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Inauguration of UW-Stout Chancellor Robert Meyer
April 2, 2015
Remarks by Bob Meyer, Chancellor
Good afternoon! I want to thank everyone who took time out of their
busy schedules today to join me and my family for this special event in
our lives. This is not only a day in which our University Community
inaugurates its new Chancellor, but it is also a celebration of one of the
most unique institutions in the country.
President Cross, Regent Millner, Regent Higgins, thank you for
attending and for your show of support in choosing me for this coveted
position.
I’d also like to recognize our city and state leaders who are with us…
Of course, seeing my colleagues from around the UW System dressed in
their regalia makes me happy and proud. I also appreciate the
delegates from other campuses and the Technical College System who
have traveled to Menomonie to help us celebrate.
But my greatest thanks are reserved for the students, faculty and staff
at UW-Stout who make this such a unique, vibrant and successful
campus. I get up every morning thanking my lucky stars that I get to
work with such talented, devoted and good-hearted students, faculty
and staff.
And no one deserves my greetings, thanks and love more than my
family: my wife Debbie, daughters Erica and Melly, and sister Carol.
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I met Debbie here, and both Erica and Melly went through UW-Stout’s
Science and Technology Preview Summer camp, or STEPS camp, for
seventh grade girls. STEPS inspired both of them. Erica graduated with
a Packaging Engineering degree from UW-Stout while Melly is finishing
her degree in Geological Engineering at UW-Madison
Not everyone can claim to have a great mother in law, but I have one,
Donna Klein.
As Debbie and I were raising Erica and Melly, Donna would often
remind me that the most important job we have as parents is to give
our children “roots and wings.” In other words, we give them the
foundation and values needed to succeed in life, and then give them
the freedom to put them to use. The previous leaders of this institution
gave us great “roots and wings” too!
And on this occasion it is appropriate to reflect back a bit on how and
why this great institution came into being. James Huff Stout, our
founder, was the son of a member of the board of directors of the
lumber firm Knapp, Stout and Company. James Huff Stout went on to
assume several leadership roles with Knapp-Stout, which was a key
employer in the region.
From 1871 to 1896, the company sent 85 million board feet of lumber a
year down the Red Cedar, the Chippewa, and the Mississippi rivers to
outlets in Iowa and Missouri. The company’s holdings extended as far
south as Arkansas and the enterprise created great wealth for the
owners, including the Stout family. James Huff Stout often stated his
belief in the concept of noblesse oblige, or that a wealthy person has
certain obligations to society.
In Stout’s case he felt strongly about giving back to the community by
creating learning opportunities for its citizens. His philanthropy
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included the creation of mobile libraries that could be moved
throughout the county to promote the literacy of its citizens.
While James Huff Stout was providing leadership to the company in St.
Louis, during the mid-1800s, he was exposed to an evolving form of
education that reinforced theory through application. Later in 1891,
inspired by what he had seen in St. Louis, Stout partnered with the
Menomonie School District to launch the Stout Manual Training School.
Stout provided the resources to build the school, furnished it with
state-of-the art equipment and tooling, provided all other necessary
materials and supplies, and even paid for the salaries of the instructors
needed toward preparing K-12 students for future careers.
In 1903, Stout hired Lorenzo D. Harvey, who had served as Wisconsin’s
State Superintendent of Schools, to replicate Stout’s experiment with
vocational education. To make that happen, Stout and Harvey worked
to expand the role of the institute, using a “training the trainer”
approach, and the institute quickly focused on three disciplinary areas:
mechanical arts, domestic arts, and art. Harvey, by the way, succeeded
Stout upon his death in 1910 as the institute’s second leader. For his
vision and commitment to what is now referred to as Career and
Technical Education, James Huff Stout was described by the Wisconsin
Journal of Education as “an educational Edison”. Fred L. Holmes in
Badger Saints and Sinners stated that:
“Stout instinctively turned toward the morning of life. The past
did not awe him, the future alone lighted his path. He wrought a
new venture in schooling that paved the way for vocational
education... He was an inextinguishable light, ever blazing with
fresh ideas that were to spread beauty, cheer, and enlightenment
into the dark corners of his beloved state and of the wider world.”
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Along the way, as our graduates became internationally known for their
expertise as teachers that possessed highly valuable technical skills and
effective problem-solving abilities, many were hired outside of
education by business and industry. That resulted in expansion of the
institution’s program array over five decades, under the leadership of
Chancellors Micheels, Swanson, and Sorensen. This expansion provided
students access to programs that prepared them directly for highdemand career opportunities in business and industry.
James Huff Stout might not recognize some of the programs now
offered by Wisconsin’s Polytechnic University, but I’m convinced he
would enthusiastically approve of how we have stayed true to his
original mission. In fact, our mission statement commits that the
university will provide
“undergraduate and graduate programs leading to professional
careers in industry, commerce, education, and human services
through the study of applied mathematics and science, art and
design, business and management, social and behavioral sciences,
education, family and consumer sciences, select engineering
programs, applied technologies, select health studies, and
technical communication.”
That is what James Huff Stout envisioned for us in 1891. We have just
put it into practice in a modern era of higher education.
I never get tired of hearing employers say that “we love hiring UWStout graduates because they hit the ground running – they have an
immediate impact.” That, too, is what James Huff Stout envisioned.
When I was interviewing for this position, I was impressed by the
search committee’s focus on the future. They asked each candidate to
describe in detail how they would “build a bridge to UW-Stout’s
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future.” A bridge implies that you are moving from one place to
another. Clearly, UW-Stout is moving from a solid past to an exciting
and compelling future. In my response, I focused on two important
approaches that are vital in building a bridge to the future, namely
strategic planning and servant leadership, as well as some key
strategies that the university must continue to emphasize to achieve
success.
I see building a bridge to the future as a team process. The members of
any team need a play book or a plan so that they are all moving in the
same direction. Strategic planning allows all team members to
embrace a common vision of the future. It is then incumbent upon the
leaders to empower the team to implement the plan as part of what I
call a “servant leadership” model.
This graphic visually describes servant leadership. Note that EVERYONE
in this upside down org chart is serving key stakeholders or customers
above them. As I see it, strategic planning provides a vision of what we
are going to do and where we want to go. Servant leadership provides
the proper framework on how to get there!
I’m proud to report that UW-Stout’s strategic planning process is
inclusive, responsive, and transparent. In July 2014, UW-Stout engaged
a broad spectrum of stakeholders in a Visioning Session to collect
feedback regarding what the institution must do to position itself for
the future. A cross-functional team, our Strategic Planning Group,
reviewed that feedback and created a set of Goal Statements, which
were subsequently reviewed and revised by our internal stakeholders
at a number of engagement sessions this fall.
As part of this process, the University’s longstanding “enduring goals”
were validated. They are:
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Goal 1: Offer high quality, challenging academic programs that
influence and respond to a changing society.
Goal 2: Preserve and enhance our educational processes through
the application of active learning principles.
Goal 3: Promote excellence in teaching, research, scholarship and
service.
Goal 4: Recruit and retain a diverse university population.
Goal 5: Foster a collegial, trusting and tolerant campus climate.
Goal 6: Provide safe, accessible, effective, efficient and inviting
physical facilities.
Goal 7: Provide responsive, efficient, and cost-effective
educational support programs and services.
Based on the visioning and engagement sessions’ feedback, the
Strategic Planning Group established several five-year goals, referred
to as Focus 2020 Goals, which support our enduring goals. We are
already implementing strategies to achieve these five Focus 2020
Goals, and I’d briefly like to touch on each one of these because they
are helping us build a bridge to our future.
(FOCUS 2020 GOALS)
One of our Focus 2020 goals is to increase student participation in
applied research, increase student experiences that develop
intercultural competence, and require an applied learning experience
of each student.
In keeping true to the “hands-on, minds-on” approach established by
James Huff Stout, providing our students with real world problem
solving experiences is part of our DNA. Beyond the fantastic laboratory
experiences afforded our students on campus, the University has
extended learning beyond the campus boundaries. Ninety percent of
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our students get outside experiences before they graduate, either
through co-ops, internships, practicums, student teaching, independent
study, research projects, or some other means.
The time our students spend in the workplace or elsewhere is a reason
that many students have job offers even before they graduate. The
problem solving done by our students helps business, industry, and
education prosper too.
In his inaugural address, President Micheels – our fourth leader at UWStout, captured the purpose of applied student research when he
stated: “Along the way, we must do a much better job of helping each
student to become research-minded. Not to make each one a
researcher, but to let him or her experience the pitfalls and thrills of
free inquiry, together with the satisfactions which come from digging
deep… Our graduates will be evaluated, not only on the basis of what
they can do well, but equally in terms of how well they can learn. They
soon will be called upon to deal with problems which we cannot
comprehend today… But having mastered something well and being
able to grapple with ideas, our graduates should have the competence
and know-how to deal with the unknowns of the future.”
Chancellor Sorensen established a goal for each of our students to be
involved in some way with applied research. In the last five years over
700 of UW-Stout’s students have showcased their applied research
projects at events including professional conferences, UW-System
Posters in the Rotunda, the National Conference on Undergraduate
Research, the UW-Undergraduate Research Symposium, and UWStout’s Research Day. UW-Stout’s Journal of Student Research, one of
the first in the state, has helped hundreds of students publish their
research.
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UW-Stout’s Discovery Center acts as a bridge to real-world problem
solving by our faculty, staff, and students. The Discovery Center is
reputed for its impressive client reported impacts. According to
independent surveying of Discovery Center clients, the center’s
problem-solving has generated over $570 million in savings and impacts
and has created or retained over 4,700 jobs since its inception in 1994.
The Discovery Center’s Business Incubator has an astounding 70%
success rate by launching viable businesses that employ over 400
people and exceed $75 million in annual sales. I know James Huff Stout
would be proud of how applied learning at UW-Stout is leading to
smart workforce development, as well as effective economic
development.
A second Focus 2020 Goal is to create a supportive environment that
encourages, promotes and incentivizes the use of innovative, highimpact, evidence-based instructional models and practices.
UW-Stout has long been a digital campus and our E-Stout or “laptop
program” is just one example of how we leverage technology to
heighten student learning and increase student success.
Another example of how we use technology in an innovative way is to
deliver coursework at a distance to place-bound students. From 2008
to 2014 the number of distance-delivered courses more than tripled,
growing from 243 to 779. UW-Stout now has 10 undergraduate
programs, 15 graduate programs, 12 certificate programs, and 9
certifications offered via distance delivery. In 2014, UW-Stout became
the first institution in the UW System to receive accreditation through
the United States Distance Learning Association.
As Wisconsin’s Polytechnic University, and to stay true to the vision
established by James Huff Stout, this University must continue to play
an important role preparing the next generation of teachers in the use
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of effective instructional models. These include applying effective
distance delivery methods, implementing popular STEM delivery
models like Project Lead the Way; or engaging students in an
“enterprise” approach like Craig Cegielski’s Cardinal Manufacturing
model at the Eleva-Strum School District , which emphasizes that
knowing how to make something is still cool and important; or
developing K-12 students product design and development skills by
involving them in a Digital Fabrication Lab as Steve Yahr did in the Three
Lakes School District
Despite our current budget challenges, this is an incredibly exciting
time to be in the teaching profession and UW-Stout will continue to
inspire innovation to improve student learning and success.
A third Focus 2020 Goal is to expand, sustain, and collaborate on
internal and external partnerships.
Since its inception, UW-Stout has had an external focus. Listening to
our employers and stakeholders has helped identify what new
programs are required to fulfill the needs of education, business and
industry. As a result, our program array has doubled over the past 10
years, an amazing rate of growth. UW-Stout currently offers 46
undergraduate programs, 21 graduate programs, and three advanced
degree programs. I was proud to advocate, as President of WITC in
2008, for UW-Stout’s Doctorate in Career and Technical Education.
Since its implementation, that program has enrolled 29 students in two
cohorts, many of whom are leaders within the K-12 and Technical
College Systems. This coming fall this new doctoral program will have
three cohorts totaling 45 students!
Along with UW-Stout’s program growth has come amazing enrollment
increases. UW-Stout ranks near the top of all UW System institutions in
its rate of enrollment growth over the last 10 years. This fall UW-Stout
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enrolled a record 9,371 students. And I am happy to report our
projections for fall 2015 indicate that we probably will set another
record. It’s obvious that prospective students are buying what we are
selling.
If you are one of these 9,371 students please stand so we can
recognize you for making a great decision! Thank you!
We are proud to have you here and our ultimate goal is your
success!
We measure the success of everything we do at UW-Stout with one key
indicator: the career success of our students. For nearly 60 years, we
have annually studied the employment success of our students. For
more than a decade, 97% of our graduates have reported that they
have found a satisfying job or are continuing their education within six
months of leaving campus. And most of our graduates work in their
field of study. It is my great pleasure to announce today that we just
completed our latest survey of graduates, and the 2013-14 class also
had a 97 percent employment rate. The median starting salary of our
graduates was $41,000, which also is a testament to their value in the
workplace. I estimate the total annual earning power of our 2013-2014
graduating class ALONE to exceed $62 million!
The success of our students in the workplace is directly related to the
engagement we have with our employers, alumni, and other
stakeholders, whether through strategic planning or our program
advisory committees. This engagement guides us regarding which
programs we offer and what content is contained in these programs.
But that engagement would mean nothing without the hard work of
our employees. The dedicated, smart work of our current and past
employees is what makes everything possible at UW-Stout.
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At this time I’d like to recognize our retirees – if you are a retiree,
would you please rise to be recognized for your incredible
contributions to this University and to the success of our
students! Thank you!
These retirees continue to contribute to UW-Stout. A great example of
leveraging the expertise of our retirees as well as our alumni is the
partnership that we are fostering with A T & T. Randy Pickering is an
alumni and Vice President at A T & T. He has worked diligently over the
years to help us improve our networking and telecommunications
laboratories in Fryklund Hall. Recently, Randy indicated that A T & T
needed assistance in developing leaders via on-location and online
workshops and academies. One of our retirees (and also an alumni of
UW-Stout), Dr. Charlie Krueger stepped forward to develop the
Leadership Development Institute for this purpose. The LDI is nearly
ready to begin offering workshops and academies through our
Discovery Center. The LDI will leverage expertise from across the
campus to deliver a new set of services to business and industry.
I’m proud of this new initiative and I’d like to have Randy
Pickering and Charlie Krueger rise to be recognized for their
innovative work.
UW-Stout also has an outstanding reputation working with our K-12
and technical college partners to create seamless educational pathways
that support our students’ career pathways through advanced
placement and credit transfer opportunities. UW-Stout is renowned
for the many credit transfer agreements it has established in
collaboration with our Technical College System. These agreements
help our recruitment efforts and improve the readiness and
commitment of our incoming students and THEY MUST CONTINUE.
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I would like to recognize some of those partners:
• Nancy Graese from CESA11
• Morna Foy, President of the Wisconsin Technical College
System as well as some of my former Technical College
colleagues
• Lee Rasch, President of Western College
• John Will, President of WITC
We also partner heavily within the UW-System to offer our programs
and services. A good example is the Northwest Wisconsin Engineering
Consortium. UW-Eau Claire, UW-River Falls and UW-Stout are each
working on proposed new engineering programs. All three institutions
are working together on a common engineering core curriculum that
allows our students portability between our programs, as well as
potential efficiencies in delivering them. The Board of Regents will
consider our Mechanical Engineering degree proposal next week in
Waukesha.
I would like to recognize Chancellors Jim Schmidt and Dean Van
Galen for their commitment to partner, not just on our
engineering effort, but on other collaborative efforts as well.
A fourth Focus 2020 Goal is to establish sustained financial viability of
the institution by improving fiscal discipline, reallocating resources,
increasing donations and other external revenue, and streamlining
processes.
Even before the current budget situation, UW-Stout has been a leader
in controlling costs through efficiencies.
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For over a decade, UW-Stout has leveraged the expertise of our
Discovery Center’s Manufacturing Outreach Center to implement “lean
management practices” across the University. This approach has
helped streamline our business processes.
We have also streamlined our approach to program review to make
sure that resource allocations are “right sized” to program enrollments.
Where enrollments are in decline and other key measures do not
improve in response to interventions, then programs are discontinued,
as was the case for two programs in the last biennium.
A significant challenge we face is the instability of the current funding
environment. As the State struggles with a structural deficit it will be
incumbent upon us to find other avenues of support. That is why I’ve
challenged the Stout University Foundation to double its assets through
fund raising in the next five years. The Foundation is committed to that
goal and is creating a comprehensive strategy for increased fund
raising. We’ve already had some early successes on this front, for
example:
• Each of our proposed new programs (Mechanical Engineering and
Digital Marketing Technology) have already realized significant
pledges of support. Once these programs are approved by the
Regents, we will be making some exciting public announcements
regarding these donations.
• In December, 2014, we received a significant anonymous
donation of over $600,000 in support of a specific area of course
delivery.
• In addition, Rajiv Lall, founder of Vets Plus headquartered in
Menomonie, and his wife Swati made a generous donation in
support of establishing the Rajiv and Swati Lall Microbiology
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Laboratory on campus. Their donation will have a significant
impact on biology related course offerings at UW-STOUT.
So I am extremely pleased with the fund raising efforts that are
underway. These will be vital towards ensuring student success in the
future.
A fifth Focus 2020 Goal is to create a supportive environment that
increases the recruitment and retention of high quality faculty and
staff.
As I mentioned earlier, responsive programming, student success, and
high placement rates are not possible without the dedicated efforts of
staff from top to bottom in this organization.
If you are a current UW-Stout employee would you please rise
and be recognized for your contributions to our students and the
university Thank you!
Our staff spends hours well beyond what they are paid in support of
student success. I know this because I’m often there witnessing their
efforts that span into the evenings and over the weekends. As the
great industrialist, Andrew Carnegie once stated:
“Take away my people, but leave my factories, and soon grass will
grow on the factory floors. Take away my factories, but leave my
people, and soon we will have a new and better factory.”
This applies to the business of education as well. Staff excellence and
student success are the result of prudent investments in staff
development and support. Given the austere budget environment we
have faced for a number years, I believe my biggest challenge as
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Chancellor is finding ways to attract and keep outstanding faculty and
staff. Since becoming Chancellor in August of 2014 the University has
already lost far too many excellent employees to other educational
institutions and I am committed to turning this situation around. This
commitment includes pledging to maintain a diversified faculty and
staff. As Chancellor Charles Sorensen articulated in his inaugural
address:
“A diversified campus is a healthy campus in every respect – body,
mind, and spirit. Healthy because the real world – the world of
work, and the world we send our graduates to – is a world of
many colors and many races. We must prepare our students for
diversity.”
I was contemplating out loud the challenge of attracting and retaining
excellent staff with one of my favorite confidantes, Scott Cabot. Scott
and I were enrolled at UW-Stout together during the 1970s. Scott is a
strategic thinker and is “Mr. Positive.” Consequently, he is an
outstanding sounding board for me. During that conversation, Scott
said:
“This challenge is huge, I don’t want to see the quality of the UWStout experience decline. We need to get 1,000 alumni to donate
$1,000 each to meet this challenge and I’m willing to help.”
I shared Scott’s comments with Mark Parsons, my Vice Chancellor of
University Advancement and Marketing and he quickly put together a
fund raising campaign to support Teaching Excellence and Student
Success.
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I appreciate Scott’s willingness to help reach out to alumni for this
worthwhile effort. It will send an important message that we value our
staff and their contributions to student success.
Scott, could you please step forward, I have something to give you as a
fellow Stout Alumni.
Thank you Scott for your inspiration, commitment, and generosity. I
am sure your passion and dedication to this cause, and the positive
message that it sends, is greatly appreciated by our faculty and staff!
Nearly 40 years ago, I stepped onto the campus of UW-Stout for the
first time, a somewhat scrawny kid from Port Washington, Wisconsin. I
was one of five children, the son of a sign painter, but education always
was important in my family.
I came here on the advice of my high school woods shop teacher, Tim
Fuchs. I would not have come here without Tim’s enthusiastic
endorsement, nor would I likely be standing here before you today.
Tim is here today with his wife Cathe and I’d like him to stand so I
can thank him for his profound impact on my life. Thank you,
Tim! You are an example of how important teachers are in our
daily lives!
I came to visit UW-Stout with my father, and it didn’t take long to
decide that I had come to the right place. Even before I started
enrolling for classes, I remember the late Chancellor Swanson telling a
few jokes and winning my dad over. “You’re in the right spot,” my dad
said, and boy was he right! I felt right at home at UW-Stout, and this is
a feeling that continues at UW-Stout today. In fact, our admissions
people tell us that the hardest part of recruiting a new student is
getting them to campus. Once they are here, they are hooked.
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I tried to take advantage of every opportunity I could to get involved in
student life at UW-Stout. I joined student government as a Senator
when Scott Cabot was SSA President. I worked in the Student Center
bowling alley, and as an RA in Milnes Hall, and I made tons of lifelong
friends. Most importantly, I met my wife Debbie here. In the end, UWStout transformed my life, transformed Debbie’s life, as it did my
daughters Erica and Melly.
My message today is that we all have an important role in continuing
the extraordinary mission of this University that was founded by James
Huff Stout. Like him, let us all be an “inextinguishable light”. Let’s get
on with our work of inspiring innovation for our students and for this
great State. Let’s continue to transform learning, the lives of our
students, and our economy!
I am very proud to be part of that, and I thank you for being part of
what is an unforgettable day for me!