Dear UWM Faculty, Staff, and Students,
As the world’s attention is focused on our campus where we are hosting a presidential candidate debate this Thursday, we received word that UWM has been named one of the top research universities in the country.
It is my great pleasure to announce that UWM has been elevated to the elite status of R-1 doctoral research university by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. This is the ultimate recognition for top doctoral universities nationwide, which is compiled by Carnegie every five years. UWM rose to the category “highest research activity” from R-2 or “high research activity.”
UWM is one of only 115 universities in the nation – and there are more than 4,600 post-secondary institutions in the U.S. – to be considered to be top-tier research institutions. This is inspiring, gratifying and serves as validation of the remarkable impact of UWM’s faculty, staff and students. Other institutions with R-1 status include Yale, the University of Michigan, Harvard, and Duke, among other highly distinguished universities and colleges.
The wide-ranging array of critically acclaimed research is UW-Milwaukee’s hallmark, and serves as the calling of so many of our exceptionally talented faculty, staff and students. You introduce vital research that drives human, scientific and technological discovery in our world. As one of our esteemed faculty members put it, “Many of us came to UWM because we bought into the vision of UWM becoming a ‘top-tier research university,’ which by definition is exactly this. How often do visions actually come true?”
Through grit and determination – and despite dwindling state resources – you made UWM the prominent research and access institution that it is today. This is a proud moment in our history and I congratulate you.
You and UWM matter more than ever. Your past and future contributions are central ingredients in our success. The R-1 classification is truly momentous and would not have come to be without you.
Best regards,
Mark A. Mone
Chancellor
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee