New faculty members hired by UW-Superior play two critical roles: They must be excellent teachers in the classroom and they must be active scholars. The Foundation plays a critical role in recruiting such people and bringing them to campus.
In the past year the Foundation provided $35,000 in start-up funds for new faculty members and $23,000 to support faculty members' scholarly presentations. This support is vital in attracting the best available educators to campus and enabling them to immediately begin their UW-Superior career with the materials they need to serve their students and their community.
"We receive limited state support to help faculty members get off to the best possible start," said Provost Charles Schelin. "We ask that they be excellent teachers and maintain a program of scholarship, and we need Foundation funding to get them started with the materials they need to be successful. As they develop their program of scholarship, they need to present that work to their peers at scholarly meetings."
New faculty members use the Foundation start-up funds in many ways. They may need to purchase scientific equipment for their classrooms or the latest reference materials for themselves and Jim Dan Hill Library. In a world where a three-year-old computer is considered obsolete, they frequently must purchase the latest hardware and software to stay abreast of their peers.
The availability of start-up funds gives UW-Superior an edge when talking with a scholar who's also being sought by larger universities. "To be competitive when trying to hire the best people, you spend a lot of money on recruitment," Schelin said. "If we can offer start-up funding, it gives us an edge over our competitors."
Dr. Richard Stewart, who joined the faculty in 1999 to lead the new Transportation and Logistics Management program, has nothing but praise for the support he received from the Foundation.
"I was able to use the start-up funds to acquire up-to-date computers to utilize state-of-the-art software in the transportation and logistics field," he said. "Those funds provided the physical resources that were key components in earning certification for our program from the American Society of Transportation and Logistics, and in getting two additional grants."
As with all Foundation support, the bottom line is that students and the community are the ultimate beneficiaries.
"Professors who are engaged in scholarly work in their discipline are going to be better teachers," Schelin emphasized. "They'll have something to say in their classes that is current and they'll be better able to convey the liberal arts experience to our students."