Chancellor’s address to UWSP faculty and staff

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Chancellor Thomas George discussed "Realizing Tomorrow’s Vision from Today’s Strengths" in his third annual address to faculty and staff at 3 p.m., Monday, August 31 in Michelsen Hall of the Fine Arts Center.

George highlighted recent campus achievements and reported on progress during the 1997-98 academic year. He described UWSP as among the country’s foremost undergraduate teaching institutions as indicated by its rankings in two national publications. The U.S. News and World Report ranked UWSP fourth in its top tier of Midwestern Universities and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine named it among the top 100 state universities in the country.

He praised the introduction of a new interdisciplinary course in physics, music and communicative disorders and the implementation of a growing collaborative degree program between UW-Stevens Point and UW Colleges in Wausau and Marshfield. He commended student contributions to regional sesquicentennial publications and the academic achievements of award-winning athletes during 1997-98.

Over the past year, according to George, the campus moved forward in addressing the institutional challenges of broadened financial base, technology-enhanced learning and faculty-led improvement.

University relations functions are being reorganized under the leadership of the UWSP Foundation, according to a more traditional advancement model found at similar institutions, in order to markedly expand fundraising activities.

The College of Natural Resources has become a major attraction for external support and has recently succeeded in gaining entitlement to U.S. Department of Agriculture McIntire-Stennis funds.

Nearly 25 UWSP faculty have received summer grant support to develop technological methodologies that enhance their classroom teaching and five technology support positions are being filled to serve the needs of academic units in the colleges.

"UWSP is among the high quality, primarily undergraduate, teaching universities that are ‘ahead of the curve’ nationally in readiness to meet student needs in upcoming decades," George said.

The recommendations in the Boyer Report, a national study that discussed actions that major research institutions should take to improve effectiveness in educating baccalaureate students, describe much of what universities like UWSP are already doing: building a strong freshman foundation; promoting communication skills throughout the curriculum; using technology creatively; rewarding teaching and research that supports teaching and involves students; and fostering a sense of community, George said.

In February George will be the distinguished presenter in the Musselman Lecture Series at Gettysburg College. The first of three lectures he is preparing for Gettysburg reinforces his observations about the pivotal role of primarily undergraduate teaching institutions in higher education during the next century.

George concluded the address by announcing plans for a universitywide conference on teaching and learning. The purpose of the conference, scheduled for January, will be to consider the changing environment in higher education in the "information age," and to include what is learned through these discussions in the future agenda at UWSP.

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