2006 Award Winners
Spirit of Francis Award — Mary (Sendelbach) Dudley ’76
Mary (Sendelbach) Dudley uses her many gifts to help people not only here, but overseas as well.
Dudley is the chief anesthetist for Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center. She has earned a degree in nursing from Viterbo and a master's degree in Health Education from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. She also earned a diploma from the St. Francis School of Anesthesia in La Crosse.
When she is not working in La Crosse, she volunteers on mission trips, traveling to other countries to improve the lives of people there. She has traveled to Peru every year since 2001, and has also worked in Africa, Vietnam, China, Cambodia, and the Gaza Strip.
Dudley is a member of the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia, Health Volunteers Overseas, the American Nurses Association, the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, and the Wisconsin Association of Nurse Anesthetists.
Community Service — Patti Jo Severson '78
Patti Jo Severson makes her mark on the world by being an advocate for the mentally ill.
Employed as nutrition and health educator in the behavioral health department at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, Severson also belongs to several organizations that seek to improve the lives of the mentally ill and educate the general public.
She serves on the Mental Health Coalition of La Crosse, the National Alliance on Mental Illness Wisconsin, the National Alliance on Mental Illness La Crosse County, and the La Crosse County Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drug Awareness Redesign Committee. She has also done a great deal to help jail inmates who are mentally ill and their families.
Severson earned a bachelor's degree in community medical dietetics from Viterbo and went on to obtain a master's degree in community health education from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
Professional Development — Gregory Lind '76
To say Greg Lind has been successful since graduating with a nursing degree from Viterbo would be quite an understatement.
Lind went on to earn his master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Missouri at Columbia and the University of Kansas, respectively. He worked as an assistant professor at the University of Washington before starting his own business in 1990.
The independent nursing practice he founded, Lake Serene Clinic, has grown to employ eight nurses and a staff of 15 others who serve over 20,000 patients.
Thankful for the education he received at Viterbo, and for the help of Grace Clare Beznouz, FSPA, Lind provides a scholarship for male nursing students at Viterbo. He also provides a similar scholarship for male students in the University of Missouri graduate program.
Lind is a member of the Stevens Health Network and serves on its credentialing and care management committees. He is also a doctoral student in Kennedy Western University's Health Administration program.
Young Alumni Award — Matt Boehler '98
The sky seems to be the limit in the musical career of Matt Boehler.
Boehler has just finished his residency at the prestigious Juilliard Opera Center, to which he had won a full scholarship, and has now embarked on his career as a professional opera singer. He has earned glowing reviews for his dramatic ability and his voice in the Washington Post, Washington Times, and Opera News.
Having very little singing experience when he began at Viterbo as a theatre major, his education included the self-discovery of his hidden talent. He was aided tremendously in his journey by assistant professor of music Jerry Benser.
His impressive resume includes roles with the Juilliard Opera Center, the Wolf Trap Opera Company, and the Minnesota Opera. He will also play Pooh-Bah in The Mikado with the Opera Theatre of St. Louis in 2007.
He has also been very successful in several singing competitions, including winning the National Opera Association Vocal Competition in 2004 and the Schubert Club Vocal Competition three times. He was also a Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions district and regional winner in 2003 and 2004.
2005 Award Winners
Franciscan Spirit — Earl Madary ’88
Earl Madary is certainly a man of many talents and one who uses his many talents to make the world a better place.
Madary is the chair of the religious studies and philosophy department at Viterbo University, a member of the Alumni Emeritus Board, a Catholic Worker, and a founding member of A Place of Grace Catholic Worker House in La Crosse. He also has worked as a church musician, youth minister, busboy, grade school music teacher, and taxicab driver.
Music is a very important part of Madary's life, both personally and professionally. He has released two recordings of original Christian folk music, Prodigals and Gilead, and has given numerous benefit concerts. He holds degrees in music, theology, and education.
When he isn't busy with guitar or microphone in hand, he writes articles for various publications and edits and publishes the catholic worker newspaper Neighborhood News. He also wrote These Things Are Written, an introduction to the New Testament, with fellow professor William Reese. He also presents "Conversations with Tom and Earl" to alumni, with fellow professor Tom Thibodeau.
Madary is a member of the College Theology Society, the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, the National Association of Lay Ministry, a Partner Member of the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, and a member of the International Thomas Merton Society.
He has been awarded a Mission Exemplar Award from Viterbo University. His "future interests lie in the integration of personalism, community, ecology, and service."
Community Service — Antona Schedlo, FSPA ’65
Sister Antona Schedlo has spent a lifetime helping and teaching others.
Sister Schedlo learned about the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration at a young age, attending a Catholic school run by members of the FSPA in Halder, Wis. She attended grades 1-10 in Halder before entering St. Rose Convent in 1952. She earned her high school diploma from Viterbo College High School and in 1965 earned a BA in education from Viterbo College. She would also go on to earn a diploma in pastoral theology in Mexico in 1986.
She spent the first 14 years of her professional career teaching in Colby, Wis., the Cathedral School in La Crosse, the St. Augustine School in Spokane, Wash., the Queen of Peace School in Salem, Ore. and the St. Joseph School in Dodgeville, Wis.
In 1970, Sr. Schedlo took a different path, going to Bolivia to study Spanish. She spent the next six years in El Salvador, first as a pastoral worker at St. Barbara Parish, then as the coordinator of the Madre del Salvador School. She then spent three years in the United States studying theology and running a youth ministry in Milwaukee before returning to El Salvador for pastoral work.
From El Salvador, she ran a Hispanic ministry in four Catholic parishes in Oregon. She also spent her time holding a weekly Bible class for Hispanic prisoners at Oregon State Correctional Institution and speaking against the U.S. presence in El Salvador.
Sister Schedlo returned to Latin America, working at a Honduran refugee camp for six months. She then worked for four years in El Salvador as a pastoral worker as part of an international war zone presence, financed and built a Catholic church, and started a soya kitchen to give nutrition to the elderly. From 1992-2004 she continued her work in El Salvador, reconstructing a church, starting an AA group, rebuilding the church after a 2001 earthquake, helping to get street lighting and water for the town, and working to repair an old police car for emergency travel.
Professional Development — Barbara Winters ’99
Barbara Winters has been busy since graduating from Viterbo with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology in 1999, and her list of accomplishments is extensive.
Winters has been employed by the Iowa Allamakee Community School District and Allamakee County in Waukon since 1998. She is the Allamakee substance abuse prevention coordinator/county department head and Community Connections project director for Allamakee Community School District.
She is responsible for the financial management and budget of over $1.5 million in 21st Century Learning Grant money, just under $3 million in the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Grant, approximately $50,000 in county budget, and other grants. She supervises nine full time staff members, over 100 part time-staff members, and reports to the county, state, and federal governments.
Winters spends her days working to improve schools and the collaboration of local and state resources. She also presents in-services, trainings, and program promotions throughout the school district and county, and manages the day-to-day operations of her departments.
Her impressive list of honors includes serving two four-year terms on the Governor's Commission on Substance Abuse, serving on the Northeast Iowa Community Corrections Advisory Board, earning the Governor's Volunteer Award for the state of Iowa, winning the Citizenship Award by the Iowa Bar Association, being appointed to numerous positions on church boards in the Dubuque Archdiocese, and winning the Kee High Number One Club Award.
2004 Award Winners
Young Alumni Award — Shane Peper ’98
Shane Peper has been busy making his mark in the international science community since graduating from Viterbo with degrees in chemistry and biology. He seems to be just getting started.
Originally from Onalaska, Peper earned his PhD from Auburn University in 2003 and received a post doctorate fellowship at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he performs research in the chemistry division while enjoying the increased compensation and project freedom afforded by a fellowship.
Peper's list of numerous prestigious awards and achievements began in 1998, when he received the local section of the American Chemical Society's Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Achievement. In 2001, he earned the highly selective (one of 10) University College of Sciences and Mathematics Dean's Research Award, allowing him to conduct independent research projects in Switzerland and California.
He was one of only four graduate students in the nation to receive the American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry Graduate Research Fellowship in 2002. Peper's research was compared with graduate students for the top research universities in the country such as the University of California at Berkeley, Harvard, Stanford, and MIT during the competition. The fellowship included a large monetary award for independent research of Peper's choosing and design, a dream award for most scientists.
His other awards include two Auburn Travel Grants, a Colin Garfield Fink Summer Graduate Research Fellowship, and an Auburn Research Grant. Peper has also been published in 17 scientific publications and has been granted two patents.
Service to the Community — Rose Robacker ’53
After 47 years, Rose Robacker couldn't just stop teaching when she retired in 1992.
Robacker, a resident of Newfoundland, Penn., put her energy and passion for teaching into volunteering as a tutor for a Pennsylvania adult literacy program. Most of her time is spent working with local prisoners, giving them hope for a better future.
She was a member of the FSPA in La Crosse for 25 years and has earned three master's degrees during her extensive education. She has worked as a teacher and counselor on the tough streets of Newark, N.J., and as the dean of the prestigious Oberlin College in Pennsylvania.
Robacker has logged thousands upon thousands of hours volunteering and was honored as the Wayne-Pike Adult Literacy Program's Volunteer of the Year. She has published two books on chemistry, has lectured nationally and internationally, and has been the guest speaker at several science and chemistry events.
She also is involved with the Association of Retired Teachers, the American Association of University Women Chairs, the auditing committee of the Federal Credit Union, the president of the Wayne County Literacy Program, and is a member of the Wayne County Library Board. She has also served as lector and eucharistic minister at St. Rita's Parish.
Service to the Community — Mary Ann Wetterling '90
One word may best describe retired teacher Mary Ann Wetterling when it comes to serving her community: involved.
Wetterling's impressive list of community service activities includes serving as secretary for the WAFER emergency food pantry, where she was instrumental in organizing and implementing a campaign to raise funds for a new building. She was a Relay for Life organizer and committee member, and a Children's Miracle Network Radiothon volunteer.
She also is a charter member of the international educational sorority Delta Kappa Gamma, a volunteer for the Rotary Lights project, a Gardenfest volunteer, has served two terms on the Viterbo Alumni Association Board, and is currently serving as a member of the Alumni Emeritus Board.
Wetterling earned her master's degree in education from Viterbo. She has taught at St. Patrick's Elementary, Hamilton Elementary, and Summit Elementary before retiring in 1998. She was named the La Crosse School District Teacher of the Year in 1984 and was named to Who's Who Among America's Teachers in 1994.
She is also an FSPA prayer partner and an active member of Roncalli Newman Parish in La Crosse.
2003 Award Winners
Outstanding Young Alumni — Dr. Kimberly (Sloane) Adams ’93
Named one of the 2003 Top Businesspeople under 40 in Southern Nevada in a special report from Las Vegas InBusiness magazine, Dr. Kimberly Adams is known for her commitment to customer satisfaction. And that's important these days, particularly in her business: health care.
Adams, who received her medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, has been a family practice physician with Rainbow Medical Centers in Las Vegas since July 2001. Since joining Rainbow, she has increased revenue and patient flows at her office by more than 50 percent with her dedication to making people happy and keeping them healthy.
She is also known for her emphasis on wellness and prevention-holding free blood pressure screenings and leading monthly programs that discuss topics like diabetes, menopause, glaucoma, and heart disease for seniors. In addition, Adams is active in a variety of volunteer opportunities and often dons her tennis shoes for the American Heart Association HeartWalk and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Race for the Cure.
A member of the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Family Practice, Adams is also dedicated to women's issues and is the author and co-author of several articles on women's health and infertility issues.
Community Service — Rose Kreutz ’66, ’82
Unselfish. Altruistic. Empathetic. Generous. These are just some of the words that friends and former colleagues use to describe Rose Kreutz, who retired from a more than 30-year career as a professor of nursing at Viterbo University in 2002.
Although caring and commitment to the well-being of others is at the core of Kreutz's professional life as a nurse and nurse educator, Kreutz also made it the mantra by which she lived, dedicating herself in service to others.
As a pediatric nurse by training, Kreutz feels a special connection to children, whether by reaching out to the children she's nursed or serving as a volunteer at Camp Wekidas for kids with asthma in Wisconsin Dells for the past 16 years.
In addition, Kreutz has organized special summer camp programs for Native American, Hmong, and underprivileged students on the Viterbo campus in cooperation with local hospitals and clinics. The camps introduced the youth to health care related career options.
During her tenure at Viterbo, Kreutz served as advisor to the Wisconsin Student Nurses Association. She was also president of the La Crosse District Nurses Association, a member of the board of directors for Citizen Advocacy for the past 10 years, and was influential in establishing and serving on the board for the Crohn's Disease Support Group in La Crosse.
A lifelong member of Holy Trinity, Kreutz served the parish as a Eucharistic minister, a member of the Parish Council, and a friend and minister to the shut-ins.
Professional Development — Jeanette Hertges ’85
From a Viterbo University graduate with a degree in English to a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy who serves as an intelligence analyst for strategic assessments in the Middle East, Jeanette Hertges' career has been on a fast-paced course.
Entering the Navy as an enlisted radio operator, Hertges quickly rose to the level she's at today through hard work that has been recognized with medals, honors, and letters of commendation from senior officers. Over the years, she has served as a cryptologic technician in Pearl Harbor, attended aviation training school and intelligence training, served as an intelligence officer in Korea and Virginia, and served as a counter-drug intelligence analyst in California.
Among her most impressive achievements, say her colleagues, was her assignment from December 1997 to January 2000 in which she was responsible for working directly on the U.S. war on drugs. During that time, Hertges was deployed in a variety of remote locations including Hong Kong, Burma, and Thailand, where her intelligence analysis was directly responsible for the seizure of almost eight metric tons of illegal drugs that would have wound up on the streets of the U.S. Her work also led to the indictment and extradition of a number of drug traffickers.
In addition, Hertges supervised the command's 24-hour intelligence and counter-terrorism operations center established as a result of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
2002 Award Winners
Outstanding Young Alumni — Scott Krueger ’95
Scott Krueger faced a number of professional challenges in his first job after graduating from Viterbo University with a degree in community medical dietetics. He immediately assumed a director's position for a program aimed at pregnant women, children, and infants, all within a different cultural setting.
Krueger, who has served as the nutrition services/WIC director for the Menominee Tribal Clinic in Keshena since July 1995, not only rose to the challenge, he thrived. In this position, he networked with community agencies in the Shawano area to implement the Assessment Protocol for Excellence health plan; he consults with the tribe's Head Start and other federally-funded food and nutrition programs; he supervises, trains, and mentors nutrition and WIC staff; and develops and evaluates work plans for the nutrition department.
He recently received regional recognition for his work in diabetes prevention when he was asked to present, at a health care conference, the creative nutrition education programs he developed for Native Americans.
Krueger also has served as scholarship chair of the state dietetic association and has worked with the state WIC council to revise the state's program.
Krueger has also made it his goal to make social responsibility part of his life, a commitment that also shows his dedication to the Viterbo mission. The event with which he's most associated is the American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure. For the past five years, he has served as the captain of the Menominee team, which has consistently raised the most money of any group in the state, including those in larger metropolitan areas.
For exhibiting outstanding accomplishments since graduating from Viterbo in the past 10 years, Scott Krueger is this year's Outstanding Young Alumni Award recipient.
Service to the University — Therese Amel ’76
Terry Amel has been a visible and committed presence on the Viterbo University campus for more than 25 years. Amel, who has a bachelor's degree in art from the College of St. Catherine, received her bachelor's degree in art education at Viterbo University in 1976. From that time on, she dedicated much of her time in service to Viterbo.
In the 1980s, she played a major role in the reorganization of the Viterbo Alumni Board and served as its first president from 1986-87, chairing a number of alumni board committees. Currently, she is an emeritus board member.
An active ambassador of the university, Amel has worked tirelessly to promote the university and inspire student support of their alma mater, such as initiating the senior ice cream social. She was an avid member of the Service Committee, which initiated and developed the Alumni Update newsletter. She has continued to contribute articles through the years.
An emeritus member of the Alumni Board since 1992, Amel is also known to lend a hand during the annual alumni phonathon and during capital campaign drives. Her goal is to see Viterbo University continue fulfilling and living its mission for many years to come and she believes in helping in any way she can. Her care and compassion for Viterbo has, over the years, translated into financial support, volunteerism, enthusiasm, and simply being present at any of a number of Viterbo-related events.
For her many years of dedication, enthusiasm, and support of Viterbo University, Terry Amel is this year's recipient of the Outstanding Alumni Award for Service to the University.
Community Service — Valerie Jackson Jones ’76
Valerie Jackson Jones has devoted her life to making the world a better place to live. Whether it's better living conditions, improved health care, or better air quality that's needed, she has gotten involved. Jackson Jones, who has her undergraduate degree in social work from Viterbo University and a master's degree in public administration from Southern University A&M College in Baton Rouge, La., has spent most of her life working in the nonprofit sector.
As a housing assistant in the East Baton Rouge Parish Housing Authority from 1984-89, she assisted low- and moderate-income individuals and families with acquiring safe, sanitary housing in the Mississippi Delta Region.
From 1989-94, she conducted research at Southern University's Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, where she wrote proposals and conducted town-hall meetings and focus groups in order to clean up the quality of air for Louisiana residents. She also co-authored a study that helped garner $2.5 million from the McKnight Foundation for environmental improvements along the Mississippi.
Health care became her focus when she served as executive director for the Louisiana Primary Care Association in Baton Rouge from 1994-98. She helped establish federally qualified health centers in Louisiana to meet the needs of the underserved and working poor. In 1995, she was named honorary state representative and was awarded a certificate of appreciation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Currently, she serves as the executive director of the Community Association for the Welfare of School Children, which provides academic assistance to unserved and underserved children in East Baton Rouge Parish. Jackson Jones has also held a number of leadership and membership positions in many agencies including Louisiana's Commission on HIV and AIDS and the American Society of Public Administration's Section on Environmental and Natural Resources.
For demonstrating outstanding service to the community, Valerie Jackson Jones is this year's recipient of the Outstanding Alumni Award for Community Service.
Professional Development — Anna Dolores Balderamos Garcia ’79
Having taken her cue from many of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration she met while she was a student at Viterbo University, Anna Dolores Balderamos Garcia is a strong and compassionate presence for the people in her native Central American country of Belize.
She cites Celestine Cepress, FSPA, Viterbo professor emerita, and Thea Bowman, FSPA ’65, as early role models. In fact, she attributes much of her success to the modeling and examples set by the "many strong women of Viterbo" who showed her and others like her what is possible.
After serving as an attorney in Belize for a number of years and later being named Minister of Human Development, Women, and Civil Society in Belizean government, Balderamos Garcia, herself, has become a role model to many young women. She also serves as a member of the Belize Senate and is responsible for many of the new laws in Belize that provide women with basic rights that had been lacking prior to her 1998 appointment.
According to Balderamos Garcia, "There are many marginalized people in my country. We have to provide a safety net and help the people find ways to be self-sufficient. One of my goals is to have nongovernment organizations link to social service agencies."
Her role in the Belize government is comparable to a cabinet-level position for the U.S. Health, Education, and Welfare Committee.
For her many outstanding accomplishments and her inspiration and positive role modeling for many young women, Anna Dolores Balderamos Garcia is the recipient of this year's Outstanding Alumni Award for Professional Development.
2001 Award Winners
Professional Development — Christopher Parr ’89
Much has been happening in the world of Christopher Parr since graduating from Viterbo University.
After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre in 1989, Chris moved to the East Coast to attend Brandeis University in Boston, where he received his Master of Fine Arts degree in dramatic writing in 1991.
Returning to the Midwest, he settled in Madison and started working in the web division at MEG Communications. In 1995, he launched Christopher Parr Internet Design (CPID), which develops design, strategy, and online marketing for organizations that have included Madison's Monona Terrace, Sub-Zero Freezer Company, and the Credit Union Executives Society.
His success has not gone unnoticed. Parr’s work has received a number of design awards including the IPPA Design Excellence Award for a Commercial Site (Monona Terrace), David Siegel's High Five Award for Excellence, and the 1996 NetBest Best Site of the Year Award.
In addition, CPID was praised in the book Web Sites that Work from Adobe Press, and the CPID ezine project Cybermad was recognized in HTML Unleaded 4.0 from Macmillan.
In 1996, Madison Magazine named Parr to its list of the "25 Most Influential People in Madison." Parr is an occasional contributing writer to the magazine.
Not one to let the dust settle, Chris recently took on another cyber adventure. After successfully developing the webpage and marketing for musicnotes.com, an online sheet music store, Parr was named the company's vice president and partner.
Parr also is an accomplished and award-winning playwright and television and screenwriter. Most recently, Rushlight Entertainment has optioned the rights to his screenplay, Last Men, a project that originally began as a comic book.
For his many professional achievements, Christopher Parr is a recipient of this year's Outstanding Alumni Award for Professional Development.
Professional Development — Kathryn (Sullivan) Larson ’56
The greater La Crosse area is eating healthier, thanks to the efforts of Kathryn "Kay" Larson.
Currently the director of nutrition for Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, Larson has influenced the eating habits and behaviors of people throughout the community through the 500 Club and Winning Weighs programs, both of which she founded and directed.
The 500 Club is dedicated to enhancing healthy eating habits through food selections that are low in fat and under 500 calories per serving. These selections carry the 500 Club seal of approval and are found on many area food shelves-from restaurants to grocery stores. It's even featured on a national level in food vending. The Winning Weighs program has also had significant impact by promoting guided weight loss with the expertise of trained dietitians.
After receiving a degree in home economics from Viterbo in 1956, Larson taught high school in Albany and Sparta before continuing her education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While there, Larson served as a teaching assistant until receiving her Master of Science degree in 1969. She then returned to La Crosse to teach at Viterbo on a part-time basis.
In 1970, Larson was named director of nutrition at Gundersen Lutheran. She returned to Viterbo for additional coursework and received her registered dietitian certification. During her tenure at Gundersen Lutheran, her department has grown from two dietitians to 17.
Active in the American Dietetic Association, Larson was a speaker at its national convention and state conventions in Minnesota and Wisconsin. She has also shared her expertise as a speaker at the national convention of the American Society of Food Service Managers and Administrators.
For her many accomplishments, Kay Larson is a recipient of this year's Outstanding Alumni Award for Professional Development.
Community Service — Carole Plante ’66
Whether it's tutoring students at the school where she taught second graders for 28 years or running Saturday bingo at the nursing home that cared for her aging mother, community service is in Carole Plante's blood.
Plante grew up with her sister and two brothers in St. Paul, Minn. After high school, she entered a convent in Mankato, Minn. After six years, and just before taking her final vows, Plante left the convent and traveled to La Crosse, where she enrolled at Viterbo with dreams of becoming a teacher. In 1966, she received her Bachelor of Science degree in education and began a two-year teaching position at St. Joseph's Cathedral School before teaching at Stoddard Elementary.
Plante enjoyed teaching so much that she decided to volunteer at the school after her retirement in 1996. She now tutors youth in need of assistance with their studies three days per week and volunteers her talents wherever needed.
Shortly after the death of Plante’s father in 1974, her mother moved to La Crosse to live with her. When her mother's health began to fail, she was placed in Bethany St. Joseph's Nursing Home. Plante began volunteering there on weekends and continued even after her mother's death in 1994. She is well known there for her service—helping out at Mass on Sundays, visiting with residents, chaperoning or driving groups on field trips, or holding the hands of those who are dying.
In recognition for her efforts, Plante was the first recipient of the care center's Volunteer Spirit of the Year Award. And in 1998, she received the Iverson/Freking Ecumenical Recognition Award.
For demonstrating unselfish and outstanding service to the community and humanity, Carole Plante is this year's recipient of the Outstanding Alumni Award for Community Service.
Service to the University — S. Marie Leon LaCroix, FSPA ’45
The arts at Viterbo University wouldn't be the same without the commitment and dedication of Marie Leon LaCroix, FSPA.
For 41 years, Sr. LaCroix dedicated herself to Viterbo theatre, starting when she founded the department in 1955. During her tenure, she transitioned the department from a one-room spot on the first floor of Murphy Center to the major presence in the Fine Arts Center it is today.
Over the years, she directed 75 productions, costumed 123, and designed 40. She produced the first Arena Theatre and the first Reader's Theatre in La Crosse, produced and directed a Viterbo FM radio program, toured the Viterbo Players' production of Ladies Not for Burning, and served for a number of years as a regional judge for the Wisconsin High School Forensics Association. She also served as the chair of Viterbo's speech and drama department from 1955-71.
For her dedication, she was named a professor emerita after her retirement, has received the Viterbo University Service Award and Outstanding Teacher Award, and was chosen La Crosse Woman of the Month by the Chamber of Commerce. In 1994, Viterbo named the Black Box Theatre in her honor.
After graduating from Viterbo in 1945 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and minors in art and history, Sr. LaCroix pursued her Master of Arts degree in clothing design, which she received from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. She has completed postgraduate studies at several universities.
Her teaching experience includes grade school and high school experience, including a stint at Aquinas High School in La Crosse, before joining Viterbo in 1955. She served on the Viterbo University Alumni Board 1986-92 and is currently an active member of the Alumni Emeritus Board.
For her hard work and many years of dedication to Viterbo University, Sr. Marie Leon LaCroix is this year's recipient of the Outstanding Alumni Award for Service to the University.
2000 Award Winners
Young Alumni Award — Meg (Schlicht) Buchner ’93
Mentoring works. And no one knows that better than Greg Johnson thanks to the efforts of Viterbo alumna Meg Buchner.
A 1993 Viterbo graduate who majored in art in business with a graphics emphasis, Buchner served as Johnson's mentor through the Wisconsin Center for Academically Talented Youth (WCATY). In 1994, at age 13, Johnson won a WCATY scholarship that helped him become a Scandinavian flat plane woodcarver. Then the manager/marketing director for Sampson Art Gallery, Buchner served as his mentor, helping him organize his display for the scholarship and offering to help arrange a showing of his carvings at the gallery.
Buchner also let Johnson apprentice at the gallery for six weeks so he could learn the business end. It wasn't long before he had the knowledge (and encouragement from Buchner ) to set up his own business, which helps fund his college education. Johnson has even gone on to win local, national, and international awards for his woodcarvings.
According to Johnson, "Meg's encouragement and guidance has helped me not only to further my development as an artist, but also has inspired me to pursue a career in teaching. Meg is certainly an alumna that Viterbo University can be very proud of."
Today, Buchner is a graphic artist and web designer for L. Quillin & Associates, where she has worked since 1995. She continues to serve as a mentor by serving as a speaker for Boy Scouts and by serving as a youth job shadowing resource.
For the example Buchner sets in mentoring and for her generous giving of time and talents to help others achieve their dreams, Meg Buchner is this year's recipient of Viterbo University's Young Alumni Award.
Professional Development — Barbara Hundt ’76
Barbara Hundt has spent many years as an advocate for important issues facing the dietetics profession in the constantly changing health care world. And, she has done so with hard work, devotion, and good humor.
Currently the dietetic technician program director for Madison Area Technical College, Hundt is the author of an introduction to dietetics manual. She is well known in dietetics circles for her work, since 1984, with the Wisconsin Dietetic Association (WDA), and has served as a delegate to the American Dietetic Association (ADA) for the past 10 years. Hundt has also served as a chairperson of membership development for the ADA.
After receiving her degree in community-medical dietetics from Viterbo in 1976, Barbara served as a dietitian for the UW-Extension in Walworth County and St. Vincent Hospital in Green Bay until 1977. She went on to teach an adult weight control course at Northeastern Technical Institute in Green Bay until 1980.
While pursuing her master's degree in food, science, and nutrition (1980-82) at UW-Stout in Menominee, Hundt served as the school's graduate student advisor in career counseling.
In 1982, she started her career as an instructor at Madison Area Technical College, where she continues today. She received a second master's degree in vocational education from UW-Stout in 1986. In 1989, she began working at Meriter Hospital in Madison as a nutritionist with the Optifast program and, later, as a special projects dietitian (1990-96).
For her work, Hundt has received many awards, including the prestigious Medallion Award from the WDA in 1996, the highest professional award for Wisconsin dietitians. She was one of its youngest recipients.
For her many accomplishments, Barbara Hundt is this year's recipient of the Outstanding Alumni Award for Professional Development.
Service to the College — Virginia Lukasek ’75
Few have displayed a passion for their alma mater like the late Virginia Lukasek.
Lukasek, who died in July 1998, devoted many years of service to Viterbo after graduating in 1975 with a degree in nursing. She served two terms on the Viterbo Alumni Association Board before continuing on as an emeritus member. In the mid-’80s, she was appointed to the Viterbo Fine Arts Center Advisory Board, a position she held until her death.
In addition to these impressive accomplishments, Virginia also chaired the Alumni Board's Development Committee and served on the Board's Executive Committee and Bylaws Ad Hoc Committee. But her work was not limited to the Alumni Board and Fine Arts. She also devoted her efforts to the University's Planned Giving Development Committee.
Lukasek's devotion and service to education and to Viterbo are legendary and led one fellow board member to describe her as a "tireless advocate for any initiative that would benefit the University and its students."
When not devoting time to Viterbo, Lukasek was an active member of the community serving such organizations as the American Red Cross Sparta Branch, La Crosse Symphony, Sparta Concert Association, the Monroe County Republican Women, and the American Legion.
Virginia, who also held a master's degree in health education from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, was a retired nurse who devoted years of service to St. Mary's Hospital in Sparta and the Tomah Veterans Administration and was a former captain in the Army Nurse Corps.
For her long-standing leadership and dedication to Viterbo University, Virginia Lukasek is posthumously awarded this year's Outstanding Alumni Award for Service to the University.