UW System Outstanding
Women of Color In Education Awards

Renee Gralewicz, UW Colleges

Dr. Renee Gralewicz is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Sociology at UW-Barron County, where she currently currently team-teaches a Women in Cross Cultural Perspectives with Psychology of Gender class. Dr. Gralewicz has taken an active interest in the changing demographics (particularly changes in ethnicity) of small Wisconsin communities. She received two research grants to support her migrant research project on migrant health status, health care needs and health care access. On campus, she strives to educate students on ethnic diversity and poverty issues. She also has received grants to sponsor campus and community reading seminars reflecting on minority relations within America, past and present. Dr. Gralewicz also served as advisor to the campus' United Students organization, created to ensure marginalized populations have a place and space for their issues and The Sociology Club, created to bring social issues to the campus.

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Renee Gralewicz

Maiknue Moua, UW-Eau Claire

Maiknue Moua is an outstanding UW-Eau Claire senior student leader who has made significant contributions to diversity on campus. She is studying Hmong women leaders and predicts they will be a rich addition to women's studies. Ms. Moua is a leader in various activities. Since 1998, she has been on the Dean's List and has attained academic distinction. She is a member of several honor societies and recipient of various prestigious scholarships. In her three years as a student at UW-Eau Claire, Ms. Moua has spent many hours as a leader in a number of student organizations including the Hmong Student Association. She also is an active member of the Asian American Student Organization and works closely with the American Ethnic Coordinating Office. Maiknue also is an active member of the UW-Eau Claire Campus Ambassadors, which assists the Chancellor's and Admissions offices. In addition, she performs in the Career Services Readers' Theatre about making the right career decisions.

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Rosa Canales, UW-Extension

Rosa Canales of UW-Extension is a member of the Academic Staff and serves as the Program Administrator for the Wisconsin Nutrition Program, Milwaukee County Extension. She manages a program which annually reaches 25,000 people with educational information about healthy diets and the management of family financial resources. As a volunteer at La Escuela Fratney, a Spanish two-way bilingual school in Milwaukee, Ms. Canales influences curriculum, budgets and hiring policies, and is an advocate for parental involvement and influence in the educational achievement of children. She also helped secure a $250,000 grant to develop the concept of parental involvement in education. For UW-Extension, Ms. Canales has served on the Plan 2008 Committee, the Chancellor's Diversity Council, the Program Development Diversity Committee, the Southeast District Resource Management Committee, and the Staff Training Committee. In Milwaukee County, Ms. Canales has served on the Maximus Advisory Committee, the Second Harvest Customer Advisory Committee, the Milwaukee Food Providers Coalition and the Hunger Task Force Food Sustainability Committee.

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Jane Lynch, UW-Green Bay

Jane Lynch is the Associate Advisor at the Department of Academic Advising at UW-Green Bay. During her years in the Green Bay area, Ms. Lynch has been involved in many organizations working with women of color, children, and single parents. She serves as a resource throughout the community. Her list of activities include: her work as co-founder and Vice President of the Women of Color-United; serving in the Board of Directors of B.A.B.E.S., Inc., a child abuse prevention program in the Fox Valley; participant on the Appleton Police Department Advisory Committee; and member of the Green Bay Area African American Gospel Choir. Ms. Lynch is an outstanding member of the University of Green Bay academic staff and the greater Green Bay community. She has worked tirelessly on behalf of students, children, and women of color in Green Bay, Brown County, and the Fox Valley.

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Barbara Stewart, UW-La Crosse

Barbara Stewart currently serves as Director of Multicultural Student Services at UW-La Crosse. She has held positions in Residence Life and Multicultural Student Services at Iowa State University, University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, and Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. Ms. Stewart is a past winner of the U/IUC outstanding staff member award and was a recent recipient of the Order of Omega Dissertation Fellowship Award. Her commitment to scholarship, research, and teaching of multiculturalism is well documented. Her countless hours of working with undergraduate and graduate students about research procedures and writing have been a trademark of her efforts. Ms. Stewart is committed and works hard to bring out the best in staff and students. She has gone beyond the call of duty with her staff and the students that she serves.

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Ada Deer, UW-Madison

Ada Deer is a nationally recognized social worker, organizer, scholar, teacher, and political leader. She is also a tireless mentor to women undergraduates, graduate students, faculty and administrators as well as an unceasing advocate of increased opportunity for all women at UW-Madison--especially for American Indian women and other women of color. Ms. Deer is currently a Distinguished Lecturer of the School of Social Work and Director of the American Indian Studies Program at UW-Madison. She has been honored as a Fellow at the Kennedy Institute of
Politics at Harvard University, and received honorary degrees from five institutions. Ms. Deer's accomplishments include a long list of "firsts," including: the first Menominee to receive undergraduate and honorary degrees from UW-Madison, the first American Indian to receive a MSW from Columbia University School of Social Work, the first woman Chair of the Menominee Nation, the first woman to serve as Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs under the Clinton Administration, and the first American Indian Woman to run for Secretary of State in Wisconsin and for Congress. Ms. Deer also created the first program at UW-Madison to provide social work training on reservations, co-founded the Indian Community School in Milwaukee, served with the UW-Madison Multicultural Center, was the Vice Chair for the Mondale/ Ferraro Presidential Campaign in 1984, and has participated in numerous other political campaigns.

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Cheryl S. Ajirotutu, UW-Milwaukee

Dr. Cheryl S. Ajirotutu currently teaches in the Anthropology department at UW-Milwaukee. Her specializations are linguistic anthropology, educational anthropology, women and gender, and Africa and the African diaspora. She regularly teaches women's studies courses. Always with an eye to the unique needs of women, Dr. Ajirotutu has conducted research on West African women's use of traditional technologies. She has served as a technical advisor on literacy and women's issues to UNESCO, UNIFEM and the World Bank. In addition, Dr. Ajirotutu has been instrumental in the signing of linkage agreements with three African institutions of higher education. Dr. Ajirotutu is perhaps best known in Milwaukee for two things: her innovative teaching, which has been showcased as part of the Cultures and Communities program where she is a Senior Faculty Associate, and the research she and Dr. Diane Pollard have done to document and evaluate Milwaukee's two African American Immersion Schools. She also serves as the faculty coordinator/evaluator for the FIPSE grant. Dr. Ajirotutu has mentored scores of women students at UW-Milwaukee where she makes herself particularly available to women of color.

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Saroj Thekkanath, UW-Oshkosh

Saroj Thekkanath is the Director of Student Support Services in the Division of Academic Support at UW-Oshkosh. Over the years Ms. Thekkanath has served on the Task Force on the Status of Women helping to create the UW-Oshkosh Ten Year Plan to address women's issues, and on the University Affirmative Action Council for six years. As a resource and mentor for women of color within the university community, she actively advocates for first-generation/low income students and women of color. Ms. Thekkanath received a grant from the UW System Institute of Race and Ethnicity to attend the National Multicultural Training Institute in Washington D.C., and was also awarded the Student Support Services grant from the U.S. Department of Education for 2001-2006. Ms. Thekkanath was appointed to and served on the Gender Equity Council for UW Oshkosh for three years. Her contributions to the university were recognized with the Outstanding Service Award for 2002.

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Michele V. Gee, UW-Parkside

Dr. Michele V. Gee has a dual appointment as an administrator and a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin - Parkside. She is a special Assistant to the Provost, and an Associate Professor of Business Management in the School of Business and Technology. She has tirelessly pursued issues concerning understanding and appreciating diversity, cross-cultural management, international business, community economic development, and workplace skills competencies. Dr. Gee is currently developing Mentoring Programs for the UW - Parkside campus, with particular attention to minority and female faculty and staff. She continues to serve on many committees including the steering committees for the Center for Ethnic Studies, and the Women's Studies program; the University Planning Council; Department of Business Strategic Planning Committee; and the University Budget subcommittee. She greatly contributed to the development of UWP's Plan 2008, served as Co-Director of the Center for International Studies for three years; and served as Co-Director of three regional community economic development programs during recent years. Dr. Gee has served on numerous statewide, UW System committees and task forces. In addition, she continues to mentor many students at UW-Parkside, particularly women, international students, and students of color. Dr. Gee is involved in considerable research and teaching efforts concerning people of color and women in business, global and domestic workplace diversity, and international business.

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Esther Ofulue, UW-Platteville

Dr. Esther Ofulue is an Associate Professor of Biology at UW-Platteville. She has received numerous grants, awards and recognitions including: the 2004 UW-Platteville Thomas and Lee Lindahl Teaching Excellence Award, the 2002-03 UW Syestem Teaching Fellowship, the 2001 Minority Faculty Research Award from the UW System of Race and Ethnicity, and a USDA research grant with Dr. Neal First of UW-Madison in 1999, and the Spring 2000 Teaching Skill Recognition Award by the UW-Platteville Student Planning for Success. She serves on committees that promote diversity on the UW-Platteville campus, including the Plan 2008 Committee and Minority Affairs Council. Dr. Ofulue also presents her research to diverse groups of people in an effort to promote communication between scientists and the public, and to address ethical concerns in the areas of Animal Cloning and Stem Cell Technology. Born in Nigeria, Africa where she obtained her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in
Biochemistry, Dr. Ofulue earned her Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Dr. Ofulue moved to UW-Madison in 1995 on a post-doctoral fellowship.

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Lisa White, UW-River Falls

As both a mentor and activist, Lisa White serves as an advisor to the African American Alliance, Pre-College Coordinator, and Student Support Services Advisor at UW-River Falls. Ms. White has made outstanding contributions both professionally and personally to improve the status of women and families of color. She is a role model to many and a promoter of diversity in action. Ms. White is the proud leader of Brownie Troup #412, a member of the Missionary Baptist Church Foreign Mission Relief Project to Liberia, a volunteer for the annual "Women of Faith" Conference, and a United Way Community Volunteer. Ms. White recently accepted the position of Minority/Disadvantaged Coordinator for the UW-River Falls campus. In this role, Ms. White is engaged in virtually every multicultural and intercultural activity.

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Erlinda Reyes, UW-Stevens Point

During her tenure as Professor of Education, Dr. Erlinda Reyes has served as the Coordinator for Reading, Elementary Education Center, Elementary Education, Block 111, and coordinated the University Reading Clinic for the last seven years in the School of Education. She was appointed by the Faculty Senate Executive Committee to the Search and Screen Committee for the Chancellor and Dean, and also served on the Affirmative Action and the Women and Minority Recruitment committees. During her career at UW-Stevens Point, Dr. Reyes has won two Wisconsin State Reading Association Research grants in the Open Category and been a proposal reviewer for the International Reading Association. Dr. Reyes was the first female faculty member of color to be awarded tenure at UW-Stevens Point. While on Sabbatical for Spring 2001, Dr. Reyes prepared supplementary course materials applicable for students with severe reading disabilities and wrote activities for pre-service teachers and reading teachers using adaptations of standard reading materials, and specialized remedial approaches.

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Li-Chin (Crystal) Huang, UW-Stout

Li-chin (Crystal) Huang, coming from Taipei, Taiwan in her mid 30s, studied as a grad student at Department of Sociology, Madison. Currently she is a faculty member in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Civic Effectiveness, Chippewa Valley Technical College at Eau Claire. Crystal is an enthusiastic, innovative, and caring instructor with a record of excellence in teaching, professional growth and service. Her research interests include the technological, pedagogical, and contents integration in art and diversity issues. The most recent efforts have let to assist the publication the book "The Wonder of Tao" with professor Jim Eggert at UW-Stout as the illustrator, calligrapher, and translator. Li-chin is a strong advocate and integrator of the women's issues in her daily teaching of Sociology and Psychology. Currently she serves as a co-advisor of the Diversity Club and a member of the Diversity Advisory Committee at Chippewa Valley Technical College.She is pursuing her Instructional System and Technology and Art Education PhD programs at University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Her website is http://www.uwstout.edu/socsci/huangl

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Yvonne (Ivy) Vainio, UW-Superior

Yvonne (Ivy) Vainio has been the Multicultural Student Specialist in the Office of Multicultural Affairs at UW-Superior for the past 7 and a half years. Ms. Vainio is Grand Portage Ojibwa and African American, and is very active in both the local Native American and African American communities of the Twin Ports (Duluth, MN and Superior, WI). She is also supportive and attends many Hmong community celebrations and events. As a graduate of the University of Minnesota-Duluth in History, Ms. Vainio has been instrumental in developing various successful pre-college one day recruitment programs called "College Student For A Day" which targets American Indian, African American, Hmong and Hispanic/Latino local high school students. These students attend UW-Superior for the day and shadow a UW-Superior student of color. She also coordinated a one week Native American Youth Summer pre-college program from 1999 - 2003. Ms. Vainio is involved with Students of Color on a daily basis and helps to create a warm, caring atmosphere at UW-Superior for these students. She is creative and hard-working, always looking for ways to make diversity initiatives at the forefront of everything the university does. She is a Co-Advisor for the Black Student Union. She is also a member of the Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunities Committee, the LGBT Working Group, UW-Superior Woman of Color Committee and most recently the NCA Climate Committee. She is very passionate about equal rights for everyone and enjoys working with these committees to help solve problems and create much needed awareness on these issues. Ms. Vainio has received the Woman of Color Award twice; once in 1998 and again in 2001.

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Tsu-gein Lin, UW System

Tsu-gein Lin, a Senior Policy and Planning Analyst in the Office of Policy Analysis and Research, retired from UW System Administration on January 12, 2001. She has a B.S. in Horticulture and a M.A. in Landscape Architecture. Ms. Lin began her professional career in 1976 at UW-Madison. She worked for several offices on campus, including the Assistant Chancellor for Affirmative Action, Budget and Planning (beginning in 1978); and Human Resources in 1992. In 1995, she joined the staff of OPAR as a Policy and Planning Analyst. During her tenure in OPAR, she worked in the areas of budget planning, costing, and human resources for faculty and academic staff by providing analysis and projections of faculty and staff compensations, and analysis of instructional costs. She also provided staff support for the Status of Women project.

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Freda Harris, UW System

Freda Harris serves as the Assistant Vice President for Budget and Planning in UW System Administration. She has been with UW System for 13 years, starting as a budget and management analyst. Ms. Harris served as the director of the budget development unit of the Office of Budget and Planning for 3 years prior to becoming the assistant Vice President in March of 2000. She is the 11th of 14 children and was born in rural Mississippi. Ms. Harris serves on the board of the Vera Court Community Center, and can sometimes be found serving pizza and soda at UW-Madison mens basketball games to support her sorority. Last year, she co-lead her daughter's Girl Scout troop.

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Nelia Olivencia, UW-Whitewater

Dr. Nelia Olivencia is the Director of Latino Student Programs and has provided excellent support to the UW-Whitewater campus community. Dr. Olivencia has played a major role in the retention and graduation of hundreds of Latino students during the past decade. She has worked to increase the number of UW-Whitewater students gaining study-abroad experience. Her recent study-abroad initiatives include: a Travel Study Course to Italy with 31 participants, a Travel Study Course to France with 21 participants, a Travel Study Course to Peru with 15 participants, a Travel Study Course to Cuba in the Spring of 2001 with 33 participants, a Travel Study Course to Egypt in the Spring of 2000 with 31 participants, a College of Education Travel Study to Mexico in the Summer of 2000 (a national pilot travel study program with 15 undergraduate students throughout the nation), and a Travel Study Course to Morocco/Spain in the Spring of 1999 with 30 participants. She is also the campus coordinator with an exchange program with ITESM students and has sent/received 60 students since its incipience in 1997. Dr. Nelia Olivencia is the recipient of many awards including: Nomination for the UW-W Outstanding Non-Instructional Academic Staff Award, 2003-2004; UW-W Outstanding Advisor Award 2001- 2002; UW System Woman of Color Award Fall 2001; AMSLC Outstanding Contributions and Strong Leadership Award, Spring 1997; UW System Woman of Color Award, Fall 1997; UW-W Outstanding Non-Instructional Academic Staff Award, 1995- 1996; UW-W Outstanding Advisor Award, 1992- 1993. Most recently she is serving on the Executive Board, National Puerto Rican Studies Association, 2002- 2004. In 2003-2004 she served as their Treasurer. Ms. Olivencia has served on the Executive Board, National Association of Chicana/Chicano Studies, 2000-2002 and was a Chairperson, National Premio Cervantes Award for Graduate and Undergraduate Students, 2000-2002. Her most recent publication appeared in Storytelling Sociology: Narrative as Social Inquiry, edited by Berger, Ronald J. and Quinney, Richard. Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2004

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