As a former student at UWM and past president of its Alumni Association, I am compelled to correct a number of items in your column about “UWM’s Radical Master Plan.” Here we go:
· Chancellor Santiago is not UWM’s first minority chancellor. The first was Clifford Smith, who as African-American descent. Chancellor Santiago is of Puerto Rican descent and proud of it.
· Working with his staff and the UWM Foundation, Chancellor Santiago has stepped up efforts to increase minority enrollment, but he has also made it clear that he will not lower academic standards to do so. You need only look at the academic progress and dropout rate for African-American students in our elementary and secondary schools to understand why fewer are matriculating.
· The fact remains that UWM enrolls more minority studens than any other campus in the UW System.
· Although the goal is to have dormitory space available for all incoming freshmen in five years, there is no statement that all freshmen will be required to live in campus housing.
· Minority students are just as deserving as majority students to receive the benefits of a full college experience by living and learning in a campus environment. Financial aid is available for minority students to achieve that goal.
· Commuter students of all ages and ethnic backgrounds will always be a vital part of UWM and greatly enhance the educational experience for all.
· Chancellor Santiago’s plan and vision for the future of UWM will take the university into the community and work closely with the people and enterprises that are building our community’s future. His proposals for a new School of Public Health, a downtown Academic Health Center, a new School of Freshwater Sciences and the development of a new engineering campus on the Milwaukee County Medical Center grounds all speak to the university’s dedication to the future of Greater Milwaukee.
· The university’s development of student housing is a major step in the right direction for a growing urban university that for too long has been denied the resources to grow into the vital, driving force it is now becoming for the future of southeastern Wisconsin.
On behalf of the more than 100,000 UWM alumni, most of whom live in this area, I ask you to take the time to get the facts when you write about our university. We’re proud of it and our chancellor, who has proven to be a bold and visionary leader.
H. Carl Mueller
President
Mueller Communications, Inc
