UW Oshkosh Chancellor Manohar Singh and Provost Ed Martini kicked off Strategic Plan Launch Day on Monday with “UWO Infinite,” a theme calling on the communities’ infinite potential to shape the university.

Chancellor Singh said the process will help define UW Oshkosh’s direction through shared participation of students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members, and that a plan will be finalized by fall 2026.

“Let’s define the future together,” Singh said. “This plan is a shared effort — students, faculty, staff, alumni, employers and community partners.”

He said serving as chancellor has strengthened his sense of purpose, and that he has found a sense of belonging at UWO by reinforcing its identity as a community stronghold.

“Being chancellor here is a privilege and, for me, a calling,” Singh said. “Every conversation — from civic leaders to CEOs — reinforces that UWO is an anchor institution.”

Singh introduced “UWO Infinite” as a vision meant to capture the university’s collective power and infinite potential.

He said the university’s mission will remain providing a quality education to the leaders of generations to come, and that the university will evolve to best serve the needs of the future.

“Our mission doesn’t change; we educate and serve,” Singh said. “But how we advance that mission must evolve with the world.”

Singh said “UWO Infinite” also aims to prepare students and programs for rapid technological change, particularly the rise of artificial intelligence.

“The jobs we have today will not be there tomorrow,” Singh said. “Jobs will disappear because of artificial intelligence in the next decade — but 170 million new ones will be created. We need to define how AI will change human behavior, ethics and work itself, and prepare our students for that future.”

Singh emphasized that the new plan will be a living framework for dynamic action that will be updated regularly to stay current.

“This isn’t a 30-page report to sit on a shelf,” Singh said. “It’s a living commitment — a pledge we act on.”

Provost Ed Martini said the strategic plan will build on recent progress like eliminating the university’s operational deficit and chart a new path ahead.

“We’ve been through a lot — financial crisis, layoffs and a tough external climate — but we’ve also made real progress,” Martini said. “We eliminated the operating deficit and launched an ambitious academic restructuring.”

He said Wisconsin’s public universities still face major funding challenges, and that public colleges in Wisconsin are among the least funded in the nation.

“Wisconsin has lagged behind competitor states with its investment in higher education, slipping to 44th last year in public funding,” Martini said.

Martini said a decade-long tuition freeze added to the institution’s strain, and that the university has since been grappling with the rising costs of goods and services. 

“We endured 10 years of a tuition freeze,” Martini said. “That’s great for affordability, but the cost of everything else — energy, infrastructure, labor — has continued to go up.”

He said the university now faces a shrinking pool of college-age students, which coupled with an aging population means less people will be going to college than ever.

“The only segment of the population in Wisconsin that is set to grow over the next 20 years are ages 55 and above,” Martini said. “The group least likely to come take classes.”

Martini said fewer high-school graduates are choosing to pursue higher education, and that they are often entering the workforce right after graduation.

“Just a few years ago, a third of Wisconsin high school graduates went on to college,” Martini said. “In the last couple of years, that dipped down to 25%.”

He said public confidence in higher education has also fallen sharply and remains another issue the university needs to address in the strategic planning process.

“In eight years, confidence in higher education dropped from 57% to 36%,” Martini said. “That decline spans all demographic groups.”

UWO’s School of Public Affairs and Global Engagement Dean Anne Stevens said that statistic stood out to her as one of the night’s most critical takeaways for “UWO Infinite” to solve.

“The most critical issue, in my view, is the declining public confidence in higher education,” Stevens said. “If we can turn that around, everything else follows.”

She said “UWO Infinite” captures the optimism needed to rebuild trust and accurately reflect the infinite possibilities for the university.

“I think the idea of ‘UWO Infinite’ reflects infinite possibility,” Stevens said. “It’s about collaboration and the effect that comes with it when a collective moves forward together.”

Martini said regaining that trust will depend on showing communities that higher education remains a valuable investment.

“Our number one competitor isn’t another campus — it’s opting out of college altogether,” Martini said. “If we don’t address that directly in this plan, we’re not being honest about the challenge.”

Martini said this fall’s class shows that UWO is moving in the right direction with positive enrollment growth.

“We had a huge number of enrollment successes this year with a new incoming class bigger than we’ve seen in a while,” Martini said.

Stevens said the university is on track to sustain forward momentum if it keeps its focus on stability and student success.

“We’ve gotten over the budget concerns, we’re on track to have a balanced budget and we’re seeing enrollment growth,” Stevens said. “If we can keep that up, we’re in a very good place.”

Singh said the planning process will take place over four phases and culminate in implementation in fall 2026.

“This is a one-year process with four phases,” Singh said. “Phase 1: listen and learn. Phase 2: broaden conversations. Phase 3: draft the plan. Phase 4: revise and launch.”

Provost Martini said all students, faculty and staff are invited to attend the first of many new planning meetings hosted by the Process Management Group.

“Thursday at 9 a.m. in Reeve Memorial Union, students, faculty and staff are invited to take part in the first of a series of Strategic Planning Listening Sessions,” Martini said.

Chancellor Singh said the plan’s success will depend on collaboration across all levels of the university.

“Belonging — for the campus and community — is a core priority,” Singh said. “This only works if we pull the boat in the same direction.”

Singh closed by encouraging the campus to approach the process collectively, saying the plan depends on defining a shared purpose.

“We have stepped into a new world,” Singh said, “jumping into infinite potential.”