Gov. Scott Walker reappointed UW System Regent Gerald Whitburn and added two new people to the Board of Regents Friday.
Whitburn’s name has recently been in the news after Wisconsin Public Radio obtained emails that UW System President Ray Cross sent after a plan that would restructure the UW System leaked to the public. Cross sent Whitburn an email criticizing shared governance groups’ negative reaction to the plan.
“Getting hammered by the 'shared governance' leaders because they weren't involved in the process; however, had they been involved we wouldn't be doing anything!!” Cross wrote in his email to Whitburn.
The two new faces at the table are Cris Peterson, owner and chief financial officer of Four Cubs Farm, and Jason Plante, vice president of Market & Johnson in Eau Claire, and they will both serve as citizen members.
Peterson has past experience as a regent for the University of Minnesota and has won several agriculture awards, such as 2002 Association of Women in Agriculture Outstanding Woman in Agriculture Award and 2004 World Dairy Expo Woman of the Year.
“We look forward to seeing Cris Peterson, Jason Plante, and Gerald Whitburn work as leaders of the University of Wisconsin System as members of the Wisconsin System Board of Regents,” Walker said in a release. “Thank you for your dedication to improving our state and helping our students and academic institutions.”
Plante and Peterson will each serve a seven-year term as part of the 14 citizen members of the board.
