UW–MADISON’S CENTER FOR LEADERSHIP & INVOLVEMENT CHANGES NAME TO OFFICE FOR STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS, LEADERSHIP & INVOLVEMENT

MADISON – The University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Center for Leadership & Involvement (CfLI) has updated its name to the Office for Student Organizations, Leadership & Involvement (SOLI) to better encompass the Office’s offerings and mission. 

Under its new name, SOLI will continue its work facilitating the registration and advisement of UW–Madison’s more than 1,000 registered student organizations (RSOs), as well as overseeing leadership development opportunities such as the Leadership Certificate Program, Student Leadership Program and Wisconsin Experience Bus Trip. 

Housed within the Wisconsin Union, the Office is led by Barb Kautz-Wittwer, interim director of student leadership and involvement.

“Our work is three-fold: cultivating student leaders, getting students involved on campus and registering and providing resources to student organizations,” Kautz-Wittwer said. “After surveying students and campus stakeholders, one thing that rang loud and clear was the need to better represent our role with student organizations. This new name — Office for Student Organizations, Leadership & Involvement — brings together all that we do and paints a clearer picture of how we serve students.”

SOLI remains dedicated to supporting students with leadership and connection opportunities on campus and beyond. 

“The Office for Student Organizations, Leadership & Involvement continues to provide students with integral opportunities to engage with campus and beyond, building real-world skills, fostering connections and creating a sense of community along the way,” said Mark Guthier, Wisconsin Union director and associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs. “We’re excited that the Office’s new name makes it even easier for students to discover these incredible resources, no matter where they are in their UW–Madison journey.”

Individuals can find more information regarding SOLI at soli.wisc.edu. 

About the Office for Student Organizations, Leadership & Involvement (formerly the Center for Leadership & Involvement)

The Office for Student Organizations, Leadership & Involvement (SOLI) assists University of Wisconsin–Madison students in intentionally connecting with the far-ranging leadership opportunities throughout campus, including student organizations. The Office supports students in making meaning of their leadership experiences and in developing leadership capacity and the ability to affect positive change. Learn more about SOLI at soli.wisc.edu. 

Dupaco Credit Union Employees Reap the Benefits of Giving Back

Dubuque, IA – This week is National Volunteer Week and Dupaco Credit Union is celebrating the impact the financial cooperative has had on the communities they serve. Logging 6,187 volunteer hours in 2024, Dupaco employees are choosing to make life better for others, by helping build homes, teach in classrooms, plant trees, clean up parks, donate blood, develop their communities, prepare healthy meals and much more.  

“It feels good to get out in our community and use my skills to help other people and organizations who may not have the resources. In my own small way, I’m serving a need for our community, I’m happy I get the opportunity to provide the help I can,” says Spencer Smith, Branch Manager at Dupaco. Smith chooses to help with the local economic development corporation in Peosta, Iowa. 

Dupaco employees don’t just walk the walk when it comes to volunteering. Their culture embodies it. Their policies promote it. And their actions add up to some impressive numbers.  

In 2024 alone: 

• Dupaco’s 602 employees volunteered a total of 6,187 hours. 
• Dupaco employees served on 170 nonprofit boards and committees 
• 256 Dupaco employees used a paid benefit in 2024 called Volunteer Time Off (or VTO), allowing them to take time off during the workday to lend a helping hand and volunteer in their community at an organization of their choice. 

That ‘feel good feeling’ mentioned by Smith is real, according to data from Mayoclinic.com. According to their studies, people who volunteer experience these benefits: 

• Improved physical and mental health — Volunteer activities keep people moving and thinking at the same time. Research also shows volunteering leads to lower rates of depression and anxiety. 
• Less stress and more positive/relaxed feelings – The release of the hormone dopamine contributes to feelings of lower stress. By spending time in service to others, volunteers report feeling a sense of meaning and appreciation, both given and received, which can have a stress-reducing effect. 
• Nurture new and existing relationships — Volunteering increases social interaction and helps build a support system based on common interests. 

Michelle Becwar, Community and Social Impact Manager, has spent the last 11 years of her career at Dupaco focusing on how the financial cooperative can create and foster community partnerships that benefit people inside and outside the organization. “Whether it’s through volunteer time off or by supporting nonprofits that help improve our communities, we’re working together to create a lasting impact and helping build strong communities,” she notes. 

Spencer adds that being part of an organization like Dupaco cultivates a powerful sense of satisfaction for his co-workers. “When we work together, whether it’s in the office or in the community, we’re helping fulfill our mission for a brighter community for all. It benefits us too. We know it makes us feel better, more connected with our peers and communities, and we have a greater sense of wellbeing. These are definitely reasons why I love working at Dupaco.” 

ABOUT DUPACO COMMUNITY CREDIT UNION  

Dupaco Community Credit Union is a not-for-profit, member-owned financial cooperative headquartered in Dubuque, Iowa. It is dedicated to the financial well-being of its members, and specializes in personalized financial counseling, money advice and education. It offers savings, loans, investments, insurance and wealth management products for individuals and businesses. Dupaco serves residents in 118 counties throughout Iowa, northwest Illinois and southwest Wisconsin. Founded in 1948 by ten Dubuque Packing Company employees, membership has grown to more than 173,000 with assets exceeding $3.5 billion. It has over 600 employees and 23 branch office locations. It is a Forbes Best-in-State Credit Union, Forbes America’s Best Small Employer, and a Des Moines Register Top Workplace. Learn more at www.dupaco.com. 

New UW-Madison research reveals a genetic influence on quitting smoking

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
April 17, 2025
CONTACT: Lauren Schmitz, llschmitz@wisc.edu

MADISON, Wis., – In a novel study that is among the first in economics to combine genetic information and data from a randomized controlled study, a team of researchers led by Associate Professor Lauren Schmitz of the La Follette School of Public Affairs identified that smoking cessation efforts may be less effective for individuals with a high genetic risk for smoking.

The National Bureau of Economic Research working paper, which also includes La Follette Professor Jason Fletcher as a co-author, finds that participants in the landmark Lung Health Study with more genetic variants that predisposed them to smoking addiction were less likely to  benefit from a five-year smoking cessation intervention program.

“While we have intuitively understood for some time that genes likely play a factor in making it easy for some to quit smoking while difficult for others, we didn’t have the capabilities to test this until quite recently,” Schmitz says. “This study leverages advances in statistical genetics to better understand the interplay between genes and behavior and hopefully improve treatment options.”

This study uses the polygenic index from 4,145 participants in the Lung Health Study, a randomized controlled trial conducted from 1989 to 1994 with heavy smokers between 35 and 60 who were diagnosed with early stages of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and were motivated to quit smoking.

A polygenic index is a weighted average of an individual’s genetic predisposition for a given trait, such as smoking addiction, based on the cumulative effects of measured genetic variants. Polygenic index measures have become an important tool for connecting genetic data with social outcomes in social science research.

Although both treatment groups in the Lung Health Study were 23% more likely to quit smoking on average, the success of the intervention declined by approximately 2.5% for every standard deviation increase in the polygenic index associated with the likelihood of beginning to smoke.

Smoking has declined in popularity in the US over the last several decades, with 2024 matching a historical low as only 11% of adults reported smoking cigarettes in the previous week. Despite the decrease in prevalence, smoking remains a significant public health concern.

“Tobacco use is still the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the US. Precision medicine approaches that tailor smoking cessation efforts to individuals’ genes could help improve cessation outcomes in high-risk smokers,” Schmitz says.

Schmitz and Fletcher are leading scholars in the emerging field of social genomics, and core faculty members for the Initiative in Social Genomics at the La Follette School of Public Affairs.

The Initiative in Social Genomics integrates social science and genetic research to study how genes are linked with human behavior and socio-economic outcomes, how genes and environments interact, and how social conditions can influence humans all the way down to the molecular level.

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Carnelian Art Gallery announces new exhibition

MADISON, Wisconsin, April 8 – Carnelian Art Gallery, located at 221 King St., Suite 102, in downtown Madison, is pleased to announce its second art exhibition of the year, titled “Dreams In the Undergrowth.” The show will kick off with an opening reception at 5 p.m. on Friday, May 16, at the gallery and last through the end of June. As always, light refreshments will be served.

Opening night for Carnelian’s show is also Gallery Night for the city of Madison. Organized by the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Gallery Night “offers art lovers and art novices alike an opportunity to enjoy a wide variety of exhibitions, opening receptions, special events and demonstrations at venues throughout the city. During Gallery Night, dozens of venues open their doors to invite the public in to see and shop for original artwork,” according to MMoCA.

“Dreams In the Undergrowth” exhibiting artists include Hanna Bruer, Rick Ross, Karen Laudon, Erin Liljergen, Susan Kaye and Ray Zovar. They each specialize in either two- or three-dimensional abstract artworks, which focus overall on themes surrounding the subconscious, human emotions, nature and the environment.

This exhibition’s opening reception will include a live painting session by Hanna Bruer. The session is set to commence at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 16, and last until 7:30 p.m. Bruer in her sessions converts a blank canvas into an active work of art, letting the bystander experience her creative process from start to finish.

Her paintings combine illegible text and grunge textures to create visceral atmospheres. They are inspired by her struggles with mental health. Bruer’s canvas serves as a personal journal to create something beautiful out of adversity.

She has created paintings at venues like the Majestic Theatre and Memorial Union Terrace in Madison, as well as for MMoCA Gallery Nights. Her works and story have been featured in the Wisconsin State Journal, Madison Magazine, Isthmus, the Cap Times, as well as on NBC News.

“We are so excited to feature the works of these six talented artists in ‘Dreams In the Undergrowth’,” said Emilie Heidemann, Carnelian Art Gallery marketing director. “Each artwork invites the onlooker to entertain what lies beneath the surface of their conscious reality. There’s something very powerful about that.”

“This is a show you won’t want to miss,” said Evan Bradbury, the gallery’s owner and head curator. “I’m so proud to have such talent adorn the walls of Carnelian Art Gallery.”

Dupaco Foundation to award $250,000 in grants to nonprofit organizations

DUBUQUE, Iowa – Area nonprofit organizations have the opportunity to receive grant funding from the Dupaco Foundation. Applications are now being accepted for the Dupaco Foundation Nonprofit Grant program. This annual competitive grant program provides financial support to nonprofit organizations whose mission or programs align with one of the foundation’s three focus areas:

• Affordable housing and homeownership
• Upskilling and reskilling
• Small business development

“The Dupaco Foundation is dedicated to empowering our communities by supporting organizations that drive meaningful change in these areas,” said Joe Hearn, Dupaco Foundation Secretary and President/CEO of Dupaco Community Credit Union. “Through this grant program, we aim to amplify the efforts of these nonprofits, fostering innovation and creating opportunities for growth and development.”

The Foundation will award $250,000 in grant funding. Individual grant amounts are available up to $20,000, depending on scope and scale of the project. Proposals should demonstrate clear, impactful goals with measurable outcomes.

This is the second year of the annual program. In 2024, twenty-nine nonprofit organizations were awarded a total of $250,000 in grants.

Online applications are being accepted now through May 30, 2025. Grants will be awarded in July 2025. For more information and to apply, visit www.dupaco.com/ways-we-give.

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ABOUT DUPACO FOUNDATION:
Dupaco R.W. Hoefer Foundation, also known as Dupaco Foundation (the “Foundation”), is a tax-exempt private foundation described in Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3). The Foundation is a separate legal entity from Dupaco Community Credit Union (the “Credit Union”) and is governed by its own Board of Directors and officers. The Foundation was established in 2011 to honor the retirement of 47-year employee and long-time Dupaco Community Credit Union President and CEO, Robert W. “Bob” Hoefer. The Foundation is designed to carry on the Bob Hoefer tradition of providing personal financial assistance and coaching to help hardworking and financially prudent people recover from unforeseen life events and to increase their opportunities for financial stability. Learn more at www.dupaco.com/foundation.