Mark Mone’s time as chancellor of the
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has been a transformative period for the university.
Mone became chancellor in 2014 after serving as a faculty member since 1989. Last year, Mone announced his upcoming July 1 retirement. By the end of his chancellorship, Mone will have served in the role for 11 years — longer than any of UWM’s previous chancellors besides founding Chancellor
J. Martin Klotsche.
In fall 2026, Mone will return to UWM’s Lubar College of Business as a professor.
Thomas Gibson, chancellor of the
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, will succeed Mone.
BizTimes reporter Samantha Dietel spoke with Mone about how the university has changed over his 11-year-tenure as chancellor, his experience working with the business community and his legacy, among other topics. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
BizTimes: You have served as UWM’s chancellor longer than all but one. What made you want to continue leading the university for 11 years?
Mone: “Well, the mission is the big driver. I’d been here for 25 years before I was chancellor, so I really know the community. I know our students. I know the impact that they have, and what a special privilege and opportunity to be able to help move the campus and the region forward together. That’s, to me, what the real big draw was.”
Under your leadership, how has UWM changed or evolved?
“Well, I’ll start with just the physical footprint. We’ve had a dozen, at least, major additions or renovations. Today, we have this incredible new chemistry building that has thousands of students per year that go through this. And chemistry is the gateway for engineering, for nursing, for so many different applied fields, so that’s a really important thing. Our Student Union is renovated. We have the orthopedic hospital addition so our basketball team and all our athletes and our students have more expanded space for facilities, which is so important today when you think about the stress and the realities. One is just the physical footprint.
“Second is really the reputation, the rankings on a number of critical dimensions, everything from an Innovation and Economic Prosperity university, the first in Wisconsin to have that designation from APLU. We’ve got Carnegie (Classification of Institutions of Higher Education) rankings now in three major areas. Research, one. One of a very select number of universities in terms of social mobility Carnegie ranking, highest level there, and also Community Engagement.
“The third dimension, so rankings, physical footprint, but then ultimately, the partnerships with impact for our students. Partnerships with industry, Microsoft, Rockwell, Northwestern Mutual, numerous other companies. With higher ed organizations, with K-12 through M-Cubed, but the types of things that we’re doing. So, for example, tomorrow (June 20), we're having a ribbon cutting with the UWM University Center at Waukesha County Technical College. This is going to enable much more affordable, easier access for students to continue their four-year education at Waukesha. What a great novel concept. Lots of partnerships, lots of great things like that, that put technology, that put health care, that put education, all these things at the forefront. I’m really proud of those partnerships and the collaboration, really have changed a lot of the culture across higher education because of a lot of partnering that we’ve been at the table. And I like to say I helped either co-create or help lead.”
What are your thoughts on UWM maintaining its R1 designation this year?
“We’re incredibly proud of that. We’re not only one of about 170 organizations that have that designation, but if you put the three Carnegie rankings together, we’re only one of 32 in the country that have all three of those. We have consistently been able, since 2015, to maintain that Research 1 status. What it means for employers and for students — it really enhances the value of your degree. It also means that we’re eligible for a lot more federal research funding and the types of quality of partnerships and faculty that we have. So partnering with a Research 1 means that if you’re a manufacturer, you’re going to be able to really take advantage of that knowledge and create new products, create new innovation. Microsoft could invest anywhere in the world, but they’ve chosen to invest in UW-Milwaukee with our AI co-innovation lab with Microsoft, Rockwell, TitletownTech. This is huge for small business, medium and large.”
What would you say have been the university’s greatest accomplishments during your time as chancellor?
“I’ve already talked about the changes to our physical footprint, our reputational ranking and our partnerships. So that certainly encompasses some of those types of things. I think, in addition to that, really the movement in terms of student success. Let’s start with the fact that we have 5,300 graduates that largely come from Wisconsin, that stay here. They fill the employer pipelines, but really focusing on a lot of the areas where the students can meet the needs of employers. So growth in business, especially growth in health care majors, that comprises a substantial amount of our majors. We have 20 different health care majors, and so not just nursing, but occupational therapy, physical therapy, kinesiology, all the dietitian, the array of sonography, we can just go through the list. Focusing on that talent pipeline, really elevating where our students go, the impact that they have.
“In terms of other accomplishments, the philanthropy with so many great friends to this campus, of not only setting a record in terms of doubling our previous campaign — that ended in 2019, 2020 era — but having since then several record years, including last year, which is our largest year in all time, with $47 million including a $20 million gift. So the naming of our schools and colleges, which what that does is it gives us greater sustainability when you talk about endowed funds. Those are probably some of the accomplishments.”
What would you say are the greatest challenges facing UWM and higher education today, as well as in the future?
“There’s many that have been with us for a while, and then there’s obviously some of the newer ones, the big ones. Demography is first and foremost. Whether I’m with the Greater Milwaukee Committee or the Waukesha County Business Alliance or other employer forums, and when I talk with CEOs, they’re worried, just like we are, about new talent, new entrants into the workforce. We need a lot of students to come back. So demography is one challenge.
“Second one is the reality around funding for higher education. States have generally declined in their support, so tuition has risen, and that creates a problem. You have more student debt. That’s a reality. So that’s a challenge. The national narrative about the value of higher education, we have an incredible story where our graduates go, the impact they have. For every graduate that we have, I have employers saying I need five more, 10 more. Meeting the demand in the world, some funding questions that are out there and related to that as a narrative that the degree isn’t as important. But meanwhile, a lot of folks are saying you need even more than a degree. So really looking at that, and then today, some of the geopolitical forces, some of the challenges that are there. So those are some of the big headwinds that face higher education. We’re not alone. There’s a lot of campuses that just struggle on a lot of those fronts.”
What can your successor, Thomas Gibson, do to help address some of those challenges?
“What I think is going to be really important for the future is to continue to build on the partnerships that we have. If state and federal funds don’t increase, then we’re going to have to have more support from our partners. We’re going to have to find ways to continue to stay lean. We’ve been incredibly lean for a research institution so, continue to focus on that. I do think that there’s some wonderful opportunities that Chancellor Gibson has with respect to continuing to focus on the retention and graduation we have. We have increased the graduation rates about 16% in the last four or five years. We have to continue to move that needle forward, because retention and graduation not only gets more students into the pipeline, it reduces their debt, and, more importantly, it helps them with degrees, as opposed to not finishing, and not having the degree completion.
“I do think that continuing to take care of the great talent that we have, we have an amazing faculty and staff and leadership team, and I would encourage Chancellor Gibson to continue to value the wonderful strengths that we have here. We didn’t become an R1 we didn’t become a Carnegie engaged university, and we didn’t become a Carnegie high access, social mobility by accident. There were a lot of talented, deliberate efforts. There’s a lot to build on, a lot of good momentum for Chancellor Gibson, but a context of, obviously, challenges that all of higher education is faced (with). One other ingredient would be just incredibly hard work is what I’m going to recommend. It’s just what it takes. There’s no doubt about it. I’m very confident Chancellor Gibson will fulfill those things. He’s a great, great leader, and he works very, very hard.”
How will you support Gibson as he takes on this new role?
“Two ways. Number one, I have an appointment this summer to help onboard him, so I’ve already begun that. For example, we just had a budget planning meeting, he was there. He’s participating in our budget meetings, our strategy meetings. He’s been on campus three times and in our community. I’ve introduced him to Greater Milwaukee Committee. I’ve introduced him to donors, our campus leaders. He’s already jumped in from afar. When he starts on July 14, I hand the keys over. I’m on a summer appointment to help support him any way that he would like. Continue with the introductions, continue to participate in terms of how the university works. I have 36 years on the campus, in the community, so I can help him. So that’s one. Number two is beyond that. After Labor Day, whatever he wants, anything he wants. I don’t want to be somebody who’s around if he doesn’t want it. I don’t want to be in the way. I will go off, I’ll take my leave, and I’ll be ready for classes in fall of 2026, when I rejoin the Lubar College of Business. For me, it’s those two ways.”
How would you describe your legacy at UWM?
“I think a big part is the partnerships and the collaboration. (It’s) remarkable to have the M-Cubed, Higher Ed Regional Alliance, to have the technical colleges, the partnerships, so that you can go through any tech college and come to UW-Milwaukee with all 60 credits all your classes. How important and impactful that is. On the business side, Rockwell, Northwestern Mutual, Eaton, Kohler. We have had wonderful relationships and partnerships. I think that’s the front-and-center focus. The work that we’ve done has elevated the capabilities of our students. We have students who are even more career ready, even more ready to hit the ground running, and I’m really proud of our students for their grit, their perseverance, especially those that have gone through the last four or five years with the pandemic, with all the challenges that have been on campuses, that, to me is just something I’m incredibly proud of. A legacy of putting another 75,000 students into the talent pipeline, having great partnerships, raising a lot of funds, and having a good time and keeping the positive momentum going. That’s kind of the directions that I think my legacy is about.”
What are your thoughts on your experience working with Milwaukee’s business community?
“I'm very fortunate, because for 25 years, I was in the business school before I was chancellor. For me, I was natural and my own background. I was in industry for 10 years before I came to higher ed. I was doing a lot of consulting. I had just a lot of joy and finding ways that we can bring knowledge and expertise from the university to help businesses and vice versa. For them to be able to hire interns, co-ops, whether it’s in accounting, whether it’s in psychology, whether it’s in any of the medical fields, or over in the arts. Where else can you go in the state and have access as a student to so many different sectors, so many different areas in which you can participate in? So many of our students are engaged through experiential learning, whether it’s on the research vessel out on the Great Lakes, whether it’s at our field stations, understanding more biology, etymology, really looking at those areas. I think that as I look at the whole array, our business community has been wonderful to work with. I think we’re a stronger business community because of UWM. If you look at the percentage, if you look at where employers get their talent, UWM is the powerhouse. It really provides a lot of that talent. And interestingly, it’s not just the backbone, but it’s also the senior leaders of a lot of companies. If you name a company, many of our students have gone on to become the CEO.”
You’ll be coming back to UWM as a professor in 2026. How do you think that this new perspective of having served as the chancellor will shape your own teaching?
“I think it’s going to be remarkable. … I have a feeling that the perspective from having been in this seat really adds value that I wouldn’t have otherwise had. Very few people have that experience and perspective to really be able to understand immediate issues as well as the long term strategic, how you really drive such a large, complicated organization. There are very few organizations as complicated as a public university, because you have at least a dozen different constituencies, from alumni, the employer partnerships we’ve talked about. You have legislators, you have regents, you have faculty, you have a lot of parents, current students. And I could just keep going. It’s really amazing, all the different audiences. To find the ways to navigate that, I think it’s given me a pretty good skill set to be able to teach a thing or two.”
What are you most looking forward to about returning to teaching?
“The energy from the students. No question about it, front and center. I really enjoyed that in my previous decades. So the energy of the students, but also the opportunity to continue to find ways to have impact. What I’ve done has brought a lot of partnerships together through my academic work, so I easily see sliding back into ways to find, how can the university help address needs of employers? How can we address the needs that exist? Let me give you an example. We have a lot of individuals in our community who haven’t been able to achieve family sustaining careers or jobs. That holds them back. Can I continue to find ways to open up access for those individuals? How do we democratize knowledge and education? That, to me, is a personal passion, so I hope to use platforms in the classroom, platforms with my colleagues, to continue to find ways to create those opportunities for our region.”
