Tyler
Flockhart
Assistant Professor, Criminal and Community Justice, Sociology
Director, Core Curriculum
School of Human Behavior
Cameron
Houin
Director, Counselor Education Programs
Assistant Professor, Counselor Education Programs
School of Human Behavior
Connections Viterbo Employee Newsletter
Mary Ann Gschwind, FSPA, will present “The Story of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration” at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 19 in the Viterbo University Fine Arts Center Main Theatre.
The FSPA established St. Rose of Viterbo Convent in La Crosse in 1871 when 65 Sisters, 12 novices, and 12 postulants moved to the city from Milwaukee. In 1878, they began the practice of perpetual adoration (praying), which they continued without interruption for 141 years, until Ash Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. They now pray every day from 6 a.m.–10 p.m.
Sr. Gschwind, who serves as the archivist for her religious order, will share the history of the FSPA from their humble beginnings, to establishing enduring institutions in health care, education, and spirituality, to their present ministries.
The...
Congratulate and wish Carolyn Hanoski well at a retirement reception in her honor from 2:30–4 p.m. Wednesday, March 18 in the Fine Arts Center Kwik Trip Hospitality Suite.
Hansoki has served 36 years at Viterbo. Her last day is Friday, March 20.
Connections Viterbo Employee Newsletter
Tom Thibodeau and students in his homelessness class spent this night outside Feb. 27–28. It was the 33rd annual vigil.
The Viterbo University D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership’s spring lecture series will continue at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, as actor and historian Joe Wiegand presents “An Evening with Teddy Roosevelt” in the Fine Arts Center Main Theatre.
Wiegand is considered the world’s premier Theodore Roosevelt repriser, and his portrayals of Roosevelt in live performance, on television, and in film are amazing. Wiegand has been featured as President Roosevelt in The Men Who Built America on the History Channel, served as the model for the newest Roosevelt sculpture at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, and has a feature role in National Parks Adventure, a film about U.S. national parks still showing in IMAX theaters throughout the country. He has also...
Viterbo Rec Sports is holding a “Boost Your Wellbeing” employee wellness challenge Monday, March 23–Sunday, April 17.
Each week will have a different focus/intention focusing on a different dimension of wellness. The purpose of this challenge is to help participants discover new avenues of health and how to better “level-up/boost” their health habits so that they may live out a strong and healthy lifestyle.
Tasks will vary each week with the general goal to be intentional behavioral awareness. Engagement in the Facebook group is encouraged to connect with other ideas and discoveries of self and accountability.
Register at the Mathy Center front desk. The cost of the challenge is $5. Participants are eligible to win prizes each week, with the opportunity to win one grand prize...
Fr. Conrad Targonski places ashes on the forehead of a student during Ash Wednesday Mass in San Damiano Chapel Feb. 26.
Nominations are open for the Viterbo Spirit of St. Francis Sustainability Award.
Last year’s winners were Dorothy Lenard and Alexis Bird. Nominations are due Thursday, April 2. The award be presented on Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22.
The exhibit Configuration of Self featuring the art of Viterbo students Aaryn Jones, Caitlin Parish, and Elise Topoloski opened with a reception Feb. 26. The show runs until Wednesday, March 18.
Viterbo Scholars Days are Thursday, April 23 and Friday, April 24 and faculty are encouraged to involve students in a Scholars Days experience.
The Scholars Days registration form is live. Click here to access the registration form directly. The form, more background information about Scholars Days, and materials from previous events are available at www.viterbo.edu/scholarsdays. The deadline to register for Scholars Days is 9 a.m. today, March 2.
Note: Any group presentations/sessions (entire class presenting separate projects, graduating seniors presenting capstones, etc.) should be registered by a lead faculty member. Any individual students interested in presenting an oral or poster presentation, unattached from a group or course effort, should register themselves for our...
Two major events on the Viterbo campus are planned as part of the community education element of the university’s VOICE program— short for Vital Opioid Instruction through Community-based Experiential Training.
The VOICE program is made possible by a three-year, $741,201 grant Viterbo received in August 2019 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration Opioid Workforce Expansion Program. Debra Murray, director of counselor education, is project director for the VOICE initiative.
On Thursday, March 12, Viterbo will host its first VOICE Town Hall, an advocacy event related to policy issues focused on opioid and substance-use prevention, treatment and recovery services. As part of the grant, the VOICE program will have two such...
Everyone is invited to attend the 2020 International Women’s Day Celebration Sunday, March 8 at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
The event, which is sponsored in part by Viterbo University, will begin at 1 p.m. with light snacks in the Bluffs conference room on the second floor of the UW-L Student Union followed by the program at 1:30 p.m. Four panelists will speak about gender equity in their first country and in the U.S. as they respond to this year’s theme, #EachforEqual, a consideration of how each of us can help create a gender-equal world.
The event is free and open to the public. No registration is required.
This is one in a series of student profiles to be featured in Connections. The profiles are part of a project to articulate the Viterbo difference through storytelling. Have a student story worth sharing? Email stories@viterbo.edu
By Eric Timmons
Logan Bjerkos, a senior social work major at Viterbo University, admits she was worried about the cost of attending college when she was considering where to study.
“I was terrified going into college, thinking about how I was going to afford this,” she said. “But Viterbo worked really well with all of the financial aid, the grants and scholarships.”
In the end, Bjerkos said a friend who goes to a public college pays more than she does at Viterbo, which is a private university.
“That’s one thing that always surprises...
By Sue Danielson, health services
The spread of coronavirus, now called COVID-19, is continuing to occur globally. As of Feb. 27, there were 82,294 confirmed cases and 2,804 deaths around the world. China accounts for 78,630 of the cases and 2,747 deaths. The U.S. currently has 14 confirmed cases, plus 45 cases of people who have been repatriated back to the U.S. from Wuhan, China, and from aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship. Recently, Italy, Iran, South Korea, and Japan have increased their alert levels due to increases in cases of COVID-19 in these countries.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) continue to closely monitor the situation both in the U.S. and abroad. Currently the risk for COVID-19 in the U.S...
Connections Viterbo Employee Newsletter
Payton Harper (Viola), Gavin Mason (Sebastian), and Gemma Cooper (Feste).
Viterbo students will present William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night in a theatre for young audiences format at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28 and 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 29 and Sunday, March 1 at the Weber Center for the Performing Arts.
Twins separated during a shipwreck, mistaken identity, and role reversals—no one does it better than Shakespeare. Audience members will follow Viola and a group of other adventurous characters as they explore friendships, romance, and hilarious hijinks.
“Twelfth Night is a fun play filled with humor and themes of love, identity, and finding one’s own in society,” said Rick Walters, the Viterbo theatre and music theatre faculty member who is directing the production. “It examines the...
By Michael Ranscht and Rick Trietley
The Space Allocation Committee has again been meeting regularly since the beginning of the semester. Work on the space needs survey launched last semester continues as we review current and future needs based on the strategic plan and the priorities established last semester while also looking at the historical use of spaces. Office moves continue to be regularly approved by the committee.
The priorities established in conjunction with President Glena Temple last semester include moving the student affairs staff from the current Student Development Center to other locations on campus. As a result of the committee’s work and consultation with others, the counseling staff will move to the third floor of Murphy Center so all student-focused...
Viterbo will offer a bachelor degree completion program in social work beginning in fall 2020.
The program is designed for people who have an associate degree in human services or a related field who want to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in social work within two years. Classes are offered in a combination of on-campus evening and online hybrid format ideal for working professionals.
“Earning a bachelor’s degree and becoming a credentialed social worker opens up great career opportunities,” said faculty member Jennifer Anderson-Meger, the director of the Viterbo social work program. “Social work is a very holistic profession, and social workers are needed in medical settings, community-based services for the elderly, and disabilities, mental health, substance abuse, and child...
The art of Viterbo seniors Aaryn Jones, Caitlin Parish, and Elise Topoloski will be featured in an exhibit opening with a reception from 5–6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26 in the Viterbo University Gallery in the Fine Arts Center.
The show, entitled Configuration of Self, will include paintings, photographs, prints, and some three-dimensional works. It will run until Wednesday, March 18.
The image is The Lion by Elise Topolski (conte crayon on paper).
By Sarah Bearbower
A number of departments have made the transition from external (www) pages to internal SharePoint sites. SharePoint sites require an @viterbo.edu login and can be made available to all student, employee, or subsets of users.
As we continue to develop our internal portal, work to streamline how end users navigate is being considered.
Currently there are a variety of ways to get to SharePoint sites.
- From the MyVU page click on VU Portal.
- Navigate to Viterbou.sharepoint.com
- Log into any Office365 tool (Outlook, calendar, etc), click SharePoint from the App Picker.
From any of these starting points, you can use the search box to find specific departmental or committee sites to which you have permission.
Microsoft is in the process of...
The Ash Wednesday Mass and the distribution of ashes schedule at San Damiano Chapel Feb. 26:
- 7:15 a.m.
- 12:15 p.m. (Classes are cancelled from 12:20–1:15 p.m.)
- 5:15 p.m.
Employees are invited to enjoy some paczkis and kings cakes any time from 9–10:30 a.m. tomorrow, Feb. 25 in Reinhart Center 134 in celebration of Fat Tuesday.
The event is hosted by the Viterbo hospitality committee.
The Greater La Crosse Golf Show, a fundraising event for the Viterbo women’s golf team, will be held from 2–8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28 and 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 29 in the Mathy Center.
By Barry Fried
The athletics department would like to thank all members of the Viterbo community who participated in the athletics raffle by purchasing a ticket. The raffle winners were drawn this past Saturday at half-time of the men’s basketball game. Here are the winners:
- Dorothy Lenard
- Gary Lynch
- Grace Peyron
- Ron Springer
- Jim Jakscht
- Jonah Beers
- Linda Everson
- Linda Bjorge
- Laura Davidson
by Mary Rieder
During the recent Celebration of Teaching and Learning, library and instructional support services staff showed off the wide array of equipment available for faculty and students to check out from the library in our tech petting zoo. The library has laptops, video cameras, audio recorders, headphones, projectors, iPads, and other equipment available for 24-hour checkout to students and employees.
Here’s a brief list of what we have:
- Twenty Dell laptops with Windows 10, Microsoft Office and LockDown installed on them that may be checked out for 24 hours. These laptops (as well as your own) can also be used in the library’s Laptop Lab, Room 119, which is set up with tables and power outlets specifically for using laptops. (Although they can’t be checked out, there...
By Sue Danielson, health services
The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) emphasizes that antibiotic resistance is a persistent health issue that can spread through people, animals, and the environment; threatens our most vulnerable friends and family members; and affects nearly every aspect of life. Given the chance, these germs will infect our bodies, take up residence in our health care facilities, contaminate our food and water supplies, and move across our communities and around the globe. More than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in the United States each year, and more than 35,000 people die as a result. Despite this the fight against antibiotic resistance, no matter how complex, is not hopeless.
According to Robert R. Redfield, M.D...
Connections Viterbo Employee Newsletter
Congratulations to the newest members of the Viterbo athletics Wall of Fame, Chad Miller ’02, baseball coach; Steph Wisen ’15, women’s soccer; Katie Flock ’15, women’s volleyball, and Joe Dunham, benefactor support.
The acclaimed Artaria String Quartet will present the complete cycle of 17 string quartets by Ludwig van Beethoven in six concerts in celebration of the composer’s 250th birthday Saturday, Feb. 22–Monday, Feb. 24 and Sunday, March 22–Tuesday, March 24 in the Viterbo University Fine Arts Center Nola Starling Recital Hall.
The 17 string quartets of Beethoven’s monumental canon span 36 of his 57 years and represent, perhaps better than any other of his works, the revered Early, Middle, and Late periods of his compositional life. These so-called “periods” are not mere academic divisions but rather a glorious arc of Beethoven’s work. So, too, they encompass his deafness from its beginning to its final and awful silence. Within the Artaria String Quartet’s six programs of the complete...
Enjoy an evening of swinging jazz music with Two and the Night and the Music: An Evening of Jazz with Dave Marck and Tim Harrison at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20 in the Viterbo University Fine Arts Center Nola Starling Recital Hall.
The concert, which will include a wide variety of tunes from Duke Ellington, Richard Rodgers, George Gershwin, Miles Davis, and others, is a fundraiser for Viterbo’s Platinum Edition Show Choir.
“Dave and Tim bring great joy to their music making and their high level of skill and musicianship is outstanding,” said Nancy Allen, Viterbo music faculty member and director of Platinum Edition. “And their spontaneous spirit of creating music on the spot is truly inspiring.”
A native of La Crosse, Marck is a professional musician based in New York City...
Viterbo University is participating in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) spring semester 2020. The survey will help university officials learn more about our student’s engagement in their learning and what they have gained from their college experience.
Students can provide input about the level of academic challenge, their experience of active and collaborative learning, student-faculty interaction, and the campus environment.
All undergraduate first-year students and seniors will receive an email invitation for the survey Thursday, Feb. 20.
Viterbo participates in NSSE every three years, along with approximately 700 colleges and universities across the nation, which provides benchmarking on a national level. An additional benchmark group will be...
Caitlin Locy, admissions, took home the Honors Program Chili Cookoff trophy for the third year in a row. She was presented with the award by Matthew Bersagel Braley and honors students. Locy took first place out of 16 entries. The event raised $200 for the organization of her choice, the Viterbo food pantries.
The Viterbo community is invited to attend a retirement reception for Bev Oney, physical plant, at 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21 in the Fine Arts Center Hospitality Suite room 116.
Cake and refreshments will be served. Oney has served at Viterbo for 32 years.
Registration is live for Service Saturday Feb. 22. There is space for people to serve at Habitat for Humanity ReStore, New Horizons Shelter, The Children's Museum, Boys and Girls Club, and The Exchange.
Registration is open until the end of the day Tuesday, Feb. 18. Click here to sign up on UGetConnected.
Members of the Viterbo Student Nurses Association gathered for a photo Feb. 7 before departing for the Wisconsin Student Nurses Association annual convention. Viterbo student Alisha Bell was elected as legislative vice president to the WSNA board, which faculty member Julie Meyers described as “a huge undertaking because, in this role, Alisha will be the main planner for the annual convention.” Congratulations Alisha. Learn more about the WSNA at http://www.wisconsinsna.com/about.
The D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership is accepting applications for the 2020-2021 Research Fellowship.
The Ethics Institute will award up to three fellowships for faculty to conduct research in their fields related to the topics of ethics and leadership. All Viterbo University faculty members are eligible to apply. The fellowships will provide each recipient with an award of $7,000 plus additional funds as needed to cover research expenses.
The application deadline is Wednesday, April 8. Submit proposals to Rick Kyte at rlkyte@viterbo.edu. The recipients will be announced Wednesday, April 22.
This is one in a series of student profiles to be featured in Connections. The profiles are part of a project to articulate the Viterbo difference through storytelling. Have a student story worth sharing? Email stories@viterbo.edu
By Eric Timmons
Hannah Krause is studying biochemistry at Viterbo University and looking forward to a career in research, and perhaps one day working to alleviate the suffering of cancer patients, and maybe even find a cure.
Krause says it’s unlikely there’ll ever be a single “cure” for cancer, as each case is different, but she’s determined to play her part in the battle against the disease.
A junior at Viterbo, Krause grew up in Pardeeville, a small town north of Madison, and was close with her high school drama club director, who...
Connections Viterbo Employee Newsletter
Danessa Brocks, the 2020 Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater La Crosse Youth of the Year, was awarded a full-tuition scholarship to Viterbo University at a signing event in the Mathy Center Feb. 5. Also pictured are Viterbo President Glena Temple and Jake Erickson, executive director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater La Crosse. Click to view more photos from the event, and read or watch Brocks’ story.
The Viterbo community is invited to celebrate Homecoming Saturday, Feb. 15.
Saturday, Feb. 15
10 a.m. Wall of Fame Induction Ceremony – Fine Arts Center FSPA Lobby. Being honored are Joe Dunham, benefactor support; Katie Flock ’15, women’s volleyball; Chad Miller ’02, baseball coach; and Steph Wisen ’15, women’s soccer.
11:45 a.m. Alumni Women’s Basketball Game
1 p.m. Alumni Men’s Basketball Game
4 p.m. V-Hawks Women’s Basketball
6 p.m. V-Hawks Men’s Basketball Game. Special halftime recognition of the Men’s Soccer 1999 Team.
A social will follow the V-Hawk Men’s Basketball Game in the Skogen Family Welcome Center in Reinhart Center. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar will be available. RSVP by calling 608-796-3076.
Read about three Viterbo DNP students who provided care at the scene of a car accident as originally published by In the Loop from Mayo Clinic.
Viterbo career services is collecting business professional and casual clothing for the 2020 Suits for Success event.
A collection box is located in Murphy Center 374, or email argostonczik@viterbo.edu for pick up at your office.
The Viterbo Fine Arts Center Dick Record Entrance was formally dedicated at a ceremony Feb. 6. From left are President Glena Temple, Eva Marie Restel, executive director of the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra, and Dick Record, a longtime supporter of the arts at Viterbo. Click to watch the WKBT story.
By Mary Rieder, library
With almost 68,000 streaming videos covering subject areas such as business and economics, education, science, nursing, counseling and therapy, classical music, sports medicine, theatre, engineering, religion, and LGBTQ studies, you may have already used the library’s subscription to Academic Video Online (AVON) for class assignments, but did you know it also has many videos you can watch just for fun? Included in the collection are videos from the A&E television network, the BBC, PBS, the History Channel, London’s Royal Opera House, Live from Stratford-upon-Avon the Royal Shakespeare Company, and the Discovery Channel, just to name a few.
To sample some of these more entertaining videos, I asked several library staff members what some of their...
The top five finishers in the annual Health Science Scholarship competition are pictured with Viterbo President Glena Temple. From left are Grace Stockwell, fourth place ($10,000), Karn Vethe, second place ($12,000), Tristan Meighan, winner, (full tuition), Megan Huss, third place ($12,000), and Cameron Zimmerman, fifth place ($10,000). Twenty-five finalists participated in the event, and places 6–25 received a $4,000 scholarship. All scholarship amounts are over four years.
The Viterbo community is invited to attend the annual Honors Program Chili Cook-off tomorrow, Feb. 11 from 11 a.m.–1 p.m. in the School of Nursing Building Lobby.
Everyone attending the event will be able to sample numerous chilis and vote for their favorite.
A freewill offering will be collected. All proceeds from the event will go to the charity of the winner’s choice.
Viterbo community members are invited to nominate deserving students to receive the St. Catherine’s Medal.
The St Catherine’s Medal is awarded to three to five students each year who represent the high ideals of a Catholic college education, including Viterbo’s core values of contemplation, hospitality, integrity, stewardship, and service. Thorough nominations with examples that highlight the impact a student has made are appreciated from Viterbo employees, faculty, and students.
Click here for the nomination form. Nominations are due Monday, March 2 at noon. For more context about this award, click here.
Over the past 15 years, Viterbo University’s visiting scholar program has featured lecturers from as far away as Russia and Israel. For spring semester this year, though, the university is tapping into a world-class expert in leadership who happens to be homegrown.
Jeff Thompson, M.D., former CEO of Gundersen Health System, will be the visiting scholar for Viterbo’s D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership.
“Sometimes we have these resources right in our own community that are amazing,” said Rick Kyte, director of the Reinhart Institute.
“One of the things that makes him unique for us is he’s not coming out of an academic background. He’s coming from professional practice,” Kyte said. “I think this will be very beneficial to our students. That’s the main thing we’re...
The Viterbo community is invite to attend the next Identities Project event, a Civil Dialogue on Reproductive Rights from 7–8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18 in the School of Nursing Building room 196.
The panel will consist of a Catholic Sister, a medical professional, a New Horizons advocate, and informed student body members.
This is one in a series of student profiles to be featured in Connections. The profiles are part of a project to articulate the Viterbo difference through storytelling. Have a student story worth sharing? Email stories@viterbo.edu
By Eric Timmons
Casey Fremstad felt a calling to serve as a youth minister and the religious studies and theology senior is now well on the path to realizing her dream.
Fremstad completed a youth ministry internship in New Jersey last summer, which followed work as a camp counselor for two previous summers at a local bible camp that sparked her calling.
For her senior thesis, Fremstad is studying ways to connect with the Gen Z population in ways that make church relevant to their lives.
“How we can change our approach and our language to reach...
All Viterbo community members and their family members are invited to attend the Night on the Slopes event from 4–9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28 at Mt. La Crosse. The event is coordinated by Viterbo’s recreation and leadership department.
Click for complete details and registration information.