The University of Wisconsin-Madison students chosen to help appoint the next UW-Madison chancellor said Thursday they plan to represent and involve all students throughout the process of selecting a new campus leader.
UW-Madison junior Cody Ostenson and graduate and professional student Jason Chiang were appointed to the Chancellor Search and Screen Committee by the Associated Students of Madison Shared Governance Committee Wednesday.
According to Shared Gov. Committee Chair Sam Seering, the committeee selected Ostenson and Chiang for the positions based on the idea that both would represent different student viewpoints.
“We were looking for students who could represent a broad swath of students on this campus,” Seering said.
Ostenson, a former ASM Student Council representative, said he hopes to represent undergraduate opinion and would like to find an individual who embodies the Wisconsin Idea to serve as the university’s next figurehead.
“I’m looking to find a leader who is very passionate about education and wanting to give that back to future generations of students and wanting to give back the benefits of education to broader society,” Ostenson said.
Chiang said he applied for the position because he wants the graduate and professional schools to be represented throughout the process, particularly in terms of university research.
“This idea that you’re combining basic and applied research with the business potential of the entire state is something that I think is really unique to this university and something that mutually benefits both the school and the state,” Chiang said. “And this is a tradition that I really want to see continued through the efforts of our next chancellor.”
Ostenson said he hopes to work with Chiang to reach out and get all students involved in the process of choosing “where we want to go as a student body and what kind of a leader we want to take over.”
The UW System Board of Regents will approve the official appointment of the chancellor by summer of 2013 when current Chancellor David Ward’s interim appointment ends.
