Nov. 29, UW-Stevens Point – Point Forward

“Route 51” features a conversation about UW-Stevens Point’s recently unveiled Point Forward proposal, a plan for a new kind of regional university.

In response to expectations of students and parents and to meet the needs of north central Wisconsin, the proposal weaves liberal arts education through career-focused programs. It also reorganizes UW-Stevens Point’s four existing colleges into three interdisciplinary schools. Chancellor Bernie Patterson and Provost Greg Summers join host Rick Reyer to discuss the proposal and its implications for the university as a whole and the region it serves.

Patterson has led UW-Stevens Point since 2010, guiding the strategic plan and vision of the university while strengthening ties with local and regional communities. Previously he was the provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Oklahoma City University, a dean at Georgia College and State University and a faculty member at Valdosta State University. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Missouri Western State University, a Ph.D. and Master of Arts in criminology from State University of New York at Albany and an Educational Specialist degree and a Master of Science from the University of Central Missouri.

Summers, the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs, joined UW-Stevens Point as a faculty member in the Department of History and International Studies in 2001. His research and teaching interests are in U.S. environmental history, the history of technology and consumerism. He is author of the book “Consuming Nature: Environmentalism in the Fox River Valley, 1850-1950” (University Press of Kansas, 2006). He holds a bachelor’s degree in history and physics from the University of Akron, a master’s degree in history from the University of California-Santa Barbara and a Ph.D. in history from UW-Madison.