Several years ago, we began to look at best cities for African Americans. "Black Enterprise" Magazine had identified a number of cities, mostly in the South, that registered highest Black per capita incomes, entrepreneurial establishments, educational institutions and college graduates. Additionally, these cities became magnets as new graduates either returned or remained thereby augmenting the professional pool and exponential growth.

Designation of the cities was the impetus for the beginning what has become a four-year journey for the" Milwaukee Community Journal." We wanted to know why Milwaukee, with a growing minority population, was not considered, and what, in fact, we have that supports melding bests, with the bests, to make a better community for residents in a city this size.

Among the things we are learning is that we have many undeniable bests in a variety of categories, academically, socially, civically, politically, spiritually, professionally and medically. While harnessing the synergy bottled in these dynamic servant leaders is still blossoming, there is a definable action developing.

A vibrant educational community, an academic environment for higher education and varied technical and professional trades, was listed as the principal determinant for the success of African Americans. That being true, Milwaukee cannot be counted out.

From the standpoint of educational opportunities, we have more sites than many of the cities listed in the "Black Enterprise" top ten. Yet, increasing and infusing the graduates, particularly minority graduates, into the Milwaukee employment pipeline, remains a short-suit. Herein lies the position, power and passion of Our Milwaukee Treasure and Our Jewel, Dr. Joan A. Prince, Vice Chancellor for Partnership and Innovation and Clinical Associate Professor of University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s College of Health Services.

Born in Milwaukee, educated in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee system, Dr. Prince is a native who has made us all proud. She holds her Bachelor’ degree in Medical Technology, her Master’s in Clinical Laboratory Sciences, and her Doctor of Philosophy in Science Education. She was a 2007 Aspen Institute Fellow (one of 35 selected from throughout the world), no minor achievement, and each degree has affirmed her desire to learn more to do more!

Her daily interface, as the Chancellor’s immediate representative, includes institutional leadership and appointments to various councils, task forces, community sponsorships and initiatives, where she is the bridge between the university and the pubic and private sectors. Her duties are expansive, her results far-reaching.

As the educational policy strategist, her Board affiliations have included the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, the first African American President of Tempo, International, an international women’s professional and networking business association, President of the Milwaukee County Library Board and numerous other organizations, such as Professional Dimensions, Visit Milwaukee, The Black Women’s Network, Milwaukee Women, Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., The Milwaukee Chapter of the Links, The Girlfriends, as well as being the first Wisconsinite to be elected to the international Council on Foundations board.

Most significantly, Dr. Prince is a leader. Now in her seventh year, she is respected for her tenured commitment. "I really appreciated the newspaper’s salute to Black men, she began. "That kind of news is too often tucked away, not covered by the mainstream press."

"We need that positive reinforcement. Our failure to accentuate our strengths is damaging, particularly for our youth. Telling the real story is critical and they are repeated daily in many homes, schools, and other institutions within the community. They simply must be told!"

Continuing, she said, "You have stepped to the plate, made us all pause. We’re all active doing what we do best, but the series has energized us. It has called us to look again at what we do have, rather than get bogged down with the frustrations. Milwaukee has come a long way, but there is such a long way yet to go.

"I believe the series has again said, ‘Let’s roll up our sleeves!’ We need those words of encouragement, it is important to know that we are on the right track. We have the people and the resources to do what other cities have done, particularly in growing minority populations. We are now strategizing how to do it better. While there are many successes, we have not done enough. We must validate our city as one of the best for the total community, which includes our growing Hmong, native American, Hispanic and of course, our Black community. To our credit, very few leaders, in the city of Milwaukee, today, have not been scholars, at one time or another, within the University of Wisconsin system. We are succeeding.

"However, success is only relevant when every resident has the same opportunities, and the deterrents that dissect cultures and diversity goals must be removed. To this end, our scholastic enrollments and graduation rates must be increased, we are working to make them highly documentable," she expounds.

The right track has been Dr. Prince’s mantra since she first began. "I started off, fifteen years ago, in healthcare, I was a supervisor with Wheaton Healthcare Services, St. Michael’s, St. Joseph’s, St. Luke’s, were my original training grounds. I loved the laboratories, the research, analyzing data. However, after a while, it was clear that while I had a lot of passion, I didn’t see a lot of people who looked like me in the pipeline. The interns lacked diversity. It was not long, thereafter, that I began to feel that I should look farther if I was going to establish a long-term career.

"I moved on to the University of Wisconsin Medical School 17 years later. Dr. Thomas Jackson invited me to coffee and introduced a concept for Milwaukee Public Schools called HPPI, Health Professors Partnership Initiative. The program was designed to reach children early in school and introduce them to the many medical professions. I loved the idea of working with young people when they are still impressionable."

A grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, in partnership with the University of Wisconsin Medical School made possible the expansion of Dr. Prince’s program. They began working with 5th and 6th grade students and shadowing them through high school, college and medical school. "Statistics show us that youngsters begin tuning out of elementary school around the fifth grade, so we started classes that took them to the labs with tissue cultures, effects of different chemicals upon cells, dissections of different parts of the body, the brain, liver, kidney, EKGs. These medical experiences were given before the youngsters were tested. They learned about obesity, cholesterol, diabetes, many of the maladies that disproportionately affect our community," she shared.

The successes in HPPI led to the job offer with University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she became the first Vice Chancellor to hold the title of Partnerships and Innovation. She had also been an 18-year part-time member of the UWM staff as a Clinical Associate Professor in Hematology. There’s an old saying that we travel around the world only to return to where we first began. Such has been the journey of Joan Prince, Vice Chancellor at UWM. "My passions for health, education and the academic environment simply converged here at UWM. My highest achievement is enrolling youngsters and watching them mature into accomplished students who graduate.

"We are able to meld literacy, a sense of accomplishment and economic stability within these classrooms. Without this urban environment, many students would not have the same opportunities. They can live at home, oftentimes they work jobs while attending, many have families already and still they matriculate, master their studies and graduate into full employability. That is rewarding."

I spoke earlier about the number of youngsters who fail to utilize the campus and become the statistics about which none of us are happy. "You have to begin in pre-school. Education has to be important, reachable, desirable and available! But, you have got to want it. UWM is affordable, assessable, user friendly and still we are not happy with the numbers. We are improving, but getting to the campus begins long before they actually set foot on the grounds. We tire of hearing it, but truly it begins at home.

"Christopher Webb, your Dr. Terence N. Thomas Memorial Scholarship leader, last month, was a student in my HPPI program while he was still in grade school. He is in his third year of Medical School at the University of Wisconsin, but his parents were bringing him and his brother to pre-college programs long before they thought about college. They were participating in the HPPI program. I was not surprised to see him speaking to the Anniversary Gala attendants about what the scholarship has meant to him. He has been traversing this interest area and academic strategy for medical school for at least twelve years."

Continuing, she shared. "There is no excuse for any child or parent saying there is nothing to do during the summer because in addition to the social service agencies, the libraries and day care camps, there are a plethora of programs at UWM. Parents should begin now checking out what their children will do at UWM next year. Of course, the youngsters have to be scholastically prepared, as well. Yes, they are going to have to have some math, some sciences, and good reading skills. And most of all, they are going to have to have an attitude of success. Instilling this attitude is our responsibility as parents, teachers, and community supporters. Our young people depend on us. We need to set their boundaries, and encourage them and inspire them to succeed, no matter what the odds are against them. It is up to us!"

The UWM Pre-College programs include nursing, architecture, performing arts, education and, engineering. And youngsters are encouraged to begin looking at what they might like to do as early as fourth and fifth grades. "While the Pre-College sessions are excellent for helping students determine what they might want to be, they are equally important in guiding them away from things they thought they would like. Sometimes, our preferences are influenced by parents, teachers or idealized presumptions, the Pre-College session is strenuous enough that students quickly realize what’s real and what is not. This early experiment is invaluable in eliminating wasted time and tuition", she continued.

"Too many of our youngsters come to the campus already primed for a six and seven year journey to get a B.S. when their counterparts are fine tuned to make it out within the preferred four years. Those other years look good as the Master’s Degree is conferred. Why waste the time and the money. Get all that your money pays for", she reminded.

Mentoring, the subject of the newspaper’s 2007 yearlong focus was mentioned. "Mentoring has to be on-going, she exclaimed. There are enough of us to reach every one of the children who are asking for help. And, we have a responsibility to give back, to mentor, to share our journey and our wisdom. I hope you will continue to remind all of the adults to reach back, lift one. We can do that and there is no greater gift than seeing what your little contribution has meant to the development, the success, of one of your mentees. I have no biological children, but I have loads of children. Mother’s Day, I get so many cards that I feel like the Little Old Lady Who Lived in A Shoe". They write, call, they thank you. It is a marvelous feeling!"

"We have to make certain that our pipeline is strong. The university must do its part, but we do not have the quality control that you as a mentor, mother, neighbor, church person, family member has in reaching the child early. If there is one thing we are mandated to do, it is to give back in accordance to the gifts we have already received. My gifts from so many people have been so magnanimous that I have a lifetime of giving back. I hope we each will embrace that legacy".
Your role models, I desired to ascertain. Who has inspired you and taught you to give, "We have to give on all sides and move forward and teach those you have helped to help somebody else. That’s how we multiply ourselves. That’s how we build the pipeline. That’s how we expand the university and my bridging role here as Vice Chancellor".

Eager to share further, Dr. Prince related. "I am blessed to still have my Mom and Dad. There are and always have been superb role models. They had great expectations, but they lived their lives in such a way that we wanted to emulate them. I have sisters and brothers who feel as I do. They set the bar of what was acceptable. We just did it!"

"Gwen Jackson, now retired, I met at the age of 16 years of age. She was working at Brills’, the men’s clothing store, then. She was fastidious then and she remains one of my models. I interviewed her for an English class. I was taken aback by her wisdom, grace and savvy. I am yet today. Geneva Johnson, retired CEO of Family Services of America, was the giant of the non-profit sector. She taught me so much. The game of recruiting, proposing, validating and substantiating was gained through Geneva. Barbara Faucett – my reality check and supporter. And, there’s everyone’s love, Jestene McCord, who remains an intellectual giant who has guided health care and health services mentees in Milwaukee for many years. She is a jewel! It is therefore incumbent upon me to do the same for the young people coming behind me. I passionately accept this opportunity and I challenge all to feel the same sense of urgency. We can do it!

Dr. Joan Prince, we honor you, a Milwaukee woman, Our Treasure, Our Jewel! You are a Vice Chancellor extraordinaire, belonging to a select group of African American women, numbering not more than fifty throughout the United States. You, Dr. Prince, are indigenous to Milwaukee, having been educated throughout its schools and universities.

Your decision to lend your best efforts to those who have given to you is lauded and applauded. Your influence on students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the Medical College of Wisconsin and your numerous civic, corporate and public affiliations have had lasting policy-changing initiatives that build a better Milwaukee.

We sincerely thank you! We acknowledge you the Best of the Bests...Milwaukee’s treasure and rare jewel, Dr. Joan Prince, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Vice Chancellor for Partnerships and Innovations.