Setting has been a significant factor for universities for as long as universities have been around. Socrates didn’t like being indoors so he taught his students under a tree. Cardinal Newman, in his classic treatise, The Idea of a University, described a school of universal learning as an "assemblage of strangers from all parts in one spot." Certainly if you talk with very many of our alumni they will tell you their most vivid memories of their times at UW-Whitewater involved a physical place…a dorm room, an athletic field, or the library.
It goes without saying that our physical setting is intrinsic to the success of our university. The beauty of our campus and the effective functioning of our facilities is a credit to the hard work and dedication of the folks in FP&M. I enjoyed dining with them at yesterday’s picnics (at noon for the day shift and 8 for the night shift.) I told them how much we appreciate all they do for our campus. I will try to remember to tell them more often.
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