After over a five-month search process, Chancellor Rebecca Blank announced via Twitter Thursday the new provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs.
Sarah Mangelsdorf will assume the university position in academic year 2014-'15, which oversees UW-Madison curricular, student and faculty campus life, diversity initiatives and enrollment.
“As I researched this role, I found that the people I talked to had uniformly enthusiastic things to say about the University of Wisconsin-Madison,” Mangelsdorf said in a UW-Madison release. “I am particularly excited to partner with Rebecca Blank and help build on the many strengths at UW.”
Mangelsdorf currently serves as dean of Northwestern University’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, a position she has held since 2008.
Blank said in the release Mangelsdorf’s previous experience gives her the necessary skills to serve as both provost and vice chancellor.
“She is both a top-ranked professor and a first-class administrator,” Blank said in the release. “This expanse of experience will give her the ability to understand and lead our campus.”
The search began after Paul DeLuca announced earlier this year that he would be stepping down from the leadership position and would be returning to the faculty after a sabbatical.
DeLuca said while he enjoyed his five-year tenure, he is looking forward to relinquishing the position to Mangelsdorf, and believes she will serve the role well.
"I think being provost at the Madison campus is absolutely one of the better positions in higher education and I have loved every minute of it," DeLuca said. "I'm absolutely delighted that she's appointed, I think she's going to do a terrific job."
A 17-person search committee was compiled by various shared governance committees and consisted of academic staff, classified staff, faculty members, deans and students.
The committee reviewed the applicants and provided a “short list” of recommended candidates to the chancellor, who made the final decision.
Joan Schmit, chair of the search committee, said though each of the four presented recommendations were supported equally by the committee, she feels Mangelsdorf will fit the role well.
“I think she’ll be phenomenally good, I am delighted that she is going to join us—I think she has a set of experiences and talents that will allow her to be quite successful,” Schmit said. “Of course, Provost DeLuca has put us in a good position, so she comes in with a lot of strength already.”
Mangelsdorf is set to arrive in Madison Aug. 4 in time to start her work for the 2014-’15 school year.
This story was updated April 11 at 1:26 to accommodate statements from outgoing Provost Paul DeLuca.
