"Today is a huge thrill:" Mark Mone inaugurated as UW-Milwaukee's 9th chancellor

MILWAUKEE -- It's a celebration that's months overdue. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee officially installs Mark Mone as its 9th chancellor. But the new guy in charge isn't really all that new.

Mark Mone

"People know me, for better or worse, and the community knows me," said Mark Mone, UW-Milwaukee Chancellor.

Mark Mone may be the new chancellor at UWM, but he's hardly a new face on campus. He's spent the past 26 years as a professor, administrator, and associate dean.

"I hope those experiences are helpful. Certainly one would hope that I've learned on the job," said Mone.

Mone was named interim chancellor last year, a job made permanent last December. Now, ten months later, Mone is formally installed as the university's 9th chancellor.

"Today is a huge thrill," said Mone.

In addition to his inauguration Friday, Mone presided over the dedication of the first new building on campus in 20 years -- the Kenwood IRC. It's a research center focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

"This is a powerful statement to our employees, our faculty, staff and students about the commitment that we have to research at UW-Milwaukee," said Mone.

The new chancellor starts his tenure at UWM by facing a $30 million state budget cut. But Mone says that won't derail his plans to develop a strong pipeline of students from Milwaukee Public Schools, to MATC, and eventually UWM.

"If we don't get this pipeline developed better, if we don't work on that, then our region will suffer and the state won't be as well off," said Mone.