Author: stadvancement3

April Class Notes

2000s

Matthew Andres ’00 Public Administration major. Supervisor of GP Computer Operations for Georgia-Pacific.

Valerie Mann ’03 Environmental Science major. Valerie recently began a new position as Raptor Educator with Open Door Bird Sanctuary.

Brian Bar ’09 Psychology major with a minor in Human Development. Associate Director of Career Development and Alumni Relations at George Mason University.

2010s

Emily Vogels ’13 Human Development and Psychology major with a minor in English. Research Associate for Pew Research Center.

Chuenhua Ho ’15 Human Development major. Training Specialist for Little Kickers Swim School.

Megan Leonard-Bisenius ’15 Arts Management major with a minor in History. Megan recently began a new position as Assistant Director of Administration & Operations with UW-Green Bay Housing & Residential Education.

2020s

Mackenzie Morey ’21 Communications major. Mackenzie recently started her own wedding beauty service business, 715Beautify.

UW-Green Bay New Finance Labs Grand Opening

It’s finally time to celebrate! After years of planning and months of construction, UW-Green Bay’s Cofrin School of Business invites you to the public grand opening of the Willie Davis Finance & Investment Laboratory and the Charles Schwab Foundation Center for Personal Financial Planning on Thursday, May 5th.

  • Tour both new spaces as well as our remodeled Small Business Development Center.
  • Hear from faculty on how these spaces will enhance student-community interactions.
  • Chat with current students.
  • Network with campus board members, community leaders and industry professionals.

Completion of each of these new spaces was made possible with the help of partners with a shared vision including the Green Bay Packers, the Charles Schwab Foundation, Nicolet National Bank, Mersberger Financial Group and many more.

These spaces will connect students with experts, giving them the opportunity to discover what’s next in finance, investing and wealth management.

Thursday, May 5, 2022
4:30 to 5:30 p.m. | Tour
5:30 to 6 p.m. | Program
6 to 7 p.m. | Tour

University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
2420 Nicolet Drive, Green Bay, WI
Rosewood Cafe | Wood Hall

RSVP here.

Meet Your Faculty Guides

The Cofrin School of Business is working to advance the economic prosperity and entrepreneurial spirit of our region by aligning programs with area needs and providing transformative undergraduate and graduate education. A special thank you to our network of community advisors who help guide program offering and build partnerships among students, faculty, staff, and businesses.

Alumni General Education Survey

Thank you for choosing UW-Green Bay as your university! We hope that you look back on your time at UW-Green Bay fondly and feel that UWGB gave you an exceptional educational experience. At UW-Green Bay, we work tirelessly to give our students the skillsets that they need to meet the various challenges that they will face in their careers and beyond. We care about you as individuals and want you to have the best experience possible. General Education is a big part of that. It has been eight years since UWGB has revised its General Education Program, and in that time, we have gone through a merger and had a revision of our mission, so we want to ensure our General Education Program continues to prepare our students to be successful global citizens inside and outside of the university.

Last year, our academic programs underwent Comprehensive Program Review, which resulted in the recommendation that we realign our General Education Program to meet the challenges of a post-COVID world. The Provost then put together a committee to do this work, of which I am the chair, and we were given a timeline of the “realigned” version of our General Education Program to debut in fall of 2024.

That is where you come in! We have created a survey that solicits your feedback on your General Education Program experience at UW-Green Bay. What General Education courses did you find most helpful? Least helpful? Which ones best prepared you for your major? Which ones best prepared you for your future career? Which ones hindered your progress? You are our most important resource for this , so we ask that you complete this Qualtrics survey.

It should only take about ten minutes, and the feedback that you provide to us will be used to strengthen our General Education Program.

Students are at the heart of everything we do, and the feedback that we receive from this survey will help us ensure that we continue to provide students with the General Education Program foundation that they need to continue to be leaders in the global community.

Thank you for taking the time to complete the survey. We ask that you complete it by May 31. Please contact Dr. Valerie Murrenus Pilmaier with any questions that you may have about the survey or about the General Education Realignment process.

Open Access Campus and GPS

Individuals speaking to studentsWhen students apply to UW-Green Bay, many factors are taken into consideration. Test scores and transcripts are important, but they do not tell a student’s whole story. Personal statements provide admissions with a better understanding of an applicant’s experience as many write about their challenges and struggles with adversity.

As the Phoenix family grows larger with the expansion to Manitowoc, Marinette, and Sheboygan campuses and general enrollment increases, UW-Green Bay reevaluated the correlation between admission policies and student success. This inspired UW-Green Bay to become an open-access institution, allowing every applicant to find their path to success.

To provide these new students with essential, additional support, UW-Green Bay developed Gateways to Phoenix Success (GPS). This program is conducted through a first year seminar that provides students with learning opportunities to develop and sharpen the skills needed to be successful in college. Students are also introduced to a real-world issue they and their classmates wrestle with throughout the year. A peer mentor is there to help students get connected on campus, making sure everyone feels at home, and an alumni mentor helps students stay on course and headed toward their educational goals.

GPS is made possible through the support of dedicated faculty who teach the first year seminars and peer and alumni mentors. Students in the program have the opportunity to learn from graduates with strong professional experience, ask questions pertaining to their success, and foster a connection. If interested in being a GPS alumni mentor, please email alumni@uwgb.edu.

As the UW-Green Bay community continues to rise as one, GPS ensures that no one is left behind.

Learn more about the GPS program here.

March Class Notes 2022

1990s

Julie Grutzner ’95 Communication Processes major with a minor in Humanistic Studies. Julie recently began a new position as the Head Women’s Soccer Coach at UW-Green Bay.

2000s

Anne Mandich ’09 Economics major with a minor in International Business. Julie recently founded her own company, Onu, and is now their CEO.

January Class Notes 2022

1970s

Bruce Mommaerts ’77 Regional Analysis major. Owner of Granite Development Resources. Bruce has been awarded the Frederick C. Pierce Award by the Wisconsin Economic Development Association and the Conservation Service Award by Wisconsin Ducks Unlimited. He is also a member of the Legislative Committee of the Wisconsin Economic Development Association.

Catherine Ledvina ’79 Human Development major. Retired School Speech/Language Pathologist. Catherine volunteers with the Elmbrook Humane Society.

1980s

Robert Rzepka ’84 Urban Studies major. Robert recently began a new position as the Vice President of Growth Enablement at FWG Solutions.

1990s

Brenda Krainik ’93 Communication and the Arts major with a minor in Art. Brenda recently began a new position as the Advisor Marketing Specialist at Thrivent.

2000s

Megan Kautzer ’07 Psychology major with minors in German and Human Development. School Counselor at Kiel Middle School.

Deb Rose ’07 Master of Science in Applied Leadership for Teaching & Learning. She is involved with the National CASA/GAL Volunteer Council from 2022-24.

2010s

Natasha Freeman ’11 Economics major with a minor in Business Administration. Natasha recently began a new position as a Teller with Fortera Credit Union.

Brandon Selissen ’12 Associate of Arts and Sciences. Area Field Manager with U-Haul.

Tessah Dolata ’19 Democracy and Justice Studies major with a minor in Public Administration. Tessah recently began a new position as the Events & Promotions Manager at Lyric Room. She is also a member of the Oconto Area Human Society Board of Directors.

Explore Wisconsin Employers – Participate in UW Career Treks

Beginning in Fall 2020, the UW System Career Services offices collaborated to offer virtual visits to Wisconsin employers across the state.  These weekly virtual visits & open houses allowed for students and alumni to learn about different organizations and their career opportunities.  The first UW Career Trek for Spring 2022 is scheduled for February 2, 2022, with Fincantieri Marine Group – in the region of two of our four campuses at UW-Green Bay.  Career Treks are held weekly on Wednesdays from 12-1 p.m.

Alumni can register through their Handshake account or email our Director of Career Services, Linda Peacock-Landrum at peacockl@uwgb.edu to receive the platform link on Zoom for each Career Trek.  In addition to Fincantieri Marine Group, UW-Green Bay will also host KI on April 27 at noon.

Review the scheduled Career Treks for Spring 2022 here.