Almanac

Get oriented
Learn more about the university Monday, April 15, at the Employee Orientation and Celebration, which offers an opportunity to gather resources from various campus representatives. Enjoy the afternoon networking with your university colleagues. Kohl Center, noon-4 p.m. Information: 263-1016, registrations@bascom.wisc.edu.

Diversity forum planned
The second annual Plan 2008 Campus Forum will be Tuesday, May 7, 8:15 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Memorial Union.

Faculty, staff and students are invited to attend the event, which will focus on the university’s response to Plan 2008, the UW System’s initiative to increase faculty, staff and student diversity at all UW campuses.

The forum features a resource fair of best practices for achieving Plan 2008 goals; panel discussions with deans and directors; and a question-and-answer session. Information: 262-5175, rparedes@mail.bascom.wisc.edu; 265-5460, rjryan@facstaff.wisc.edu.

Speech festival limits traffic
The annual Wisconsin High School Forensics Association State Speech Festival will be held on the Madison campus April 12-13. The event involves 6,000 students and several hundred judges using classrooms in or near the Bascom Hill area. The festival runs 4-10 p.m. Friday, April 12, and 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, April 13. Festival headquarters will be in 272 Bascom. Observatory Drive will be limited to one-way traffic westbound from North Park Street to Charter Street from 3-11 p.m. April 12 and 8 a.m.-noon April 13. This is due to the large number of school buses that will be dropping off and picking up festival participants, as well as increased pedestrian traffic in the area.

Organic dinners served
Help support local farmers by eating dinner in a UW–Madison residence hall. Dining Service will serve an organic dinner with menu items from Wisconsin family farms Wednesday, April 10, at Frank’s Place and Elizabeth Waters Dining Hall, 5-7 p.m. Cost $5-7.

Blood drive aids professor
The School of Human Ecology sponsored a successful American Red Cross Blood Drive on March 15, with 50 faculty, staff and students donating blood in honor of Professor Betty Black.

Plant pathologist dies at 75
Eugene B. Smalley, emeritus professor of plant pathology and forestry, died March 25. He was 75.

Smalley joined the faculty in 1957 when Wisconsin’s elm trees were being decimated by Dutch elm disease. Smalley’s research resulted in the development of several disease-resistant elms, and he became an internationally recognized expert on the disease. “Smalley’s Elms,” the collection he assembled for his breeding program, stands just off Highway 51 at the Arlington Agricultural Research Station. A memorial service was held Friday, March 29. Memorials may be made to the Ridges Sanctuary in Door County or Olbrich Botanical Gardens.

Backward glance
From Wisconsin Week, April 1, 1992: Stu Jackson is named men’s basketball coach. … Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel reminds students of “the real meaning of racism” in a campus speech. … The UW System budget is restored to the level originally proposed by the governor. … Chancellor Donna Shalala and UW System acting president Katharine Lyall square off as player-coaches for the April Fool’s Day Women’s Basketball Challenge. … The Daily Cardinal marks its centennial.