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UW campus is a great community resource

I really have a great job. 

Educating people at any level is a noble service to the world we live in, and I am in the middle of a lot of educating.  Well-prepared students, poorly prepared students, non-traditional (over 22) students - we take them all, and give them a chance to improve their lives. 

Athletes, artists, poets, accountants and “I’m-not-sure-what-I-want-to-be” students all come together and learn from each other.  The UW-Marshfield/Wood County campus is filled with student clubs and organizations that give students the opportunity to learn leadership skills and become more tolerant of people who act and think differently from themselves. 

People of all ages come to campus to learn photography, belly dancing, yoga and much more.  People from all over central Wisconsin come to the Helen Connor Laird Fine Arts Building to see a play or listen to a concert.  Some come to see exhibits in the Gallery 450 or to have lunch at The Cove (good food at a reasonable price).  Community human-service agencies come to campus to hold meetings or have training sessions. 

Wood County residents come to use our library and all of the electronic data bases that are available.  There are always people in the campus arboretum, walking in the summer and cross-country skiing in the winter.  It surprises me how many come to use our tennis courts and athletic fields.  Almost every day and many nights, there are activities on the campus attended by students and Marshfield/Wood County citizens.  That is as it should be, as the campus, literally, belongs to the citizens of Marshfield and Wood County.

For me as dean, all these activities mean there are no two days alike.  There are always new people to meet, new problems to solve, new ideas to embrace and make work.  In the last month, our girls’ volleyball team did well in state championship play.  Our alumni association held their first annual banquet and named Jack Neumann alumnus of the year.  Last month we received word of a wonderful bequest to the University Foundation to support students.  We received permission from our central office to search for new faculty.  We’ve begun that process – it’s one of the most important things we do.

All day and every day, we have faculty and students carrying out our central mission of students learning and growing into new futures. So many good things happen here at UW-Marshfield/Wood County that it is hard to give you sense of the vitality of the campus.  Everyone is invited to share in the life of the campus.  Great faculty and staff, great students, wonderful facilities and outstanding support from our communities make working here very special.

I am grateful for the opportunity to be involved in the life of this campus and community.  If you love what you do, work becomes a gift.  Choose any one of the many ways you can participate in the life of your campus, and share in the gift of a great community resource.

Dr. Andrew Keogh is the dean and campus executive officer of UW-Marshfield/Wood County, a freshmen-sophomore campus of the University of Wisconsin.