Chancellor Mark Mone discussed plans for UWM’s future on Thursday in his plenary address, which included investment in research, physical infrastructure and student engagement.
Mone spoke heavily about the university’s 2030 Action Plan, which includes a roadmap of what changes the university will make within the next six years.
The plan includes continued efforts toward maintaining R1 status, which UWM was awarded for being a top research university. Continued research brings in federal research funding to the university, according to Mone. He said the university is seeking an additional $5 million in the next bi-annual budget towards research.
The physical infrastructure included two major renovations. The first was a continuation of the $198 million renovation of the Health Sciences program. The other is a planning and design request for engineering and neuroscience. These will be a part of the 2025-2027 budget requests.
This comes only a few years after the university’s $118 million investment in the campus’ new chemistry building. The budget for the building was part of the 2019-2021 capital budget plan, according to the UWM Report. However, the building is not set to open until the end of this month.
The discussion of major projects ahead comes just six days after the Chancellor’s office released the university’s financial assessments. The assessments included a forecasted $15.4 million deficit for the 2024 fiscal year. The financial plan also projects a deficit of $2.4 million in the 2025 fiscal year.
Mone’s responded to these concerns during his address, saying the investment would increase the capacity for the Health Sciences program by 15%. He also says that Health Sciences is “one of the highest demand areas that is needed in the state and beyond.” Mone said engineering and neuroscience are both great areas of demand as well.
Throughout the address, the chancellor spoke about some of the concerns facing UWM. These included declining enrollment, which included a drop of 29% from 2011-2023 of full-time undergrads. He also noted that graduate enrollment has gone down as well.
To combat these issues, the chancellor discussed plans to help these numbers. He highlighted the university’s Milwaukee Direct Admit program which guarantees admittance after application and graduation to students of Milwaukee Public Schools. Additionally, the “Milwaukee Tuition Promise,” which starting Fall 2025, will provide up to four years of tuition to students from households earning less than $62,000 annually.
Toward the end of the speech, the chancellor highlighted the university’s road forward, which included embracing change and changing the culture on campus.
Chancellor Mone previously announced he is stepping down effective July 1, 2025, but the 2030 Action Plan will continue its movement under a new chancellor.
The chancellor’s full address can be watched here.