Closing remarks:

'Northeastern Wisconsin's Growth Agenda'

A panel presentation to the UW System Board of Regents, meeting on the UW-Green Bay campus April 7, 2006.

Panelists included:
Susan Finco, president, Leonard & Finco Public Relations, Inc.
Larry Ferguson, president, Schreiber Foods
Paul LInzmeyer, president, Bay Towel
Paul Jadin, president, Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce
Jeffrey Rafn, president, NWTC
Bill Gollnick, chief of staff, Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin
Diane Ford, vice president, WPS Resources Corp.

Chancellor Shepard followed Ms. Ford to the lectern to conclude the
presentation.

Click here for a PDF of Chancellor Shepard's remarks.

Northeastern Wisconsin's Growth Agenda: Powerpoint presentation to the Board of Regents, April 7, 2006

Office of the Chancellor
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Thank you, Diane. I’d like to offer a few observations, and then we can move on to your questions.

First, I want to thank the many partners who are in attendance today… they’re here, as always, for UWGB.
— Terri Ambrosius, Dir. Community Relations, American Medical Security
— Paul Anderson, President, M-1 Logistics
— Gary Bies, State Representative, Wisconsin Legislature
— Bryan Boettcher, President, Quick Signs
— Robert Bush, President and CEO (retired), Schreiber Foods
— Rick Chernick, President, Camera Corner/Connecting Point
— Bernie Dahlin, President, Nichols Paper Company
— Denis Hogan, President, Associated Bank – Green Bay
— Paul Kendle, President, Wells Fargo Bank – Green Bay
— Judy Krawczyk, State Representative, Wisconsin Legislature
— Lou LeCalsey, President, Tufco Technologies
— D.J. Long, President, Century Drill and Tool
— Dan Nerad, Superintendent, Green Bay Public Schools
— Tom Olson, President (retired), U.S. Paper Mills
— Kramer Rock, President, Temployment
— Helen Schaal, Teacher, Green Bay Public Schools
— Robert Southard, retired, WFRV-TV
— Joe Thibodeau, Director, Human Resources, Proctor and Gamble
— John Vigeland, Director, Public Relations, Shopko Corporation
— Karl Van Roy, State Representative, Wisconsin Legislature

I heard several messages this morning. First, that UWGB is connected with NE Wisconsin… with the business community, local leadership, elected officials.

I hope that has come through.

When it comes to connecting campus and community, another reference point is our new Capital Campaign.

Given our moderate size and youth, alumni alone won’t get us where we need to be.

Ours is a community campaign – in many ways a perfect mirror of the campaign that created UWGB in the first place.

• We set an overall goal of $25 million – very ambitious, given that, when we started the campaign, our total endowment was only $5 million. And, our only preceding capital campaign had a target of $2 million.

• Phase I -- $10 million for our Recreation and Events Center -- We smashed past that, in record time, exceeding $11 million. You ask, how committed is our community to UWGB? Well, I am proud to tell you that 90 percent of the over $11 million raised for the project came from donors living in Brown County.

• Phase II, the academic side – scholarships, named professorships, research enhancements — has a goal of $15 million. To be honest, I’m rethinking that. And, because of recent, yet-to-be-announced successes. Steve Swan, our assistant chancellor for advancement, might flinch, but I’ll go on record this morning saying we can go higher.

So, I hope you heard this morning that our metropolitan area is strongly on board. And not just with words. I also hope you sensed, in the remarks of our alumni, their appreciation for our unique educational approach, connecting learning to life.

You know, I don’t use the word “inter-disciplinary” with the general public — their eyes glaze over — but the concept itself is remarkably effective.

We are still one of the only, if not THE ONLY university organized entirely around interdisciplinarity. At other Universities, there are inter-disciplinary units, but they have to fight for resources in an academic world that is still, primarily, disciplinary. Practical, hands-on problem-solving from multiple perspectives. That special UWGB approach is how we prepare our graduates for careers not yet known and for societal problems not yet recognized.

The value of that special approach can be found in the successes of our alumni.

I think of the CEOs and CFO’s I’ve met recently: alumni leading leading state and national companies; Miron, Boldt, School Specialties, Taylor-made Golf, Super Valu, Fabio-Perini, Kohler, and others.

Scan the poster at your seat. In that poster you will find a sampling of what we call the “Phoenix 400” – actually, I have been told we now need to call it the Phoenix 500 – those alumni of this small, young institution who now head companies. We also include cards from alumni serving in the professions of medicine, basic research, and education, through public and elective office, and in the non-profit sector. Even a UW Regent.

Indeed, instead of “Where’s Waldo?” we might call this, “Where’s Eileen?” (a reference to Regent Eileen Connolly-Keesler, a UW-Green Bay graduate)

As you know and as you saw this morning, CEO’s must be skilled at looking around corners. Chancellors, too. And, Regents particularly.

I thank our panelists for giving us a glimpse of what lies around the corner for this region, a region so critical to the well-being of the entire state.

Green Bay’s University of Wisconsin must respond. And, that we will do, with your leadership (and with the support of the dedicated community members solidly with their University of Wisconsin today and who, in the long months ahead, will be with us – and with you – down in Madison, too)

Finally, I want to make sure we’re on record regarding the tremendous potential of our diversity initiatives.

When I came to Green Bay, the first thing I did was meet with leaders of the local communities of color. First question they had for me: “What can UWGB do to help raise the aspirations of our young people?’

Our answer -- Phuture Phoenix – has a lot to do with the energy and vision of Cyndie Shepard and community volunteers, prominent among them: Ginny Riopelle and including First Lady Jessica Doyle. I was the follower and they are the real leaders here, making great strides in reaching out to people traditionally not well-served by American Higher Education.

On the many occasions when Cyndie speaks to the community on Phuture Phoenix, she talks about the success in building a pipeline. She then turns to me and says, “Chancellor, they will be here in a few years. What are YOU going to do about it?”

Respected regents, this morning I heard the panel pose the same question, this time for your consideration.

I’d like to close my remarks by borrowing a few words from Dr. Verna Fowler, well known to us all, of course, as president of the College of Menominee Nation, in Keshena.

She was one of the featured speakers at a campus/community dinner of several hundred people here in this very room. She was recalling the very difficult work of founding the college, from scratch.

“You know,” she said, “I will admit to one, and only one, mistake along the way.” Then, after a long, dramatic pause, she continued, “I underestimated the desire of our people to receive an education.”

Today, her college is a beacon for low- and moderate-income students both on and near the Reservation, and a great partner of UWGB.

But, what words to be guided by: When it comes to education, don’t be surprised by success, and don’t underestimate the desire of the people.

Thank you, thank you all, for your attention to the agenda for Northeastern Wisconsin.

We would now welcome your questions and comments.

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