University of Wisconsin-Green Bay 2007 Faculty and Staff Convocation August 28, 2007 Chancellor's Address on the State of Green Bay's University Bruce Shepard, Chancellor Click here to download the Chancellor's remarks.
				MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER Forward? Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? “Forward,” the proud motto of our great state. And, forward, together, we will continue to move.     We are, proudly, the region’s public university, and I venture to say that every person in this room is passionate about their job and about the role we collectively play, the differences we make, the future we are creating.     We are not alone.     We have so many community friends and alumni who are also supporting UWGB. They are backing up their talk with actions. They, and we, are challenging the Legislature to do the same.     I have the privilege of being in a position where, every day, I see the community stepping forward to help us. You may wonder, though. So, let me offer a few tangible examples of that support.     Our current capital campaign has generated $16.5 million dollars in support from individuals, foundations and corporations who believe in what you, the colleagues in this room, are doing to educate young people and to help our region meet our challenges of today and tomorrow. They are investing in us because they believe in us.     Ours is a campus with great need for scholarship support – most of our students come from families where neither mom nor dad are college graduates – yet, by any measure, we are a “scholarship poor” campus. I am proud to report that in the last year, we have added 23 new endowed scholarships to our portfolio.     It is especially meaningful to me that many of the donors are current or retired members of our UW-Green Bay family. You might recognize the names of donors Michael and Joan Thron, Ken and Paula Fleurant, Janice Galt for the late Tony Galt, Christopher and Carolyn Sampson, Tom and Judy Haevers, Cecilia Hintz, Jane Maier for the late Robert Maier, Mike and Gloria Morgan, and Paul and Thea Sager. And you might recognize the names of community friends and alumni such as Dan and Lois Beisel, Dan and Penny Bollom, Dr. Jeremy and Elizabeth Green, Annalies and Kristina Hagemeister, Phil and Betsy Hendrickson, Sally and Bernie Killoran, Joe and Mac LaForce, alumnus Craig Mueller, Jim and Kelli Prast, and alumna Sherri Underwood.     We also have our first privately funded faculty development fund thanks to a generous gift from the late Joe and Mac LaForce for our business program.     In addition to the continuing success of our capital campaign, we should all be proud of the fact that nearly 3,000 alumni and community friends chose to invest in Green Bay’s University of Wisconsin by making annual gifts in 2006-07 totaling more than $830,000. I want to thank the 175 UW-Green Bay employees who helped contribute to those numbers.     You’ve heard me say it before and I want to emphasize it again, “communities support Universities that support communities.” And I thank all of your for the countless hours that you contribute professionally and privately to enhance the quality of life in our region.     We are moving forward together, yes. Forward toward the next UWGB.     In my remarks this morning, I have very much enjoyed sharing the significant progress you are already making. Let me conclude with one simple observation.     Yes, the Growth Agenda is critical for our region. But, if all we do is grow the old UWGB, we have missed an enormous opportunity.     And, that opportunity remains regardless of whether the Growth jAgenda occurs sooner or later. The next UWGB is not a matter of how big we are; rather, it is a matter of what we are.     Building the next UWGB is in our hands, not the Legislature’s. You have already shown your willingness to take control, to build, to innovate. Thank you.     Let’s keep working together to build that university of the future. And let’s keep working together to build that sense of community of which we all can be proud.
	Introduction The Next UWGB Recent Progress in Building the Next UWGB Continuing to Build the Next UWGB Moving Forward Together
					TOP OF PAGE Office of the Chancellor David A Cofrin Library, Suite 810 University of Wisconsin-Green Bay 2420 Nicolet Drive, Green Bay, WI 54311-7001 Phone: 920-465-2207     E-mail: shepardb@uwgb.edu Comments to: Chancellor's Web Manager Revised: 08/28/2007