The Position (Chancellor) Expectations and Opportunities for Leadership

Beyond the management of a complex academic enterprise, the next chancellor of UW-Parkside will be encouraged to place a particular emphasis on several strategic imperatives that will continue to strengthen the university and add value to its students, faculty, staff, and community.

The University of Wisconsin-Parkside is looking for a forward-thinking leader to:

Maintain and Strengthen UW-Parkside’s Mission to Improve Lives in Southeastern Wisconsin and beyond.

Even during the pandemic, the institution’s actions demonstrated its commitment to increasing college attainment in its region by continuing to set historic records for the number of graduates and student success. These efforts were recognized in 2022 by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) with its Excellence and Innovation Award for Student Success and College Completion. The number of graduates increased significantly from 771 in 2017 to 1014 in 2022. 

Since Fall 2016, 40 new UW-Parkside academic programs, majors, or concentrations were approved, launched, or revised. Innovation and delivery of new, market-responsive offerings, including rapidly expanding master’s level options, is a priority of the UW-Parkside 2025 Strategic Framework. UW-Parkside was reclassified as a Medium Master’s College/University, and its master’s population was recognized as one of the 10 fastest-growing in the nation among small colleges/universities.  

In 2015, UW-Parkside was again recognized through renewal of its Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Classification for Community Engagement. As a previously recognized institution, the university was required to demonstrate that it had further deepened and expanded its community engagement activity. The university has also been recognized on the President's Community Service Honor Roll. 

Enhance Student Engagement and the Student Experience

Enhance student engagement by involving students in key campus initiatives, promoting student success, fostering student development, and increasing cultural competency.

The student experience inside and outside of the classroom is paramount to the success of our students. Our low faculty to student ratio allows for individualized support and guidance. Undergraduate students, as well as graduate students, have ample opportunities to conduct research, co-author papers, and present at regional and national conferences with faculty.

In 2006, UW-Parkside became the first institution in the state of Wisconsin to earn the Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement, earning a renewal of the classification in 2015. The Alan E. Guskin Center for Community and Business Engagement supports opportunities in community-based learning, internships, and campus employment for students as they put learning into action.

Vital to a student’s success is a sense of belonging. Opportunities to live in a residential community, become involved in student organizations, explore aspects of one’s identity, participate in athletics and other wellness activities, obtain academic support through advising, success coaching, and tutoring services, and explore career options are all important co-curricular elements of the UW-Parkside student experience.

Drive and Advance Strategic Enrollment

The Chancellor and senior leadership are tasked with developing and sustaining a campus-wide enrollment management philosophy/culture that integrates all aspects of recruitment, retention, and persistence in support of enrollment growth and student success.

Demographic shifts, enrollment impacts from COVID-19, declines in college-going rates in the region, and shrinking state financial support are all current enrollment challenges. Building on current partnerships with local school districts, regional higher education alliances, and community organizations will continue to be top priorities. As are initiatives to improve retention and graduation rates such as the recently awarded Title III grant that provides a success coach to all first-year and transfer students.  

Engage and Communicate the Value of the University to External Stakeholders

The Chancellor is the primary spokesperson for UW-Parkside and must constantly speak to the value of the university to multiple stakeholders. This means working closely with elected political leaders at the federal, state, and local levels. The Chancellor must advocate for policies that strengthen the university and explain and defend the university to those who criticize it.

The Chancellor meets with alumni groups across the state and around the country. Fundraising among alumni and friends is an increasingly important source of revenue for the university and the Chancellor plays a leadership role in this activity. The -Chancellor must be able to:

  • Lead the university through its first comprehensive campaign, which focuses on scholarships, dynamic learning environments, high-impact practices, and faculty and staff recruitment and retention.
  • Serve as the lead philanthropic champion for UW-Parkside, focused on successfully closing gifts that serve to transform the university.
  • Demonstrate thorough knowledge and understanding of philanthropy, higher education, and fundraising programs and related strategies with the proven ability to collaborate and organize fundraising efforts effectively, prioritizing prospects and participating in high-level strategy and gift discussions.
  • Engage actively with the Chancellor’s Cabinet, Academic Deans, Athletics, the UW-Parkside Foundation, and the Alumni Association for collaborative philanthropic partnerships, planning, and execution.
  • Demonstrate success in establishing and maintaining partnerships with external constituents that benefit the institution and positively impact the communities it serves.
  • Articulate a record of garnering new resources to support the advancement of an organization.
  • Build relationships with personal and professional contacts to cultivate mutually beneficial relationships with community leaders, University of Wisconsin System leadership and regents, business leaders, the state legislature alumni, parents, corporations, foundations, and donors to meet the strategic fundraising goals of the University.
  • Participate in advancement and fundraising initiatives with attention to major gift donors, prospects, alumni, and premier fundraising events.

 

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