\nMilwaukee constantly exceeds our expectations. I\u2019ve been telling friends and family: \u201cYou just don’t know what Milwaukee is until you come here and take a look at it.\u201d It doesn’t align with stereotypes of an industrial Midwestern city. Between the culture and community, it\u2019s a pretty remarkable place.<\/p>\n
My first visit here was my interview trip. After 12 weeks here, I\u2019m feeling very good about the campus not only matching my expectations but exceeding them. I\u2019ve been welcomed by faculty, staff and the administration, meeting people who are extremely dedicated to teaching and research, and it\u2019s through them I\u2019ve seen that UWM is an exciting place to be. I feel like I just got here, and I\u2019m already starting my fourth month.<\/p>\n
How does UWM compare to San Francisco State and Virginia Commonwealth University?<\/strong> Let\u2019s talk about some of your student-success accomplishments at VCU. During your tenure as chair of the chemistry department, your department was ranked No. 2 in the U.S. for baccalaureate chemistry degrees awarded to women and No. 3 in the U.S. for baccalaureate chemistry degrees awarded to African-American students.<\/strong><\/p>\n Those were very flashy numbers, but let\u2019s start with the asterisks. VCU was viewed as the pathway to its health science campus, where they had the largest medical, pharmacy and dental schools in the state. We only offered chemistry, not biochemistry, so the degree numbers were not split between these two areas of chemistry like it is at UWM. We had an unusually large number of chemistry majors because of these factors.<\/p>\n The way we were able to boost chemistry graduation rates was by refocusing and reinvesting in the undergraduate program. We dedicated a faculty line to advising, hiring a chemist with a PhD whose career had moved into advising. I could attribute a 20-30 percent increase in our graduation rate just to her work over two or three years. She found all kinds of students who were one or two classes away from graduating, brought them into her office, told them what classes they should take and made sure they took them. Intensive, hands-on advising made a big difference.<\/p>\n We also examined the teaching in our introductory and foundation courses, which is absolutely key for continued success in the major. Improvements in this area were also vital \u2013 stronger and better-prepared freshmen and sophomores led to exceptional juniors and seniors who then went on to graduate. As an added bonus, it created a sense of community among the students and faculty in the program.<\/p>\n Could you see a similar approach, funding issues aside, working at UWM?<\/strong> I am looking at many things \u2014 our per-student advising capacity in L&S, how we\u2019re deploying instructors and faculty in entry-level and pipeline courses, and our degree requirements, to name just a few. What I\u2019m trying to do is look at the student experience from the first touch in recruiting to graduation. Are there places where we have practices, systems, policies in effect that create obstacles to graduation but aren\u2019t aligned with a desirable academic outcome? What can the faculty and I change to improve the student experience?<\/p>\n Do you have any early ideas on expanding the research portfolio in L&S?<\/strong> What are your thoughts on the enrollment challenges Wisconsin universities face due to demographic trends \u2013 from how this impacts UWM as a whole to enrollment in the College of Letters & Science, specifically?<\/strong> Please describe your leadership style.<\/strong> I want to create an environment where people feel comfortable and we can have disagreements and those are worked out by talking them through. However, L&S is very big, so there has to be a bit of structure. I can\u2019t talk through everything with everyone.<\/p>\n My goal in leadership is to weigh options and make decisions in terms of the mission and values of the institution. We\u2019re really focused on students. Offering them the best education means having the best faculty and staff work with them. Having the best faculty and staff requires that their work, their scholarship, and their research is supported. In turn, supported research creates more student learning opportunities. Leading is about understanding and building all parts of this looped cycle.<\/p>\n Your career was very focused on chemistry and the sciences until your last role at Virginia Commonwealth University. What does it mean to you to have oversight over humanities and social sciences disciplines?<\/strong> As he nears the end of this first semester at UWM, new College of Letters & Science Dean Scott Gronert talks about what he’s learned so far and about what the future might hold. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":487,"featured_media":64834,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[174],"tags":[],"section":[122,126],"display_categories":[115,116],"related-coverage":[],"uwmnews-feed":[158],"class_list":["post-64828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","section-campus-community","section-campus-news","display_categories-top-story-secondary","display_categories-top-story-section","uwmnews-feed-letters-science"],"uwm_unpublish_requested":false,"yoast_head":"\n
\nAll three universities have in common the dual mission of faculty and students engaged in research and scholarship at high levels and opening their doors to the broadest, most diverse set of students. That\u2019s been a defining part of my academic career. I\u2019ve always been at institutions that are broadly focused on access and diversity and that place a high premium on research and scholarship. People might look at my career and see the research side, but I\u2019ve spent a great deal of time looking at student success. I really appreciate both pieces of the mission.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2018\/11\/gronert-250x30020180801_DEV_EH_0001-250x300.jpg\")
\nEvery school is so different. We can\u2019t automatically say we\u2019ll do X and Y at UWM because X and Y worked at VCU. But I definitely think there are similarities among young universities \u2013 the processes that are in place now were built around a small institution that has grown and evolved in both teaching and research. The institution has changed, but the processes haven\u2019t always grown at the same rate.<\/p>\n
\nIt\u2019s not that common that in a unit as big as L&S you have this number of departments doing truly outstanding research. We have strengths all the way across the college that are holding together very well during some really difficult times. Between faculty leaving UWM and departments shrinking, faculty are maintaining dedication to the highest level of scholarship and engaging students in that.
\nA new challenge we have is to look back at the impacts this downsizing has had on research and scholarship and ask ourselves how to make sure we keep those going strong. As we start having the ability to rebuild our faculty ranks, how are we going to leverage our current successes? We\u2019ll be looking at areas where we can create new knowledge that benefits UWM, Milwaukee and Wisconsin \u2013 that\u2019s where we need to invest.<\/p>\n
\nHalf of the students at UWM are in L&S. Our educational pathways lead to attractive jobs \u2013 the types of jobs that dominate our economy and contribute to the function and growth of businesses big and small, nonprofit agencies, and governmental units. I\u2019m more concerned with the ability of the university to react to demographic shifts \u2013 simply that there are fewer students in Wisconsin to draw from \u2013 than anything about L&S being less attractive. L&S embodies the liberal arts and sciences, and the liberal arts and sciences have a long tradition of producing successful people. I have a lot of confidence in the college\u2019s ability to attract students.<\/p>\n
\nI like to make decisions tied to the best data we can get our hands on and create opportunities for discussion as a part of decision-making. I am a proponent of consulting with people and getting input before a decision is made. I like to talk with others, both individually and in groups, about my ideas and the pathways I imagine we might go down so that I can get feedback. From there, I move on to decision-making but still provide opportunities for people to continue to provide feedback, positive or negative, so that we can continue to improve.<\/p>\n
\nThe two mentors I had in chemistry both spoke German, lived abroad and were huge opera buffs. I have lived in France as a Fulbright Scholar, love to travel, and carry a wallet stuffed with museum membership cards. To build credibility as the leader in L&S, it helps to be able to work across and into the social sciences and humanities, rooted in a genuine interest and curiosity about those areas. Having a broad appreciation for what the college offers is critical. If you\u2019re going to lead L&S, you have love all of L&S.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"