hill_jimWISCONSIN
Jim Hill ’78
Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee

Jim Hill (M.A. ’78) has big goals for the students at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.

“Confidence, desire to learn, desire to give back or understand the value of giving back, understanding of diversity and the role it can play,” just to name a few.

As the associate vice chancellor of Student Affairs, Hill is responsible for connecting students with the Milwaukee community and giving them the tools they need to navigate college and beyond – skills he learned in the counseling program at UMKC.

“The counseling training prepared me to develop my sense of caring and my skills for working with individuals in difficult situations,” Hill says. “[People] who are just needing to find themselves or navigate the next phases of their lives.”

That job doesn’t just extend to students. Hill also connects students with volunteer opportunities that benefit the community as a whole.

“We provide opportunities for our students to serve as mentors at the Boys and Girls Club and the K-12 institutions that they are from,” he says. “Creating an environment of giving back and being part of the community.”

Problem solving is the most important skill today’s students need, Hill contends. He says his biggest job is giving them “a sense of where they want to go.”

“There is nothing more frustrating for me than a student who has been here for four years and doesn’t really have a plan for next steps,” Hill says. “Plans change, like mine changed. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have a plan of some sort when you walk out the door.”

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