Dear Faculty and Staff,

As the fall semester approaches and we continue our COVID-19 plans and preparations, you will be receiving many emails and updates. Beyond those communications, Provost Johannes Britz and I want to give one topic a message of its own to emphasize its importance – the value of us all going out of our way to welcome and positively serve our students.

It has long been critical for UWM faculty and staff to give our students care and attention. We want them to feel like they belong, do well academically, thrive socially, and continue their studies at UWM through graduation. This year, given our various modalities of instruction, different operations for service offices and facilities and other changes due to the pandemic, it is that much more important.

Your actions matter – a warm greeting, asking how students are doing, inquiring if they have questions or need assistance, connecting them with the right resources and otherwise stepping in when you see there might be a need. Such actions will go a long way to helping our students feel they belong and do well at UWM. This is equally important for all non-instructional staff who cross paths with our students as it is for faculty and instructional staff.

Do you remember the story of Alisha Andrews, a UWM Environmental Services custodian who helped a student find her wallet? The student had accidentally thrown her wallet in a trash receptacle and asked Alisha for help to find it. By that time, the garbage was in an outside dumpster. Alisha searched through the garbage bags in the rain to retrieve the wallet. We can all be inspired by Alisha’s extraordinary service to a student.

As we begin the fall semester, we reference a central direction from the Think Tank 2030 recommendations to create a radically welcoming culture. This fall the 2030 work will continue and result in specific action steps. We can do this every day–with no need to wait for recommendations; the caring behaviors suggested here are ways that faculty and staff control and can shape the quality of students’ experiences.

Thank you all in advance for your efforts to make the fall 2020 welcome a positive one for our students.

Best Regards,

Mark A. Mone

Chancellor