Message from the Chancellor

Respond – Adapt – Reposition – Emerge

It is my sincere hope that this message finds you safe and healthy. Unfortunately, I realize that this will not be the case for everyone. Whether the pandemic has meant the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, or the inability to gather with family and friends, it has most certainly changed our lives.

As we started another spring semester back in February, I was already looking forward to the celebration of a record graduating class in May. I was looking forward to honoring the 50th anniversary of our first graduating class from May 1970. And I was looking forward to all the campus activities that surround the completion of another successful semester.

The pandemic has most certainly changed our lives.

Our ability to persevere and succeed is founded in our ability to respond to challenges and adapt to change. At the beginning of March – with little notice – our amazing faculty and staff moved more than 1,600 class sections online in less than two weeks. An incredible accomplishment. Long hours of dedication allowed your university to deliver its academic mission so that our students could persevere and succeed.

In this edition of "Parkside: The Magazine," you’ll read about how faculty, staff, and students worked together to keep our learning community connected at a time when it seemed we were forced to head in different directions. You’ll meet students like Gabby Richardson and learn why she refers to our faculty as academic heroes. You’ll also learn about how UW-Parkside is moving ahead with more online undergraduate and graduate programs to complement an outstanding array of on-campus instruction.

This fall, your university will welcome new students and welcome back current students. Classrooms may have a different look, more students may be learning online, and some of the activities associated with a vibrant campus community may be on hold. But we WILL persevere and we WILL succeed.

Our lives have changed – and they will continue to change. As we respond and adapt, as we reposition ourselves and our university, we will emerge as a stronger learning community delivering our academic and community mission far beyond an unprecedented 2020 spring semester.

Debbie Ford
Chancellor