Chris Kemp

For Carol Halberg, there is rarely such a thing as a ‘typical day.’

Halberg, president of the UW-Eau Claire Foundation and special assistant to the chancellor, spends her days overseeing many facets of the Foundation’s advancement programs, ranging from working with alumni and students to overseeing alumni publications such as The View.

“The neat thing about what I do is that it affects the lives of individuals,” she said.

Her work was recently recognized when she was selected as a winner of the UW System’s 2005 Academic Staff Regents Award for Excellence on April 7 in Madison.

“It’s just a terrific honor,” she said. “I’m just amazed that I was selected. My hope is, and my belief is, that it’s more a recognition for the area of advancement than it is for me.”

Halberg said her work with the Foundation best falls under the term advancement.

“Advancement at a public university means fund-raising, of course,” she said. “But it also means alumni relations and communications. Those are the three areas with whom I work most closely.”

Part of the success of fund-raising at Eau Claire, Halberg said, has come from presenting a clear, concise and consistent message about what the university stands for.

“It’s all interrelated,” she said.

Working in advancement has been particularly fulfilling in the past five years, Halberg said, because Chancellor Emeritus Donald Mash “pushed it to the forefront.”

“We’ve had some real success (on this campaign) that I think has surprised some people,” she said. “And we’re still being really successful.”

During Halberg’s term as Foundation president, the fund-raising campaign met its $35 million goal and is close to its new goal of $50 million.

Halberg said she loves hearing success stories from students who have benefited from Foundation scholarships.

For example, Halberg said she recently learned of a senior who was able to gain valuable research opportunities throughout her time at Eau Claire that helped her to get into medical school.

Through her work, Halberg said one of the greatest programs she has seen develop is the Ann Devroy Fellowship, which offers a journalism student the opportunity to work at The Washington Post for three weeks in January, as well as a summer internship at one of three large Wisconsin newspapers.

In addition, a nationally recognized journalism professional comes to campus to speak at the Devroy Forum, which will take place on April 19.

“If I could have anything, I would love to have something similar to the Devroy Forum in each of our academic departments,” she said.

Melissa Vogler, a financial aid counselor, said Halberg’s work has impacted the lives of many students.

“She has been aware of the different needs of students,” she said. “She has been at the forefront of a lot of (funding scholarships).”

Vogler said Halberg has been very receptive in helping to find scholarships for specific groups such as single parents and sophomores, who often hit a lag in receiving scholarships between their freshman and junior year.

“(The foundation) works hard to make sure they’re meeting all students needs,” she said.

Scholarship opportunities are funded mainly through donations.

The Foundation donated more than $1 million in funds for scholarships in the past year, Vogler said. And that amount keeps rising, she said.

Communications is a major component of finding donations from alumni, Halberg said.

“We have to be very proactive in keeping the university in front of our alumni,” she said. “We try to keep people involved, informed, impressed with what we do.”