System President Reilly to Join ‘State of University’ address

August 17, 2004

Chancellor Jack Miller’s annual “State of the University” address on Monday, August 23 will feature an updated report card on campus goals, a rollout of several new initiatives and the introduction of incoming UW System President Kevin Reilly.

The address will be held from 10:30 a.m. to noon in Irvin L. Young Auditorium and will kick off a week of fall 2004 orientation for the approximately 1,200 faculty and staff of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. With the new semester beginning Sept. 2, the address offers a chance to review progress of the past year and roll out new plans for the coming year.

“This will be a great opportunity for faculty and staff to meet Kevin Reilly and get a sense of his statewide vision for our 26-campus system and the challenges ahead,” said Miller. “We are delighted to have President Reilly on campus.”

The general public can tune in as well: UW-Whitewater’s partnership with Charter Cable will enable the address to be carried live throughout the region on Channel 20, which reaches more than 100,000 households.

Miller, who has been chancellor since 1999, will provide a five-year assessment of UW-Whitewater’s progress on campus-wide goals, with special focus on student retention and graduation, facilities advances and diversity. New initiatives will be unveiled related to faculty and staff support, building plans and regional impact. A 2004 “Report Card” that provides statistics and grades on 37 goals will be shared after the address.

Reilly was appointed in July to succeed Katharine Lyall as president of the UW System and will officially begin his tenure in September. His visit to UW-Whitewater will be the first in a series of visits to campuses across the state.

The week of August 23 will be a busy one on campus, beginning with a breakfast for more than 50 new faculty and staff. Events include workshops on how to combat cheating, how to handle troubling disclosures from students and how to find “your happy place” as a professor.

Students return to residence halls beginning Aug. 30 and will kick off the year with a September 1 student convocation in Young Auditorium, where the featured guest will be the winning contestant from the ABC reality program “Survivor: Africa.”