Dear Faculty and Staff,

I am pleased to announce that Joan Nesbitt will serve as UW-Milwaukee’s next Vice Chancellor for Development and Alumni Relations, starting February 7, 2022.

The Vice Chancellor for Development and Alumni Relations reports directly to me, is a member of the Chancellor’s Executive Cabinet, and serves as UWM’s chief development officer with responsibilities leading and managing the fundraising and alumni relations activities across our three campuses. This role also works on behalf of the institution to cultivate relationships and generate support for the university’s top priority programs and initiatives, leading a staff of approximately 40 and managing a $7 million budget. Additionally, the Vice Chancellor for Development and Alumni Relations works in close collaboration with the UWM Foundation, which manages assets of over $200 million, and accepts and manages gifts and philanthropic funds on behalf of the university. In September 2019, UWM celebrated the successful conclusion of its comprehensive campaign, Made in Milwaukee – Shaping the World, raising over $251 million, which exceeded the original campaign goal of $200 million, making it the largest campaign in UWM’s history. Ms. Nesbitt will lead UWM in our next campaign.

I am delighted to appoint Ms. Nesbitt to this position following a national search that yielded a strong pool, and a process that included significant campus input and compelling support for the end result. My thanks go to Dr. Karyn Frick, Distinguished Professor of Psychology in the College of Letters and Science, for her robust efforts as chair of the search and screen committee for this position.

Ms. Nesbitt brings significant experience to this position, including 33 years of fundraising in higher education. With multiple leadership positions bringing together her bedrock skills in communication and public relations, Joan has worked at the executive level for over 15 years, most recently as Vice Chancellor for University Advancement at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Missouri. During her decade at Missouri S&T, she and her team were the recipients of a national CASE award, she expanded and improved stewardship, aligned their initiatives with a focus on strategic planning, and launched a comprehensive campaign which resulted in S&T receiving the largest gift in the history of higher education in Missouri. Just as we at UWM have nimbly navigated the last many months of change, so has Joan in her role at Missouri S&T, and I have every confidence that her agility and aptitude for relationship building will be an asset to the UWM team.

Please join me in giving Joan a warm Panther welcome when she joins us in February.

Best regards,

Mark A. Mone, PhD
Chancellor