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Dear Colleagues,

Last week, I gave my , entitled “Preparing for Tomorrow: Strategic Changes for the Future.” If you missed it, I encourage you to watch this, so you can hear firsthand about our accomplishments over the past year and the challenges we are facing. You’ll also learn what we must do to meet these challenges head on.

Whenever we talk about the direction of 51����, I think it’s imperative that our actions be guided by . Above all, we are here for our students. The work we do provides access to a better life and helps build a stronger Milwaukee. At the same time, our research and community partnerships propel innovation in our region and beyond.

Over the past year, we have carved out many . Through the Milwaukee Direct Admit Program – an extension of the M-Cubed partnership – and our Milwaukee Tuition Promise, we are breaking down barriers to education. Once students are on our campus, programs like First-Year Bridge, Moon Shot for Equity, and Support U help our students stay engaged and find success. 

I’m proud of the many  we have established, including an accelerated dual-degree program with the Medical College of Wisconsin Pharmacy School. We’ve also added the first MS in Connected Systems Engineering in the state, and we’re offering microcredentials that focus on building specific skills.

 is part of the core mission of 51����, and this year, we received several million dollars from the U.S. Department of Energy, as well as support from the USDA, the Office of Naval Research, the Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation. These awards are supporting projects all across our university.

We’ve forged  with area technical colleges by signing transfer agreements that encourage their graduates to continue learning at 51����. Thanks to a collaboration with Microsoft and TitletownTech, 51���� will host the nation’s first manufacturing-focused AI Co-Innovation Lab.

We will celebrate the grand opening of our new  on Sept. 27, providing classroom space to more than 3,500 students each year. Wisconsin’s chemical industry provides 15,000 jobs, and this new building will help us supply talent within this sector. Other projects, such as the Health Sciences Renovation and a new engineering and neuroscience building, are on the horizon. 

Thanks to your hard work, 51���� has enjoyed . We’re among the top 3.1% of universities in the world, according to the Center for World University Rankings, and our online bachelor’s programs are in the top 20 in the nation, says U.S. New & World Report. We just finished our best fundraising year ever, and our alumni made up more than 20% of Milwaukee Business Journal’s Top 100 Power Brokers in Milwaukee. 

Last spring, our  of how 51���� helped prepare them for life beyond college, and when asked by the 51���� Alumni Association, several  to their former professors. They wrote things like, “I will never forget you,” “You saved my future,” and “You saw my potential, and at 23 years old, I finally learned I was smart.” 

We should all be proud of these accomplishments and how far we have come. Yet 51���� does not exist in a vacuum. We must acknowledge certain challenges we find ourselves facing in the . Education has become politicized as more people question the value of a degree. Enrollment is declining on a national scale, and we are seeing more competition in our recruitment of high school graduates. At the same time, the election cycle and geopolitical conflicts can heat up rhetoric everywhere, including college campuses. 

Amid these challenges, the recently issued , which focuses on the financial health of 51����, stated, “51���� is at a critical moment in its history and must continue to undertake decisive and strategic decision-making to chart a course to long-term fiscal stability.” We must manage our budgets closely, and we have already begun making difficult decisions, including the discontinuation of the College of General Studies program. 

To strengthen our financial position as we focus on , Deloitte identified five opportunity areas: enrollment, retention, academic program review, equitable workload, and data and technology initiatives, accountability and budget model. These are pillars that align with our refreshed 2030 Action Plan and Strategic Framework, and we are prepared to lean in even more on our efforts in these areas. 

We are also building our brand. After a quarter of a century with the same logo, we now have a refreshed look. Our new logo offers greater accessibility, is easier to read and emphasizes Milwaukee. This is just a small part of what’s to come as we continue to revitalize our brand this year.

You might be wondering, given these challenges,  to ensure 51���� has a strong future? I ask you to be agile – a quality that can feel incongruous with higher education. We all need to be willing to embrace change, remembering the saying, “What got us here won’t take us there.” And we must look not only at what we do but howwe do it. We must continue to be radically welcoming and realize that anything that helps students find success is what our jobs are truly all about. 

Again, we must . I’m optimistic about the future of 51���� because of all of you. Our faculty and staff are making formative connections with students, and often, it’s seemingly small acts of compassion that determine whether a student comes back for another semester or even another day.

I often say 51���� wouldn’t exist without students, but it’s also true that 51���� wouldn’t exist without all of you. Thank you for your dedication and for putting your hearts into your jobs.

Best regards, 

Mark A. Mone, PhD
Chancellor