Currently David Van Buren sits as associate vice chancellor amd dean of graduate studies, butthis position is only one of the many hats that Van Buren wears on this campus in the past 33 years.

Van Buren graduated from St. Bonaventure University in New York, where he received his B.A. in English literature and psychology. He continued his education at the State University of New York at Albany, where he pursued a Ph.D. in criminal justice.

He has taught criminal justice for 24 years of his career at UW-Platteville. In 2000, Van Buren was offered to act as an interim for the associate vice chancellor. This position opened up a number of opportunities for Van Buren.

Even though Van Buren is not married, he said he is married to this university. He is active in faculty government, director of the library, a member of tasks force and dean of the Confucius Institute. Van Buren doesn’t miss a step in involvement here on campus.

In 2001, Van Buren took his first trip to Wuhan, China with UW-P Chancellor David Markee. Van Buren helped Markee set up a partnership with the South Central University for Nationalities in Wuhan. UW-P offers a master’s in English education through the school in China, where English is mandatory from fourth grade on. Van Buren said his experience was a real eye opener.

“It is a rich culture for mosaic and monolithic views,” Van Buren said.

One hobby that Van Buren is passionate about is collecting Indian art. He spent a sabbatical out at a Navajo reservation studying tribal courts with an emphasis on “peace makers.”

Van Buren said that even though the economy is in a recession, the university will continue doing its best to give students the best education possible.

“Right now we are facing tight times in terms of budget—but know we will get through it fine.” Van Buren said. “There have been a number of things that the chancellor has done to put the university in a stronger position financially, Tri-state initiative being one of them.”

“[Van Buren is] a great boss and easy to work with, Linda Jamieson, administration assistant for Van Buren said. “He is student-oriented.”

Beth Vaassen, secretary for Van Buren, recently started working for him. She said he’s been a pleasure to work with so far.

Van Buren does miss teaching part of his career and the contact he had with students. Van Buren isn’t quite sure how he wants to retire in the near future, teaching or not, but surely his warm smile and outgoing nature will continue to grow no matter what hat he is wearing at this university.