW-Madison’s Fluno Center allows square feet, and will be in place alumni to go beyond the headlines to learn from UW experts in poli- 780 when the Terrace reopens later Scholars who tics, economics, and global health. The UW Showcase Series brings receive funding this year — cost between $250 campus innovators to Madison’s Capitol Lakes Retirement Commu- through Great and $4,500. Find out more at nity, and Wednesday Nite @ the Lab, held at the UW Biotechnology People every year. unionreinvestment.wisc.edu/ Center and broadcast on Wisconsin Public Television, provides UW terracepaver/. scientists a venue for presenting their cutting-edge research. For the opportunity to expand your global perspective and fuel your intellectual curiosity, the WAA Travel program provides trips 39% Great People re- with fellow Badgers. Learn about topics ranging from the Ancient Tra- cipients who are ditions of the Inland Sea of Japan (May 4–15) to Southern Culture and first-generation the Civil War (June 4–13). college students. For more information, visit uwalumni.com/learning or uwalumni. com/travel.

46 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 Living the Wisconsin Idea Meet the 2016 Forward under 40 Award winners.

For nearly a decade, the Wisconsin Alumni Association has honored UW-Madison alumni under the age of forty who have excelled in both careers and community service with the Forward under 40 award. This year’s eight winners have demonstrated their commitment to the Wisconsin Idea, the principle that students, faculty, and alumni should improve lives beyond the borders of campus. To nominate an alum for next year’s awards, visit forwardunder40.com. The nominations deadline is July 10, 2016.

Virgil Abloh ’03 is best known for his high-end Laura Klunder ’06, MSW’07 studied social work fashion label, Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh; his RSVP at UW-Madison and was involved with the universi- Gallery clothing store in Chicago; his work as a DJ; ty’s MultiCultural Student Coalition. As a represen- and his role as the creative director for music icon tative for Adoptee Solidarity Korea, she engaged fel- Kanye West. But he also makes time to give back to low adult adoptees in strengthening Korea’s social his alma mater. In 2015, he designed limited editions system and fighting discrimination against of WAA’s The Red Shirt™. All proceeds from sales unwed mothers. After four years of grassroots orga- of the shirt went to a fund Abloh created called the nizing in South Korea, Klunder returned to campus Off-Scholarship, which provides need-based finan- This year’s hon- in 2015 to serve as a special- cial aid to incoming freshmen. orees are in good ist with the Multicultural Student Center. company. Past Leslie Anderson ’04 is the vice president of hu- Forward under 40 Aaron Lippman ’98 is the principal of Carmen man resources at the Gap-owned brand Athleta in Award winners High School of Science and Technology in Milwau- San Francisco. As a UW student, she held down a include Lynsey kee. During his first year on the job, Carmen was part-time job in human resources and partnered Addario ’95, a Pu- named School of the Year by Milwaukee Charter with university job-placement centers to lead free litzer Prize- win- School Advocates. During Lippman’s second year, ning photogra- workshops for students. In 2015, she was named pher; Jake Wood Carmen took Wisconsin’s top spot on the Washing- Retail Innovator of the Year and was invited to the ’05, the founder ton Post’s list of schools that challenge students to White House to participate in the Upskilling Ameri- of Team Rubicon, achieve through college-level exams. Lippman also ca movement, which brings together business, non- an international mentors administrators in Milwaukee-area schools profit, academic, and labor groups to help improve disaster-aid with the goal of closing the racial achievement gap. opportunities for American workers. organization; and Kenny Dichter ’90, Tom Rausch ’04 is the cofounder and director of is a partner at Higgs Fletch- an entrepreneur strategy and innovation at Good World Solutions, AnneElise Goetz ’02 who founded er & Mack, one of San Diego’s oldest law firms. Addi- Marquis Jet and which helps workers in the developing world who tionally, she appears weekly on HLN’s Dr. Drew and now owns the do not have a secure channel to share complaints on Fox television networks to provide viewers with private aviation about workplace conditions. The organization’s legal tips and insights. She also writes and produces company Wheels flagship product, Laborlink, has reached more than her own podcast, AnneElise Goetz Your Life and the Up. 500,000 workers across Asia, Europe, and South Law, to help listeners with major legal issues. Goetz America, maintaining worker anonymity and deliv- is dedicated to helping women seek out leadership ering participation rates that far exceed those typi- positions in government, law, and business. cally achieved during social audits.

William Hsu ’00 has lived and worked all over Tonya Sloans JD’01 serves as counsel for the U.S. the United States. But for him, there’s no place like House of Representatives’ Committee on Ethics in Wisconsin. He runs Hsu’s Ginseng Enterprises in Washington, DC. As a student, she decided that she Wausau, a business his parents founded in 1974. wanted to use her education for community service, Through it all, Hsu has not lost his passion for and she now gives back to the DC community as a UW-Madison. Working with the UW Foundation, licensed minister. She also founded PowerWoman he helped develop an innovative social-media fund- Enterprise, an organization that aims to improve the raising campaign that launched in 2011 and helped lives of women by providing resources to achieve endow a Great People Scholarship. He also serves their full career potential. This venture utilizes her on the UW Foundation Board of Directors. skills as an attorney, minister, and entrepreneur.

On Wisconsin 47 Tradition Annual Spring Powwow JEFF MILLER

Too often, we’re tempted to ex- WHAT’S YOUR members of the planning commit- provide opportunities for all to perience much of our world FAVORITE UW tee, UW-Madison’s Wunk Sheek actively participate during in- through the lens of a cell phone TRADITION? student organization, know it’s ter-tribal songs in which every- camera. But each April, the On Tell On Wisconsin just the opposite. one is encouraged to dance. Last Wisconsin Annual Spring Pow- at onwisconsin@ Wunk Sheek was founded in year’s event drew more than uwalumni.com, wow creates a swirl of feathers, and we’ll find out 1968 with a simple goal. “We’re 2,800 attendees, and many of the beads, and colors that moves too if it’s just a fond trying to bridge the gap between dancers, singers, and drummers quickly to capture on screen. memory or if it’s the UW campus community and were from the Ho-Chunk tribe, At last year’s event in the still part of cam- the eleven tribal nations living which historically occupied the Field House, spectators rose as pus life today. in Wisconsin,” says Samantha Madison region. participants took to the floor Pecore x’16, the group’s vice “We always honor Ho-Chunk for the Grand Entry, and a Ho- president. The small population because we’re on their land,” ex- Chunk elder offered blessings in of Natives on campus sparks a plained Pecore at last spring’s the tribe’s traditional language. need to educate the majority on wrap-up meeting. They also A drum circle played the “Veter- American Indian culture. Wunk honored Oneida, a tribe whose ans Honor Song,” and veterans Sheek does so in part by organiz- ten-thousand-resident reserva- entered carrying tribal banners, ing Native November, featuring tion is near Green Bay. POW-MIA flags, and the Amer- numerous campus events to cel- “We try to switch it up be- ican flag. The procession con- ebrate American Indian Heritage tween the various tribes. We’re tinued until all participants — Month, and holding the spring just trying to be inclusive,” she organizers, pageant royalty, and powwow. said. Looking around the room jubilant community members — The powwows are free and at her fellow Wunk Sheek mem- were dancing in a circle. open to the general public as bers, she smiled, adding, “All of For nearly four decades, the well as members of the Native us are from different tribes.” scene has looked effortless. But and campus communities. They CHELSEA SCHLECHT ’13

48 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 OnAlumni Class Notes

50s fall to highlight the work The Midwestern History In November, when the atten- of Chicago artist Phyllis Association has conferred tion of the nation turned to the Halperin Bramson MA’64. its annual Frederick Jackson University of Missouri’s discus- BOOK NEWS Her collage-and-paint canvases Turner Award for Lifetime sion of racism and the actions of Please complete feature strong female images Achievement upon John its main student-activist group, and submit that blend fantastical elements Miller MA’68, PhD’73, a Concerned Student 1950 — the form at of seduction and eroticism professor emeritus of history at a reference to the year when uwalumni.com/ with innocence, fairy tales, South Dakota State University go/bookshelf. the first black students were We then post and kitsch. in Brookings. The author of admitted — the New York submissions to a Sculptor R.T. (Richard) works about former Wisconsin Times interviewed Gus Ridgel Wisconsin-alumni “Skip” Wallen ’64 is cre- governor Philip La Follette and PhD’57: one of those original section of the ating a monument along the author Laura Ingalls Wilder, his students in 1950. Today the book website Lake Michigan shoreline, near most recent book is Small-Town Frankfort, Kentucky, economist Goodreads at the mouth of Forget-Me-Not Dreams: Stories of Midwestern and retired Kentucky State Uni- goodreads.com/ Creek, that honors the Native Boys Who Shaped America. versity vice president for finance wisalumni. A Americans who lived in the area Claudia Orde Bartz ’69 and administration holds an handful of the and foreshadows the maritime has concluded a ten-year stint books posted honorary degree from Missouri there will also history of Manitowoc County, as coordinator of the Inter- and has a fellowship in his name, appear in each where he lives. Spirit of the national Council of Nurses’ but endured extreme racism issue of the print Rivers comprises three ten-foot eHealth Programme and retired while earning his three degrees magazine. bronze American Indian figures: as a UW-Milwaukee College of and conducting postdoc work. an elder, a woman, and a man Nursing associate clinical pro- “I am a product of the portaging a twenty-foot-long fessor. The Suring, Wisconsin, Professor Raymond Dvorak– CLASS NOTES birch-bark canoe. The installa- resident is also a retired colonel era UW School of Music,” Dick SUBMISSIONS tion’s dedication is scheduled of the U.S. Army, with which Schroeder ’58, MS’61 says, classnotes@ for fall 2016. she served for three decades. referring to the late direc- uwalumni.com If you want to understand Detroit-born Grammy, tor of bands. “I consider[ed] Class Notes, comparative medicine and Emmy, Tony, and Webby award– him a gentleman, mentor, and Wisconsin Alumni worldviews of acupuncture winning and –nominated song- friend.” Schroeder, of Moyock, Association, 650 practitioners, Claire Monod writer, artist, director, produc- North Carolina, is retired from North Lake Street, Cassidy ’65, MS’68, PhD’73 er, collector, and consummate school-band conducting but still Madison, WI of Bethesda, Maryland, can party thrower Allee (Alta) 53706-1476 conducts and composes for the enlighten you. She was the first Willis ’69 returned to Motown Hampton Roads Metro Band and research scientist to work in an in 2013 from the bright lights is the official photographer of acupuncture school, where her of Hollywood to begin a three- artifacts for the Hampton Roads DEATH nationwide survey of acupunc- part artist/city collaboration, NOTICES AND Naval Museum. NAME, ture-user satisfaction was a all profits from which support None of that proverbial ADDRESS, global first. This led her to the arts projects in Detroit. Part one grass is growing under the feet TELEPHONE, field of complementary and was recording The D — music of Roger Nichols MS’59, AND EMAIL alternative medicine. She served and videos of six thousand–plus PhD’64, a University of Arizo- UPDATES on several National Institutes of citizens and celebs singing at na professor emeritus of history alumnichanges@ Health panels and became a fifty-plus city locations — as the who lives in Tucson. In fall uwalumni.com diplomate of acupuncture, unofficial theme song of Motor 2014, he held a Fulbright Visit- Alumni Changes, practicing clinician, author, City’s reinvention. Part two was ing Research Chair in History Wisconsin Alumni and, today, executive editor of shooting the documentary Allee at the University of Calgary, and Association, 650 the Journal of Alternative and Willis Loves Detroit. In October, the second edition of his book North Lake Street, Complementary Medicine. she completed the third piece: American Indians in U.S. History Madison, WI Kay Jarvis-Sladky ’65 a sing-along at the Detroit Insti- was published. Since then, the 53706-1476 of Middleton, Wisconsin, is the tute of Arts. Willis’s musical sixth edition of his coauthored Toll free 888-947- immediate past president of the The Color Purple has also begun work Natives and Strangers: 2586 (WIS-ALUM) University League, a nonprofit its revival on Broadway. A History of Ethnic Americans that raises scholarship funds has also appeared. for UW-Madison students — 70s to the tune of $150,000 granted Jim Haberstroh ’70, JD’75 60s in 2014–15. Her activity in the of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin — The Rockford [Illinois] Art league came in retirement, after the alumni-board president of Museum hosted Phyllis teaching Spanish and serving as the Sigma Phi Society’s Alpha Bramson: In Praise of Folly — the world language chair at Mad- of Wisconsin chapter — shared A Retrospective, 1985–2015 this ison’s La Follette High School. that the Sigma Phi fraternity

On Wisconsin 49 at the UW has marked a century and his latest book is Engines September with executive of owning and caring for the of Change: A History of the director Rick Newman beautiful Bradley House at American Dream in Fifteen Cars. JD’79 at the helm. He most 106 North Prospect Avenue. Late-sixties Peace Corps ALUM WHAT? recently practiced consumer The National Historic Landmark service in Kenya sparked Joe Are you confused law at the Connecticut firm was designed by famed Chicago Lurie MA’73’s love of cultures about what to of Adelman Hirsch & Newman. architect Louis Sullivan, and the and languages. It also launched call yourself as a The museum houses a digi- chapter, with help from alumni his career in international graduate? You’re tal-information clearinghouse, and friends, rebuilt areas that education and a twenty-year not alone! One historical displays, and inter- were damaged by a 1972 fire. stint as executive director of male graduate is active exhibits. Future plans an alumnus; one Now in his thirtieth year at UC-Berkeley’s International female grad is include outreach, educational , Steven House, a cultural center and an alumna. The programming, and a full-sized Schinke ’70, MS’72, PhD’75 residence where an endowed plural alumni, courtroom where lawyers can directs online initiatives for its doctoral fellowship now honors which is often reenact landmark cases. School of Social Work, occupies Lurie’s service and current sta- mistakenly used the D’Elbert and Selma Keenan tus as executive director emeri- in a singular 80s Chair, and provides leadership tus. His new book is Perception sense, refers to Felicitations to Doug Farnsley to Columbia’s online team. He’s and Deception: A Mind-Opening the members LLM’80: the proud holder of of an all-male also earned the Online Learning Journey Across Cultures. group or a mixed a Distinguished Alumni Award Consortium’s 2015 Excellence in November 1 was, we hope, group of male and from the University of Louisville Online Teaching Award. When a happy retirement day for female grads. [Kentucky]’s Brandeis School Schinke teaches online — and, Jessie Knight Jr. MBA’75. He Use alumnae for of Law. The partner at Stites & he says, “with all due respect was the executive vice president the members of Harbison in Louisville focuses on to Columbia” — he displays his of external affairs for Sempra an all-female civil trial work and is president Bucky pennant prominently. Energy in San Diego, the chair of graduate group. of the Kentucky Bar Association. Joanne Grady Huskey Southern California Gas Compa- Former UW Marching Band has been busy. She’s the ny and San Diego Gas & Electric, drummer ’72 X-PLANATION Dave Jewell ’80 cofounder of Global Adjust- a former president and CEO of An x preceding played alongside Jamie Byers ments and the American Inter- the San Diego Regional Cham- a degree year ’82, MBA’83, who, while national School of Chennai, both ber of Commerce, and a former indicates that the attending law school at the in India. She’s the cofounder of commissioner for the California person did not UW, drowned in Lake Mendota. the I LIVE 2 LEAD International Public Utilities Commission. complete, or has To honor Byers, Jewell had a young women’s leadership The board of the Urban not yet complet- W emblem added to a snare program and was the longtime League of Greater Madison has ed, that degree at drum to be used by the lead international director of VSA bestowed its prestigious 2015 UW-Madison. snare player each year, and an Arts at the Kennedy Center, Whitney M. Young Jr. Awards additional “W snare” has since both in Washington, DC. She’s on the YWCA of Madison and been added to the drum line. the author of The Unofficial Dip- Jonathan Gramling ’79, the Jewell, of Anaheim, California, lomat and now the coauthor of publisher and editor of the is a marketing communications Make It in India. Is it any won- Capital City Hues newspaper. manager at the Yamaha Corpo- der that Encore.org chose her Says the organization’s board “I’ve helped ration of America. as a 2014 Purpose Prize Fellow? chair, “Jon’s life has been dedi- individuals Arthur Pasquarella Huskey has lived in China, India, cated to the cause of civil rights. and large MS’80 is working to raise Kenya, Taiwan, and now Bethes- He is a fierce advocate for racial awareness about kidney disease da, Maryland, as the spouse of a justice and a tireless worker companies and its risk factors as the senior foreign-service officer. for the cause.” President’s patent National Kidney Foundation’s Detroit and its auto indus- Awards for 2015 have gone to everything new chair. With a family history try have been on the mind of Carol Peterson Gaines ’93 from com- of kidney disease — and as a Paul Ingrassia MA’73 during as the league’s Exceptional 2010 donor for his brother — his thirty-plus years as a Wall Community Collaborator and to plex chem- he also remains a passionate Street Journal and Dow Jones C. (Charles) Wade Harrison ical cata- advocate for organ donation. reporter, editor, executive, JD’07 for distinguished service. lysts … to Pasquarella is the COO and Detroit bureau chief, Dow Jones Winsted, Connecticut, dog collars, executive VP of Equus Capital Newswires president, and 1993 is home to the American Partners, a national real-estate corecipient for his Museum of Tort Law. Founded toys, and investment company based in reporting on . by consumer-protection pioneer other ideas.” Philadelphia. He’s now the managing editor of Ralph Nader and focusing on Jeffrey Wendt ’81 Hillary Anschel Ross the Thomson news and wrongful injury law, the nation’s ’80’s expertise as an execu- business-information service, only law museum opened in tive-search consultant has led

50 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 Recognition Raney Aronson-Rath ’92 COURTESY OF to a promotion to principal in the Oak Brook, Illinois, office of the executive-search firm Witt/Kieffer. She specializes FRONTLINE in recruiting physicians and clinicians for senior-level informatics, analytics, research, quality, IT, and chief medical information officer posts. As part of a “second-act career,” Jeff Roznowski ’80 is an adjunct lecturer at the Milwaukee School of Engineer- ing and has earned its 2015 Johnson Controls Part-Time Faculty Award. He’s also an alderperson in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, and a cofounder and president of the Wisconsin A NEW ERA FOR FRONTLINE Wireless Association. It takes real diplomacy to seek truth behind the Ebola crisis in West Africa At age fifty,Stacey or famine in South Sudan. Raney Aronson-Rath ’92 is up to the task. Wasserman Horowitz ’81 Aronson-Rath is at the pinnacle of journalism of San Mateo, California, re- as the second-ever executive producer of the PBS investigative series charged her career by launching Frontline. She took the top spot in 2015 and has been recognized for Shopping for a Change (SFAC), driving innovation behind the series’ respected documentary journalism. a nonprofit online seller of A recent look at Ebola in West Africa marked the program’s inaugural handmade gifts that give back to report in virtual reality — a big step in Frontline’s expansion into new those who crafted them. SFAC storytelling frontiers. partners with sixty-plus artisan “We’re trying to tell some of our hardest stories in virtual reality,” groups in thirty countries, work- Aronson-Rath says of the presentation style, shot and produced to ing primarily with women from provide a 360-degree, immersive experience when viewers use a spe- economically disadvantaged cial cardboard device paired with a smartphone. “Sometimes being areas, to help provide jobs, busi- immersed in an environment that you can never yourself go to can really ness education, and profits to help you understand the world better.” fund local improvement projects. That’s the mindset that Aronson-Rath had when leaving home in rural The nonprofit National Vermont for UW-Madison, anticipating a career as an international diplo- Association of Patent Prac- mat. She double-majored in history and South Asian studies and learned titioners (NAPP) now boasts Hindi and Urdu alongside international students. patent attorney and NAPP board “I wanted to be fluent in multiple languages, and travel the world, member Jeffrey Wendt ’81 as and live overseas, and have that access to the rest of the world,” she its 2015–16 president. He says says.But she experienced a decisive career-path twist: the newsroom of his career and current prac- of the Daily Cardinal, where, as a freshman city-desk reporter, her editor tice at the Wendt Firm in The often pushed her to “go make it better.” The Cardinal was just the start of Woodlands, Texas, “I’ve helped what would be Aronson-Rath’s many collaborations with fellow Wiscon- individuals and large companies sin journalists, including Pulitzer Prize winners ’66, patent everything from complex ’75, and her then-editor, the late ’90. chemical catalysts … to dog “I think a lot of us who grew up at the Cardinal then went into serious collars, toys, and other ideas.” journalism because we saw the potential as young people,” recalls The new state geologist Aronson-Rath, who went from a postgraduation reporting gig in Taiwan and director of the Wisconsin to roles at ABC News, , MSNBC, and, in 2007, to Geological and Natural Histo- Frontline as a senior producer. ry Survey is Ken Bradbury Today she is headquartered at WGBH-TV in Boston, where she lives PhD’82. He’s also on the with her husband, NPR correspondent Arun Rath, and their two young faculties of UW-Madison and children. Aronson-Rath says anyone who wants to understand the world the UW-Extension and serves better should be watching Frontline. on many state and national “We essentially tell you in a deeper way what’s happening, and we boards. Being an outdoor kind make sense of it for you,” she says. “Or, we tell you it makes absolutely of guy, Bradbury has skied the no sense, and this is why.” Birkebeiner twenty-eight times KATE KAIL DIXON ’01, MA’07

On Wisconsin 51 Recognition Scott Wilhelm ’01 JACQUES NKINZINGABO (and counting), hiked the entire Appalachian Trail, and earned the 2015 Distinguished Alumni Award from the UW-Madison Department of Geoscience, among many other honors. Richard Cates Jr. PhD’83 and Daniel Bloom ’06 reached the 19,341-foot summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in August. Besides the breathtaking views, Cates was taken with the rich diversity of people whom they met: “It has always been so rewarding for me to have opportunities to meet and work with people from VA VA VAYANDO cultures that are so very differ- Scott Wilhelm ’01 (third from left, above, with Poppin’ Chris [Hirwa Chris- ent from ours.” He directs the tian], Aminatha Murekatete, and Grace Mukeshimana) has a knack for for Beginning collecting eclectic experiences abroad. Not long after he began volun- Dairy and Livestock Farmers, teering with the Peace Corps in El Salvador, his town had to be evacuat- is the associate director of the ed when a neighboring volcano roared to life. He’s also got a small and Center for Integrated Agricul- underperforming investment in a herd of Kenyan sheep. tural Systems, and is a UW Now he’s in Rwanda, curating your next adventure with his startup, senior lecturer in soil science. Vayando. Bloom is married to Cates’s In the Peace Corps, Wilhelm and another volunteer, Jason Seagle, daughter, Shannon Cates would meet on their days off to share beers and the comforts of English Bloom ’05. conversation. They saw tourists, but only on the well-worn paths laid Mike Mahnke ’84 and forth in the Lonely Planet guidebook. These paint-by-numbers travelers Tim Cullen ’93 have, says had no idea what they were missing, so what if Wilhelm and Seagle could Cullen, “realized the dream of connect them with the ingenious entrepreneurs back in their villages? a lifetime” by purchasing the After the Corps, the pair kept up a dialogue across continents, and it longtime Verona, Wisconsin, kept circling around their passion for unique travel experiences. In late marketing firm Roundhouse 2014, they raised $15,000 through Indiegogo to launch Vayando.com, (now Roundhouse Partners). a website that connects travelers with small farmers and local crafts- Mahnke, its senior vice presi- people. Wilhelm left his steady paycheck and boarded a plane to Africa. dent, has long moonlighted as Now he’s built an enchanting itinerary for the curious traveler. Fashion the PA voice of design in a small, urban tailoring shop? Take in the local boxing scene or Stadium and the Kohl Center; get a lesson in African hip-hop dancing? Learn how coffee gets processed and Cullen, the firm’s president, or get buzzed while beekeeping with traditional log hives? Travelers can is also president of the world-fa- do all of that and more. mous (truly!) Rock Aqua Jays The online startup is potentially life changing for microentrepreneurs Water Ski Club in Janesville, such as Samuel Muhayimana on Kumugongwe Island in Lake Kivu. Now Wisconsin. twenty-eight, he was orphaned during the Rwandan genocide but grew Liz (Mary Elizabeth) up a dairy farmer like his parents. A few $20 Vayando bookings double his Miller Dawes ’85 and income for the month. (Robert) Scott Dawes ’84 “I’ve seen the silverback gorillas that most tourists come to see, which created the Robert Connor is $700 for one hour,” says Wilhelm. “They’re spectacular, but I had just as Dawes Foundation to honor much fun hanging out with Samuel, who has cows. And they swim across their son, Connor, a promis- the lake!” ing crew athlete, following his While Vayando feeds a burgeoning interest in traditional home death. The foundation funds economics, it also balances modern and traditional livelihoods. By day, pediatric-brain-cancer research, travelers can see what it’s like to be a web developer in a thriving African care, and development projects city. By night, they can experience moonlight fishing in a handmade boat. and has become the largest of Vayando is currently booking experiences in Costa Rica and Rwanda, its kind in Australia, where the but Wilhelm hopes to grow by opening it up to Peace Corps volunteers Daweses live. In October, UW and spreading the word among local artisans. “It’s my job to find really rowing coaches Chris Clark neat people doing neat things,” he says. “It doesn’t get better than that.” and Bebe Bryans and their ERIK NESS Stanford counterparts lent their

52 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 talents and teams to “race” one his latest post as VP of news at hundred-year-old Ein Gedi hundred kilometers on rowing Fox Sports 1. He began his TV scroll, found inside a holy ark machines in the inaugural, live- career at KAAL in Austin, near the Dead Sea. The badly streamed Connor’s Erg Chal- “It has al- Minnesota — the birthplace burned animal-skin scroll could lenge as a fundraiser and tribute. of Spam (the tinned meat, not not be unrolled, but, working Since 1973, the Interna- ways been the annoying emails) — with from x-ray scans, the software tional Crane Foundation has so reward- his wife, Angela Cushman unrolled it virtually to reveal engaged in research, breeding ing for me Dallman ’89, and Joe Champ its Hebrew text from Leviti- and reintroduction, landscape to have ’85, MA’93 of Fort Collins, Col- cus. Seales is a professor and conservation and restoration, orado. Angela is celebrating her chair of the computer science education, and internation- opportuni- twelfth season as the executive department at the University of al collaboration to safeguard ties to meet producer of the DIY and HGTV Kentucky in Lexington. cranes from its headquarters in and work networks’ Bath Crashers. Colonel Paul Olsen ’89 Baraboo, Wisconsin — home to with people Darren Bush ’88, the has retired from the U.S. Army the only complete, living collec- owner and chief paddling evan- Corps of Engineers. During his tion of all fifteen species in the from cul- gelist of Rutabaga Paddlesports twenty-six years of service, he’s world. Among those carrying tures that in Monona, Wisconsin, notes held leadership posts in com- out this good work are director are so very proudly — and rightfully so — bat units in Europe, the Middle of conservation medicine Barry different that his store is among Outdoor East, and the United States, with Hartup ’85, MS’89, DVM’93; from ours.” Insight magazine’s 2015 Great 8 decorated service in Somalia, grants manager Becky Abel in Outdoors: one of the nation’s Bosnia, and Iraq; completed ’86, MS’93; president and CEO Richard Cates Jr. top eight “one-store wonders” strategic-planning assignments Rich Beilfuss ’88, MS’90, PhD’83 outdoor-specialty retailers. It’s with army HQ and the Depart- MS’91, PhD’02; Fengshan Li also been lauded repeatedly by ment of Defense; and command- PhD’97, based in China as the Canoe and Kayak, Outside, and ed the Engineer District of leader of the Yangtze and black- Sea Kayaker magazines. Ruta- Norfolk, Virginia. He’s now necked crane programs; director baga runs the largest flat-water leading sea-level-rise research of marketing and communica- paddling school in the nation; efforts at Old Dominion Univer- tions Anne Sayers ’99; and a sea kayak symposium in Wis- sity in Norfolk. Olsen; his broth- Triet Tran MS’99, PhD’99, consin’s Door County; and the er, retired lieutenant Charles based in Vietnam as the South- Canoecopia event in Madison. Olsen ’87, MBA’00 of Hart- east Asia program coordinator. Steven (Joshua) Lundin land, Wisconsin; and his father, Mark Shanda MFA’85 ’88’s darkly humorous novel, retired colonel Ralph Olsen has been active with the United The Manipulator, claims to be ’51, MD’54 of West Bend, Wis- States Institute for Theatre the “world’s first satirical techno consin, were all commissioned Technology since 1986, was noir business thriller,” and we from the UW’s ROTC program. named one of its fellows in believe it! The scarily prophetic The women’s apparel compa- 2012, and is now beginning his look at what could happen to a ny Body Bark was the brainchild three-year term as its president. media-obsessed culture such as of Catherine Haskell Poirier Shanda is a professor of theater ours took first place in the 2014 ’89 in Denver in 2008. Today, design and technology and a for- Somerset Award satire category as its president, she designs a mer dean of arts and humanities of the international Chanticleer made-in-America product line at The Ohio State University in Book Reviews Blue Ribbon that comprises curve-hugging, Columbus; a leader in evaluating Writing Contest. Lundin is a layerable tops crafted of soft, college tenure, especially for pop-culture anthropologist, cul- sustainable beech wood fiber. technical theater faculty; and ture editor for About Time and While on a sales trip, Poirier the coauthor of two books with WristWatch magazines, and the met Susan Bernsen Ostrov UW-Madison professor emeritus award-winning chief hunter and ’85, the new owner of Over the Dennis Dorn ’70 of Middleton, gatherer at BIGfrontier Com- Top boutique in Highland Park, Wisconsin. Shanda is also over- munications Group, a Chicago Illinois, and they engaged their seeing Ohio State’s $200 million media-strategy boutique. Badger creativity to host a trunk Arts District Project. Archaeologists at the show at the shop in September. We’re going to state for Israel Antiquities Authority are Suzanne Vernon PhD’89 the record that KCBS and KCAL hailing Brent Seales MS’88, is a leading researcher of myal- — CBS-owned TV stations PhD’91’s finding as the “great- gic encephalomyelitis/chronic in Los Angeles — are darned est discovery since the Dead Sea fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). lucky to have Bill Dallman Scrolls.” But why? Seales has Through the Salt Lake City– ’86 as their new vice president created software that made it based Bateman Horne Center, and news director, fresh from possible to read the fifteen- she’s working to quantify the

On Wisconsin 53 ME/CFS diagnostic criteria selected Deborah McCulloch of experience as a landscape recommended by the National ’91, MSW’92 as its new exec- architect have focused on the Academy of Sciences’ Institute utive director. The comprehen- analysis and conservation of of Medicine. This is a necessary WELCOME, ALL! sive mental-health system pro- cultural landscapes — particu- step toward creating diagnostic The Wisconsin vides treatment for people who larly those in the public arena. tests for this debilitating and Alumni Asso- are incarcerated in New York’s UW students love Lake Men- life-threatening disease, esti- ciation (WAA) state and county correctional dota, but water recreation also mated to affect up to 2.5 million encourages systems. A national expert in introduces danger. Enter the diversity, inclu- people nationally, most of whom sivity, nondis- sex-offender treatment, McCull- UW Lifesaving Station, staffed remain undiagnosed. crimination, and och was previously the execu- by trained rescuers who work to participation tive director of Wisconsin’s prevent accidents and respond 90s by all alumni, Sexually Violent Persons Pro- to tragedies from a watchtow- The UW’s School of Journalism students, and gram and superintendent of the er that former UW president and Mass Communication lured friends of Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Charles Van Hise ordered built six big-hitters to campus in UW-Madison in Center in Mauston, Wisconsin. after the 1908 drowning of two October to share with students its activities. From her base in New York, students. Assistant supervi- their strategies for success. The Andrea Baske Sullivan ’91 sor Sean Geib ’97 says that “Finding Your Creative Outlet, is working to integrate market- although the team works closely and Making a Living Doing It” WISCONSIN ing and business-development with the Hoofer Sailing Club, ALUMNI presentation featured Andrew ASSOCIATION activities across a global net- police, and sheriffs, “The crazy Cohen ’90, the managing edi- (WAA) work as the new chief marketing thing about our job” is that, for tor of publications and a senior MEMBERSHIP officer of Interbrand, an Omni- a lake and student body of this writer for the UC-Berkeley If you’re already com-owned brand consultancy. size, “there aren’t any other School of Law; Steve Dolin- a member, we In 2003, Ernest Darkoh [campus] places like us.” sky ’90, a TV and radio food [heart] you! If ’93 of Germantown, Maryland, Diversity MBA magazine journalist known as the “Hungry you’re not, please cofounded BroadReach Health- has named Foley and Lardner Hound” to Chicagoans; Chicago consider the care to advance approaches partner Jessica Lochmann nifty reasons to entertainment and sports pho- become one at that improve access to quality ’98 to its 2015 list of the Top tographer Todd Rosenberg uwalumni.com/ health care for populations in 100 under 50 Executive Leaders. ’90; Barry Baum ’92, who membership/ need. BroadReach Analytics has She works in the transactional oversees business communi- benefits, and since been added to collect and and securities practice in the cations for the Brooklyn Nets, then if you’re analyze the metrics associated law firm’s Milwaukee office. Brooklyn Sports & Entertain- so inclined, you with the social determinants of Congratulations to Kristi ment, and Nassau Events Cen- can join the WAA health and well-being, and the Luzar ’98: she’s been promot- ter; Mike Bresnahan ’93, who community at firm has initiated pilot programs ed to executive director of the covers the Lakers for the L.A. uwalumni.com/ in Africa as well. BroadReach Milwaukee-based Urban Eco- membership. Times; and award-show and TV has earned a Schwab Founda- nomic Development Association writer and executive producer tion for Social Entrepreneurship of Wisconsin, an organization Josh Bycel ’93 of Los Angeles. 2015 Social Entrepreneur of the dedicated to the professional Bobbi (Roberta) Cordano Year Award and an invitation to enrichment of those who work JD’90 is the new president of participate in TEDMED’s 2015 in the field of community and Gallaudet University in Wash- Hive, an immersive experience . ington, DC. Federally chartered for entrepreneurs. As the associate director in 1864, it is the world’s only Anthony Rose ’93 of West of international program four-year, liberal arts university Orange, New Jersey, is applying development for Road Scholar whose entire roster of programs his depth of banking experience in Amherst, Massachusetts, and services is designed for stu- to Marakon, a management Adelia Bussey Pope ’98 has dents who are deaf or who have consulting practice within created the new Living and hearing impairments. Cordano, Charles River Associates, which Learning series for travelers who is deaf, was most recent- provides litigation, regulato- who want to reside and study ly the VP of programs for the ry, financial, and management abroad for extended periods Amherst H. Wilder Foundation consulting. He’s also an adjunct in independent but supported and has been an assistant dean professor at Columbia Business ways. It launched in Florence at the University of Minnesota’s School in New York City. and has expanded to Paris, Humphrey Schoool of Public Brava, Brenda Williams Berlin, Seville, Aix-en-Provence, Affairs and a Minnesota assis- MA’95! She was recently and Montréal. Road Scholar is a tant attorney general. promoted to senior associate not-for-profit educational travel The Central New York at Quinn Evans Architects in organization for adults. Psychiatric Center has Madison. Her twenty-five years When Kate Griffin Young

54 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 Recognition Regina Davan ’03 ANDY MANIS ’98 received a very grim diagno- sis of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome for the sons she was carrying, she and her husband found the Fetal Health Founda- tion, a national nonprofit that guided them to specialized med- ical help. At twenty-eight weeks, she gave birth to the tiny twins, who struggled with many health challenges as babies but are now doing well in school. Young, of Littleton, Colorado, participat- ed in her first half-Ironman in September to raise money for the Fetal Health Foundation. The Wisconsin District Attorneys Association (WDAA) QUEEN OF KILTS has lauded two fine Badgers. Regina “Jeanie” Davan ’03 (center) first enrolled at UW-Madison as a Michelle Biese Viste JD’99, pre-optometry student, but she found herself stitching a new career path WDAA’s Wisconsin Deputy years later. She had left school to become a web designer, and then she District Attorney of the Year, worked in an optometry office before deciding to finish her degree. The had been deputy district attor- semester after she returned to campus as an adult student, one of her ney for Dane County and is now two sons was diagnosed with leukemia. an assistant attorney general for While looking for classes with flexible attendance requirements, the Wisconsin Department of Davan discovered the theatre and drama department’s costume design Justice. Peter Tempelis ’01, program, and it seemed like the fit. She creditsGail Brassard, JD’06, MPA’06, Milwaukee an associate professor of costume design, and Jim Greco, the costume County assistant district attor- studio supervisor, for guiding her journey to graduation. “My son was sick ney and head of its domestic for three and a half years as I was going through school,” she says. “They violence unit, is WDAA’s gave me so much help and leeway. I knew from the start that they Wisconsin Assistant District believed in me.” Attorney of the Year. Davan earned her degree the same month that her son finished treatment. She was already taking on sewing projects on the side when 00s a friend asked her to create a kilt, and the idea for a new business was Two ’00s grads are success- born. “I just became obsessed with it,” she says. fully climbing their academic Since 2006, Alt.Kilt has established a thriving — if surprising — ladders. Alicia Johnson ’01 business as the only custom, contemporary kilt maker in the world. The has received tenure at Maca- company, now one of only four commercial kilt makers in the country, lester College in Saint Paul, has grown to a team of five that makes some 350 kilts each year. Davan Minnesota. She teaches in the puts the finishing touches on all of them, and she personally handles the Mathematics, Statistics, and more challenging ones, such as those made from leather or Kevlar. Computer Science Department “One gentleman sent me his karate [uniform],” she says, recalling one and researches Markov Chain of her favorite projects. “I turned that into a kilt with a custom pocket for Monte Carlo methods and their his nunchakus.” application in Bayesian statis- Who’s buying these one-of-a-kind kilts? A wide range of (mostly) men, tics. Travis Mountain ’04, she says, including pipes-and-drums teams, steampunk aficionados, MS’08 has been named an gamers, nightclub owners, and more. Most are based on the U.S. coasts, assistant professor of agricul- though Davan also ships regularly to New Zealand and Australia. Many tural and applied economics in are repeat buyers. “I have guys who have bought ten, twelve kilts,” she Virginia Tech’s College of Ag- says. “I have some customers who no longer wear pants.” The kilts start riculture and Life Sciences and at around $200 and can go as high as $700, depending on customization. concentrates on the economic Davan proudly spots her creations at various events such as trade well-being of households and shows, comic cons, and steampunk gatherings — and on the street. communities in Virginia as an “I like coming up with new designs and seeing what works,” she says. Extension specialist. “And I can stop conversation anywhere by saying what I do for a living.” Fans of the Oshkosh, SANDRA KNISELY ’09, MA’13 Wisconsin–based Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and

On Wisconsin 55 its annual AirVenture fly-in can in Bend, Oregon. Lastly, John HBO’s The Leftovers. The feel great knowing that Bryan Calewarts ’09, MAcc’10 and Chicago-based actress reprised Phillip ’01, EAA’s new senior Paul Zimmer JD’15 have her role in the series in October. business-development manager, “I experi- joined O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, Benna Wise-Levine ’06 is on the job to make what the DeJong & Laing in Milwaukee. writes, “I experienced a meta- association calls “the world’s enced a Laura Delaney Roessler morphosis at the University of most engaged community of avi- metamor- ’03 and her mother, a forty-year Wisconsin” — one that allowed ation enthusiasts” even better. phosis at the master plumber(!), are wine her to explore her voice through Michael Stadler ’01, University of makers at the family-owned writing and discover her passion MD’06 is carrying out a project Elmaro Vineyard in Trempea- for volunteering. Eventually, she called “Utilization of Care Wisconsin.” leau, Wisconsin, who have moved to Rwanda to volunteer Pathways to Decrease Surgical Benna Wise- garnered numerous internation- at the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Readmissions” as one of five Levine ’06 al awards. Their top prize thus Village, a home and school for 2015–16 visiting scholars of the far — dubbed a “stunning upset” orphans and vulnerable youth. American Board of Medical Spe- — is a Sweepstakes Award from Inspired by the ways in which cialties Research and Education the 2015 Long Beach Grand Cru computers and the Internet en- Foundation. The professional- international wine competition. hanced her Rwandan students’ development program facilitates Out of a thousand-plus entries, it lives, Wise-Levine joined Google research to improve patient care was Elmaro’s 2014 West Prairie in San Francisco as a technology and exposes scholars to broad White — an “unusual varietal industry strategist and supports aspects of health care delivery. made from the Geisenheim the youth village from afar. Stadler is an assistant professor grape” — that swept the whites. ChildServ, one of the in the Department of Otolar- “What the The U.S. Department of Chicago area’s oldest nonprofits yngology and Communication turducken State has selected Eric Wen- working with underserved chil- Sciences at the Medical College ninger ’03 for its ten-month dren and families, has promoted of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. is up with English Language Teaching Catherine Enright ’07 from Although Chicagoan Jason tradition?” Fellowship in Hanoi, Vietnam. health coordinator to director Berta ’02 and some of his Ethan Krupp ’12 Through projects developed by of early childhood. ChildServ mates on Team PSP Logistics U.S. embassies in eighty-plus uses a comprehensive, tailored had no sailing experience, they developing countries, language service program that helps kids trained rigorously before set- professionals work directly with to build and sustain better lives. ting sail aboard a seventy-foot local educators to enact signifi- Enright also served in the Peace ocean-racing yacht this fall in cant, sustainable enhancements Corps in Malawi, Africa. the tenth iteration of Clipper to the way that English is taught Joseph Berg ’08 complet- Round the World: a forty-thou- at academic institutions abroad. ed his residency at Broadlawns sand-nautical-mile amateur Brian Jordan ’05 — Medical Center in Des Moines, sailboat race. Berta participated as Caselli Jordan — is making Iowa, in June and began his in the first leg, from London to “conscious acoustic music” in practice as a family-medicine Rio de Janeiro. Jessica Blood- Philadelphia as part of the duo physician at Upland Hills good ’02 of Chicago let us know City Love. Hip-hop, harmonies, Health’s new clinic in Mount about Berta’s grand adventure. guitar, and cajón blend to, he Horeb, Wisconsin, in August. Here’s where some ’00s says, “help in some small way to He also sees patients at the legal eagles have landed … heal some of the current divides hospital in nearby Dodgeville. Daniel Ark ’03, JD’07; in our country.” In an attempt A Big Red high five goes to Valerie Vidal JD’07; and to go full time with his music, Teach For America (TFA) alum- Jonathan Hackbarth JD’08 OBITUARIES Jordan plans to offer student na Mitra Jalali Nelson ’08. — all in the Milwaukee office of Badger Insider, workshops and perform around As one of TFA’s 2015–16 Capitol Quarles & Brady — have made the Wisconsin the world, with an assist from Hill Fellows, she’s working in partner. Chicagoan Alison Alumni Asso- his UW education in Italian and national policy and in ciation’s (WAA) Crane ’03 has been elevated to thrice-yearly study-abroad experiences. City the office of Representative principal at Jackson Lewis, and magazine for Love is spreading love with its Niki Tsongas of Massachu- Eric Barber JD’04 is a new its members, new album, Come True. setts, gaining legislative expe- insurance partner in Michael is home to the Rolling Stone magazine rience, and taking advantage Best & Friedrich’s Madison vast majority of opined in September that of professional development, office. Lavelle Law in Palatine, obituary listings Carrie Coon MFA’06 was mentorship, and networking Illinois, has welcomed attorney of WAA members “robbed” when an Emmy nomi- opportunities. Nelson has taught Chance Badertscher ’07, and and friends. nation was not forthcoming for middle school social studies in paralegal Amanda Cárdenas her “haunted turn as mother- New Orleans and Minneapolis MS’08 is new to Jordan Ramis of-the-departed Nora Durst” in through TFA, helped to develop

56 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 Contribution Curtis Hinca JDx’16 educator training in educational equity, and worked to pass a school-funding referendum in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In August, David Olson MA’08 participated in the inaugural White House Demo Day: a time for entrepreneurs to present to President Obama and network with government agen- cies and other entrepreneurs. He’s the business development coordinator for Export Abroad, a software firm that helps clients to engage in international trade. The Madison Radicals professional ultimate Frisbee team made it to the American Ultimate Disc League’s cham- pionship game in August (yay!) but lost to the San Jose Spiders (sad sigh). Badgers abound on the team: Tom Annen ’09; Andrew Drews ’09; Seth Meyer MA’09, PhD’12; WAY TO PAY IT FORWARD David Wiseman ’12; Kelsen Long before Curtis Hinca JDx’16 set foot in the University of Wisconsin Alexander ’13; Thomas Law School, he was on a path to serve others: after high school, he Coolidge ’13; Brian Hart ’13; enlisted in the air force and served on active duty for six years. During Patrick Shriwise MS’13, his service, Hinca was exposed to criminal justice issues and first con- PhDx’16; Colin Camp ’14; sidered attending law school as a way to continue to give back to the Peter Graffy MPHx’17; and community. Chris Wilen PhDx’18. And, At the UW, Hinca learned the ins and outs of investigation and legal the Radicals’ management in- research through an internship in the district attorney’s office and his cludes coach and co-owner Tim work with the Wisconsin Innocence Project (WIP). During his time at WIP, DeByl ’96, co-owners David he helped to exonerate an innocent man — and saw the value of per- Martin ’00 and Chad Coop- sistence and overcoming obstacles. Hinca is also an active volunteer in mans ’02, and assistant coach the school’s Pro Bono Program and helps clients with legal needs through Jacob Spiro ’00. Thanks to the Veterans Law Center: a free, walk-in legal clinic serving low-income Caitlin Cieslik-Miskimen veterans and their families. ’07, MA’14 — a UW PhD This hands-on experience proved useful when Hinca was offered candidate who’s researching the the exceptional opportunity to argue in front of the U.S. Court of Appeals history of ultimate Frisbee in for the Armed Forces, the nation’s highest military court. When the court Madison — for letting us know! made a special visit to the UW Law School, it permitted a student to argue on behalf of each side of the case as a friend of the court. Hinca 10s argued in support of the appellant in a Fourth Amendment search-and- From a field of more than six seizure case and got a glimpse of the challenges faced by appellate hundred scholars from re- attorneys. search institutions across India, Transformative educational experiences such as these enable the Subharati Ghosh PhD’10 UW Law School to attract remarkable students like Hinca. Donor support garnered the only award in the makes it possible to create student-centered education, fund the Veter- social sciences when the Nation- ans Law Center, and provide scholarships to the men and al Academy of Sciences of India women who have served our country. (NASI) and the Elsevier Corpo- For more information, visit allwaysforward.org. ration chose its NASI-Scopus Young Scientists for 2015. She’s an assistant professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai, specializing in the social determinants of health,

On Wisconsin 57 Contribution Lori Anderson ’79, MS’01, PhD’06 developmental disabilities, and severe mental illness. Miami University’s Earth Expeditions Global Field Program sent three Badgers on research adventures this summer as they pursue master’s degrees from the Oxford, Ohio, school. Rosemary Slick ’11 and Brittany Lumley ’12 stud- ied the ecosystems, flora, and fauna of Mexico’s Bahía de los Ángeles UNESCO World Heri- tage site and the Sea of Cortez, while Colleen Cosgrove ’12 dove into coral-reef ecology and marine-systems conservation at Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The cofounder of the outdoor-equipment company Hyde is (Hugh) Pat Hughes ’12 of Elm Grove, Wisconsin, who, a little bird tells us, lives by Hyde’s mission statement: “Infinite Possibilities, Innovative HELPING NURSES HELP KIDS Positivity, Live Passionately, For many kids, the school nurse may be the only health care professional Adventure Frequently, Always they see consistently. And the challenges many school nurses face are STAYRILED.” Hyde has creat- familiar to medical professionals everywhere: too little time, too few ed a new, nonbulky life jacket resources, and not enough opportunities for collaboration with peers. called the Wingman — intended As the national rate of children at risk for chronic health issues for use by everyone from triath- climbs, the role that school health services play will be critical to under- letes to surfers to those who fish standing and treating these illnesses. In order to prepare school nurs- — and Hughes is working to sell es to meet the demands of health care in an educational setting, Lori it through national retailers. Schumacher Anderson ’79, MS’01, PhD’06 has created the web-based Ethan Krupp ’12 asks program eSchoolCare. A clinical professor in UW-Madison’s School of the musical question, “What the Nursing, Anderson designed the program to be used to manage the care turducken is up with tradition?” of children with chronic health conditions such as asthma, severe aller- and explores what happens gies, diabetes, mental health issues, epilepsy, and cancer. when Thanksgiving and a eSchoolCare, which is currently in use throughout Wisconsin and Jewish bris coincide in The West Virginia, connects nurses with expertise from the UW-Madison Thanksgiving Circumcision: the School of Nursing and the American Family Children’s Hospital. There is new, original musical comedy immediate, step-by-step guidance for student care: checklists, photos, that he’s created with David videos, and links to community resources. Redick ’11. With book, lyrics, Helping kids to better manage their chronic health conditions music, and music direction by can make a substantial difference in their education and livelihood. Redick — a former UW Mad- Students with long-lasting health issues can miss as much as three Hatter who’s known as Davyd times the amount of school as healthy children. They are less likely to live Reddyk in artistic circles — up to their academic potential; they have lower odds of graduating from and book, lyrics, and production college or finding employment; and they are more likely to need public by Krupp — a former Wisconsin assistance due to lower incomes. Alumni Student Board member By investing in students’ well-being at an early age, we can ensure a — the show played at MCL brighter future for them and for their communities. Chicago Comedy Theater For more information, visit allwaysforward.org. throughout November.

Call her old fashioned (she’s been called worse), but Class Notes/Diver- sions editor Paula Wagner Apfelbach ’83 still believes in panty hose.

58 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 THERE’S A SPOT BY THE LAKE WITH YOUR NAME ON IT Jeff Miller, University Communications University Miller, Jeff COMING OCTOBER 2016 ALUMNI PARK 724 Langdon Street, Madison | alumnipark.comOn Wisconsin 59 Diversions

The end of slavery in In Shakespeare, Not America is often cred- Stirred: Cocktails for ited to discrete events Your Everyday Dramas, or actors, but Ira the hilariously named Berlin ’63, MS’66, libation and hors PhD’70 argues in The d’oeuvre recipes pair Long Emancipation: with doctored imag- The Demise of Slavery es from the Folger in the United States Shakespeare Library that it was a complex, and conjure the Bard’s nearly century-long characters in antidotes process that continues for life’s inevitable today. He’s a Distin- “tragedies.” Coauthor guished University Michelle Ephraim Professor at the MA’93, PhD’98 is University of Mary- an associate professor NUCLEAR CONSPIRACY land–College Park. of English at Worcester The title of director/editor Chad Gracia ’92’s debut [Massachusetts] documentary film —The Russian Woodpecker — Humans’ relationship Polytechnic Institute. invites so many questions, but, to food is complicated it turns out, it has nothing to do and difficult, but coau- Kersti Niebruegge with birds and everything to do thor Jean Kristeller ’03 tapped her own with Fedor Alexandrovich: an MS’78 offers practical experiences to write eccentric, Ukrainian artist who is advice in The Joy of The Zonderling, a investigating the 1986 Chernobyl Half a Cookie: Using comedy about a small- nuclear power plant disaster. Mindfulness to Lose town Midwesterner His conspiracy theory goes like Weight and End the who’s trying to pursue this: Soviet officials caused the meltdown to mask Struggle with Food. a New York City career. a failed plot to penetrate Western communications “Trigger” foods can She discovers that liv- systems (and minds?) using a massive radio trans- be mastered; flavors ing at The Zonderling, mitter — nicknamed “the Woodpecker” for the can be savored; and a century-old residen- pecking sound it made. Fantastical? Perhaps. But enough can be enough. tial hotel for women, the more Alexandrovich’s inquiries unnerve the old- The Indiana State has unexpected com- guard officials, the more credible his theory seems. University professor pensations and compli- The Boston-based Gracia has worked in New emerita of psychology cations. Niebruegge is York theater for nearly two decades as a producer, has also created the a researcher for Late dramaturge, and playwright, focusing on plays in National Institutes of Night with Seth Meyers verse. He was in Ukraine doing a theater project Health–funded Mind- in New York. when he met Alexandrovich, whom the film por- fulness-Based Eating trays as both protagonist and antagonist. Gracia Awareness Training. “They say, ‘Do what hopes it will enlighten audiences about Ukraine’s you love, and the mon- history and its difficulty shedding its Soviet past. A single phone call ey will follow.’ [We] And, modern-day tensions between Ukraine and links and transforms are extremely excited Russia give it renewed relevance and resonance. the lives of five Door to announce the begin- The Russian Woodpecker won the World County, Wisconsin, ning of our lifelong Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at the 2015 teens in Milwauke res- experiment: a case Sundance Film Festival; it’s one of Yahoo’s top forty ident Liza Goldberg study testing that idea!” movies of 2015; and it’s a nominee for a 2016 Film Wiemer ’86’s debut says UW tuba-perfor- Independent Spirit Award, among other honors, young-adult novel, mance grad student nominations, and best-ofs. Gracia and Alexan- Hello? Her characters Pat Doty ’14 about drovich showed it at the 2015 Wisconsin Film speak through narra- Merp Entertainment, Festival in Madison, and it opened in theaters and tion, free-verse poetry, the Madison-based as video-on-demand this fall. Indie film distributor screenplay format, and record label that he and FilmBuff has also bought the worldwide rights to it. illustrations about loss, his wife, former vocal Gracia said in a statement, “I’m excited to love, healing, and hope, performance major share Fedor’s incredible journey with audiences and the author speaks Brigid Schultz Doty around the world, who I’m sure will be as charmed to high school students ’13, have launched. by his character as they are stunned by his inves- nationwide about the Their debut CD is Dare tigation.” power of storytelling. to Entertain.

60 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 A special edition of In the course of our Theodore Jerome far-from-perfect lives, Cohen ’60, MS’61, why not celebrate the PhD’66’s young-adult “small, perfect mo- mystery/thriller, The ments” that we’re occa- Hypnotist, uses the sionally accorded? OpenDyslexicAlta Wall Street Journal typeface to make it sports columnist Jason more user friendly Gay ’92 of Brooklyn, for readers who have New York, explores dyslexia. The Lang- these moments in his horne, Pennsylvania, witty, thought-provok- author (pen name: Al- ing, and heartfelt Little yssa Devine) winks at Victories: Perfect Rules Badgers by including a for Imperfect Living, tale about evading UW which is rooted in the ALL ABOUT AGRICULTURE police on a winter night birth of his children and Few folks are as quintessentially “Wisconsin” as in 1961, which, he says, the death of his father. celebrated rural historian Jerry Apps ’55, MS’57, has a ring of truth to it. PhD’67, who splits his time between Madison and What is the role of his farm in Waushara County. A U.S. president’s on- the media in recent He’s had a career as a UW-Exten- the-job requirements cases involving race, sion agent, professor (now emeri- are in the news a lot police shootings, tus) of UW-Madison’s College of during election years, and government and Agricultural & Life Sciences, and but Larry Knutson corporate surveillance now full-time writer and cre- ’63 offers a richly illus- of citizens? Robert ative-writing instructor. He’s also trated chronicle of how Gutsche, Jr. ’06 ex- the subject of Wisconsin Public past presidents have plores this question and Television programs. spent their leisure time challenges perceptions The latest in Apps’s forty-plus books — in his coffee-table book, of how the news works memoirs about growing up on a Wisconsin farm Away from the White in Media Control: News and fiction, nonfiction, and children’s books about House: Presidential as an Institution of many facets of the state’s history — is Wisconsin Escapes, Retreats, and Power and Social Con- Agriculture: A History. But what about being the Vacations. The retired trol. He’s a journalist Dairy State? Well, Wisconsin has been a farming Washington, DC, au- and assistant professor state from its start — and it’s one of the nation’s thor spent thirty-seven of journalism at Florida most diverse agricultural states as well. years with the Associ- International Universi- Hailed as the first expansive volume on the ated Press. ty in Miami. subject in nearly a century, Apps’s book features first-person accounts from the settlement era to Former Badger mid- Adventure-filled, today and more than two hundred photos. It covers dle-distance running inspiring, and some- artisanal cheeses and cranberries, of course, but star, seven-time na- times disheartening: it also explores the state’s relationship with its tional title winner, and such are the forty-six terrain, weather, and natural resources to highlight three-time Olympian tales of working to Christmas trees, honey, cattle, goats, fur farming, Suzy Favor Ham- protect endangered beekeeping, maple syrup, ginseng, hemp, cherries, ilton ’91’s Fast Girl: species in No More sugar beets, mint, sphagnum moss, flax, and hops. A Life Spent Running Endlings: Saving Ethnic and pioneer settlement patterns also from Madness is a Species One Story at a play into Wisconsin’s agricultural profile, as do memoir about how Time. Allison Kleine changing technologies, ag research and education, her battle with mental Hegan ’10 of Pasade- government , and endeavors such as aqua- illness compelled her na, California, has edit- culture and urban farming. Finally, Apps contem- in competition and ed chapters by National plates ethical growing practices, sustainability, food led to a secret life as a Geographic Explorers, safety, and the potential effects of climate change. high-priced Las Vegas professors, activists, Wisconsin Agriculture is a giant undertaking, but escort. Now reclaiming and conservationists, then, would we expect any less from Jerry Apps? her life, she is deter- including seven who mined to raise aware- are UW affiliated. Fifty SALUTATIONS, BIBLIOPHILES! Check out the new UW-alumni ness and offer inspira- percent of the royalties section of Goodreads at goodreads.com/wisalumni for much tion to others. go to conservation. more news about books by Badger alumni and faculty.

On Wisconsin 61 WHERE

BELONG W

Stay connected, celebrate your UW spirit, and become a member of a special Badger community.

JOIN THE WISCONSIN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION® TODAY.

uwalumni.com/membership | 888-WIS-ALUM (947-2586)

62 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 STUDENT LOAN PAYMENTS MADE EASY

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* Variable Rate: 2.92% annual percentage rate (APR). 180 monthly payments of $6.87 per $1,000 borrowed. Borrowing $20,000 at 2.92% accrues $4,722.66 in uwcu.org | 800.533.6773 interest during the 15 year repayment term. Rate is variable and can change quarterly. For further information on rates and costs for the Variable Rate Student Loan Refinance, see the Application Truth in Lending Disclosure. You will be required to review the Application Truth in Lending Disclosure prior to submitting an On Wisconsin 63 application. The minimum loan amount is $5,000. Your interest rate will be determined by your credit score or your cosigner’s, whichever is greater. 64 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 On Wisconsin 65 Destination Allen Centennial Garden TOP: JEFF MILLER; BOTTOM, LEFT TO RIGHT: BRYCE RICHTER; WHS IMAGE ID 24047; UW-MADISON DIVISION OF RECREATIONAL SPORTS

Twenty-seven distinct spaces fill the horti- culture depart- ment’s public botanical garden. It is named for the late Oscar Allen PhD’30, a UW bacteriolo- gist, and his wife, Ethel ’28, MS’30, Ben Futa, who became the new The garden’s Victorian Gothic a renowned natu- The 2.5-acre garden is open year- director of Allen Centennial home, built in 1896 for the agri- ralist and former round, from dawn to dusk, and Garden last summer, wants the culture dean, is on the National faculty member. admission is free. Last year it be- living laboratory to inspire life- Register of Historic Places. It gan hosting yoga and tai chi class- long gardeners. “We don’t want is under renovation to become es, as well as student-run pop-up people to think of it like it’s be- a student center for the College cafes that serve lunches featuring hind a pane of glass.” of Agricultural & Life Sciences. produce from the garden.

66 On Wisconsin SPRING 2016 “It took courage... but it just felt right.” – Lisa Moore, living donor

Where hope and gratitude meet, courage thrives. Create hope by registering as an organ, tissue and eye donor and learning more about living donation. After 50 years, we can say that more than 13,000 transplant recipients are grateful. Thousands more are waiting. Be Hope. Learn how at uwhealth.org/HopeMeetGratitude

UW ORGAN AND TISSUE DONATION

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THANK YOU for moving the UW forward

THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

With the close of the Annual Campaign, we want to thank the 43,103 Badgers who contributed to the University of Wisconsin in 2015.

TOGETHER, YOU MADE A DIFFERENCE.

allwaysforward.org/annual-campaign