By Vicki Lord Larson

In his column last Sunday, Leader-Telegram Editor Don Huebscher describes UW-Eau Claire as the community's greatest asset, noting that its faculty and students do great things every day.

As the interim chancellor at UW-Eau Claire, it's satisfying to see in print something that those of us on campus know to be so true. Our faculty and students do do exceptional things every day - things that help make Eau Claire a wonderful place to live and work.

In the six months I've been back on UW-Eau Claire's campus, the UW System has come under fire like never before. Its budget, personnel policies and faculty behavior have made headlines statewide.

I understand that as public institutions UW System campuses must be accountable to the media and the public. A public discussion about higher education policies, goals and funding can be healthy, particularly if the discussion results in a stronger UW System.

But I'm disheartened that the actions of a few have overshadowed the work of the majority. I fear that all faculty, staff and administrators are being painted with the same brush. And that's not fair to the many hardworking professionals who have devoted their lives to providing students with exceptional educations.

I interact daily with motivated UW-Eau Claire faculty and staff who through their lectures, labs, research and overall creativity consistently find new ways to stimulate and challenge students. Their hard work and commitment must not be forgotten or ignored.

The following are just a few of the many accomplishments that help demonstrate the work of UW-Eau Claire faculty and staff:

-- The Materials Science Center gives businesses access to state-of-the-art technology and faculty expertise. Business leaders using these resources note that the faculty often work evenings and weekends to keep their projects on track.

-- Health care administration faculty initiated a program to provide dental care to more than 500 senior citizens who live in area long-term care facilities.

-- Faculty oversee a program that pairs psychology students with children with autism and their families, providing them with valuable services that aren't readily available.

-- Nursing faculty and administrators have initiated partnerships with other higher education institutions in an effort to increase the number of nurses with four-year degrees.

-- Under the direction of faculty and staff, about 2,000 students annually contribute 100,000 hours of service to the community. It's estimated that the value of that service totals more than $1.5 million a year.

-- Chemistry faculty recently secured $600,000 in grants from the National Science Foundation, bringing to $2 million the total NSF grants awarded to the department in the last five years. As a result, students have access to state-of-the-art instruments that often are available only to graduate students at large research institutions or at high-priced private colleges. UW-Eau Claire is one of the highest producers in the country of graduates who go on to earn Ph.D.s in chemistry.

-- A UW-Eau Claire student was among the 32 Americans selected for the prestigious 2005 Rhodes Scholar program. Chauncy Harris said faculty provided him with strong support and exceptional experiences, which helped him excel.

Faculty are accomplishing all of this and much more with fewer state dollars. They look to external sources to fund the initiatives they believe will benefit students the most. It's estimated that successful grant proposals can take more than 120 hours of faculty effort, a significant amount of time given the many demands placed on faculty.

In his column, Huebscher stated that tenure does more harm than good, citing examples of specific faculty members at other campuses taking advantage of UW System personnel policies and his own experiences with less-than-engaging professors in classrooms 30 years ago. The suggestion seemed to be that without the constant threat of being fired, faculty would become complacent or worse.

I disagree with him on that point.

One only has to visit our classrooms and research labs, talk to our students and graduates, and enjoy one of the many cultural events on our campus to find energetic, engaged and creative faculty and staff. And you'll find that many of the most engaged and creative of them do in fact have tenure.

Like any college or university, UW-Eau Claire is only as good as its students, faculty, staff and administrators. It's the individuals who make up our campus community who have earned UW-Eau Claire its national reputation for excellence.

And it's the quality of the people on this campus that prompt Huebscher and others to describe UW-Eau Claire as "our community's greatest asset."

Lord Larson is interim chancellor at UW-Eau Claire.