Harden update letter

Chancellor-designate Tom Harden, who will assume his new duties at UW-Green Bay in June, shared an e-mail message with faculty and staff members on Feb. 4…

Dear UW-Green Bay Faculty and Staff,

I write to you today to wish you a great start to the Spring Semester and to update you on my plans and schedule for the coming months. It will indeed be an honor for me to join the UW-Green Bay community as your Chancellor and to begin working with you in service to students, the New North region, and the state of Wisconsin.

As I finish up my responsibilities at Clayton State University, I am beginning to shift my focus to the opportunities and challenges we will face together at UW-Green Bay. Even from afar, I share your enthusiasm over the big victories by the men’s and women’s basketball teams, the great reviews of JazzFest, and the accomplishments of the award-winning production of “The Balkan Women.” I can barely wait to be on campus to experience these and other success stories in a much more personal way.

I plan to visit the UW-Green Bay campus and Green Bay community two or three times before I officially start my new duties June 1. My first visit is scheduled for the week of February 15. This visit will give Cathy and me an opportunity to renew acquaintances with many of the special people we already have met on campus and in the community and to meet many more of you for the first time. I’m sure there won’t be enough hours in that week to do everything we would like to do, but it will help us begin to learn more about the place we soon will call home.

One crucial item of business during my visit will be a meeting with the Search and Screen Committee that will help select the next Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. The committee’s membership will be announced later today. I want to express my gratitude to the faculty, staff and students who have agreed to serve on this important committee. The Provost will be a key member of UW-Green Bay’s leadership team and will play a critical role in moving our shared agenda forward.

I also want to thank interim Chancellor Ward and interim Provost Laatsch for helping to keep the ship afloat during this period of transition and for aggressively pursuing academic excellence and new ideas. In addition, Dr. Ward and I have had several discussions about the looming budget challenges. I am confident that UW-Green Bay and the UW System will help lead the state through these troubled economic times and emerge stronger than ever.

Cathy and I thank you for the good wishes so many of you have sent our way as we are about to enter a new and exciting phase of our lives. We look forward to joining you soon and beginning the important and gratifying work of a university that means so much to students and their families and to the quality of life in the region and state.

Sincerely,
Tom Harden