MADISON, Wis.— University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross, Regent President Andrew S. Petersen, and Regent Janice Mueller joined UW-Parkside Chancellor Deborah Ford for a series of events at UW-Parkside today in the first stop of UW System’s All In Wisconsin tour, aimed at demonstrating the value the UW System brings to Wisconsin.
“Wisconsin has an invaluable resource in our public universities: we change lives, improve communities, and drive the economy,” President Cross said. “We meet needs in every corner of the state and offer tremendous return on investment. All In Wisconsin aims to capture all of this.”
The first of the day’s events included a conversation with business and community leaders from the region about ways the UW System can help their organizations.
“The UW System is the very best magnet for attracting talent to Wisconsin and helping to retain and develop that talent. We are the best vehicle the state has for this purpose – and we want to do more,” President Cross said.
Regent President Petersen discussed how the UW System can drive Wisconsin’s economic ecosystem with internships and research.
“Supporting the UW System will help us generate more graduates in high-need areas like nursing, engineering, business, computer science, IT, and data science,” Regent President Petersen said. “We return $23 for every $1 invested in us and we want to build on our successes to grow Wisconsin’s economy.”
Chancellor Ford led a tour of UW-Parkside, including the Innovation Corridor, Digital Design and Fabrication Lab, and SC Johnson Integrated Science Lab.
“UW-Parkside is proud of its partnerships with business and civic groups, and we were glad to hear from local leaders today about the value we bring and ways to enhance those partnerships,” Chancellor Ford said.
The day’s events wrapped up with a lunch with UW-Parkside students.
The All In Wisconsin tour is intended to demonstrate how the UW System meets the needs of Wisconsin and to generate additional ideas about how the System can continue to do so.
The next stop on the All In Wisconsin tour is UW-River Falls on Thursday, Sept. 12.