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Marketing and University Communication UW-Green Bay, CL 815 2420 Nicolet Drive Green Bay, WI 54311-7001 (920) 465-2626 E-mail: hildebrs@uwgb.edu Last update: 10/3/07 |
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In
the News Archive - Year: Excerpts from UW-Green Bay Commencement Commencement Address Chancellor Perkins, distinguished deans and faculty, graduates, parents and special guests, what a wonderful occasion we have assembled to celebrate. It is indeed an honor for me to have the privilege to address the millenial graduating class of 1999...
...(I was recruited to play basketball during UW-Green Bay's inaugural year.) In time, I acceped the visit and, on a cold spring day in April of '69, I was picked up by Coach Buss at my home in West De Pere. The two of us drove out to the new site of the young university. While driving up the construction road, to what is now the Environmental Sciences Building, I was amazed at the large empty fields marking the location of this new college. When we both stepped from the car, into the wet mud, I saw only the cement foundation of a single building. I remember thinking to myself, Why would anyone want to participate in a virtual university? As my feet sunk further into the wet gravel, Coach Buss entered my line of sight. He stood tall in the cold wind, completely enjoying the vision of the future. Seeming to be within himself, he made a statement that would change my life forever. "Robert," he said, "do you think you have enough character to assist me and our administration with the foundation years of this university?" I was caught by surprise... I never thought of the opportunity as a startup, an opportunity to be one of the founding athletes of what would be known as the Green Bay Way. The opportunity to observe and participate in a small way with an infrastructure, carefully selected, to create a new educational program in Northeastern Wisconsin. In time, I accepted, but that was after Coach Buss requested I help push his vehicle out of the mud.
My years of training at this wonderful institution developed my learning skills, with a broad diverse education. With a concentration in business administration I was introduced to business models in manufacturing, technology, finance, transportation and retail. These classes went beyond the formal training an employer would expect. The Business Administration faculty at UWGB insisted on a learning process that enhances the ability of the student to think critically and solve problems. It provided us a with the capacity to apply multiple perspectives to problems and life challenges. This breadth of knowledge and the opportunity to participate in the initial years of UWGB prepared me beyond my imagination for the career I enjoy today...
...(Once, in considering a professional opportunity), I remembered the passion Chancellor Edward Weidner, Dean of Business David Ward and Head Basketball coach Dave Buss brought to their responsibilities each day. (My) situation would require the same individual devotion, strategic planning, daily execution and passion to reach the ultimate potential of this opportunity. I knew that politically (our) project was pushing the envelope but I believed in the service, its future potential and I became committed to its success. The only solution was to convince my organization to allow me to incorporate the service into a division I managed. With little debate, I was granted the responsibility and the chance to emulate the success I observed while at UW-Green Bay... We learned from our failures, we created a unique culture, we influenced our customers to change and we advanced the organization. Today, the logistics organization of Schneider is truly world-class...
...(Graduates), the education you received on this campus, in Green Bay, will allow you the opportunity to achieve at work, at home and in the community. Utilize this talent to the best of your ability and you will truly be rewarded...
Commencement greetings from the Regents ...I also want to compliment Chancellor Perkins and the faculty here at Green Bay for their efforts over the last year in reexamining and reconfiguring this University.... ...It is a given that most institutions, most enterprises, resist change. When the chairs are reorganized, people sense danger and they resist. Chancellor Perkins and his faculty have been open. They have opened up this University to reexamine it, look at its mission anew to make improvements and to make this University even better... ...This is a remarkable enterprise. I'm sure you've come to know Chancellor Perkins over your stay here. If he is nothing, he is a salesman. He has been all over the state talking to every regent personally. He is well known and when the Board of Regents comes to allocating resources to the various Universities under this system, there is no doubt that Green Bay is on everyone's minds, thanks to Chancellor Perkins. it is an almost incessant persistence. ...This is important for you graduates... the reputation and success of this University is very important to you in the future. This is the currency of your degree.
Student Commencement Address
...It's up to us to make a difference in the lives of the people we will encounter in our futures. We can simply get by, or make an impression in all we do. UW-Green Bay has provided us with the skills necessary for prosperous futures. We are lucky to have been presented with the opportunity that an interdisciplinary school such as UW-Green Bay possesses. We have learned the ABCs and 1-2-3s in addition to philosophy, psychology, history and so much more. This University has allowed us to be educated in so much more than just our majors....
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