By Mark Mone
Interim Chancellor
University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee
Mark Mone
Change constantly happens in life, and that fact is certainly true for universities.
A major change happened recently at UWM with the departure of Chancellor Michael Lovell and my appointment to the position of interim chancellor.
A hiring process is already under way to find a new permanent chancellor, which we hope to complete by the end of the year.
I am new to the position of chancellor, but I am not new to the university.
I joined UWM’s faculty in 1989 and have served primarily as a professor in the Lubar School of Business and director of the Lubar Executive MBA Program, including our relations with many community and business organizations, career services operations and related areas.
In recent years, I have also served in a special position in which I’ve worked with leaders from across the university to develop UWM’s 2020 strategic plan, and to develop and implement campus level programs to make the university a better place to work.
Those experiences over the past 25 years have helped me develop a broad perspective that will serve the university and community well during the interim period.
They have also helped me develop a plan to guide us during the interim year that I am calling “Moving Forward Together.”
Some of the Moving Forward Together plan focuses on internal activities such as completing our strategic planning process, stabilizing student enrollment and finding new resources to fund major campus initiatives and appropriately pay our employees.
Other parts of Moving Forward Together involve the community and especially include further engagement with those we serve in Greater Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin through research, education and service activities.
You can see the work of each of our schools and colleges as we engage in local, regional and broader endeavors.
There are many excellent examples, among them:
• The College of Nursing operates two Community Nursing Centers – Silver Spring in Westlawn and House of Peace in the Walnut Way neighborhood.
• The School of Education is not just preparing tomorrow’s teachers, counselors and administrators. It is also overseeing a dozen charter schools and additional programs that prepare teachers for urban education.
• The Helen Bader School of Social Welfare works alongside Growing Power and other community organizations to help city residents develop healthier diets and create more food-related jobs in the process.
If the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is going to make a greater difference – to realize our mission of research and access – we will further embrace and focus in diverse areas such as these to improve the lives of those we serve.
We will not take a break in these or any other activities during the time when a new chancellor is being selected.
We will instead move ahead, preparing UWM for its next chancellor and a strong future.
I look forward to further working in the community that UWM serves while I am interim chancellor.