Chancellor Mark Mone outlined a “path forward” in challenging budget times during his Spring 2016 Plenary address, emphasizing the importance of research, student success and community engagement to UWM’s future.

Universities nationwide face increasing competition for students, with fewer teens graduating from high school each year and the rise of for-profit colleges. Wisconsin has seen 1,200 fewer high school graduates each year for the past five years, Mone told faculty members and others Wednesday.

At the same time, Wisconsin has cut public support for higher education. As a result, three-fourths of Wisconsin college students graduate with debt, owing an average of $31,000.

“We face challenging times, and we’re facing them head on,” Mone said. “And we’re going to go even more on offense.”

He and other university leaders are working with UW System officials and legislators to secure UWM’s base budget and to fund capital projects, including renovations to bring 500,000 square feet of now-unused space at Northwest Quad up to code.

But, Mone said, “I can’t talk about budgetary issues without talking about student success and enrollment.”

Enrollment at UWM has declined from 31,000 in 2010 to 27,000, reflecting the smaller number of high school graduates. “We’ve got to stabilize, we’ve got to turn that around,” Mone said.

UWM recruiters are focusing on key markets, such as the Chicago area, increasing the number of on-site admissions events at high schools and two-year colleges, and using data to find ways to improve retention and graduation rates. The Chancellor’s Enrollment Management Action Team also is developing a process to better predict and boost student enrollment.

But, Mone said, every employee must help make UWM a welcoming place for students to thrive.

“Every single person in this room, every single person on our campus – if you’re in HR, if you’re in maintenance, if you’re in custodial services, if you’re in the police department – any role on our campus, you play a vitally important role,” he said.

The final step is fundraising and development, Mone said. More than $93 million has been raised so far in the university’s campaign, including a significant amount for student scholarships.

“What it means is that there’s significant belief in and support for UWM,” Mone said.

He highlighted some of the university’s recent achievements, including:

• Being the only higher education institution in the state to be recognized and recommended by UW System to receive a U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School commendation.
• Re-accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission.
• The best overall semester GPA on record for Milwaukee Athletics students, with an average 3 GPA, and 28 student-athletes achieving a perfect 4.0.
• WUWM’s recognition by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for its work with youth affected by gun violence.

However, Mone said, the cornerstone of UWM is research – coupled with student success – that enables the university to make a difference in the community and the world.

“There will be, as long as I am chancellor, no changes to our research mission at UWM,” he said, before announcing that he was notified on Tuesday that the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education had included UWM in its list of 115 top research universities with the “Highest Research Activity.”

He concluded by noting that none of the university’s achievements would be possible without talented and dedicated employees. He highlighted several who were recognized recently, including:

• Associate Professor of History Chia Vang, who received a UW Board of Regents’ Diversity Award for her work with Hmong students.
• JAMS senior lecturer Mark Zoromski’s election into the Milwaukee Press Club Media Hall of Fame.
• Sandi Smith, Pam Conine and the American Sign Language program, which were featured in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for the work done by theater interpreters.
• Robert Schneider, an assistant professor of urban planning, who received the Wisconsin Bike Federation’s Advocate of the Year award.

Mone said the university must succeed because it is needed. Without UWM, in the past three years the state of Wisconsin would have 730 fewer nurses, 516 fewer accounting graduates, 1,051 fewer teachers endorsed for initial licensing and 1,110 fewer engineers.

“We mean too much to this community and to all the individuals across the state and this larger region (not to succeed),” Mone said. “We are transformational with what we do. You all make impressive contributions and they are recognized locally and internationally.”
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Watch the chancellor’s address on UWM’s streaming video.