Authors

Dr. Jamie Henke

Dr. Jamie Henke is a Distinguished Faculty Associate here at UW-Madison. She teaches face-to-face, online, and honors sections of Basic Concepts of Music Theory for non-majors for the School of Music. She also teaches music theory, composition, and music appreciation at a distance for the Division of Continuing Studies. Her top teaching awards include the Hilldale Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, a Lifetime Achievement Award, University Housing’s Honored Instructor award, and induction as a Teaching Fellow in the UW-Madison Teaching Academy. She serves as a Co-Chair of  the UW-Madison Teaching Academy Executive Committee and in conjunction with the Academy has developed a series of teaching programs that provide pedagogy training for instructors and space for students and faculty to share ideas about teaching through the UW-TEaCH initiative on campus. Dr. Henke conducted a research project comparing face to face, blended, and online delivery methods. She published the first truly online music theory textbook entitled “Theory Gizmos: Fundamental Tools to Understand, Analyze and Build Music.” She has been awarded various Engage grants to work on podcasting projects, collaborative learning projects, an e-learning video project, and several Simulations and Games projects with the Division of Information Technology at UW-Madison. She is the coordinator for Independent Learning in music and Online Continuing Education in music. Dr. Henke created and offers a new program pairing the arts with children’s literature, called Literally Arts, for the Odyssey Junior project that helps disadvantaged students engage in education. She has a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance and a Ph.D. in music theory, both from UW-Madison.

Dr. Rich Freese

Born in Tucson, Arizona and spending most of his life in the Midwestern United States, Dr. Rich Freese’s musical interest started in late high school when he began to teach himself how to play the electric guitar. He subsequently earned music composition degrees at Wisconsin Lutheran College, Truman State University, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Freese’s professional activities have focused on education, church music, and composition. As an educator, he has taught students of all ages and interests in one-on-one music lessons (guitar, bass, piano, theory), classrooms and workshops, and online courses. His original compositions (choral, instrumental, electronic) have been performed throughout the United States in settings including art exhibition openings, theatre productions, worship services, music festivals, and concert halls.

Outside of music and education, pursuits and hobbies include art, reading, video games, and spending time with family.

Artist

Moira Villiard

Moira Villiard is an independent traditional artist, activist, muralist, writer, designer and filmmaker who, by some feat of pluralism, hopes to better our community through these niches. She’s (still) known for her live painting demonstrations at cafes, fledgling businesses, event openings, and in classrooms; a major part of her philosophy is making art accessible and interactive. Stylistically, her artwork ebbs and pulls between the realms of portraiture, illustration and surrealism.

She currently works as the Cultural Program Coordinator for the American Indian Community Housing Organization (AICHO) in Duluth, MN, curating art shows, connecting with native artists, aiding in the development of community outreach strategies, and organizing culture, arts and language-based workshops for both housing residents and artists alike.  An established visual artist herself, Villiard’s career as a professional painter began with the help that AICHO provided at her first art exhibition 3 years years ago.  Since then, she has been featured in over 100 gallery exhibitions, art workshops and demonstrations, and has worked as an event coordinator for a variety of different community institutions.  She currently serves as a freelance editor and graphic designer, as well as the Vice Chair for the Executive Board of the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, co-founder of Dream of Duluth: A Global Street Outreach Initiative, and is a coordinator of the Twin Ports-based variety show, A Goody Night.

Editor

Dr. Sarah Korpi

Dr. Korpi is the Academic Program Director for Independent Learning at UW-Madison’s Division of Continuing Studies. She also teaches online German language courses. Dr. Korpi’s interest in the German language developed through high school German courses, and was solidified by coursework and research opportunities at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where she earned Bachelor’s degrees in German Studies and American Indian Studies. She continued her education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she earned her MA and PhD in German literature.

A generalist at heart, Dr. Korpi’s research interests include: identity formation in a second language, the American Indian figure in East German children’s literature, accent perception in second languages, professional development for teaching faculty, andragogy and heutagogy, and ESL student support in general education classrooms.

In addition to professional interests. Dr. Korpi enjoys gardening, cooking, automotive repair, and spending time with her family and friends.

Digital Media Specialist

William Hagen

William Hagen is from Cedarburg, Wisconsin, a small town about 25 miles north of Milwaukee. He is currently an undergraduate student at UW-Madison majoring in statistics and environmental science. He also has a passion for the Spanish language and an interest in learning more about Spanish speaking cultures.

William has had a strong background of using technology in a professional setting long before he joined Independent Learning in 2017 here at UW-Madison. He has used his past experiences and skills to transfer course content, organize and format this material, and manage the organization of this information on online platforms. Through his work, he tries to make content easy for independent learners to access and use.

In his free time William enjoys traveling with his family and friends to new places across the globe. He’s been to England, France, Spain, Italy, and Haiti and hopes to add to that list. He also enjoys playing and watching sports, especially basketball and golf. William likes spending time in nature by hiking, swimming, kayaking.