Snapshot

Julius Erlenbach

Julius Erlenbach is the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin Superior. He earned a BA in sociology and a bachelor of music from Overland College and his master’s in music from Northwestern. He joined the staff of UW Stevens Point in 1971, where he became chair of the music department before moving to Drake as the dean of the college of fine arts. He was the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at UW La Crosse before joining UWS in 1996. Julius lives in Superior with his wife Becky and has three grown children.

What is your most marked characteristic?
Openness and willingness to consider new things.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Raising three healthy, talented children with my wife, Becky.

When and where were you happiest?
This is a tough one. We’ve been very happy everywhere we’ve gone, and I think that’s a reflection of being open to new things. 

What is your greatest regret?
Not having enough time to read all of the good books that I would like to. Maybe that will change when retirement finally comes.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
A beach in the Caribbean, my wife by my side, a mai-tai in my hand. The freedom to be just what we want to be, together, having the time to read those books under the umbrella and enjoy the ocean. 

What is your most treasured possession?
Time. It’s precious to me for all the reasons I’ve mentioned so far.

Where would you most like to live?
On that sun-washed Caribbean beach somewhere – that would be my ideal.  I really do enjoy the ocean, the sun and the warmth. 

What is your greatest fear?
Failure. That’s not to say you can’t have little bumps in the road on the path to success, we all do.  But ultimately the greatest fear for me is failure. 

 

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Impatience. I’ve learned to become more patient, but that’s one of my greatest shortcomings. 

What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Condescension in interpersonal dealings.  I really dislike that when I see it play out. 

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
I can’t think of any virtue that’s overrated. Living a life of virtue is probably a good thing.  We should always seek and strive to be virtuous because inherent in that is dealing virtuously with others. 

What is your greatest extravagance?
Owning two condominiums in addition to renting here in the community.

What’s on your iPod?
I have fairly eclectic taste and maybe that comes from being a musician. I have classical training, but like all sorts of music.  When I listen, I listen consciously to really get a concert hall type of experience, in front of that old fashioned stereo. 

 

What is your favorite journey?
The journey of life, generally. I love to travel, but I think we’re all on a journey as we go through our lives. 

What is the quality you most like in people?
Understanding and intelligence.  In order to have a good understanding of people you have to have a level of intelligence that enables you to experience things broadly and learn about others.

What do you most value in your friends?
Those two things and in addition, both openness and warmth.

If you were to come back as a person or thing, what would it be?
If people are right about longevity and intelligence, then maybe I want to come back as an elephant. That would suit me quite nicely.

How would you like to die?
Quickly. 

 

 

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