This week Stout was scheduled to serve as the host campus for the UW System Board of Regents meeting. The campus-hosted board meetings are an opportunity to demonstrate to the Board of Regents, Chancellors, members of UW System administration, and attendees what makes Stout unique. Due to COVID-19 precautions, the board meetings have been held virtually.
While Stout is not hosting the board meeting in person, we will be featured at the meeting. This has provided an opportunity for us to reflect on Stout’s distinct Polytechnic mission, how we were uniquely situated to respond to the pandemic in support of student success, and how we will apply what we’ve learned during this period to become a “new” Polytechnic institution.
Information about the April Board of Regents meeting featuring Stout is available online. Included below are the summaries of the Stout presentations.
Chancellor Presentation to the Full Board
Stout’s distinct mission and identity as Wisconsin’s Polytechnic university present unique challenges and opportunities for navigating a global pandemic. Stout has continued to excel in supporting student success, including graduating “triple threat” students, as well as maintaining our consistent 97%+ placement rate for more than ten years.
The presentation will highlight Stout’s goal areas for the next ten years as articulated in the draft of our new strategic plan, FOCUS2030, and demonstrate how the university’s distinct polytechnic mission and identity position the university for the future with a focus on student success, employee success, institutional sustainability, and equity diversity, and inclusivity.
Pat Meuers and Abby Fawcett, both Stout graduates and employed at FindLaw, a Thomson Reuters business that provides digital marketing solutions to law firms, will join Chancellor Frank to discuss the strong partnership between Stout and Thomson Reuters, and how that partnership benefits Stout students, the university, and Thomson Reuters, as well as supports institutional distinctiveness.
Also featured in this presentation is Dr. Urs Haltinner for his work in the Career and Technical Education profession.
Presenters:
- Dr. Katherine P. Frank, Chancellor
- Pat Meuers, Vice President, FindLaw Digital Solutions, Class of 1992
- Abby Fawcett, Digital Marketer, FindLaw Digital Solutions, Class of 2019
Research, Economic Development, and Innovation Committee
Stout faculty, staff, and students demonstrate how cross-disciplinary collaboration has resulted in students’ applied learning to solve immediate problems in an industry setting. The “Buzz Digital Project” is an online simulation that incorporates lean manufacturing principles to shift a project that is typically completed in-person to a virtual format. The development of the simulation provided the students co-op/internship opportunities and valuable industry experience that can be scaled and adapted to a variety of situations. The project also exemplifies the critical intra-institutional and external partnerships with business and industry that are essential to the distinct Stout learning and service experience.
Presenters:
- Dr. Katherine P. Frank, Chancellor
- Randy Hulke, Executive Director of Discovery Center
- Ted Theyerl, Sr. Management Engineer
- Dr. Andrew Williams, Associate Professor
- Steve Datz, B.S. Game Design and Development Student – Computer Science
- Simon Meyer, B.F.A. Game Design and Development Student
- Aram Wahler, M.F.A. Design Graduate Student
Capital Planning and Budget Committee
Justin Utpadel, Director of Facilities Management, and Dr. Gindy Neidermyer, Interim Dean of the College of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Management, discuss how Stout is planning and building for the future. The presentation will demonstrate the urgent need for the Heritage Hall renovation and how Stout uses renovation opportunities to promote the cross-institutional collaboration that is critical to our distinct educational experience. The presentation will also feature how Stout’s capital planning process supports infrastructural flexibility, resiliency, and efficiency in a post-pandemic landscape.
Presenters:
- Dr. Gindy Neidermyer, Interim Dean of the College of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Management
- Justin Utpadel, Director of Facilities Management
Education Committee
UW-Stout has remained committed to our polytechnic mission throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and creatively adapted our instructional delivery methods to engage students virtually. We have not wavered in our commitment to our educational tenets of career focus, applied learning, and collaboration.
The presentation will showcase examples from each academic college, specifically our ABET-accredited B.S. in Plastics Engineering program, NASAD-accredited B.F.A. in Studio Art program, and our B.S. Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management program which has been ranked 13th in the world in 2021 by CEOWorld Magazine. We will also highlight our continued work to serve adult learners, via our online Customized Instruction programming. UW-Stout received Board of Regents approval to serve this market starting in 1999 and is the only Wisconsin institution certified by the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA).
In closing, the presentation will feature Stout’s new eSports program, the result of collaboration among Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and Blue Devil Athletics that resulted in a new recruitment effort, retention programming, and enrollment growth during the pandemic.
Presenters:
- Glendalí Rodriguez, Interim Provost
- Sandi Scott, Dean of Students
The presentation also includes two videos that feature the following individuals:
- Jacob Alexander, B.S. Applied Math Computer Science
- Dave Beck, Associate Dean
- Tamara Brantmeier, Professor
- Nick Distasio, ESports Advisor
- Eleanor Falck, B.F.A. Game Design and Development
- Olivia Hile, B.S. Plastics Engineering
- Malcolm Howard, B.F.A. Game Design and Development
- Madalyn Muckenhirn, B.S. Game Design and Development
- Duey Naatz, Athletic Director
- Gavin Raph, B.S. Marketing and Business Education
- Adrianna Thiele, Game Design and Computer Science Double Major
- Dr. Wei Zheng, Associate Professor
In reviewing the final presentations, I was struck by how much we have accomplished this year and how much there is to celebrate, especially during a year of challenges. Our successes could not be possible without the dedication of the incredible Stout faculty and staff, and our talented students. Thank you all for your efforts, and a special thank you to all the presenters and individuals that were involved with the development of the presentations.
In Stout Pride,
