UW System on the Web

History buffs and scholars alike can enjoy full access to selected elements of Wisconsin's past through two recently published multimedia collections of particular importance to the state.

The volumes, published by the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Project, are the first in a long-range project to digitize university and state archives, making rare or sought-after historical materials available to a wider audience.

The first, the Belgian-American Resource Collection, details the large wave of Belgian immigration to northeastern Wisconsin during the mid-1850s and the unique culture these immigrants brought with them. The photographs, select publications and oral histories and abstracts were first gathered for a project in the 1970s at UW-Green Bay.

The second collection, the Wisconsin Pioneer Experience, is a compilation of materials from the state's Area Research Centers and the Wisconsin Historical Society. These electronic diaries, letters, speeches and selected writings of people tell the stories of 19th century settlers in Wisconsin.

The UW Digital Collections Center is headquartered in Madison.

Other Notable UW System Websites

• The Center for International Education at UW-Milwaukee has created a website to help visitors better understand global terrorism and national security. The site, titled "Understanding the New World Dis-Order," serves as an online global resource guide for links and research on human security, terrorism, news sources, information security and teaching resources. The site is an extension of CIE's mission to foster interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches to international education at UWM.
  
  
• A floor mosaic depicting plants and animals found at UW-Green Bay serves as the inspiration for a new web presence for the campus Cofrin Center for Biodiversity. The center's website features stories and photos about local natural history, as well as links to the campus herbarium and Richter Museum of Natural History. Visitors can also interact with UWGB faculty and staff through "Ask a Scientist," a feature in which experts solve some of the mysteries behind environmental science.
  
  
• Expert-seekers at UW-Eau Claire can now find those who know the answers right on the Web. UWEC's Experts Directory was published entirely online for the first time this fall, and the new format allows new experts and areas of expertise to be added at any time. UW-Eau Claire's experts offer insight on an abundance of topics, from academic and career decision-making to yoga and everything in between.
  
  
• American History graduate student Gregory Bond has continued his quest to tell the stories of African-American athletic pioneers at UW-Madison through a website chronicling their success. The site outlines the decades of archives, publications and team photographs that reveal the history of, until now, unheralded athletes, such as the first African-Americans to join basketball, wrestling and fencing on campus. The site is dedicated to the first three African-Americans to play varsity sports at the University of Wisconsin.
  
  
• Outdoor enthusiasts are invited to use a new website to help UW-River Falls Biology Professor Clarke Garry identify all of the aquatic bug species in the Kinnickinnic River, which runs through the UW-River Falls campus. Keen-eyed observers can contribute anecdotes about invertebrate insects found near the nationally known trout stream at Garry's online "hatch account." His extensive records are also available on the Kinnickinnic River Land Trust website hosted by the Kiap-TU-Wish chapter of Trout Unlimited, which has helped fund Garry's study.
  
  
• A new online calendar made its debut at UW-Stevens Point this fall. Visitors to the online calendar can search for specific events, or view listings by day, week or month. The comprehensive calendar tracks a wide range of campus events, including academics, athletics, guest speakers, performing arts and student organizations. The events calendar, part of the campus "myUWSP" Web portal, was created by UWSP faculty and staff members.