Patrick Guilfoile
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs
Provost Guilfoile joined UW-Stout in July. In this spotlight feature, he shares some of his thoughts and goals for UW-Stout.
Welcome, Provost Guilfoile!
What attracted you to UW-Stout?
The biggest factor was the polytechnic mission of the institution. In the current environment for higher education in the U.S., I think our mission is key to ensuring that UW-Stout will continue to thrive. The career-focused, applied education available here, along with the essential skills students acquire through their general education, is a combination that meets both the needs of students and the greater society.
Another important consideration was the opportunity to move back to Wisconsin and be closer to family.
Tell us about your prior higher education experience.
I earned a master’s degree from UW-Eau Claire and my doctorate from UW-Madison, so I had substantial knowledge of the UW System prior to starting at UW-Stout. After graduating from UW-Madison, I did a postdoctoral fellowship at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at MIT. It was exciting and challenging, but living in the Boston area reinforced my desire to move back to the Midwest. I subsequently spent more than 20 years as a faculty member and administrator at Bemidji State University in Minnesota prior to coming here.
What do you envision the future to be for online programming?
In a word, evolving. I think that online programming will continue to both grow and change. I see it becoming more interactive, yet with more opportunities for self-paced learning. I think a continuing challenge will be to help students understand whether online programming is right for them, or whether a more traditional classroom setting, and all that goes along with a residential university experience, is a better match.
List five goals on your life’s to-do list.
- Make a significant, positive difference as the provost at UW-Stout.
- Travel — I have many places I’d like to see, from the Arctic to the Antarctic and many locations in-between.
- Spend as much time as possible with family.
- Stay healthy.
- Find time to breathe.
What is one of your favorite quotes?
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.”
~Attributed to Mark Twain, but more likely first written by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
What are your hobbies?
Fishing, adventure travel and spending time with family and friends.
If you could give students one piece of advice, what would it be?
There are few substitutes for hard work!
Is there anything else you would like to share?
It has been great becoming a member of the UW-Stout “family.” I’ve felt really welcomed on campus, and my wife and I are very much enjoying being in Menomonie.
