Author: Office of the Chancellor

Dear UW-Green Bay Faculty and Staff,

As part of my email to faculty and staff on January 18, I wrote the following regarding our progress with the strategic priority of Digital Transformation:

Our work to modernize our practices to thrive in a digital world has created positive changes in how we educate, broaden our connections to students, and complete our business functions. Now we need to put increased attention on how technology can further inform our work and prepare our students to thrive in a world where technology is ubiquitous. We will develop clear strategies for how we will use emerging technologies to increase access to education and the quality with which it is delivered. We will begin to use powerful technologies like AI to help us expand the impact of the people who work here. We must use technology to cover the mundane and instead use our “people power” to do what humans do best: communicate, solve complex problems, and inspire others. Given our current budget realities, we must get comfortable quickly with this way of operating. We know we are understaffed. Therefore, we must use technology to manage workloads, inspire human interaction, and increase the satisfaction that our faculty and staff get from doing their jobs.

I was excited to attend a discussion on April 12 with a group of faculty, staff, and administrators from UW-Green Bay organized by Titletown Tech and the Cofrin School of Business around the future of AI in education. We heard from amazing faculty across the University, and it confirmed the positive momentum we could create by connecting faculty with industry leaders all working with AI. To follow up on my January email and the April 12th discussion, I wanted to update you on several ways that we will develop an institutional response to the emergence of AI within education and the workplace and thereby advance our priority of Digital Transformation.

1. Kris Vespia, Courtney Sherman, and Christopher Paquet will create a draft institutional policy on AI to be reviewed for comments and suggestions early in the fall.
2. We will convene industry leaders in AI with a group of faculty led by Jennie Young from UW-Green Bay to share how they are using AI and the numerous ethical issues that we should consider.
3. We will convene a group of faculty led by CATL to advise us on how we should proceed internally with our instructional engagement with AI.
4. We are currently considering an enterprise solution that would enable us to use AI as a communication tool in a cohesive way across the University. This will allow us to broadly explore where we can enhance the student, faculty, and staff experience with the use of AI. We will provide professional development opportunities for staff on AI beginning this summer.
5. We will provide professional development opportunities for faculty this fall. CATL will continue to lead discussions and professional development on the issues of AI use in the classroom in consultation with other experts, such as GBIT, faculty with relevant expertise, and the future enterprise partner.
6. As previously discussed by Provost Burns, departments will establish program-learning AI outcomes for our students this fall.
7. The Cofrin School of Business will pilot the use of AI in classes this fall with the goal of offering it in all their foundational courses by the end of the academic year.

I look forward to continued discussions around this subject and am aware of the complexities around the issue. It is my hope that using AI in thoughtful ways can connect our staff and faculty more directly in a human way to our students, help with workload issues in certain areas, and engage our students in a way that they already understand and will use in the workplace when they graduate. I also think it gives us an opportunity to expand the ways in which we champion a liberal arts education. The use of AI demands that we as humans effectively question, communicate, and think beyond the level of just memorizing information. These are skills that we excel in teaching, and I look forward to creating a conversation around those ideals.

Best,
Mike

Dear UW-Green Bay Faculty and Staff,

I am thrilled to announce that Dr. Dawn Crim has accepted our offer to be UW-Green Bay’s Vice Chancellor for Inclusivity and Community Engagement. She will begin on August 9.

Dr. Crim is currently the consultant for the Equity, Inclusion and Employee Well Being unit within the Office of Human Resources at UW-Madison after serving most recently as the Cabinet Secretary for the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services. She brings more than 20 years of experience in higher education, governmental and civic leadership and is recognized state-wide for her passion and expertise in supporting inclusion in large organizations. Her proven track record in civic engagement, community partnerships, and economic development, positions her perfectly to help us continue the forward momentum we have on our strategic priorities of inclusion and community engagement. It is apparent from the moment you meet Dr. Crim that she has an energetic and engaging outlook combined with thoughtfulness and compassion, which will make her an incredible addition to our University.

Please join me in thanking the search committee comprised of internal and external stakeholders for their important and timely work on this search. I would also like to thank Gail Sims-Aubert for her tireless efforts in the interim role.

The ability for us to constantly grow as a welcoming institution and engage in meaningful ways with all of the communities we serve is essential for us to move forward as an institution. Dr. Crim is the right leader to guide us in that endeavor. Thank you for your willingness to help us reimagine this position as one that is both internally and externally focused. Our collective commitment to this work will continue to evolve us in ways that will benefit our region for generations to come.

Best,
Michael Alexander
Chancellor

Dear UW-Green Bay Faculty and Staff,

A few weeks ago, I was sent a letter from UW System President, Jay Rothman, regarding our locations. The same letter was sent to all universities in the System with multiple locations. It is likely that in the coming days the letter will be discussed in the press. The letter broadly required that we consider the future of our locations and report back to President Rothman with our plans, similar to the process the Provosts went through this past fall. In light of recent events, I know this sounds ominous, but to me it is just a continuation of what we have been doing for years. We will continue to find the right path for each of our locations understanding that when we think as a region and as one university, we make a powerful whole. Our four locations allow us to be close to our students across our 16-county footprint and live out the Wisconsin Idea in a way that reflects the needs of each community we serve.

I did not want you all to read about this in the press without hearing from me first. If you have questions, I am happy to answer them and I hope that everyone is doing well.

Best,
Mike

Michael Alexander
Chancellor

Dear UW-Green Bay Faculty and Staff,

Due to the advances we have made in Inclusivity and Student Affairs, we need to restructure this area in order to continue our progress after Dr. King’s departure.  The following adjustments will be made:

1. We will begin a search for a new Vice Chancellor of Inclusivity and Community Engagement that will be chaired by Provost Kate Burns.  Inclusivity and Community Engagement are university strategic priorities for UW-Green Bay and therefore we must have a vice chancellor that is entirely dedicated to these two efforts.
2. This change does not diminish the importance of Student Affairs, but rather also gives the opportunity for more focus on student success in this area.  Gail Sims-Aubert will retain her current title and position as Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, but will sit on the Cabinet and report directly to me so that student issues are always at the heart of our conversations.  This will also allow us to continue the tremendous momentum we have in thinking holistically about students between Student and Academic Affairs.
3. We will also make changes to Student Affairs to enable us to continue serve our students to the best of our ability. Erin Van Daalwyk will become a full-time Dean of Students, a position that we have not had a single person dedicated to for some time.  In addition, we will increase two 80% student service positions on our locations to 100% in order to make sure we can handle the growing caseload that the Dean of Students deals with on a regular basis.  We will also unite all of Student Engagement under Student Affairs with Katie Lesperance serving as Director of that unit.
4. As a result of locating all of Student Engagement with Student Affairs, the Union will move under Business and Finance.  The Union is one of our most prominent business functions, has done tremendous work to evolve, and needs to continue to be able to develop in this manner under Matt Suwalski’s leadership.
5. Finally, we will move University Recreation under Athletics to unite the Kress Center as a facility that provides wellness opportunities to all of our students and serves as a key way that we engage the community.

I want to thank everyone for their flexibility to embrace these changes and to keep our momentum moving forward in all of the areas discussed above. We are able to make these changes now because of the tremendous work that has occurred over the years in the Division of Inclusivity and Student Affairs.

Best,
Mike

Dear UW-Green Bay Faculty and Staff,

It is with immense pride that I share the news that Dr. Corey King will be the next Chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Dr. King has made a tremendous impact during his tenure at UW-Green Bay. Under his leadership, we have quickly become the third most diverse university in the UW System and have been recognized as a First Gen Forward Institution. He has made enormous strides in transforming Student Affairs to meet the needs of an access institution and he has modeled how collaboration with his colleagues and the community can lead to impactful opportunities for our students and the overall advancement of our university and region. Perhaps more importantly, I appreciate the gracious spirit and positive manner with which he championed and accomplished his goals.

Despite being sad to lose Corey, we should celebrate this appointment in all ways. It means we made a great hire and he will now take his extensive experience in higher education to further advance our state and its people through his work in his new role. I am eternally grateful to him for being an amazing and trusted colleague.  Please join me in congratulating Dr. King on his new appointment.

Dr. King’s last day will be February 13. Gail Sims-Aubert has agreed to serve as Interim Vice Chancellor for Inclusivity and Student Affairs and will begin on February 14.  I am grateful for her leadership and willingness to help keep the momentum going in the Division.

Best,

Michael Alexander
Chancellor

Dear UW-Green Bay Faculty and Staff,

We share a common bond every day when we arrive on campus and dedicate our efforts toward the educational betterment of our student body. We see the constant change of higher education played out in many ways around us but our alignment around access and student support is critical to our mission and our relevancy to Northeast Wisconsin.

A walk through campus reminds us how important our personal gifts really are to the growth of the University. The new Willie Davis Finance and Investment Laboratory and the Charles Schwab Foundation Center for Financial Planning are remarkable learning environments that bring excitement to the learning process. Stocked shelves in the Campus Cupboards on our four campuses demonstrate our collective commitment to making sure no student endures food insecurity. Many of our students are recipients of need-based financial aid provided by caring donors, including several of you.  These enhancements help us to better serve our students and our community — visible signals that we’re a vibrant university on the right path!

Earlier this year the University announced a bold and ambitious effort, the Ignite the Future Campaign, a $20 million campaign to fund key strategic University initiatives. The community immediately embraced the effort, already gifting $12.3 million to get the Campaign rolling. Now I ask you to join the ranks of our friends and alumni as supporters of the Campaign. Gifts of any size are a meaningful way to help students and support the strategic initiatives of the University.

See Ignite the Future Campaign giving link.

UW-Green Bay also embraces community partners like United Way in reaching others in need in our region. United Way helps numerous social service agencies meet the needs of families who need a helping hand. I encourage you to consider a gift to the annual United Way Campaign, as helping people in our community is an extension of our vision for improving the quality of life for all.

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Link: https://portal.epledge.browncountyunitedway.org/