President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden visit campus in historic event

It was a historic day at the University of Wisconsin-Superior as President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden visited the campus on Wednesday, March 2, the day after his first State of the Union address.

The first of several elected officials who joined the president at the invitation only event in the Yellowjacket Union was Superior Mayor Jim Paine, a UW-Superior alumnus, who was quick to note the importance of the visit.

“I told you Superior was moving up in the world,” said Paine in his opening comments. “Superior, Wisconsin, is the future of the United States of America.”

Along with Paine, the event included Duluth Mayor Emily Larson, Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin and Minnesota Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar, along with governors Tony Evers of Wisconsin and Tim Walz of Minnesota.

“The UW-Superior campus – what a place to be!” said Evers.

Echoing sentiments from the previous day’s State of the Union address, President Biden spoke of job growth, the economy and specifically highlighted the bipartisan infrastructure law.

The president conveyed somber concern for Ukrainian citizens caught in the wake of the Russian invasion. In contrast, he referenced the dozens of UW-Superior students and Superior High School band members attending the event who represent hope for the future.

“Another reason I’m so optimistic is because of the younger generation,” said Biden. “The generation that goes to this university; the generation that is in high school and up through age 30. Look at them. Look at how they interact with one another. They make no distinctions based on race. They make no distinction based on gender. Think of what’s happening. One of the things I’m confident about is they are together, and they want the nation to be together.”