UWM ALUMNI A Publication of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Fall 2021, Vol. 23, No. 2
Inside This Issue FALL RETURN TO CAMPUS
TOP HOOPS RECRUIT PICKS PANTHERS
THE STORYBOOK RAPPER
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 CHANCELLOR’S MESSAGE 1 UWM NEWS
4 ALUMNI SNAPSHOTS 8 UWM SPORTS
9 UWM RESEARCH 10 UWM OUTREACH
UWM NEWS COMING BACK TO CAMPUS WITH AN EYE ON SAFETY
A MESSAGE FROM CHANCELLOR MONE It’s an easy thing to take for granted, the routine of a fall return to campus. But not this year. Although we know the pandemic is far from over, we also know how important it is to do everything we can to provide our students with the best college experience possible. More than ever, our campus communities are crucial to their education and well-being. So we return to campus with new health and safety guidelines in place as well as the strongest recommendation that our students, faculty and staff take advantage of lifesaving vaccinations. I’m extremely proud of all of our faculty and staff who have dedicated themselves to making UWM’s work possible, not only this fall, but throughout the many months of the pandemic. We do this because we know how essential UWM is to so many people. We are both an educational and economic engine for Milwaukee and Wisconsin, with 80% of our graduates staying in state for at least a decade to fill a constant need for highly qualified and skilled employees. And our world-class researchers epitomize the scientific community’s broader commitment in the fight against COVID-19. Every story in this latest edition of UWM Alumni represents one of the many ways UWM has impacted our wider world. On behalf of everyone at UWM, I thank you for your ongoing support of our mission. Best regards,
Mark A. Mone, PhD Chancellor
UWM’s long-anticipated return to mostly in-person instruction came complete with excitement, improvements and a continuing commitment to providing students with a world-class education that prepares them to impact the world around them. Staff began returning en masse to their campus workplaces in August to finalize preparations for a fall semester with most classes held in person and all physical offices open. They did so in accordance with new health guidelines designed to promote campus safety while maximizing instruction. Those guidelines included wearing masks indoors and weekly testing for anyone who wasn’t vaccinated. For students, the 202122 academic year meant the return of Fall Welcome, with traditional events such as the Campus Campout and attending a Milwaukee Brewers game. New events were added, too, including a scavenger hunt and, for Harry Potter fans, a Quidditch tournament. “Fall Welcome is my favorite campus tradition,” says Rebecca Grassl, assistant director of student involvement and the Student Union.
“I love seeing students connecting, meeting people, exploring the city and getting involved.” More students are back living on campus, with many residential halls at full capacity. Dining rooms in those residential halls as well as elsewhere on campus resumed service, with nearly all restaurants and cafés in the UWM Student Union open again. And a bustling union promised to create a familiar, fuller student experience. But in the midst of rekindling an in-person community feel, there’s an awareness that everyone has faced difficult challenges during the pandemic and knowledge that many will have complex concerns when they return to campus. So UWM is taking steps to make sure people feel cared for as part of a broader healing initiative to assist students, faculty and staff. These include educational sessions about trauma that cover subjects like how to recognize and react appropriately when someone shows signs of distress. There will also be spaces designated for meditation or a quick retreat for a quiet moment, as well as ongoing discussions about the path forward. The lessons of the pandemic
A GIANNIS WARM-UP SESSION have also emphasized the importance of flexibility and adaptation. The university has invested more than $250,000 in classroom technology, called lecture capture, that allows students to access video recordings of lectures on demand. In surveys, students have shared that they value this flexibility. It also further supports their learning as conditions of the pandemic continue to change. As part of the technology investment, UWM has installed equipment such as microphones and high-definition cameras that connect directly to an instructional computer. This allows software like Microsoft Teams and Zoom to be used for class sessions in real time. It also supports the software needed for students to review previous lectures on demand. The webcams feature simple point, tilt and zoom controls, and these are accessed by a touch panel. The microphones can capture the entire classroom discussion. The devices will be available in classrooms and other spaces, with tech support provided during scheduled class hours. – Becky Lang
The story of Jane Gallop’s brush with Giannis she first shared it in a comment to a fan post on the Bucks blog brewhoop.com in 2014, the Antetokounmpo is still getting quite the ride. story received a much wider audience in the On a cold afternoon in November 2013, the aftermath of Milwaukee’s six-game triumph UWM distinguished professor of English and over Phoenix in the 2021 NBA Finals. Milwaukee Bucks fan was in the right place at Gallop had returned from vacation to her the right time to give Antetokounmpo a muchdowntown condo on July 21, the day after the needed lift. She spotted the then-NBA rookie Bucks clinched the title, when a TV reporter running down Milwaukee’s Brady Street. His emailed her for an interview. A couple of days windbreaker was a poor defense against the later, another reporter weather, but he was reached out. The desperate to make it to Athletic also posted a a game on time. story. Gallop invited him Before that, Gallop into her vehicle – a gave four interviews subcompact sedan – during the pandemic and Antetokounmpo about her good deed. squeezed his then-6“It’s part of the foot-9 frame into the story of Giannis relatively tiny back Jane Gallop gave a cramped assist to Giannis Antetokounmpo. and Milwaukee and seat. She dropped Milwaukee’s relation him off at the Bradley to Giannis,” Gallop says. “It’s part of this being Center, the Bucks’ former home, but not before getting an autograph and passing along a small market – I think Bucks fans see the players as ours.” an important piece of advice to survive a Originally from Minnesota, Gallop has Wisconsin winter. worked at UWM since 1990. She started “You need a winter jacket,” she told him. attending Bucks games in 1999 and split a Eight years later, Giannis has become quite season ticket package with a friend for about comfortable in Milwaukee. five seasons. Gallop is such a big fan that she The Bucks’ storybook run to the 2021 NBA had nails painted in Bucks colors after the championship cemented Antetokounmpo’s team won the title. reputation as the grounded superstar who “In the way that I’m thrilled about the emerged from humble beginnings while also Bucks, it also makes me feel great about showing examples of the city’s kindness to a Milwaukee,” she says. “I loved the scenes national audience. of the crowds outside the forum, and I think, Gallop’s run-in with Antetokounmpo fits ‘God, this makes the city look great,’ and that both scripts, and so it’s become a favorite story among fans of Giannis lore. Even though makes me happy.” – Genaro C. Armas
VP HARRIS TOURS UWM ENERGY LABS
UWM Professor Adel Nasiri (left) shares UWM´s energy research with Vice President Kamala Harris.
United States Vice President Kamala Harris toured UWM’s sustainable energy labs on May 4, speaking with UWM engineering researchers about their work, including next-generation wind turbines, smart microgrids, and fast chargers and batteries for electric cars. “It’s an example of the kind of transformative research we do at UWM,” UWM Chancellor Mark Mone told Harris. Harris was promoting the American
Jobs Plan and chose UWM as a stop partly because of its longstanding work with businesses to reduce their carbon footprints. The U.S. Department of Energy has supported an Industrial Assessment Center at UWM for more than 20 years. In that time, the center has helped 600 Wisconsin companies reduce energy and water consumption, enhance cybersecurity and adopt smart manufacturing technology. – Laura L. Otto UWM ALUMNI
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UWM NEWS MAJOR GIFTS WILL HAVE MAJOR BENEFITS FOR STUDENTS Two large gifts will help UWM’s current and future students for years to come. UWM alumnus and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and his wife, Anu Nadella, have given UWM $2 million to create the Fund for Diversity in Tech Education. It will help recruit, retain and graduate students from marginalized and underserved communities, preparing them for careers in computer science, data science and information technology. Also, UWM will soon receive $5.75 million from Froedtert Hospital Trust to fund scholarships for underprivileged and deserving students pursing health care-related degrees. The Nadellas’ gift will support many important initiatives, including precollege programming, undergraduate scholarships and student services such as advising, mentoring and tutoring. It will also enable emergency grant support that keeps students on track to complete their degrees, with a preference for students enrolled in the College of Engineering & Applied Science. Satya Nadella earned a master’s degree in computer science from the College of Engineering & Applied Science in 1990.
“UWM has been deeply impactful in my life,” he says, “and I will be forever grateful to the professors and computer science department that instilled in me both technical education and the confidence to apply that knowledge to tackling the biggest and hardest problems in computer science. I still carry the lessons learned at UWM with me, and Anu and I are honored to contribute to expanding that same opportunity I had to a broader group of students.” The Froedtert Hospital Trust gift will benefit students in UWM’s increasingly popular health-related majors and help fulfill a growing demand for highly skilled talent in these areas. “Diversity and inclusion are top priorities at UWM,” Chancellor Mark Mone says. “As the only public university in the state with a dual mission of access and research, we are committed to providing pathways for all – not just those who have resources. These gifts create opportunities for students who would not otherwise be able to pursue a college degree. I am grateful to the Nadellas and to the Froedtert Hospital Trust for these extraordinary gifts.” – Kari Pink
Anu and Satya Nadella
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LONGTIME DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI LEADER RETIRING Patricia Borger, UWM’s vice chancellor of development and alumni relations since 2008, will retire in January 2022. She and her Patricia Borger team have raised more than $360 million for the university, helping pay for scholarships, facilities and professors. Borger led the record-breaking fundraising effort Made in Milwaukee, Shaping the World: The Campaign for UWM, which raised a total of $251 million before concluding in 2019. “UWM has a great story to tell,” Borger said of the campaign’s success. “Volunteer community leaders played an important role. A chancellor who communicates well that UWM is worthy of philanthropic support. Generous donors and a superb, hardworking, dedicated team. All of those came together.” UWM Chancellor Mark Mone says Borger has been invaluable to the university. “She is among an elite group of leaders for her relationship building, strategy development, administration and creation of innovative partnerships,” Mone says. “There are few people besides Pat who could have maneuvered with such success through constantly changing and volatile environments to attain recordbreaking levels of support for UWM.” Borger’s special connection to UWM is personal. “I’m a first-generation college graduate. I truly believe higher education is transformative,” she says. “I want others to have the same experience that higher education gave to me. That’s why I loved being at UWM so much.” – John Schumacher
ALUMNI SNAPSHOTS
Storybook rapper Wes Tank
DR. SEUSS MEETS DR. DRE, AND A STAR IS BORN Wes Tank’s career as a performer and film producer took an unexpected turn, thanks to a Dr. Seuss book lying on the ground while he was getting ready for a rap show. The book was “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish,” and Tank decided it would be fun to improvise a rap by putting the words to a Dr. Dre beat. Tank, a 2006 UWM alumnus who has been rapping since he was 16, began incorporating the Dr. Seuss raps occasionally into his performances and the shows he did for children. “I knew the crowd was enjoying it, so I decided to take it further,” Tank says. He put the performances on YouTube, using his comic and acting skills to make the words in the books bounce and hop to the beats. Then the pandemic hit, and parents and children went online in droves looking for entertainment. Suddenly, the Dr. Seuss/ Dr. Dre mashups had a million hits and counting. Tank’s work was being featured
in Oprah and Variety magazines and on the front page of Reddit. “I wasn’t expecting that, but I was really happy about it,” he says. “I was glad that project was able to get some traction, and it sort of spawned this whole other side tangent in children’s entertainment.” That side tangent was a deal to produce episodes for Kidoodle, an online network focused on content for children. Tank and his collaborators are taking classic children’s stories, setting them to music, and adding their own art and twists to the plots. They’re accessible through the website StoryRaps.com. A five-minute episode on “Goldilox and the Three Bears,” for example, features Tank in a pseudobear costume and extols the virtue of learning about R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Tank, who is from Dodgeville, Wisconsin, credits UWM with giving him the skills that allowed his creativity to flourish. He made his own films, trying different approaches. “I made some videos
where I played all the characters,” he says, “and my classmates thought they were pretty funny. I just really enjoyed my time at UWM because it allowed me a lot of room to breathe creatively.” Tank also runs a film production company called TankThink that highlights the efforts of community organizations working to improve Milwaukee. In addition, he and a group of collaborators, many of whom got to know each other at UWM, are working on a passion project, a movie titled “Corridor,” a crime caper about a murder that may or may not have happened. The movie, which is about half finished, is set in Milwaukee. “UWM is the magnet that pulled everybody here. Our work has a Midwestern tone,” says 2013 alum Zach Erdmann, one of the movie’s writers, who notes its focus on an industrial Rust Belt city figuring out its identity. “Those ideas inform the script, so it has to be filmed here.” – Kathy Quirk UWM ALUMNI
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ALUMNI SNAPSHOTS HOW UWM HELPED FUEL CITY´S NEW FIRE CHIEF Aaron Lipski may be Milwaukee’s new fire chief, but he’s certainly not new to the job. He is the fourth generation in a family of firefighters, and he has served for 24 years. “I was around it my whole life, but my family never pressured me,” Lipski says. “In fact, they encouraged me to go to college, do something easier on the body.” He took part of their advice – earning undergraduate and master’s degrees at UWM. Named to a one-year term as Milwaukee Fire Department chief in May 2021 after serving as acting chief since October 2020, Lipski knows that the department is facing some major challenges. “First and foremost, we’ve been struggling with pretty massive budget cuts for the past 10 or 15 years,” he says, “and it doesn’t look like that’s going to be letting up anytime.” He faces those challenges and others armed with the knowledge gained from his days at UWM. He recalls one class discussion about measuring the replacement cycle for a fleet, including standard approaches and various recommendations. “I left that class and probably stayed up
half the night refiguring everything we had previously just done on a hunch,” Lipski says. “The next day, I went before a pretty powerful body here in the city,” and the officials were amazed and impressed by what he presented. In addition to administrative and budget issues, Lipski is focused on another major challenge the department faces: increasing diversity. “The fire service nationwide – and Milwaukee is no different – has been largely a predominately white male group of employees,” he says. “There is value in every one of those individuals, and they have saved a ton of lives, but I will tell you we don’t represent demographically the city we serve, and that’s a problem.” The department has also begun taking more of a role in public health efforts, including delivering gun locks and smoke alarms. Lipski is particularly proud of the role the department has played during the pandemic, working together with subject matter experts and city and county
Aaron Lipski
agencies to form a crisis response team. He says the department maintained a strong reputation in the community, even during a summer of protests and unrest. Fire trucks or ambulances would turn a corner and find the street curb-to-curb with people. “In the midst of probably the most intense protests of my era at least, we were witness to those people who were very angry,” he says, “but they would part like the Red Sea and clap as we drove our ambulances or fire trucks through.” – Kathy Quirk
A MENTOR PUTS HIS BEST FOOT FORWARD His organization has already donated more than 10,000 pairs of shoes to children. And Jacarrie Carr’s focus in the summer of 2021 was on helping kids be kids again at a four-week summer camp for 75 youngsters. The camp, based at Milwaukee’s St. Marcus School, where Carr is on staff, provided field trips, hot meals, leadership training, and learning opportunities in areas as diverse as dance and American Sign Language. Twenty teens gained job experience and leadership skills working as aides to the five teachers. “We want 5
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to help kids understand life in general, develop a work ethic and have camp opportunities they’re not used to having,” Carr says. Carr is president and CEO of Jacarrie Kicks for Kids (JK4K), a small nonprofit that is having a big community impact. The organization’s motto, “Changing the World Two Feet at a Time,” references its roots of collecting and distributing shoes for children. Over six years, JK4K has expanded its efforts to providing school supplies and haircuts as well as youthdriven programming, mentorship and soft
skills development. Among the projects: a turkey drive for Thanksgiving and a toy drive around the holidays as well as Kicking for Success, a Saturday workshop to help young people ages 10 to 18 gain skills they need to find jobs and create their own businesses. Carr started his organization as a UWM undergraduate studying nonprofit management and community organization in the School of Education’s Educational Policy and Community Studies department. He completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees
HARNESSING WATER FROM THE STORM Carrie Bristoll-Groll hasn’t only built a successful stormwater management business, but she’s also created a small pipeline for employing other UWM alumnae. Bristoll-Groll, who holds a UWM degree in civil engineering, is the principal civil engineer and CEO of Stormwater Solutions Engineering, a firm she founded in 2002. The company designs sustainable stormwater plans that imitate natural water management processes, thus reducing flooding and improving water quality. These include things like combination rain barrels and rain gardens for residences. The business has grown slowly but steadily since 2002. It now employs 10 people – most of them women and many of them UWM grads. The field Carrie Bristoll-Groll of engineering has become more diverse since she started, Bristoll-Groll says, and her office provides a supportive environment. “We’re mindful of what it takes to be a professional woman running a household,” she says. A nontraditional student herself, Bristoll-Groll completed college Before starting her own business, she worked for the while raising two small children, with a third one joining the family cities of Milwaukee and Brookfield as a stormwater civil engineer. during her time at UWM. Her husband, Tony, was very supportive. It gave her a solid background in understanding the issues cities and developers face, so once government stormwater regulations “He’d take care of the kids when I had to study or had an exam,” she says. came to the fore in the 1990s, her experience was very helpful in Bristoll-Groll is a founding member of Women of Water, a group getting her business off the ground. of over 100 women in water-related industries who network and “I had a niche business that focused specifically on those perform community service projects. She’s also been a technical stormwater management issues,” Bristoll-Groll says, “and I was determined to implement stormwater solutions with the health of mentor for Engineers Without Borders and promotes careerrelated volunteer activity with her staff. – Kathy Quirk our local environment in mind.”
at UWM and was the first winner of the School of Education’s Love Kindness award in 2017. He was also honored with a Graduate of the Last Decade Award from the Alumni Association in 2018. Support and volunteers for JK4K come from the community, a network of friends, local foundations and organizations, and his family. “If it wasn’t for my parents, I wouldn’t be able to do this at all,” Carr says. “My parents are definitely my backbone.” – Kathy Quirk
Jacarrie Carr
ALUMNI SNAPSHOTS
Erica Herrera
RESILIENCE LED HER TO UWM AND BEYOND Erica Herrera’s motto consists of only five words, but they’ve carried her through a lifetime of challenges: What more can I do? So far, the answer has included being a rock for her family, serving her country, raising four children, earning a UWM degree and being honored for starting a successful business. And she’s not done yet. “I always wanted to fulfill my dream,” Herrera says. “My goal was to go to UWM and finish my bachelor’s degree.” The path wasn’t easy for the firstgeneration college student. Her mother was widowed when Herrera was in high school. She had to drop out of MATC in 2000 when her mother became disabled. She enlisted in the Air Force in 2000, and then dealt with an abusive relationship. But in 2008, she married and now has four children. She also cares for her mother and mother-in-law, who live with her family. She started her own business in 2014, EFH Trucking, which today has 31 dump trucks. Then in 2016, in addition to re-enlisting in the Air National Guard, she 7
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began again taking steps toward earning a college degree. “I was a little intimidated by UWM, the big university, but I conquered all my fears and decided to just get it done,” says Herrera, who pursued a bachelor’s degree in human resources. While attending UWM, buoyed by the success of her trucking company, Herrera won the Governor’s Trailblazer Award for Women in Business in 2018. “I had (National Guard) training in Tennessee that weekend,” Herrera says, “so my husband picked up the award for me because I had to honor that commitment.” She completed her bachelor’s degree in 2020 and was accepted into UWM’s Executive MBA program, earning a scholarship supported in part by the program's alumni. Adam Wickersham, director of UWM’s Executive MBA program, recalls his first meeting with her. “I told her that she is seeking to join a program where she will be surrounded by a lot of talented people,” he says. “She immediately told me that
she always wants to surround herself with people of greater talent and success because it motivated her. I knew right then she would be the quality candidate I was looking for.” Wickersham was impressed with her resume and bio, and asked Herrera how she planned to add more to her plate. “She said, ‘Hard work beats talent every time.’ I signed her admission paperwork that night.” The plate got fuller. In January 2021, Herrera started a second business in property management. “To get a loan,” she says, “I had to do a financial analysis and interpret the data from business, which is exactly what I do in class.” She hopes her story will inspire other women. “My entire journey – good or bad – is worth sharing if it helps another woman, a single mom,” Herrera says. “There are no obstacles. There may be a rock, but move that rock and keep pushing forward. The only one that can stop you from doing anything is you.” – Kathy Quirk
UWM SPORTS FAMILIAR TOP RECRUIT HAS PANTHERS EXCITED tying for a team high with nine 3-pointers. The coach’s son, Patrick Baldwin Jr., You might say the UWM men’s “This was a great way to see where I chose to play closer to home at UWM, basketball team had an offseason to was at physically,” Baldwin Jr. says. “Just turning down offers from some of the remember. getting that experience and coming out country’s top programs, including Duke, Milwaukee basketball entered the with gold put me in a terrific mindset Georgetown, North Carolina, Kentucky and summer brimming with confidence after coming into the season.” Wisconsin. He’s the highest-ranked recruit making a run to the Horizon League Another positive tournament sign for UWM semifinals in March. basketball should Two months later, be visible next to one of the top high the Klotsche Center school recruits in the when homecoming country committed weekend rolls around to the program, in November. instantly raising the Construction on Panthers’ national the new Orthopaedic profile. No wonder Hospital of the team is on track Wisconsin Center, to double its season which will house ticket memberships a state-of-the-art by the time the 2021practice facility, is 22 season tips off in scheduled to begin November. UWM coach Pat Baldwin (left) and the team´s world champion new recruit – his son, Patrick Baldwin Jr. in September and “I’m very excited be completed by Fall 2022. to ever sign with a Horizon League team. about our team because we have size, It all has UWM’s coach in the mood of a A sweet-shooting, 6-foot-10 forward, we have depth and we have guard play,” proud father, one he wants to share with Baldwin Jr. missed most of his senior coach Pat Baldwin says. “My hope is that alumni. “Come out and support Panther season at Sussex Hamilton High School we can play really fast and generate some basketball,” Baldwin Sr. says. “This is going because of an ankle injury. He returned excitement and score a lot of points, and to be a really fun and exciting year with to the court this summer for the USA then just bring a lot of energy to Panther some talented kids who are going to play Basketball under-19 team that won Arena and make our fans proud.” their hearts out for you.” gold medals at the World Cup in Latvia, The centerpiece of the incoming averaging 7.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and freshman class has a familiar name. – Genaro C. Armas
KLOTSCHE EXPANSION CONSTRUCTION BEGINNING Construction is set to start in Fall 2021 on a 16,000-square-foot expansion to the Klotsche Center and Pavilion. The building will be named after the Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin, which donated $2.1 million in 2019 for the facility, and will be used primarily by the men’s and women’s basketball teams. The new building will feature a full-size basketball court, a basketball strength and conditioning center, a video room, an auxiliary sports medicine and treatment center, and a new Panther Athletics Hall of History. It’s scheduled to be completed in Fall 2022. – Genaro C. Armas
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UWM RESEARCH GRANTS HELP ADDRESS SYSTEMIC RACISM When faculty members Anika Wilson and Sara Benesh organized The Self-Care Club, their aim was to foster health and restoration for UWM students Anika Wilson of color. The workshops in the Spring and Fall 2021 semesters feature facilitators of color who lead healing and connecting activities, such as community arts programs and an in-person gardening event. It’s one of many efforts at UWM to address the needs of students who are coming off a year of emotional and financial upheaval inflicted in part by the COVID-19 pandemic. Students of color, in particular, were harder hit by the illness
and had the added stress of dealing with societal conflict over racism. “Our students of color are carrying a lot of weight, but they also care about their communities. So they can burn themselves out,” says Wilson, associate professor of African and African Diaspora Studies. “That’s not sustainable. But we can’t just say, ‘Take better care of yourselves.’” The workshops stem from one of 10 projects funded through UWM’s Toward an Anti-Racist Campus (TARC) Action Grant Program, which was launched in July 2020. The projects are sponsored through the Division of Global Inclusion and Engagement and the Office of Research, and they’re developed by UWM faculty and staff. “Creating an equitable and just campus requires ideas and action,” says Chia Youyee Vang, interim chief diversity, equity
and inclusion officer. “This grant program supports efforts that foster new solutions toward achieving racial Chia Youyee Vang equity.” In addition to the self-care workshops, the funded TARC projects include a primer course on racial equity in Milwaukee and a group story project allowing students to express what makes them feel included. There is also a collaborative that promotes the retention of faculty of color and enhances student retention in the research pipeline. For a full list of TARC projects, visit uwm.edu/global-inclusion/inclusion/ antiracist-grant-program. – Laura L. Otto
CREATING AN APP TO TREAT STUBBORN WOUNDS Photos contain a rich source of data. If you have enough of Wounds that are resistant to healing pose a challenge for health them, machine-learning algorithms running in the cloud could help care providers, who must compare photos taken at each patient health care providers precisely monitor a wound’s status. visit to track the healing trajectory. Two-dimensional pictures Gopalakrishnan and Yu participated offer limited information about the in the UWM-administered I-Corps wound, and care is interrupted when Program, which teaches academic patients skip or cannot make regular researchers how to turn discoveries appointments. in the lab into products and “When I ask colleagues who work startups. During that training, they with these patients, ‘What are the met Milwaukee physician Jeffrey tools that you use to characterize Niezgoda, a recognized wound care the wound?’ they say they collect expert at AZH Wound and Vascular wound data using a ruler and a Q-tip,” Centers. says Sandeep Gopalakrishnan, an Niezgoda suggested ways to assistant professor in the UWM expand their initial business idea, and College of Nursing. the three formed a startup company Gopalakrishnan thought clinicians called MegaPerceptron to take the could improve treatment by system to market. tapping into a resource almost Yu, a professor of computer everyone has – a smartphone. He science and biomedical engineering, and Zeyun Yu, a professor in the Zeyun Yu (left) and Sandeep Gopalakrishnan used a sizable set of different wound College of Engineering & Applied images from Niezgoda’s practice Science, teamed up to develop a to train the AI program, which supports prediction and analysis digital platform that uses photos of wounds that patients take functions. “With this amount of data to train the AI algorithm,” he themselves at home. Images taken with an app they created are says, “we are able to classify the wound types with more than then processed using artificial intelligence (AI), providing clinicians 90% accuracy.” – Laura L. Otto with accurate information on the healing characteristics. 9
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UWM OUTREACH M3 EXPANDS HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM
The Westlawn Partnership´s 10th anniversary Get Wheelin´ event.
UWM HEALTH PARTNERSHIP CYCLES THROUGH A DECADE Outdoor air pollution and widespread asthma is a double threat to a community’s health. That’s why the Get Wheelin’ in Westlawn event in Milwaukee’s largest affordable housing complex is so important. The annual event offers residents free bicycle tuneups and family bike rides over two weekends each summer. Now in its 10th year, Get Wheelin’ was launched and organized by the Westlawn Partnership for a Healthier Environment, which was established by the UWM College of Nursing with funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Westlawn Partnership gathers community stakeholders to identify and address environmental health risks in the neighborhood. “When we began,” says Anne Dressel, UWM assistant professor of nursing, “outdoor air pollution was one of the top five areas of concern, so the bike tuneups are a way to get people cycling instead of driving while also
promoting a healthy activity.” Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes spoke at the event on June 26 to mark the 10th anniversary. “I just want to congratulate and thank you for all you’re doing to make sure we keep people active," Barnes said. “This is not just how we build community, this is how we build families to help make these communities last even longer.” Because the neighborhood has no bike shops, students from UWM’s Bicycle and Motorcycle Engineering Research Laboratory partner with Dream Bikes, a Milwaukee nonprofit in Halyard Park, to make the bike repairs. Dressel says the volunteers have refurbished more than 1,000 bikes for free over the past decade. “Bikes have been very therapeutic for me,” says Phillip Van Asten, a UWM engineering senior who volunteered at this year’s event. “Anything I can do to help others get that experience is something I want to do.” – Laura L. Otto
A program that gives Milwaukee Public Schools high school seniors a taste of college life is thriving as students and teachers return to the classroom this fall. The M3 College Connections-General Pathway program expects to enroll about 120 students for the 2021-22 school year, up from 94 students in 2020-21. It’s also nearly four times the size of the inaugural class in 2018-19. The General Pathway program is one of many ways that UWM collaborates with MPS and Milwaukee Area Technical College through the M3 (pronounced M-Cubed) partnership. Students in this program take classes at UWM and MATC during their senior year in MPS. Members of the Class of 2021 earned up to 21 transferable college credits in courses such as math, English and science. The General Pathway program is the most comprehensive of the dual enrollment options offered by M3. Students also save money by getting a head start on their higher education degree while finishing high school. In the first three years alone, College Connections participants collectively saved about $750,000 in college tuition. Programs like this are why M3 continues to be recognized for its efforts. Most recently, the National College Attainment Network gave MPS and the M3 partnership a grant to assist pandemic-affected high school seniors with their college enrollment. Only 23 organizations nationally were awarded such funding. M3 partners also have banded together to support MPS graduates attending MATC or UWM. Their smart start initiatives include an on-campus experience in addition to virtual support, which allows high school students to explore college before beginning in-person classes. Such efforts underline UWM’s commitment to eliminating equity gaps and helping provide every student in Milwaukee an opportunity to earn a college degree. – Genaro C. Armas UWM ALUMNI
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