Sharing a commitment to UW-Green Bay and, in turn, to our common commitment to New North collaboration, are community leaders who volunteer their time as members of the Chancellor’s Council of Trustees. Several were able to join us on the platform for last month’s UW-Green Bay commencement. Shown here, just before the ceremony, are Trustees Diane Ford, Lou LeCalsey, Carl Kuehne, myself, Kramer Rock, Donsia Strong Hill and Robert DeVos.       While the success of NEW ERA provided momentum for broader regional collaborations, the leadership of the region’s business leaders ultimately turned the New North into reality. These farsighted leaders understood that we must harness all of the New North’s talents and resources if the region is going to succeed in the global economy.       They looked at areas around the country that successfully weathered the economic downturn early in this decade. They noticed the successes were in regions that embraced a mindset of collaboration. They saw that communities and institutions can accomplish so much more by working together than by erecting artificial, unnecessary barriers. They also noticed that strong public universities were centerpieces of flourishing regions.       The New North has the benefit of a strong foundation on which to build for the future. Northeastern Wisconsin has long been a true economic “engine” for Wisconsin. It has been a leader — not only for Wisconsin but the entire nation — in the paper industry, other manufacturing activities and the agricultural sector. The people of our region are hard-working and care deeply about doing what’s best for the next generation.
	New Year greetings, New North meeting, and a regional idea worth repeating Greetings and Happy New Year from Northeastern Wisconsin’s University of Wisconsin!       Cyndie and I hope you had time during the holiday season to spend with family and friends and relish those things that make life special. For us, it’s a time of year when we are reminded of how fortunate we are to live in this community and enjoy its high quality of life.       Your University of Wisconsin-Green Bay contributes a great deal to our region’s quality of life. And I recently was reminded of our potential to contribute even more.       Last month, I was part of a UW-Green Bay contingent attending the New North Summit in Sheboygan. We joined Gov. Jim Doyle and more than 600 leaders from the public and private sectors at the annual conference.       For those of you who may not be familiar with the New North, let me provide a little background. It is a consortium of business, education, government and community leaders from 18 counties in Northeastern Wisconsin working to build the region’s economy and quality of life. The region extends from Fond du Lac and Sheboygan in the south to Florence County along the Wisconsin-Michigan state line in the north. The consortium’s core value can be summarized in one word: collaboration.       Gov. Doyle clearly supports the New North’s approach. He has attended every New North summit since the first one in 2005. He frequently describes the New North as a model approach to regional economic development.       “The New North is bringing what are often conflicting interests together around the same objective – creating a consistent voice for this region that is heard not only across Wisconsin and the country but around the world,” the governor said at the December summit.       I can say with much pride that UW-Green Bay and our partners from the region’s other universities and colleges played a major role in development of the New North. Almost seven years ago, we formed an educational consortium called the Northeast Wisconsin Educational Resource Alliance, better known simply as NEW ERA. Since then, NEW ERA has developed an exemplary track record for improving educational services to our region’s 1.2 million residents.
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