Mission

University Recreation (UREC) enhances the quality of life for the UWM community by providing opportunities to develop and maintain healthy lifestyles, lifelong learning, leadership skills, and personal success through comprehensive recreation and wellness programs in quality facilities.

Vision

UREC is committed to inspiring students and members to achieve a healthy, balanced lifestyle through recreational pursuits. We will achieve this through:

• Coordinating events in safe and inviting facilities.
• Providing cutting-edge, well-rounded fitness resources and programs led by highly qualified and certified staff that help our students and members reach their goals.
• Providing a wide variety of recreational opportunities that encourage competition and camaraderie through professionally organized and executed intramural and sport clubs programs.
• Providing aquatic opportunities to help members cultivate their love of the water and develop water safety skills.
• Offering challenging outdoor programs that allow creative opportunities for self-discovery and meaningful connections with others and natural environments.
• Providing excellent customer service.
• Identifying and incorporating next practices in our industry.
  

Values

The UREC staff is a professional, dedicated team committed to:

Division of Student Affairs Core Values

Student Success and Well-Being

We are committed to all of our students; supporting, encouraging, guiding and challenging their personal, educational and professional development. We are dedicated to creating learning opportunities for all our students to achieve success within an environment that cultivates tolerance, civility, and respect, where students care about their well-being and the well-being of others.

Learning

We partner with our academic colleagues to create a vibrant program of study, which includes co-curricular activities and on-campus employment. We strive to establish within our community a learner-focused, outcome-based environment. This setting includes experiential and work-based learning, civic engagement and a connection to the campus community, reinforcing our capacity for and commitment to life-long learning.

A Supportive and Inclusive Community

We believe that differences in people and diverse points-of-view are valuable and that a truly caring community is one where each member feels welcomed, engaged, and celebrated. We embody this belief when we are inclusive of all people; we recognize our similarities and we embrace our differences through mutual respect. We seek to cultivate an environment of awareness and understanding of diversity and multicultural issues through our programs, words, behaviors, and will role-model advocacy and social justice in all our actions.

Relationships

We understand the intrinsic value of relationships. We develop strong, trusting relationships with students, co-workers and others we encounter through our work, leading to a caring campus, a supportive environment, and a welcoming community.

Personal Growth and Development

We respect each individual’s journey toward greater personal growth and development. We understand the importance of meeting students where they are in order to be partners in this process. Further, we approach education holistically, encouraging personal achievements, and the care for the mind, body, and spirit of each student, faculty and staff member.

Leadership

We make every effort to be leaders in our campus community through our actions, service delivery, and dedication to students. As educators, in partnership with students and colleagues, we provide quality leadership opportunities that are challenging and rewarding.  We are intentional in the design and delivery of engaging and empowering experiences, which foster the development of ethical, responsible and collaborative leaders.

Professionalism

We encourage professional development and ethical behavior of our staff. We conduct our programs and ourselves with the highest integrity. In keeping with best practices, we provide intentional and effective services to students and other stakeholders. We collaborate and consult with one another in an effort to achieve excellence. We are committed to treating one another with respect, making ethical decisions and holding each other accountable. We model professionalism and encourage each other to develop expertise in our practice by engaging in professional development that is grounded in theory and focused on application.