After three years of trying to enhance UW-Madison's role as a major research university while preserving the Wisconsin Idea, UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin announced Tuesday that she is resigning from UW-Madison to become president of Amherst College.
""I'm proud of everything we have achieved together over the past three years, and I hope everything we've achieved together will have long lasting positive benefits for this great institution,"" said Martin. ""I leave both with a heavy heart about leaving UW-Madison and with a lot of excitement about the great opportunity that Amherst represents.""
Martin will end her term as Chancellor later this summer and assume her position at Amherst College at the end of August.
Martin, who has strongly supported high quality, affordability and racial and ethnic diversity in higher education, said Amherst College will be a great fit for her as they strive to keep these core values.
Since becoming chancellor in 2008, Martin said one of her biggest achievements is the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates, a program that encouraged student involvement to successfully increase the amount of faculty, classes and financial aid at UW-Madison. She also considers her recent gains made through the New Badger Partnership a great achievement, an effort to increase flexibility in budget, faculty and building projects by removing the university from the UW System.
Although the Joint Finance Committee removed the New Badger Partnership from the budget bill earlier this month, many agreed Martin's leadership in outlining the need for flexibilities at UW-Madison influenced the JFC's decision to grant some key flexibilities to every UW System campus.
Martin said the JFC's decision regarding the NBP did not influence her decision to leave UW-Madison.
""I feel as though the New Badger Partnership succeeded and we got quite a lot of what we articulated as goals over a year ago,"" said Martin. ""I'm not going because I'm disappointed in that outcome. I think we did extremely well, and I'm really proud of what we achieved together.""
Amherst first approached Martin about becoming their 19th president in the spring, but Martin said most efforts to recruit her took place in recent weeks. Furthermore, Martin said it was not until ""very recently"" that she agreed to become a serious candidate for the job, which she accepted on Saturday.
Despite a seemingly bitter end between the Board of Regents and Martin due to disagreements over the NBP, many Board members recognized Martin's dedication to furthering UW-Madison's role as a major global research university.
""Chancellor Martin has been an energetic leader for UW-Madison, demonstrating a sincere commitment to the institution's role as one of America's finest research universities,"" UW System President Kevin Reilly said in a statement.
The next step for UW-Madison will be finding a new Chancellor, a process UW System Spokesperson David Giroux said will be lengthy and public.
Giroux said President Reilly in consultation with the BOR will name an Interim Chancellor in the near future, to allow for a smooth transition before Martin leaves. Later, the campus and the Board will begin the national search for an official replacement.
