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Category: Chancellor

U. Of Southern California, U. Of Wisconsin unveil cost-cutting plans

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Forbes

The University of Southern California and the University of Wisconsin-Madison are the latest universities to announce plans to trim their spending as they attempt to cope with increasing financial challenges stemming from the funding cutbacks and policy demands coming from the Trump administration.

Last Friday, University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin, Provost Charles Isbell Jr. and Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Rob Cramer advised academic administrators to exercise several budget controls for the remainder of fiscal year 2025, including reducing non-essential spending on travel, supplies, equipment, and events as well as reviewing all vacancies to determine if filling them is critical. Even more significant, all UW-Madison schools, colleges and administrative divisions were instructed to develop 5% and 10% budget reduction plans for the upcoming fiscal year.

UW-Madison leader stands by removal of diversity director over spending

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The Capital Times

Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin this week defended demoting a leader of diversity and inclusion efforts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“It’s not something I did, or would do, lightly. … It was my decision, and I own the responsibility for the decision,” Mnookin told a group of faculty leaders Monday in response to questions over the move. The chancellor said her leadership team also unanimously supported demoting LaVar Charleston, who served as UW-Madison’s vice chancellor for inclusive excellence.

Democratic lawmakers introduce new bill to address gaps from federal funding freeze

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The Daily Cardinal

Wisconsin receives roughly $654 million per year in National Institutes of Health grants, which supports more than 7,700 jobs and $1.4 billion in economic activity, according to United for Medical Research.

Without additional funds from elsewhere, UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said the capping of indirect costs would have a “ripple effect” on the state’s economy.

‘It’s gut-wrenching’: life-saving neurological research on line with NIH funding cuts, UW leaders say

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Channel 3000

Life-saving work in biomedical research is on the line, University of Wisconsin System and UW-Madison administrators said, if the National Institutes of Health makes cuts to its funding to the system.

“Taking a meat cleaver to this funding is simply wrong,” Universities of Wisconsin System President Jay Rothman said Thursday.

UW leaders, Wisconsin medical researchers defend NIH funds amid uncertainty

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Researchers at the Universities of Wisconsin defended their work in medical research on Thursday as they face uncertainty amidst federal funding cuts.

UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin warned of the danger of “indiscriminate reductions in research funding,” and medical and scientific researchers argued that funding from the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, is critical to their work.

Trump Orders Could Drain Millions From Universities, but Few Protest Openly

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The New York Times

During a Faculty Senate meeting that was streamed online on Monday, Jennifer L. Mnookin, the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, urged professors to “hold off” on optional expenses so the university could help ensure that “you’re making smart choices.”

“The transition has created for us an enormous amount of uncertainty, combined with fast-moving and changing information,” she said. “It’s generated some potentially quite significant threats to important aspects of our mission, as is true for our peer institutions nationally.”

Here’s what’s at stake in Madison and Wisconsin if federal grants are blocked

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Wisconsin State Journal

The pause in federal funding is “significant and concerning” for UW-Madison, Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin and other leaders said in a statement.

UW-Madison is encouraging most federally funded research to continue, outside of a “small number” of unspecified stop-work orders aimed at a handful of researchers, the statement said.

He dropped out of UW in 1999. A new program covering college costs for Native students brought him back

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Schuyler, who is an enrolled Oneida Nation citizen, earned a scholarship to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the 1990s. He dropped out when he was 21 credits short of earning his bachelor’s degree.

The radio broadcast described a new UW-Madison program launching in fall 2024.It would cover not only tuition but room and board, books and other expenses, to enrolled members of Wisconsin Native American tribes.

 “That was my sign,” Schuyler said.

Madison changed in 2024, with new leaders, BRT and a shocking tragedy

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The Capital Times

UW-Madison started offering six weeks of paid time off to eligible employees in July, after the birth or adoption of a child. Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin celebrated the move. “The truth is that this isn’t going to be terribly expensive to implement,” Mnookin said in April, when the policy was announced.

The university community said farewell to a long-standing fixture on campus when “the Shell” was torn down this fall. UW-Madison’s athletics department plans to build a new indoor football practice facility next to Camp Randall stadium. The $285 million project is needed to remain competitive with peer institutions, especially at a top-tier football program in a northern climate, athletics department officials said.

UW-Madison’s record-breaking research spending fuels rise in national ranking

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Wisconsin State Journal

The university announced the ranking change Monday alongside an announcement that it had spent a record-breaking $1.7 billion on research for fiscal year 2023, a 13.7% increase over the prior year. UW-Madison’s growth outpaced the national increase of 11.2% spent on university research and development, bringing the national amount spent to $108.8 billion.

Former UW-Superior chancellor says diversity of experience is key for successful college presidents

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Wisconsin Public Radio

he average tenure of university presidents is on the decline.

Nine of the 13 Universities of Wisconsin chancellors assumed their post over the past four years. That tracks with data from The American Council on Education, showing the average tenure of college presidents is roughly six years, down from 8.5 years in 2022.

A new book by a former UW-Superior chancellor digs into why college leaders are vacating these powerful positions. The book profiles seven presidents who stayed at their institutions and brought them through difficult times.

Students, faculty say being Black at UW-Madison isn’t easy

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Black student enrollment at the state’s flagship university has never surpassed 3 percent of the student body, according to data from the Universities of Wisconsin. In 2023, 1,327 students out of 50,335 identified as Black, about 2.6 percent.

This year, the percentage of underrepresented students of color in the freshman class dropped by 3.7 percentage points from last year to 14.3 percent, according to UW-Madison data.

A UW-Madison student’s racist video stirred outrage. Now, new ideas have been offered to improve campus climate

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A racist social media video featuring a University of Wisconsin-Madison student consumed the campus in spring 2023. A Black student advocacy organization formed. Protests staged. A petition signed, to the tune of 67,000 signatures. And an ad-hoc group formed to study the Black experience on campus.

Chancellor Mnookin reflects on free speech, student housing, protest violations during media roundtable

Posted on
The Daily Cardinal

A lot has been on University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin’s plate since the spring.

Between a 12-day pro-Palestine encampment and juggling the university budget process, she’s had to carefully tread an upcoming election with a student body that has divided perspectives. Mnookin and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori Reesor sat down with campus media Tuesday to discuss free speech efforts, the affordable housing shortage and protest culture.

Looking To The Future By Reckoning With The Past With UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin

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Black Like Me Podcast with Dr. Alex Gee

Dr. Gee has an in-depth conversation with University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin on what the university is doing to improve the sense of belonging for students of color. Their discussion covers Dr. Gee’s participation in a committee working to recognize the universities history with students of color and what can be done moving forward. The committee will be releasing a report soon with their findings and recommendations. Chancellor Mnookin shares about her plans and initiatives in this role at the university and how she sees that they are developing so far.Jennifer L. Mnookin is the 30th leader in the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s 175-year history, and one of the nation’s top legal scholars.

UW-Madison chancellor pay to top $1 million in 2025

Posted on
The Daily Cardinal

The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents approved chancellor pay raises and bonuses for student retention in a closed session meeting Monday.

The new compensation plan will see UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin’s current $811,512 annual salary increased to $892,663. She will also receive a philanthropic bonus of $150,000 for staying at UW-Madison through mid-2025 and $50,000 for each year she stays afterward until June 2029.

Student demonstrator outlines agreement with UW-Madison leadership

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WORT FM

On Friday, nearly two weeks after UW-Madison students pitched their tents on Library Mall, they reached an agreement with the university’s administration.

This afternoon, Dahlia Saba, a media liaison with Students for Justice in Palestine, told our News Producer Faye Parks that – while the agreement does signal a small step forward – it doesn’t address their primary demands.

After 12 day-encampment, UW-Madison protesters reached deal. Why? And what’s next?

Posted on
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

There’s nothing like the threat of a disrupted commencement ceremony to get a deal done.

With tens of thousands of visitors descending on Madison for graduation weekend and protester numbers uncertain for the summer, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the campus’ Students for Justice in Palestine chapter cut a dealFriday.

UW-Madison protesters agree to end encampment

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

Pro-Palestinian student protesters at UW-Madison agreed Friday to dismantle their illegal encampment on Library Mall and refrain from disrupting this weekend’s commencement after campus officials agreed to several of their demands, including helping students present their concerns to decision-makers about how the university’s endowment is invested.