Month: August 2020

Students, Faculty and Staff,

I am pleased to announce that Dr. Corey King will be joining UW-Green Bay as our new Vice Chancellor for Inclusivity and Student Affairs effective September 21, 2020.

Dr. King is currently Vice President for Enrollment Management & Student Financial Services at Bethune-Cookman University. Dr. King was previously Vice President for Student Affairs & Enrollment Management at Florida Atlantic University. He brings over 27 years of higher education experience in student affairs, student services, and enrollment management. He has been recognized by regional and national student affairs associations for his work as a student affairs leader.

I could not be more excited that Dr. King has agreed to join us at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. His energy, passion, and skill are undeniable. He brings a wealth of experience that will help our campus improve our inclusionary practices and our work in Student Affairs. I am thrilled to have his expertise on our Cabinet and know he will have a tremendous impact on the student experience at UW-Green Bay.

Throughout his career, Dr. King has been a champion of diversity and inclusion through his leadership with establishing an Urban Male Institute focused on the recruitment, retention, and graduation of urban males and a First Generation Student Success Center geared toward providing support services and scholarships to the upward social mobility of first generation students.

In addition, as an associate graduate faculty member, Dr. King taught graduate courses focused on student affairs leadership, contemporary and diversity issues, and comparative internationalization in higher education. He has also taught at the undergraduate level through the first-year seminar.

“I am excited to join the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay community during these unprecedented times in our nation and the world,” Dr. King shared in his acceptance of this role. “The opportunities to ensure the inclusivity of the University is paramount. I look forward to working with Chancellor Alexander and all stakeholders, especially students as we strive toward excellence in diversity and inclusion.”

Dr. King received a Bachelor’s Degree in Curriculum & Instruction and a Master’s Degree in Higher Education Administration/Student Affairs from Florida State University. He received his Doctorate in Educational Administration & Leadership from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

I would like to thank members of the Search Committee, led by Interim Provost Kate Burns, for their work on this important search. I also want to thank Gail Sims-Aubert for incredible and often heroic work as our Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Campus Climate.

I am confident you will enjoy working with and learning from Dr. King. Please join me in welcoming him to the Phoenix Family!

Best,

Michael Alexander
Chancellor

UW-Green Bay Students, Faculty and Staff,

I am happy to let you know that a new website to help you more easily find information related to COVID-19 and the University’s plan for returning to campus safely is now live:

www.uwgb.edu/phoenix-forward

This website highlights what students, faculty and staff can expect when returning to teaching and working, the steps we are taking to keep our campus community safe and the steps we need you to take as part of the Phoenix family—both before you return to campus and once you arrive. It also has information about the newly formed Office of Covid-19 Response; I encourage you to become familiar with this office and its resources.

Please refer to this site often, including the Campus Operations Snapshot, which provides an easy, at-a-glance view of the state of campus-wide operations.

The bar on the top of every UW-Green Bay webpage will continue to highlight this webpage, allowing you to easily find this site and important information whenever you need it.

Thank you for your continued attention to all we need to do to keep each other safe as we come back together this fall.

Best,

Michael Alexander
Chancellor

Dear UW-Green Bay Students,

Our society is in need of healing. People ask me all the time why they should attend a university beyond improving their prospects for employment.  To me, a big part of the answer is to learn how to have difficult discussions, how to respect opinions different from your own, how to expand your view of the world, and how to affect change in your communities. I want you to lead that change. As the next generation to come of age, you uniquely have the ability to help heal us.

I am personally distraught by the shooting of Jacob Blake. We must fix the underlying problem of inequity to stop the violence we are seeing throughout our society. Without that, we will continue to see tragedies occur, we will continue to grow apart, and our communities will fracture. As we resume classes this fall, I urge you to actively listen to each other, speak your mind, make a positive difference, and rely on us as a university for support. My hope for the future is in your ability as students to use your education to help us solve the problems that plague us.

As your university, we are here for you and we want all of your voices to be heard.  My thoughts are with Jacob Blake, his family, and the community of Kenosha.

Best,

Michael Alexander
Chancellor

The UW-Green Bay Chancellor’s Office emailed the following from Chancellor Michael Alexander and Interim Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs & Campus Climate Gail Sims-Aubert to the UW-Green Bay Faculty and Staff on Tuesday, August 18, 2020.

Dear UW-Green Bay Students,

Thank you for the questions several of you have asked regarding your Segregated Fees for the upcoming year. We would like to take this opportunity to share some information about the services and programs these fees provide to you, including during the ever-changing conditions surrounding the pandemic.

Student fees are used to support various aspects of your UW-Green Bay educational experience, providing important support services like counseling and health, building and maintaining facilities and creating programming and events. Your fees also help support employee salaries that make these types of student services possible.

It is important for you to know that student fees are comprised of several different fees. You received information regarding adjustments designed to make the Distance Education Fee as equitable as possible across the student population. In the coming weeks, we will update you on plans for our Athletic Department and student athletes; and as the semester progresses, we will keep you informed of any changes to other programming or services and use of the fees allocated to those areas.

For UW-Green Bay students who live on campus, off campus or learn online, these services remain important and the fees needed to deliver them are valid and necessary, including during this unusual year. In some cases fees will even be shifted and augmented to support the goals of Student Life, University Recreation/Intramurals, the University Union and student use of the Kress Event Center, all areas that are pivoting to find creative, interesting and safe ways to build community in the midst of the pandemic.

Every facet of the University experience has been touched by the pandemic and there is no denying that student life and engagement activities are going to be quite different for the coming year. As we continue to take the necessary steps to prevent the spread of the virus, we will not lose sight of the fact that your college experience should be filled with a robust schedule of out-of-classroom activities.

Though we cannot gather like we have in the past, rest assured that we are being inventive in finding ways to provide you with opportunities to engage with fellow students and unwind from your academic course work. For the first time ever, our programming includes online and virtual experiences that can engage even more students who live off campus and take courses online. It is truly exciting to expand our campus community and be inclusive in a way not possible before. Campus can now come to you, wherever you are and regardless of your learning mode.

Some of the events being planned for your return include: gourmet s’mores at the campus fire pit, a drive-in movie, photo booths, Headphone Disco, and much more! We are also excited to announce a vast array of virtual activities like video game tournaments (Esports has arrived at UW-Green Bay!), bingo, speed friending, and Kahoot/Trivia nights. Campus favorites like GB Nites and the Union craft series will also be back. UREC is open and is launching new outdoor fitness classes, the Outdoor Adventure & Recreation Center is ready to help you explore northeast Wisconsin and intramurals, including bag toss, badminton and ping pong, will kick off this fall. By mid to late fall, we hope to be able to open more activities in the pool, gyms and across campus as conditions allow.

Thank you for allowing us to share all of this with you today, and thank you for your patience while we work through these details in our ever-changing environment. We are excited to return to learning this fall and appreciate your commitment to our university community.

Best,

Michael Alexander
Chancellor

Gail Sims-Aubert
Interim Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs & Campus Climate

The UW-Green Bay Chancellor’s Office emailed the following from Chancellor Michael Alexander and Interim Provost Kate Burns to the UW-Green Bay Faculty and Staff on Monday, August 10, 2020.

Dear UW-Green Bay Faculty and Staff,

As we approach the fall, it is important we consider the numerous ways our work patterns and the ways our students will access education have evolved.  Our ability to have empathy for those who need support to deal with these sudden changes, will be essential to move forward as a University fully dedicated to access.  One issue that we have struggled to holistically address as a campus is support for child care for our faculty, staff, and students.  We would like to update you on the steps we are taking this year to help improve the way we deal with the reality of the equity issues caused by challenges with child care. These steps are based on the recommendations from the UW System task force on Caregiving and COVID-19 and we urge everyone to take the time to read the recommendations in full.

1. It is our expectation that supervisors work with all faculty and staff to do everything possible to accommodate the individual needs for child care that any of our colleagues might have.  Immediately contact HR if you have questions on how to support a colleague or if you feel you are not receiving the support you need.  We will review all of our HR policies on this subject to make sure we are doing everything we can to be flexible throughout the year.
2. Faculty are expected to have empathy and accommodate students who are struggling with the balance of child care and class expectations.
3. Mark Olkowski and John Landrum are working with SUFAC and SGA to provide grant opportunities for students who need financial support to provide child care for their families in order to have the space to complete their studies.  It is our expectation that these grants are widely communicated and mobilized as soon as possible.  In addition, we are working towards long term solutions to provide further support for faculty, staff, and students around this issue.

Thank you for continually considering how you can support our colleagues and students through these times through proactive actions that demonstrate our belief in student success, a caring spirit, and an understanding of the challenges that our communities face right now.

Best,

Chancellor Michael Alexander
Interim Provost Kate Burns