December 20, 2010

Good afternoon,

I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend.  We have been very busy preparing for our family holiday celebrations and gatherings and watching Reagan perform in her first program at church.  Reagan has been very suspicious of the many Santa Clauses that she has seen around the area ringing bells and inviting children to sit on their laps.   As we were shopping for some of the people on our list, we asked Reagan if there was anything that she wanted for Christmas.  Her response surprised us.  She said that she wanted money.  “Money”, we asked?  What would you like to buy with your money?”  She responded “gouda and ham.”  I guess she has become a little foodie.

This past week the Chancellors met both on the phone and at Madison to discuss a number of issues.  Discussions are continuing with regard to how to handle a variety of potential budget scenarios.  While there have been no concrete directions yet to the UW System, we are looking at the implications of a number of possible outcomes.  In addition, those campuses that are preparing differential tuition requests also made their first presentation to the group.   UW-Superior Student Government Association has forwarded a proposal recommending the extension of two existing differentials as well as a recommendation for a modest increase to fund a couple of targeted priorities.  I reported on our process and the SGA recommendation. 

This past week we also heard an update on the chancellor’s search process.  Please monitor the website for updated information.  System President Kevin Reilly continues his process for identifying an individual to step into the Interim Chancellor role when I leave in mid-March.  He hopes to make an announcement sometime after the New Year.

Thursday evening was the annual “Feeding Frenzy”.  This event invites students to the Yellowjacket Union to eat a variety of food beginning at 9 p.m. served by faculty and staff.  We served over 300 students in less than two hours.  Those who volunteered included:

• Vickie Hajewski
• Jan Hanson
• Faith Hensrud
• Jane Birkholz
• Eleni Pinnow
•  Gail Archambault
• Brittany Collins
• Elizabeth Gregg
• Ann Miller
• Ryan Kreuser
• Dawn Schulze
• Dacia Selzler
• Kathy Pykkonen
• Peter Nordgren
• Mary Schoeler
• Jennifer Bird
• Stewart Platner
• Jared Johnson

Thank you to Mickey Fitch and the Residence Hall staff for organizing this event.  And a special thank you to A’viands, our campus food service, for letting me and a host of other faculty and staff into your kitchen to cook.  I enjoyed flipping pancakes and scrambling eggs. 

Saturday was graduation and approximately 170 students received their degrees.  We were pleased to have Mr. Donald Leighton as our student speaker and Regent Edmund Manydeeds III bring greetings from the Regents.  Mr. Leighton first began his college career at UW-Superior in 1970 but stopped 24 credit hours short of his degree.  He returned to UW-Superior through our Distance Learning Center and completed his Bachelor of Science in Physical Education this year.  Edmund Manydeeds graduated from UW-Superior in 1973 and earned his law degree from UW-Madison.  He is a successful attorney and was appointed to the UW-Board of Regents in 2010.  Both speakers had inspiring stories. We are proud of our past and newly minted alumni.  Over 60 faculty and staff participated in the ceremonies and another 30 volunteered to help with logistics.  Thank you to Tammy Fanning for taking over the planning and organizing of our graduation ceremonies. 

This week will complete the fall semester.  Tomorrow we will take a moment to celebrate the end of a successful semester at our Solstice Celebration from 2-4 p.m. in the Yellowjacket Union.  Yes, the days will now start getting longer . . . does that mean that spring is just around the corner? 

Thank you for all that you have done and accomplished this past semester.   I will be skipping next week’s Monday message so the next update will be sent on January 3, 2011. Don’t forget that Thursday, December 30, 2010 is an official furlough day. 

I hope you have a great week, a wonderful weekend, and a joyful holiday season!

Chris Markwood

Interim Chancellor