Greetings Colleagues:
This is my last campus message as chancellor, with me handing the “campus key” to Chancellor Thomas Gibson Monday morning, July 14. Tom brings a wealth of experience and is, to my knowledge, the only person ever hired to lead UWM from a sitting presidency. He has participated in many onboarding discussions and meetings, and I am confident the transition will be smooth and that Tom will be a great chancellor; you deserve no less.
Thank you for your longstanding support as we have braved, persevered, and succeeded against mighty headwinds: budget cuts, a global pandemic, demographic downturns, political divisions, and more. It is to your credit—through your talent and hard work—that today we are recognized as top tier in research, social mobility and access, and community engagement by the Carnegie Classifications. That we were the first institution of higher education in Wisconsin to be recognized by APLU as an Innovation and Economic Prosperity university and by the U.S. Department of Education as a Green Ribbon award winner speaks to the importance of our work.
Numerous business, education, healthcare, and additional partnerships—with our most recent ribbon cutting being the Microsoft, Titletown Tech, and UW-Milwaukee AI Co-Innovation Lab—have developed, we have set records for philanthropy and successful accreditations, and we just learned that our major capital project, the Health Sciences Renovation (NWQ), was enumerated for the next biennial budget. Our graduates are in high demand, our student-athletes continue to set academic and athletic records, and our community standing and impact have never been higher. These and other major accomplishments are attributable to the confidence our partners, donors, alumni, elected officials, and business and community leaders have in our work and your abilities.
Above all, we have contributed mightily to the individual transformation of almost 60,000 graduates over the last 11 years. Their lives are forever changed, and their families, employers, and society are the beneficiaries. Through our mission of education and knowledge creation, employers and innovation thrive, people live longer, the environment is more sustainable, and the region is economically robust. Your work matters.
Last week the most positive state budget for higher education in at least 20 years was approved, and I’m grateful to Governor Evers and the legislature. Yet our sector continues to have significant obstacles and challenges, and it’s unlikely that these will dissipate. In this context, UWM will need your creativity, resolve, and experience to turn hardship into opportunity, peril into Panther pathways for student success. You have strong leaders and highly engaged, valuable governance teams. You are the colleagues who have overcome the greatest challenges of our campus’ history. I’m confident UWM will prevail.
It has been my privilege to serve as your chancellor. Your support and outreach have been instrumental in our ability to achieve great things. This work has been the most personally gratifying of my life, and I’m forever grateful for the opportunity to serve alongside such amazing and dedicated professionals at all levels.
Thank you, and I’ll see you on campus and in the community for years to come. Go Panthers!
Mark A. Mone, PhD
Chancellor