51ÁÔÆæ Chancellor Thomas Gibson has been on the job for two months, and in that short period has gotten a good look at what the university is and where it is going. He laid out his vision during his first plenary address to a full house Tuesday in the Wisconsin Room of the 51ÁÔÆæ Student Union.<\/p>\n
Gibson, who became 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s 10th chancellor in July, said that he has spent his initial days on a \u201cjourney of discovery,\u201d learning about 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s students, employees, partners, culture and impact.<\/p>\n
He has liked what he\u2019s found and looks forward to learning more. He invited the 51ÁÔÆæ community to take a fresh look along with him at the university\u2019s accomplishments. That includes last week\u2019s news of 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s largest freshman class in more than a decade<\/a>.<\/p>\n 51ÁÔÆæ is a strong research institution, Gibson said, one of just two universities in Wisconsin to achieve the highest level of research activity by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, often called R1. Beyond that, 51ÁÔÆæ is one of just 32 universities in the nation to be recognized by Carnegie for excelling in three important areas: research, student access and community engagement.<\/p>\n