Karen Herzog and Bill Glauber of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel write that the search for a new UW-Madison chancellor will soon begin in earnest. The deadline for nominees is December 21, and the 25-member search committee is expected to winnow the field to four to six candidates by mid to late February.
The search committee is chaired by history professor David McDonald and includes 13 faculty members, along with academic and classified staff, students, administrators, and members of the community. Three PROFS steering committee members are on the committee — PROFS president and agronomy professor Bill Tracy, chemistry professor Judith Burstyn, and horticulture professor Irwin Goldman. Tracy and Burstyn are also past chairs of the University Committee.
Names of finalists will be forwarded to UW System President Kevin Reilly and the Regent’s Special Committee for the UW-Madison Chancellor Search. That committee will be chaired by Regent Charles Pruitt. Other regent members are Regina Millner, Katherine Pointer, Brent Smith, and David Walsh. Smith is president of the board and Pointer is the student regent representing traditional students.
Some thoughts offered in the article:
- Professor David McDonald, search committee chair: “We want someone with a strong vision of where our campus should be in five to 10 years, but also someone who understands the idiosyncratic local culture and our shared governance.”
- Interim Chancellor David Ward: “The vanity of individuals knows no bound. There will be a lot of applicants. It will be seen by sensible people as a challenging but doable job. They will be energized by the complexity of the job. And there will be others who think, ‘I can do that job. How hard can it be?'”
- Steven Olikara, a 2012 graduate of UW-Madison: “There is a need for someone who is charismatic and has a combination of internal savvy and external energy to forge the 21st-century vision of a university.”
- Zach Brandon, Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce president: “Somewhere between an ivory tower faculty member and a former governor with ties to the business community is UW-Madison’s right pick.”
- Molly Corbett Broad, president of the American Council on Education: “This is a great position at a great campus that is likely to attract a fine pool of candidates. UW-Madison is in very strong, healthy condition. It’s a university that definitely is on the move.”