Announcements

Message from Chancellor King

Faculty and staff,

Earlier today we gathered for our annual Chancellor’s Opening Celebration. During the event, we celebrated our talented, dedicated colleagues who make us Warhawk Bold. Thank you for joining me in congratulating our 2026 University Award Recipients. We appreciate the example they all set in fulfilling our mission and core values. 

We marked a major milestone — the 60th anniversary of the Rock County campus and the College of Integrated Studies — with a special video premiere.

Pieter deHart, our new provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, joined me to provide updates on several university priorities and initiatives. I want to recap the information shared.

Strategic Plan, Academic Plan and Budget Plan

Earlier this year — after consultation with campus leadership and the Strategic Planning and Budget Committee (SPBC) — we extended the current UW-Whitewater Strategic Plan timeline from 2023–2028 to 2023–2030. This extension reflects both the meaningful progress achieved to date and our commitment to completing the remaining priorities with intentionality, coordination, and long-term institutional impact in mind. I encourage you to visit the website, which features updates on each action item, as well as the strategies we are using to remove barriers, build institutional capacity, and accelerate sustained progress on the strategic priorities.

Our current academic plan concludes in 2027, and our future plan is taking shape. Faculty will guide this process in collaboration with the provost and academic leadership. Faculty governance leaders have developed a process for updating the plan, will compose a draft this year, and then share the recommended plan to me by March 2027. My expectation is that our academic plan is nimble and one that boldly positions us to succeed in a fast-changing higher education landscape.

I’m thrilled to share that, once again, we begin the fiscal year with a zero structural budget deficit and a positive cash flow. This has allowed us to make strategic campus investments to keep our institution robust, relevant, and innovative. These investments include classroom updates, undergraduate research, dual enrollment, general technology enhancements, campus safety and well-being, and professional development and research dissemination.

Enrollment

To maintain long-term sustainability — as an enrollment-driven institution — it is critical that we stay focused on reaching our student recruitment and retention goals. 

Higher education is at a critical juncture. Demographic shifts, declining college-going rates, and evolving public perceptions require clarity of purpose and decisive action. Our 2026-2030 Strategic Enrollment Plan positions UW-Whitewater to respond with focus, urgency, and collaboration. It is grounded in data, aligned with our mission and institutional strategic priorities, and informed by the 2024 Financial and Strategic Assessment Report.

Thank you to Jackie Briggs, vice chancellor for strategic enrollment, retention, and marketing, for her leadership in guiding this effort, and to the faculty, staff, students and shared governance leaders who provided feedback and insight. This plan reinforces our ongoing commitment to achieving our 2028 enrollment goals: 13,000 headcount, 10,000 FTE, and 82% retention rate.

Early projections show that we will continue to maintain over 12,000 students, with over 10,000 FTE, and 75% to 78% retention. In addition to traditional students, we will continue to diversify our enrollment strategy through transfers, online students, graduate students, adult learners, international students, and dual enrollment.

Compensation

Since my arrival at UW-Whitewater, compensation for all employees has been a top priority, especially through our collective work with the shared governance representatives. I established the UW-Whitewater Compensation Committee, which has representation from all employee groups. We have been making steady progress in this space.

While Act 15 presented challenges in our approach to our commitment to academic excellence, it afforded our university additional funding in a number of ways. One of those spaces included $1.4 million dollars for faculty compensation in high demand areas. This funding allowed continued progress in advancing compensation for academic staff and university staff. University funds previously set aside for faculty compensation were reallocated to support additional gains for these groups. In addition to the Act 15 funding, we allocated $4.2 million in university base funding for employee compensation, including our portion of the 3% pay plan.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

There is tremendous potential for the responsible and ethical use of AI to advance our mission at UW-Whitewater and enhance student success in meaningful ways. Through the university's AI Task Force recommendations, we are leaning into this work thoughtfully. Notable successes include:

• Appointment of Jon Spike, as special assistant for AI integration — reporting to the provost. 

• Establishment of a university-wide AI Advisory Committee — composed of faculty, staff, and campus leaders charged with exploring opportunities, challenges, and ethical considerations as we navigate this next frontier.

• Establishment of AI website as central resource hub

• Professional development opportunities for faculty and staff

When classes begin on Sept. 2, we will welcome our first cohort of students in our Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence. Other academic programs have emphases in AI, or have incorporated AI as part of their curriculum.

Rural Health

We have an opportunity to achieve academic distinction as a university committed to advancing rural healthcare. Our growing program array — including medical sciences, nursing, and pre-professional health tracks — is helping to fulfill critical workforce needs in our region. 

These efforts are also garnering outside funding through public grants and private donations, allowing us to invest in our facilities and offer state-of-the-art technology to support students.

Federal Landscape

In this active time of federal directives, we have a UW-Whitewater committee that reviews changes that may impact our institution. And we are in strong communication with the Universities of Wisconsin, which reviews directives at the System level. I want to continue to affirm academic freedom in teaching, research and creative activities. I ask us to remain focused and know that the university’s leadership is working at all levels to keep us moving forward.

Students

Today, we heard from five amazing students. The conversation centered on why they chose UW-Whitewater and continue to stay. Their responses spoke to having a sense of belonging and community and their engagement inside and outside the classroom. The students also shared individuals who have impacted them since coming to the university. Throughout the conversation, it is evident that our faculty and staff have meaningful impacts on our students that speak to the heart of our commitment to student success.

Be Warhawk Bold!

As we begin a new academic year, we will continue to be Warhawk Bold. Thank you for your service and leadership at UW-Whitewater.