Onwisconsin Winter 2018
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FOR UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN–MADISON ALUMNI AND FRIENDS WINTER 2018 Hard Truth Why Chris Borland ’13 left football Page 22 Vision Students appear to walk on water at the flooded limnology pier on Lake Mendota. On one day in August, parts of Madison received 10 inches of rain, causing widespread damage. Photo by Jeff Miller On Wisconsin 3 Guest Rooms • Meeting Spaces Conference Packages • Event Rooms CONTACT US TODAY! 601 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53715 (608) 441-7117 • (877) 77-FLUNO/35866 Fluno.com Follow us: Contents Volume 119, Number 4 UW band director Mike Leckrone built Badger tradi- tions. See page 30. JEFF MILLER JEFF DEPARTMENTS 2 Vision 7 Communications 9 First Person Fred Milverstedt OnCampus 11 News 13 Bygone Bad News Badgers 14 Calculation Internet Underwater 17 Conversation Suicide Prevention 18 Exhibition Say Cheese 20 Contender Wisconsin FEATURES Quidditch 22 Walking Away from Football As a rising NFL star, Chris Borland ’13 did the unthinkable: he abruptly retired to preserve his health, bringing the unseen dangers of the sport to the forefront of American OnAlumni consciousness. By Preston Schmitt ’14 CHEWY’S & STELLA OF COURTESY 48 News 28 Raw Talent 51 Tradition Wheelhouse Studios What Marie Moody ’90 started in her Manhattan apartment 52 Class Notes has turned into a multimillion-dollar pet-food brand, all 59 Diversions thanks to a mutt named Chewy. By Kate Kail Dixon ’01, MA’07 60 Honor Roll Laurel Clark 61 Conversation Consummate 30 Stop at the Top Cinematographer Mike Leckrone is as synonymous with the Badger spirit as 66 Destination Memorial Library Bucky. This year he’s saying his good-byes after 50 years with the UW Marching Band. By Meg Jones ’84 36 Stem Cells at 20 It’s been two decades since the first human embryonic stem cell lines were derived at UW–Madison. What effect has the See page 28. discovery had on scientific research and human health? By Terry Devitt ’78, MA’85 38 The Hunt for Answers The country’s population of whitetail deer is at record numbers, and a UW scientist’s work grapples with what that means for the environment. By Jason Stein MA’03 JEFF MILLER JEFF 44 A Search for Simple Life Cover Adam Steltzner PhD’99 just wanted a regular job, so he Chris Borland, became an engineer — eventually, one of NASA’s top engi- October 8, 2018. Muggles at play. neers. Now he’s helping lead the search for life on Mars. Photo by Bryce See page 20. By John Allen Richter. On Wisconsin 5 MORE: REASONS TO JUMP AROUND You may have left Wisconsin, but hopefully it hasn’t left you. The places to visit, things to do and types of people that make this a great place to live are all still here. And now, thanks to a booming economy, abundant career opportunities and low cost of living, there’s never been a better time to come back and make a new life in the place you once called home. Wisconsin. It’s more you. THINK MAKE HAPPEN IN WISCONSIN® InWisconsin.com/Alumni 6 On Wisconsin WINTER 2018 Communications 20 YEARS ON JEFF MILLER JEFF Listen, Learn, Legislate the token black athlete (student) This is the kind of leadership and female researcher each got a we need [“Science Faction,” Fall page. The white men got several 2018 On Wisconsin]. Tommy features and pages. Irrelevant Thompson was a great governor. and behind the times. Listen to our scientists. Surround Ann Garvin MS’90, PhD’97 yourself with experts in many Whitewater, Wisconsin different areas and listen and learn and legislate. Roses for Richter Laura Weber I enjoyed the Pat Richter Con- versation in the Fall 2018 issue. I Offended by Caption graduated from the UW in 1962 I was offended by a caption in and landed my first big job at “It’s going to be really annoying, the Fall 2018 issue [“Play Time”]. Stanford University that fall. My The bowling section features a boyfriend (and now husband of but it’s not going to be a disas- 1944 photo captioned “U.S. Navy 50 years) was in grad school at ter.” Y2K fatalists would have sailors mansplain a bowling ball Madison and came to California been wise to listen to Robert to female students.” for what turned out to be the Irons, a former UW comput- Merriam-Webster [dictionary] most exciting Rose Bowl game er specialist who led campus definesmansplain as “to explain ever! efforts to update online sys- something to a woman in a With the UW far behind tems by January 1, 2000. Many condescending way that assumes in the third quarter, most fans feared that the dawn of the new she has no knowledge about the had departed — but we stayed. millennium would cause digital topic.” Do you have documen- And we were among the favored doom, as computers had been tation from the women in the few who witnessed the UW’s built to process dates as two photo that they felt they were dazzling fourth-quarter play by digits (unable to differentiate being condescended to? Do you Pat Richter and quarterback Ron 00 as 1900 or 2000). “The TYME have any proof of what was being Vander Kelen even as darkness [cash] machine might not work said, or is the implicit assump- began to descend. Even though tion now that any time a man the UW did not win, happy mem- for a day or two, but the univer- instructs a woman on any topic ories of that stirring experience sity is definitely going to work. there is condescension involved, have endured a lifetime. I guarantee it,” Irons prophesied making it de facto mansplaining? Janice Winter Yager ’62 to On Wisconsin in 1998. We’re William Kucharski ’88 Oakland, California glad he was right. Louisville, Colorado Missing Bucky Artists SLIDESHOW Union Memories I was thrilled to see you feature MILLER JEFF [In regard to “Play Time,” Fall select Buckys on Parade [Fall 2018]: Since I am a bit older 2018 Exhibition]. Nevertheless, than the Union and worked you failed to mention the artists there while in school (and met behind these endeavors. They my husband there), I would like deserve recognition for the to add my bit of history. I was a creativity behind the Buckys waitress in the Georgian Grill. we love. My husband, John Wyse ’46, was Caitlin Artz ’09 a part of catering. He personally La Crosse, Wisconsin served Alfred Lunt and Lynn Madison, a city between two Fontanne when they appeared at Editor’s Note: To read more lakes, dealt with the damaging the Union. They gave him a ticket about the 64 artists, visit effects of a swollen watershed as a tip. buckyonparade.com and click before the start of the fall semes- Angela Bewick on each individual Bucky. ter. On August 22 — after historic Wyse ’45, MM’46 Evansville, Wisconsin Correction amounts of rainfall in a 24-hour “When Crazylegs Went Holly- period — Lake Mendota crested Lack of Gender Balance wood” [Fall 2018] incorrectly at 852.3 feet above sea level. See On first pass, I was struck by stated that Elroy Hirsch won more images of the flooding and how many stories in the [Fall the Heisman Trophy. Although high water levels that occurred 2018] magazine were about men. he won numerous awards, the on and near campus at Mostly white men. Yes, Heisman was not one of them. onwisconsin.uwalumni.com. On Wisconsin 7 Downtown Madison is renowned as a vibrant cultural hub with IT’S BETTER endless opportunities—art festivals, jazz bands, farmers markets, UW- Madison events—while university HERE life infuses the area with dynamic energy. And at Capitol Lakes, you’re right in the middle of it all. Discover our incredible retirement lifestyle today! 608-283-2046 retirement.org/Madison Capitol Lakes is a Pacific Retirement Services community and an equal housing opportunity. Welcome to The Edgewater. An award-winning, waterfront location with stunning views of the city, University of Wisconsin and beautiful Lake Mendota. A place where couples start their life together and businesses choose to hold a memorable meeting. A place to take a fitness class and enjoy a best-in-class spa treatment. And on The Grand Plaza, a place to watch movies in the summer, tailgate in the fall or ice-skate in the winter. For family traditions, solitary sunsets, boat outings, terrace dining FRONT& and more...this is the place. Visit TheEdgewater.com to learn more about special CENTER programming and overnight offers for UW Alumni. MADISON’S PLACE 608.535.8200 I theEdgewater.com 8 On Wisconsin WINTER 2018 First Person Winter 2018 VINJE ARTHUR CO-EDITORS Niki Denison, Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association (WFAA) Jenny Price ’96, University Communications PUBLISHER Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association 1848 University Avenue Madison, WI 53726-4090 608-263-4545 Email: [email protected] Web: onwisconsin.uwalumni.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER John Allen, WFAA WRITER Preston Schmitt ’14, University Marketing CLASS NOTES/DIVERSIONS EDITOR Stephanie Awe ’15, WFAA ART DIRECTOR Nancy Rinehart, University Marketing DESIGNER Danielle Lawry, University Marketing PRODUCTION EDITOR Eileen Fitzgerald ’79, University Marketing Langdon Street wasn’t always the sole province of Greek- PHOTOGRAPHERS Jeff Miller and Bryce Richter, University letter houses and student residences. Fred Milverstedt ’69, Communications who grew up on the street, says, “I would sit on the front DESIGN, LAYOUT, AND PRODUCTION Toni Good ’76, MA’89; Kent Hamele ’78; steps of the Pillars [apartment building], morning and night, Kate Price ’09, University Marketing; Chelsea Schlecht ’13, WFAA and watch the parade [of] post-WWII students go by.” His EDITORIAL INTERN mother would walk him partway to school and then have a Nina Bertelsen x’19 police officer usher him across the street.