University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Students, Staff, and Faculty,
Thank you for extending such a warm welcome to me and my family as we
join the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. My wife, Cheryl, and I are
excited to be a part of the UWSP experience. As most of you know, our
daughter and her husband graduated from UWSP in 2005. Thanks to you, they
had an extremely positive experience at UWSP. Through the eyes of a parent I
saw the commitment that all of you make to the students, their education,
and their professional and personal growth. It was this commitment that made
me decide to seek the provost’s position.
One of the strengths that I recognize in the university is its commitment
to moving forward to provide the best possible education to all of its
students. The university has a history of facing tough challenges with the
best interests of the students in mind. The university has been successful
in meeting these challenges through a strong shared governance system that
includes all voices. During the next few years, we will have several
opportunities and challenges that we will need to face and again we will
need to work as a community if we are to meet these challenges and take
advantage of the opportunities.
During the coming year, the completion of our self-study and preparation
for the visit by the Higher Learning Commission’s accreditation team will be
a major focus for the campus. It is important that every member of the
campus community be involved in this process. The university has done an
excellent job in preparing for the site visit.
In preparing for this HLC accreditation process, it was recognized that
UWSP needed to develop an effective strategic plan. This process was
initiated this past spring and has an excellent start. It will be important
for us to continue to develop the strategic plan so that we can map out the
path to keep UWSP one of the best comprehensive universities in the country.
Strategic planning gives all members of the university and its friends an
opportunity to influence the way in which we use our resources most
effectively in building a university that best serves both our current and
future students and the state of Wisconsin.
On the personal side, Cheryl and I have been married for 27
years and have three children. Mehgan Clark (UWSP Biology ’05)
just completed her master’s degree in marine biology at Western
Illinois University. Aaron is 22 and a senior at St. Cloud State
University majoring in communications. Cory is 18 and will be
attending the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire this fall and
plans to major in mathematics. Our children have all been active
in vocal and instrumental music and our sons have performed in
about every theatre production to come along. My wife and I
enjoy the outdoors a great deal. We also enjoy the performing
arts and college athletics, especially hockey, volleyball, and
basketball. We are looking forward to making many new friends at
UWSP, to exploring Central Wisconsin, and to becoming loyal
Pointer fans. Again, thank you for the welcome that you have
extended to us, and we look forward to being a part of something
we already know to be very special, the UWSP commitment to
students.
Sincerely,
Mark A. Nook