9/25/2009

The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters is pleased to announce the selection of Betty Ferris as 2009 Minerva Laureate. Ferris, an oral historian, entertainer, educator and community activist, will be honored at the annual Wisconsin Academy Fellows & Minerva Society reception Sunday, October 11, 1-3:30 p.m. at the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley Communications Arts Center, 1478 Midway Road, in Menasha. For more information about this event, please contact Gail Kohl or call 608-263-1692, x14.

The Minerva Award is named after the Roman goddess, appreciated for her wisdom and as a crusader against ignorance. Minerva Society Laureates exemplify the spirit of Minerva through their lifelong commitment to art and culture. The Minerva Society represents the Wisconsin Academy's most generous annual patrons.

Since 1986, Betty Ferris has contributed much to the magic behind Big Top Chautauqua, the performing arts organization in Bayfield County devoted to developing cultural understanding and an appreciation for the history of the Upper Midwest. A founding member of the organization, she served as president of the first Board of Directors and for nearly 25 years has been Big Top's visuals director, presenting all projected images for Chautauqua tent-theater shows at home and on tour. The shows draw largely on songs, stories and images from the many original "illustrated musical histories" Ferris has co-created with Warren Nelson for community celebrations of people, places, and events throughout the Great Lakes region.

She was a co-recipient of the first Wisconsin History Award and the 2007 Governor's Award in Support of the Arts. In 1992, Ferris received an Historic Preservation Award for leading the citizen effort which returned the historic fresnel lens to the Devil's Island Lighthouse Tower. But Ferris wears other hats as well. Under contract with CESA12, she coordinated two regional federal Teach American History grants that provided professional development for K 12 educators in northern Wisconsin school districts. Ferris also created a variety of Wisconsin Idea-inspired AV materials for UW‹Madison, including her traveling show "Stories of Old Wisconsin" and the award-winning Wisconsin Electronic Reader sesquicentennial website. In her distinguished career, she has continued to serve as a social justice advocate for the elderly and people with disabilities. She was the founding director of Disability Rights Wisconsin, the State's Governor-designated protection and advocacy agency, and was recently phase I planning project manager for Wisconsin's new eleven-county, northwest Long Term Care District. She lives in Washburn.

About the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

Founded in 1870, the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters has a rich history of connecting people and ideas across our state. The Wisconsin Academy provides a place where people who care about culture, nature, and the challenges of our times can gather for fruitful discourse and meaningful action. Wisconsin Academy programs include the James Watrous Gallery at the Overture Center for the Arts, a gallery by and for Wisconsin artists; Wisconsin People & Ideas, our quarterly magazine about Wisconsin thought and culture; Academy Evenings, our statewide series of public forums; and the Wisconsin Idea, a public policy program‹the most recent of which focuses on "The Future of Farming and Rural Life in Wisconsin." For more information on our programs and events, or to become a member of the Wisconsin Academy, visit wisconsinacademy.org.

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