In May 1993, the university awarded its first honorary doctor of humane letters degree to poet Gwendolyn Brooks. In May 1994, Chancellor Kaplan left the university to become president of the Metropolitan State University of Denver, and was succeeded by Eleanor J. Smith, vice president for academic affairs and provost at the William Paterson College of New Jersey. In 1994, in a project that grew from the university's 25th anniversary celebration, the UW–Parkside Nature Trail was created, including 10 geological and historical markers around the nearly campus. The project later included a printed guide and signs marking more than 140 species of trees.