Message from the Chancellor UW-Superior is a vibrant student-centered institution of higher learning which is committed to an outstanding and engaged student experience and fostering a diverse and inclusive living and learning and working environment. Our university is a quarter of the way into its second century, and guided by this new strategic plan, Forward Superior, these foundations will be strengthened for a new and even more dynamic future.

At a time when higher education has faced scrutiny for its cost and relevancy amid financial pressures and new forms of competition, UW-Superior has continued to offer innovative programming, maintained its fiscal position, and has retained a liberal arts foundation while focused on engaged student learning, applied research, and community impact. As a result, there are many assets upon which to build.

At its heart, Forward Superior is fundamentally about students and their success. Forward Superior commits to further elevating a culture of care, engaged student learning and inclusion. These three pillars will enable us to leverage and advance on present strengths to secure the future.

The strategic planning process for Forward Superior has been an extraordinarily thoughtful, intentional, and collaborative two-year effort. When the Strategic Planning Core Team was charged with the endeavor, there were several priorities made clear for the development of this plan: a highly inclusive and transparent process, numerous opportunities for feedback from the entire UW-Superior community (including faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community partners), realistic goals and accountability, and a focus on what our university will need to do and be to thrive in the years to come. The 17-member Strategic Planning Core Team, its work supplemented by the talent and efforts of Institutional Research, has led the community-based creation of this living document.

The plan began with a realistic and extensive self-analysis and external environmental scanning. The Strategic Planning Core Team took a hard look at student matriculation and retention trends, fiscal realities as state support continues shrinking, and college attainment rates nationally, in Wisconsin and neighboring states. The team also looked at the pending demographic cliff of traditional-age students and the increasing pressure on the value proposition of a four-year degree. Higher education consultants Keeling & Associates helped the university extend and formalize the research by asking key questions about our current institutional identity and possible directions for the future. The Strategic Planning Core Team then sought input and vetted ideas and drafts from constituents via numerous surveys, town halls, and discussion forums. As feedback was analyzed, the team stayed committed to developing a plan that put students at the center. Every strategy and action item was first vetted and assessed through the lens of how might this change serve our students and their needs best?

Thus, Forward Superior directly addresses many of the challenges facing higher education institutions today. Facing these realities head on is necessary as we ensure fiscal viability and enrollment stability. By focusing on the student experience, we ensure our future. The pillars are a strong and sustainable foundation upon which to leverage our strengths and focus on areas with the greatest potential impact for the long run. They also maximize our ability to meet the unpredictable changes in our landscape. UW-Superior’s educational experience will continue to be distinctive, providing outstanding, supportive, and engaged education in a more intimate setting than can be found at larger institutions, regardless of learning modality, thereby providing students with greater opportunities for relationship building and leadership experiences and growth.

Forward Superior also reflects the recent impact on our society and learning environments triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. With only our ability to control our actions and responses to something we could not otherwise control, the pandemic asked much of us. It was both a moment of disruption and a 1

transformative opportunity. What it proved to us is that we are capable of rapid changes and complex problem solving together. We were nimble, creative, and able to evolve rapidly in our actions as the pandemic unfolded. There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the already occurring changes that were underway in the higher education landscape, such as the growth in online learning. It is with gratitude to the entire campus that we responded in a superior manner and learned much about each other and our students in the process – good things upon which we can build an exciting future. We will need continue to empower our community to keep the very best of these experiences as we face a challenging future in higher education.

We have created Forward Superior as a three-year plan, knowing that that the higher education landscape has accelerated in pace and rate of change. The three-year window puts laser focus on the fundamentals that that will empower us to continue to be nimble and responsive and to meet the shifting demographics that we see in our students and in society.

We agree to be held accountable for each element of the plan. There are “primary accountability” assignments for each action step as we recognize that if nobody is specifically accountable, then nobody is accountable. Assignments of primary accountability, therefore, may single out a position or office, but we acknowledge that little or none of the work gets done without the collaborative input and spirit of all involved. There also remain initiatives that are everybody’s responsibility (such as creating a welcoming and inclusive environment, recruiting and retaining students, and being ambassadors for the university in visible and positive ways). Thus, Forward Superior reflects our commitment that Together We are Superior: that we achieve when we are working together, making our organizational units more proactively open and collaborative as we focus on our issues and challenges, building on our strengths and serving our region. There is much to be done, and we acknowledge our ongoing dependence on the support and dedication of so many to continue to achieve our goals.

Forward Superior is a living document, which means that the plan’s specifics may need to expand or contract to be responsive to rapidly changing dynamics. The pillars are the guideposts to focus us even though the tactics may change. The pillars must remain at the center of our work to ensure we build on our strengths and guide us in the future as we may need to adapt and adjust the plan to encounter changing realities and parameters.

It should be recognized that Forward Superior will operate while embedded in two values that endure without explicitly being named in the plan itself – both are at the heart of the Wisconsin Idea under which we were formed.

The first value is our commitment to our community and to the formation and sustainment of strategic partnerships. We were created as a university to serve our communities; it is written into our mission statement. The prior strategic plan, Superior Visions 2020, had a distinct focus on growing our capacity to connect to our communities through the formation of the Link Center (formerly the Center for Community Engaged Learning) and the pursuit of public recognition for our efforts by achieving Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement. The Link Center and our outreach across the university has proved many times to be central to the building and reinforcement of key partnerships with both profit and non-profit entities that distinguish our institution and enable us to assist and be supported in return. Our continued institutional commitment to partnerships and engagement is central, not only to our mission, but critical as we pursue future excellence.

The second value is our commitment to applied research and grants. This value is represented in the Wisconsin Idea as the means by which the university breaks down barriers to better the lives of its citizens. In our celebrated research centers including the Lake Superior Research Institute, the Transportation and Logistics Research Center, the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve, the Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute, and in the myriad of examples of academic unit-based, individual faculty-driven research, there lies great accomplishment and future. Our productivity, innovation and ability to leverage our work for the good of others are part of our identity and strength. At UW-Superior, student engagement in research opportunities and mentorship such as the Center for Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity; in the Summer Undergraduate Research Program; in the McNair Scholars Program, and other research opportunities transform also the learning experience for students. We remain committed to high- quality research and accompanying opportunities for faculty and students alike, to assist our communities and advance our fields.

In conclusion, Forward Superior is about our future, one which brings the world-class talent and commitment of its staff and faculty to engage our students in a transformative learning experience resulting in student success. I extend a deep thank you to the untiring members of our Strategic Planning Core Team and to our internal and external employees and friends who help shape the ideas embodied in the plan and help us clarify and refine our intentions presented here. Thank you for all of those who love UW-Superior and believe that we play a critical role in engaging our students and helping them realize their potential as well as helping us shape and contribute to our communities for the better.

Together we are Superior.

Preamble The student is at the heart of everything we do at UW-Superior and this plan reflects that core commitment. Forward Superior is grounded in UW-Superior’s mission to foster “intellectual growth and career preparation within a liberal arts tradition that emphasizes individual attention, embodies respect for diverse cultures and multiple voices, and engages the community and region”. At the foundation of this mission is the centrality of students and our commitment to ensuring a holistic learning experience for all students. UW-Superior at its best provides a strong academic experience that is diverse and inclusive, woven together with the distinctive Superior culture of care---a continuous, powerful commitment to support holistic student development, growth, and academic success. It is with this vision that these goals and objectives were developed by the Strategic Planning Core Team (SPCT) with input from the university community.

The strategic plan was developed under conditions of great external stress in higher education, life and society. Consequently, the SPCT researched the realities of challenging enrollment profiles and demographics, increasingly stressed budgetary pressures, increasing needs of students for services, and the added pressures of COVID-19 and the need to be flexible and nimble to respond to changes. The rising tide challenging ongoing systematic racism reaffirmed our commitment and focus on building a community that is inclusive and supportive of all members. It is precisely within this cauldron of churning change that the SPCT identified the greatest opportunities for UW-Superior to build on solid foundations and pursue excellence in ways that will make a difference for our students in these changing times. SPCT chose a proactive, intentional and practical set of goals and objectives, reflective of the input of our community, that will steer the course toward a future rooted in our core strengths and commitments.

Forward Superior builds on existing strengths and progress from Superior Visions 2020 and reaffirms our commitment to these strengths with the goal of understanding what makes our institution great and making it superior. It is grounded in both idealism and realism with a willingness to name the hard truths of where we need to commit ourselves to ambitious changes and evolution in order to realize our current potentials. This three-year plan is designed to position the institution to take bigger steps in the future while solidifying our core strengths and assets.

By focusing on what is best for our students, this strategic plan can strengthen the enrollment and fiscal stability of the institution by 2024 while demanding that we all hold ourselves to the highest standards of best practices for learning and student success. This plan ensures that our students continue to have access to unique, transformative and powerful academic and community engagement experiences. UW- Superior commits to provide powerful learning, connect our students to future career pathways and ensure that the institution remains a vital hub of learning, research, culture, arts, economic impact, workforce development and leadership within our region. Together we stand despite our times and challenges. It will require all of us doing our part to realize our greatness. The Process The Strategic Planning Core Team (SPCT), comprised of a cross-divisional team including representatives from all four governance groups, worked with external consultants, Keeling & Associates, during the 2019-2020 academic year to design an inclusive process and develop the Forward Superior strategic plan. The process included multiple input phases for the university community. The SPCT and Keeling & Associates held 23 open input sessions and meetings with faculty, staff, students, and community partners, along with an idea wall activity, during the 2019 Opening Week to gather ideas for priority areas. A survey was also distributed to the university community including all staff and students, alumni, area businesses and employers. Themes and priorities were identified from this input phase and were 4

further refined in the Fall of 2019 through an additional round of input, consisting of 21 input sessions and meetings with the university community facilitated by SPCT and Keeling & Associates.

In addition to input from the university community and larger community, the SPCT conducted a searing self-examination of our stated university priorities contrasted to our lived priorities. The team conducted a parallel analysis of university data including budget realities, enrollment challenges and demographic changes, retention and graduation rates, and assessment. The SPCT and Keeling & Associates reviewed and discussed all of this information and input and considered these within the context of the changing landscape of higher education. The plan was drafted in January 2020 and input and feedback was solicited on the proposed goals and objectives through eight open sessions with the university community. The SPCT worked during the Spring and Summer of 2020 to refine the goals and objectives based on the feedback received from the university community and to resituate the plan in light of COVID-19 and social movements to end systematic racism.

In Fall 2020 the SPCT held an additional 11 cross-divisional input sessions to brainstorm ideas for action steps for each objective. The SPCT then reviewed the compiled action step ideas and developed action steps for each objective under the strategic plan based on these ideas. Input was received from the university community on these developed action steps and the SPCT reviewed this input and finalized the strategic plan in February 2021 within implementation beginning Spring 2021. As the plan proceeds work on many of the action steps outlined will be conducted in partnership with shared governance by obtaining advice and consultation.

Goal #1: Culture of Engaged Learning UW-Superior will provide distinctive and high-quality academic experiences that respond to the needs of students and the region.

The Culture of Engaged Learning is rooted in UW-Superior’s strong tradition of distinctive and high- quality academic experiences to ensure student success in learning and life. This goal and its objectives are designed to ensure student success and serve the needs of the region. The academic experience at UW-Superior is the primary mission of the university. The objectives and action steps each represent either a clear enhancement on an existing practice that could be raised to the next level of excellence or a concrete opportunity for change that can help the institution to be more academically distinctive and enhance our student learning experience. Several action steps outlined in this goal will be conducted in partnership with shared governance by obtaining advice and consultation as the plan proceeds.

1.1 Ensure experiential learning opportunities are provided to students in all classes.

1.1.1 Create a common definition of experiential learning. 1.1.2 Create a set of best practices for experiential learning. 1.1.3 Identify which High Impact Practices already integrate experiential learning. 1.1.4 Identify and inventory courses to determine which courses are using experiential learning and provide professional development and support to implement experiential learning in all classes. 1.1.5 Establish internships as a recognized High Impact Practice. 1.1.6 Create a monitoring process for experiential learning that ensures ongoing quality and revision across all modalities.

1.2 Ensure students have consistent access to exemplary teaching across the learning environment, including on campus and online.

1.2.1 Create common teaching standards for quality instructional design and effective teaching across all modalities. 1.2.2 Review and refine personnel standards, processes, and contracts through appropriate shared governance to integrate the quality teaching standards and set an expectation of exemplary teaching quality. 1.2.3 Evaluate demand for courses in alternative formats and times, and determine what scheduling changes are needed to meet student demand.

1.3 Curate a vibrant and healthy array of academic programs and experiences that prepare students for varied and diverse professional and educational opportunities that reflect the needs of the region and beyond.

1.3.1 Define indicators of a healthy and vibrant program and warning signs of an unhealthy program and communicate these indicators to campus. 1.3.2 Research UW-Superior’s partners’ needs, enrollment trends, competitor program arrays, and career data resources to determine regional, national, global, and market needs for academic programs every three years and adapt accordingly. 1.3.3 Build a pipeline of growth in three-five year increments based on the research to strengthen program array that might include: new majors, evaluation of current concentrations into majors, transitioning

minors to majors, certificates and micro-credentials or other curricular shifts to reflect new enrollment opportunities. 1.3.4 Double the number of external advisory committees for academic programs or departments.

1.4 Ensure that academic advising strengthens the student experience, removes barriers, and helps students achieve their educational goals.

1.4.1 Evaluate and assess the quality of the shared advising experience from a student perspective. 1.4.2 Establish clear performance expectations for advising within review processes of all advisors. 1.4.3 Host a dialogue for all advisors to establish common agreements based on best practices in the field for advising. 1.4.4 Require consistent, high-quality, ongoing refresher training and professional development on best practices of advising by all advisors. 1.4.5 Implement fully the capacities of Navigate and E-Hive through training to enhance the student advising experience and aid advisors to provide exemplary service.

1.5 Re-envision the University Studies curriculum and structure to enhance value to students and their future.

1.5.1 Establish an independent action team to conduct intensive research and evaluation of University Studies curriculum centered around a student perspective and provide a report of findings and recommendations, as needed. 1.5.2 Based on recommendations of the action team, any needed next action steps will be developed.

Goal #2: Culture of Care UW Superior will help all students succeed and thrive through an integrated campus culture of care that embraces every student.

The Culture of Care reflects the heart and soul of UW-Superior. We value our students’ holistic development as human beings and learners. Every student at UW-Superior is essential for the fulfillment of our mission. This goal reflects a fundamental commitment to provide every student a deep, rich, caring and supportive culture within which they can learn, grow and thrive. To achieve this goal and its objectives, UW-Superior must create an intentional and responsive network of services to promote student well-being, health, access and care. Everyone regardless of title, department or division needs to engage in the work to build and evolve our culture of care. Several action steps outlined in this goal will be conducted in partnership with shared governance by obtaining advice and consultation as the plan proceeds.

2.1 Further develop and sustain a campus-wide commitment to and shared responsibility for promoting students’ well-being and mental health.

2.1.1 Inventory current resources and potential campus partners, assess demand, and identify needed resources for mental health and well-being services to align with demand. 2.1.2 Provide professional development and training for employees to recognize mental health issues and know the resources available for advice or referring students to resources.

2.1.3 Hire a case worker/manager to assist students, provide referrals and offer support for issues such as homelessness, food insecurities and/or medical or financial difficulties.

2.2 Ensure that all online and on campus students have equitable access to resources and services that are essential to their personal and academic success.

2.2.1. Identify services in need of alternative format and times and adjust hours and delivery appropriately to support students’ schedules and needs. 2.2.2 Identify and continue innovations from COVID-19 experience that benefit students' equitable access to resources and services.

2.3 Strengthen individualized outreach and increase awareness of resources and support services that respond to the unique needs of students.

2.3.1 Conduct a needs assessment for Disability Support Services and allocate resources as needed. 2.3.2 Compile a resource of student support services systems and communicate all tools and resources and best usages for individualized outreach to students, and provide professional development to the university community.

Goal #3: Culture of Inclusion UW-Superior will educate and empower the university community to identify, acknowledge, and address the barriers to diversity and inclusion that hinder the success of students and employees.

The Culture of Inclusion represents our commitment to creating an environment within which all students and employees have a sense of belonging and can succeed. This goal will chart the course for how we can have honest dialogues and self-examinations, and take concrete actions to support and further diversity and inclusion while improving our campus climate. We have barriers individually, institutionally and systemically that must be named, challenged and dismantled so that our students and employees are successful. We are dedicated to helping to close the gap on educational achievement that exists. We are dedicated to helping employees succeed as valued members of our campus community, with the recognition that all of us contribute toward the success of our students in distinct and valuable ways. Several action steps outlined in this goal will be conducted in partnership with shared governance by obtaining advice and consultation as the plan proceeds.

3.1 Build on current efforts to significantly reduce the attainment gap for underrepresented minority, first generation, Pell eligible, non-traditional aged, and veteran students or any other population of students that has a demonstrable attainment gap.

3.1.1 Establish a cross divisional independent action team to inventory current programs and practices and conduct intensive research into recruitment, retention and other necessary data on specified student populations to identify barriers and contributing factors to the attainment gap. 3.1.2 Prioritize potential strategies to address the gap and provide a report of findings and recommendations to the Chancellor and Chancellor’s Cabinet with a report out to the university community.

3.1.3 Based on recommendations of the action team, Chancellor’s Cabinet will develop action steps for years two and three.

3.2 Cultivate personal and collective accountability for sustaining a diverse, inclusive, and supportive campus climate so that all students and employees can thrive.

3.2.1 Require regular, relevant, consistent supervisor training and professional development on areas such as: bias, racism, positive culture, respectful workplace, and fairness, incorporating campus climate survey data. 3.2.2 Develop and pass a respectful workplace policy with consequences that builds upon the current respectful workplace statement or strengthen our university responses using UW System policies to ensure accountability and respect. 3.2.3 Design and implement coherent hiring and onboarding processes that make our commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion a centerpiece of expected attitudes and behavior of work. 3.2.4 Require completion of equity, diversity, and inclusion professional development as part of the annual review or retention process for all employees. 3.2.5 Identify the top five policies and practice areas that are barriers to employees and students thriving and implement changes to ensure all students and employees can thrive. 3.2.6 Create unified standards and processes for performance evaluation and promotion appropriate to each constituency group and provide training and professional development to supervisors and personnel committees on the performance review and promotion processes to promote transparency, fairness, and consistency.

Appendix A: Glossary of Terms

Academic Program Array: Majors and subcomponents, minors and other learning experiences.

Academic Advising: Academic advising assists students in clarifying personal and career goals, developing consistent educational goals, and evaluating the progress toward established goals by utilizing the resources of the University and referring students to the appropriate academic support services.

Access: Ensuring students get what they need, without it being contingent on who they are, where they come from, and where they are going in a thorough and caring manner. By identifying, acknowledging, adapting and potentially reducing barriers, access is increased by all campus members.

Advocacy: The act or process of supporting a cause or proposal and attempting to systematically influence decision-making and actions.

Attainment Gap: Refers to any significant and persistent disparity in academic performance or educational attainment between different groups of students.

Belonging: Recognizes students’ and employees’ subjective feelings of relatedness and connectedness to the institution, involving feeling personally accepted, respected, included and supported by others in the social environment. 1 UW-Superior is committed to making an environment where belonging can exist.

Co-Curricular: University sponsored or endorsed activities and experiences beyond the course curriculum that enrich the learning experience. For example: participation in athletics, writing for student publications, and memberships within student professional groups.

Community: UW-Superior is anchored, rooted, and inextricably tied to its local community [people, stakeholders, etc.]. This interdependent relationship is cemented within UW-Superior mission and vision.

Community Engagement: Collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity.2

Culture of Care: Fundamental commitment to a respectful, welcoming, belonging, caring, and supportive culture within which students can learn, grow, thrive including ensuring the people who support our students experience the same.

Diversity: Individual, group and social differences that can be engaged to achieve excellence in teaching, learning, research, scholarship, and administrative and support services. These differences can include, but are not limited to: life experiences, race and ethnicity, personality type, socio-economic status, learning and working styles, class, age, veterans status, gender identity and gender expression, sexual orientation, country of origin, ability, pedagogy, intellectual traditions and perspectives, culture, Political

1 Liz Thomas, “What Works? Student Retention & Success,” What Works? Student Retention & Success, 2012, https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/what_works_final_report_0.pdf. 2“Civic Action Plan,” University of Wisconsin-Superior, 2019, https://www.uwsuper.edu/vote/upload/UWS-Civic- Action-Plan.pdf. 10

affiliations, religious affiliation, education, physical appearance. Every individual is a necessary asset, and we demonstrate this every day in our policies, practices, and operating procedure.3

Equity: The creation of opportunities for historically underrepresented, underserved, and minoritized populations to have equal access to and participate in educational programs that are capable of addressing and closing the achievement gaps in student success and completion4.

Equitable: Approaches, decisions, processes, and practices that lead to the creation of opportunities for historically underrepresented, underserved, and minoritized populations to have equal access to and participate in educational programs that are capable of addressing and closing the achievement gaps in student success and completion.

Experiential Learning Opportunity: Experiential learning is an engaged learning process whereby students “learn by doing” and by reflecting on the experience.5 Examples of potential activities could include: Academic Service Learning, action or applied research, internship, practicums, case studies, cooperative learning, performance of original or creative work, structured discussions, field trips, field work, applied laboratory work, problem based learning, role plays, simulations, URSCA, workshops or similar experiential learning methods.6

First Generation Student: A student both of whose parents/guardians did not complete a bachelor’s degree, or in the case of students who live with and are supported by only one parent/guardian, a student whose only such parent/guardian did not complete a bachelor’s degree.7

High Impact Practices: Teaching and learning practices that have been widely tested and have been shown to be beneficial for college students from many backgrounds.8

Inclusion: The active, intentional, and ongoing engagement with diversity—in the curriculum, in the co- curriculum, and in communities (intellectual, social, cultural, geographical) with which individuals might connect—in ways that fosters a sense of belonging, increase awareness, content knowledge, cognitive sophistication, and empathic understanding of the complex ways individuals interact within systems and institutions.9

Individualized Outreach: Proactive and responsive research-based interventions that meet and serve individual student needs.

3 “Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Plan 2017-2020,” University of Wisconsin-Superior, 2017, https://www.uwsuper.edu/edi/equity-diversity-inclusion-plan/upload/Equity-Diversity-Inclusion-Booklet-3-5- 18.pdf. 4 Adapted from “Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Plan 2017-2020,” University of Wisconsin-Superior, 2017, https://www.uwsuper.edu/edi/equity-diversity-inclusion-plan/upload/Equity-Diversity-Inclusion-Booklet-3-5- 18.pdf. 5 “Experiential Learning,” Center for Teaching Learning RSS, https://www.bu.edu/ctl/guides/experiential-learning/. 6 “Experiential Learning Proposal,” University of Wisconsin-Superior, 2015. 7 Adapted from the Department of Education, Higher Education Act of 1965 and 1998 8 George Kuh, “High-Impact Educational Practices,” Association of American Colleges & Universities, May 1, 2008, https://www.aacu.org/node/4084. 9 “Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Plan 2017-2020,” University of Wisconsin-Superior, 2017, https://www.uwsuper.edu/edi/equity-diversity-inclusion-plan/upload/Equity-Diversity-Inclusion-Booklet-3-5- 18.pdf. 11

Mental Health: A state of well-being in which an individual realizes their own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively, and is able to make a contribution to their community.10

Non-traditional aged: A student who is 25 years of age or older.11

Pell-Eligible Student: A student who has been determined to meet the eligibility requirements for Federal Pell Grants based on financial need.

Region: UW-Superior’s region is not set by fixed boundaries but is reflective of the area where our: campus resides, partnerships exist, employers hire, and the families of our students call home. This typically includes the Twin Ports, Northern Wisconsin, Northern Minnesota, and, considering our extensive alumni and partnership portfolio, beyond.

Student: A person who is engaged in learning with UW-Superior.

Student Success: Student success is defined by each student’s individual identity to achieve their goals while learning how to successfully navigate the university independently, interdependently, and externally. A commitment to student success is collectively marked by partnerships forged across the university to ensure high quality experiences, increased confidence and skill building, intervention and accountability, and support.

Underrepresented Minority Student: A student designation that, as defined by UW System, includes anyone who identifies as: Native American/American Indian, African American, Hispanic/Latino, Southeast Asian of Vietnamese, Cambodian, Hmong or Laotian descent who entered the U.S. after 12/31/1975, and two or more races (either alone or as two or more race/ethnicities). International students fall into a separate category.12

Understanding: Having a mental grasp of comprehension; the power to make experience intelligible by applying concepts and categories.

University Community: UW-Superior students, staff, faculty, and third-party providers such as bookstore, dining and custodial services.

University Studies Curriculum: The University Studies curriculum at the University of Wisconsin-Superior integrates students into a community of creative learners rooted in the tradition of liberal arts education. It does so by familiarizing students with the "ways of knowing" associated with the various academic disciplines and by fostering the development of a set of habits of mind and academic skills associated with reflective and critical learning.13

Well-being: The state of feeling healthy in body, mind and spirit.

10 “Mental Health: Strengthening Our Response,” World Health Organization, March 30, 2018, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response. 11 Adapted from the Institute of Education Sciences National Center for Education Statistics https://nces.ed.gov/pubs/web/97578e.asp 12 University of Wisconsin-System 13 “University Studies Program,” University of Wisconsin-Superior, https://www.uwsuper.edu/gened/index.cfm. 12

Appendix B: Strategic Planning Core Team Committee Makeup & Charge

Committee Charge The Strategic Planning Core Team (SPCT) helps the university implement its mission, strive for its vision, and chart a course for the future.

To accomplish these goals, the Core Team:

• Serves as the ambassador for current and future Strategic Plan • Communicates clearly and consistently the vision for the campus, and how the strategic plan is moving the University towards the vision • Advocates for funding to support the Strategic Plan to secure the future of UW-Superior • Provides continued monitoring and support of accreditation efforts • Monitors progress of the plan and adjust the tactical strategies, as needed, to meet these goals • Provides leadership for new Strategic Plans, ensuring integration of all on-going planning efforts.

The Provost will convene and chair the SPCT. During the creation of the strategic plan, the SPCT will be co-chaired by the Provost and Dean of Students.

When expert knowledge is needed for particular agenda items, individuals with such expertise will be invited to report and participate in discussion.

Membership Provost/Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs: Maria Cuzzo (previously Molly Smith) Dean of Academic Affairs: Nick Danz (previously Jayant Anand) Dean of Students: Harry Anderson - Ethan Russom (Appointee) Senior Diversity Officer: Kat Werchouski (previously Jerel Benton) Vice Chancellor of Administration and Finance: Jeff Kahler Executive Director of Admissions: Jeremy Nere (previously Brenda Harms) Executive Director of Student Success: Mickey Fitch-Collins Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO): Jenice Meyer Director of Institutional Research and Sponsored Programs: Emily Neumann Academic Staff (2; 1-instructional, 1-full time non-instructional): Stephanie Polkowski (previously Scott Smith, Beth Austin), Matt TenEyck Faculty (2): Amanda Zbacnik (previously Eleni Pinnow), Ethan Christensen University Staff (2): DeLayna Herrick, Jay Conley Students (2): Ines Benkhelfallah, Josh Hogan Administrative Support (ex officio): Laurel Eaton

During the creation of the strategic plan, the SPCT will be expanded to include the Chancellor, Director of Athletics, Vice Chancellor for University Advancement, and Director of Strategic Communications and Special Assistant to the Chancellor.

Chancellor: Renée Wachter Director of Athletics: Nick Bursik Vice Chancellor for University Advancement: Jeanne Thompson Director of Strategic Communications and Special Assistant to the Chancellor: Jordan Milan

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