Three UW-Stevens Point alumni honored for community service

By Patrick Lynn

STEVENS POINT — Three University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point alumni are being recognized for decades of work ranging from supporting veterans and the arts to wildlife conservation.

Jim Campbell, a 1970 graduate; Dawn Borremans Stadelman, a 1994 graduate; and Richard Thiel, a 1975 graduate, have been selected to receive the Pointer Impact Award.

The award was created by the UW-Stevens Point Alumni Association Board of Directors in 2020 to recognize alumni who have made an impact in their communities through their careers or volunteer work.

Campbell, of Rib Mountain, has served as co-founder and vice president of marketing for the Never Forgotten Honor Flight in Wausau since 2009. He has accompanied World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War veterans on 58 honor flights.

A biology graduate and retired U.S. Marine, Campbell worked for IBM from 1976 to 2003 and has served on the boards of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. He is also an instructor for UW-Stevens Point’s Becoming an Outdoors-Woman program and has served as a SAFER District fire commissioner since 2013.

Campbell helped establish the Merrill Area Veterans Coffee and Conversation in 2025 and has also volunteered with the Chamber of Commerce and Junior Achievement. His volunteer work has earned him 13 President’s Volunteer Service Awards and the 2018 IBM Platinum Volunteer Award.

“It’s gratifying to see one of our alums so committed to the support and recognition of veterans,” said Joshua Hagen, dean of the UWSP College of Letters and Science. “Jim’s work with the scouts, Becoming an Outdoors Woman and fire commission shares his biology education with his community in engaging ways.”

Stadelman was inducted into the Beloit Historical Society Hall of Fame in 2025 and has held several leadership roles with the Beloit Art Center, including gallery manager, board president, vice president and secretary.

Her community work has also included the Beloit Public Library and its foundation, Discovery PLAYce, Kids Fun and Drama, DePaul University’s Parent Leadership Council, Beloit Memorial High School Theatre, Visit Beloit’s First Impressions Committee and the Angel Museum.

Stadelman studied interior architecture at UWSP and has worked in commercial interior design, project management and gallery and museum administration. She currently works at the Wright Museum of Art at Beloit College.

“Dawn has applied her passion for design to her passion for community service,” said Stuart Benkert, dean of the UWSP College of Fine Arts and Communication. “Her creativity has made a difference in the lives of children and members of her community, inspiring them to engage in the arts in new ways.”

Thiel, who studied biology and natural resource management at UWSP, spent his career with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and devoted much of his professional life to the recovery of wolves in Wisconsin.

He began researching the eradication of timber wolves in Wisconsin while still in high school and later documented their return to northern Wisconsin. In 1980, he became the DNR’s wolf biologist, a position he held until 1989.

Thiel later returned to Sandhill Wildlife Area near Babcock, where he created and operated the Sandhill Outdoor Skills Center. In 1989, he co-founded the Timber Wolf Information Network, an organization focused on providing science-based information about wolves.

He is the author of “The Timber Wolf in Wisconsin: The Death and Life of a Majestic Predator,” published in 1993, and has written or edited several other books and numerous scientific and popular articles. In retirement, he continues teaching classes and giving presentations about wolves and other wildlife.

“Richard’s career and professional passion has been dedicated to wildlife conservation, specifically the recovery of wolf populations in Wisconsin and the upper Great Lakes,” said Brian Sloss, dean of the UWSP College of Natural Resources. “He continues to be engaged and passionate about not only his wolves and nature, but also the CNR and his university.”

“It continues to be an honor to recognize and celebrate truly outstanding alumni through this award,” UWSP Alumni Board President Jody Rowland said. “We are grateful to have so many tremendously generous and impactful people in the Pointer family.”

Campbell, Stadelman and Thiel will be honored during the UW-Stevens Point Alumni Association Board of Directors meeting this fall.

Nominations for future recipients can be submitted through UW-Stevens Point’s Alumni Award Nominations page.