November 22, 2010

Good Afternoon,
I hope you all had a pleasant weekend.

Bridget and I want to say "thank you" for all of the messages and communications of support.  We will indeed miss so many people here at UW-Superior, but we are excited about the future and about being closer to family.

This past weekend I traveled to attend the annual meeting of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. The main focus of this meeting is how colleges and universities around the country are dealing with the immediate and unprecedented financial challenges facing virtually all of our institutions while at the same time being expected to increase our participation in addressing community, state and national educational and economic goals.
 
Of particular interest was a series of presentations on the new Common Core Standards for P-12 education and higher education's role in preparing teachers.  Wisconsin is part of the group of 40 states that has adopted these new standards for math and language arts.
 
I am pleased that we have already begun the intentional redevelopment of our teacher preparation programs and we will continue those efforts with these standards and model in mind.  Critical to these efforts will continue to be the development of close partnerships with our P-12 colleagues.

Bridget and I want to extend our invitation to you for the 2010Chancellor's Ball. This is an important fundraising event for the Alumni Association to help support a number of programs that benefit our students.
 
Tickets are available through the Alumni Association 715-394-8452.  If you have attended in the past, we hope to see you back again this year. If you have not attended, we hope you will consider joining campus and community supporters for a wonderful evening of food, music, and dancing.
 
Bridget and I will be hosting a reception prior to the Ball on the main floor of the Yellowjacket Union beginning at 6:30.  RSVP by this Wednesday, the 24th.  We hope to see you there!
 
I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and a pleasant Friday furlough.
 
Thank you for all that you do for UW-Superior.  Have a great week. 

Chris Markwood