How Thinking Differently About Higher Education Can Support Our Region

By: Chancellor Michael Alexander

While institutions are changing at an incredible pace, now is the time to think differently about higher education.

UW-Green Bay is different because we do not aspire to be a world-class university. Instead, we are striving to be world-class at serving our region and the people who want to advance their lives through education at any point in their journey. We are proud of who we are: a university serving 16 urban and rural counties with locations in Sheboygan, Manitowoc, Green Bay, and Marinette. The majority of our students come from this region; 70 percent stay after they graduate.

Giving access to all who want to learn also makes UW-Green Bay different. We don’t pride ourselves on who we exclude, we celebrate who we can include. It’s core to our mission and we excel at serving the student with unrealized potential, who works hard, but may not come from a stable economic situation or have a family member who has ever gone to college. That student deserves a university that competes for them. UW-Green Bay is that university.

We think differently about the idea of who a potential ‘student’ is and provide quality experiences (degrees, training, certificates, professional development, credentials, and more) for people with complex lives. In doing so, we are giving learners the education they need at this moment in their lives. Last year, UW-Green Bay delivered education to 95,000 learners.

We do education differently by growing opportunities for high school students to complete their associates degree (sometimes before they receive their high school diploma!), while at the same time expanding our graduate studies to encompass the needs of adults within our communities.

UW-Green Bay has embraced the change in demographics in our region and has become more diverse than the overall population of the region we serve. This provides equal educational opportunities to the region’s residents and employees. It also provides a diverse workforce that can propel our economy forward.

We seek to be relevant to as many people as we can and fearless in our approach to higher education. We are different because we reflect the distinct region we serve. Being laser focused on education for anyone who desires it is how we can work together to grow and sustain our communities.

As a region, this is how we’ll RISE.

Now a student on UW-Green Bay’s campus studying Environmental Policy and Planning, Nadia Neziri and friends await the start of a concert at Phoenix Park. Photo courtesy of Sue Pischke, UW-Green Bay photographer.

As part of UW-Green Bay’s “Rising Phoenix” program, Nadia Neziri receives her Associates degree prior to her high school graduation in 2022. Photo courtesy of Sue Pischke, UW-Green Bay photographer