The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s next chancellor should be in it for the long haul, community members told the university’s Chancellor Search and Screen Committee on Sept. 10, urging the next leader to build lasting relationships with Wisconsin communities and stand up for the university amid growing political financial pressures.
Students, staff, alumni and community members gathered at the final public listening session of the chancellor search to tell the committee the characteristics and skills they’re looking for in the university's next leader. Among their priorities were a longer stay than former Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin, connection with rural communities and an ability to speak up to the legislature.
Regent Amy Bogost said the committee hopes to select and announce a new chancellor this fall, "if all goes well."
Nominations and applications were due Sept. 10 for “fullest consideration,” according to the committee’s three-page prospectus.
The search comes four months after former Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin left UW-Madison for Columbia after four years with Wisconsin. Her departure left some disappointed to be going through the leadership transition again.
University staff member Terry Fritter said UW-Madison has lacked commitment from the past several chancellors, arguing they keep leaving before they can fully invest in the campus. Before Mnookin, Rebecca Blank served as chancellor for nine years, from 2013 to 2022. Her tenure was the longest UW-Madison has seen since the 1980s.
“We made commitments to the last several chancellors, but they didn’t seem to really make one with us,” Fritter said.
Another attendee said they felt in many regions of the state, Wisconsinites don't fully understand the value a top research university brings: research dollars, medical breakthroughs and economic activity that reaches well beyond Madison's boundaries.
They said a leader needs to build relationships and visibility between UW-Madison and the rest of the state, speak up to the legislature and travel to rural communities to show the university's value.
“Most people see UW as football, basketball and their taxes. We have to be more than that,” they said.
Several attendees also acknowledged how hard the chancellor job has become. Leading a major research university now means navigating shrinking state support and political pressure on higher education, all while balancing a $5 billion budget.
Students and staff also said a chancellor should be willing to “dress down” and interact with student organizations on a personal level.
The audience ultimately wanted a chancellor who builds upon the values of the university, who can brave the university's challenges without losing sight of its mission and who engages with, and thoroughly understands, the diversity of its people and the history of the land-grant university.
The prospectus identified characteristics, skills and base requirements to lead the state’s “flagship university”: academic excellence and scholarly values, strategic and effective leadership, financial stewardship and resource development, inclusive, student-centered community building, public engagement and advancement of the Wisconsin Idea.
Those priorities align with comments of those present at the Sept. 10 public meeting.
The search is now entering its final stretch. Candidates have applied, the committee will move to screening and interviews and a handful of finalists will visit campus before a decision is made.
