Cornell engineering dean W. Kent Fuchs will be the next provost, university President David Skorton announced Friday.
Fuchs, the Joseph Silbert Dean of Engineering since 2002, will take over as Cornell’s top academic officer Jan. 1.
He replaces Carolyn â??Biddyâ? Martin, who left last spring to be chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison after eight years in the post at Cornell.
MADISON â?? A regent involved in the failed University of Wisconsin-Parkside chancellor search said Friday he and his colleagues lack enough information to make good hiring decisions.
Michael Falbo of Milwaukee said regents recommend who to hire for top campus jobs after interviewing the finalists, which does not provide them with an understanding of who would be best for the job.
“I’ve found that I didn’t feel capable of making a decision after spending about a half hour or 45 minutes with each candidate one right after another,” Falbo told his colleagues on the 18-member Board of Regents during a meeting at UW-Stevens Point.
Madison, Wis. – Carolyn “Biddy” Martin is an alumnus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but that wasn’t the only thing that convinced her to pursue the chancellor’s job following John Wiley’s decision to step down.
Interviewed at the World Stem Cell Summit, which was held last week in Madison, Martin said the UW’s leading edge work in life sciences, including stem cell research, also interested her in the job.
â??The cutting-edge research in the life sciences here in general piqued my interest in the position, but of course the stem research is really right at the leading edge of what is an enormously impressive life sciences infrastructure,â? said Martin, who came to the UW-Madison after serving as provost at Cornell University. â??It definitely played a role.â?
MADISON, Wis. – When searching for top officials at the University of Wisconsin, don’t forget to Google them.
That’s one piece of advice contained in a report to the UW Board of Regents released Friday on how to improve its searches for new chancellors and others in leadership positions.
University President Kevin Reilly asked for the review after a failed search for a new chancellor at the Parkside campus. The candidate a search committee selected, former University of Louisville dean Robert Felner, resigned before taking over after news broke that he was the subject of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.
Incoming UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin arrived on campus last week â?? just in time to witness the latest spat between staunch supporters and critics of Wisconsin’s flagship university.
MADISON, Wis. — Outgoing University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor John Wiley is receiving praise for starting a public debate about the future of higher education in Wisconsin.
The UW Board of Regents has approved a resolution praising Wiley’s seven-year tenure as the leader of the state’s flagship university.
The board said that Wiley helped rebuild the campus infrastructure, led a $1.5 billion fundraising campaign and kept the university affordable and accessible to students.
Incoming UW-Madison Chancellor Carolyn “Biddy” Martin moved to town on Friday — and her belongings finally arrived at Olin House, the official residence of the chancellor, on Monday.
“I’ve started the process of unpacking and moving in,” said Martin. “It’s a lot of work but I’ve cleared a path from my bedroom to the coffee maker, and I thought maybe that would do for now.”
Talk to UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley on any given day, and he knows exactly how many days remain before his reign as head of the state’s flagship university ends.
Today, it is 16.
The University of Wisconsinâ??s flagship campus will be welcoming a new chancellor this fall.
Cornell University Provost Biddy Martin begins later this summer, filling the spot left vacant by outgoing chancellor John Wiley.
MADISON â?? Most of the 115 businesses in the University Research Park on the Capital Cityâ??s west side are biotech companies that require wet labs for their ongoing experiments and product development.
But in the researchâ??s park urban expansion in the former Marquip Building at 1245 E. Washington Ave., the targets for the 10 new incubator suites in the former manufacturing site will be high-tech entrepreneurs working in the areas of information technology, engineering, medical devices and computer sciences.
The effort is starting out small, with a lease of 6,000-square feet. But it has the potential to â??explodeâ? within a few years as faculty members and students start their own businesses, said UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley.
MADISON â?? Gov. Jim Doyle interviewed the four finalists for the University of Wisconsin-Madison chancellor job in May, days before Biddy Martin was selected, his calendar shows.
The interviews raise questions about whether the governor had any influence in Martinâ??s selection. A regent said Monday that was not the case, but one Republican aide still criticized Doyleâ??s involvement as inappropriate.
The process used to pick university leaders is under scrutiny after a new chancellor at another campus resigned his appointment because he is under federal investigation.
Gov. Jim Doyle interviewed the four finalists for the UW-Madison chancellor job in May, days before Biddy Martin was selected, his calendar shows.
The interviews raise questions about whether the governor had any influence in Martin’s selection. A regent said Monday that was not the case, but one Republican aide still criticized Doyle’s involvement as inappropriate.
The process used to pick university leaders is under scrutiny after a new chancellor at another campus resigned his appointment because he is under federal investigation.
Recent news coverage and editorial opinions have suggested that the University of Wisconsin system must increase the salaries of its chancellors statewide. Writers imply that the departure of six campus chancellors the past year was due to their sub-national-average salaries.
For example, Bruce Shepard, who earned about $210,000 at UW-Green Bay, has taken a position at Western Washington University for more than $300,000. Similar salary increases were in store for the other campus chancellors who left the UW system this past year. Proponents of higher salaries suggest that greater pay will somehow improve retention of our chancellors.
But consider another distinct possibility. Perhaps after 6-8 years leading a specific campus, a chancellor will look for a new challenge no matter what his or her salary.
Hardly anyone starts out in life with the goal of becoming a college president. Biddy Martin certainly didnâ??t.
At the time she graduated from Brookville High School in 1969, she was a good all-around student who loved to read and held the all-time scoring record for the Beesâ?? girls basketball team.
â??I had no idea what I wanted to do next,â? she said.
Now, she does. She wants to be the chancellor at the University of Wisconsin, the school from which she received a graduate degree in German literature more than 20 years ago. And obviously, the feeling is mutual.
John D. Wiley, who will step down as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison in September, has been named to another position of leadership at the institution.
In November, Mr. Wiley will become interim director of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, the public half of an interdisciplinary research center scheduled to open on the campus in 2010.
Martin Cadwallader, dean of the university’s graduate school, which oversees the institute, says Mr. Wiley is the perfect choice for this stage of the institute’s development. “He knows about the science side of things, he has great leadership skills, and he’s got the ability to attract the best talent,” he says. (Final item.)
As Provost Biddy Martin leaves Cornell to assume the chancellorship position at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Cornell has begun to search for her replacement. In the meantime, President David Skorton has appointed David Harris, deputy provost and vice-provost for social sciences, as interim provost until a replacement for Martin is found. The Sun spoke to Harris about his appointment, his plan not to introduce new initiatives and what it will take to fill Martinâ??s shoes.
Outgoing University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor John D. Wiley has a new job.
He has been named the new interim director of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, which focuses on stem-cell and other technology.
He will also become a professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis and at the Robert M. LaFollette School of Public Affairs.
What began as a 231-word blog post criticizing outgoing provost Biddy Martin has escalated into war – well, at least a press release war in the Wisconsin legislature. After The Capital Times reported that an aide to Rep. Steve Nass circulated the blog post among Republicans, the press release war commenced, leading to another article by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and then an article and an editorial from The Sun. While the author of the blog post, Travis Kavulla, has taken the rhetoric down a notch in his response to the whole fiasco, he raises an interesting issue concerning the difference between a public university like The University of Wisconsin – Madison and a private university like Cornell University.
MADISON– Who would not want to be a fly on the wall during this weekâ??s meeting between flame-throwing University of Wisconsin System critic Rep. Steve Nass and Biddy Martin, the new chancellor at UW-Madison?
Before Martin had a chance to rearrange her office furniture, Nass was defending his background checks on her. Madison Democratic Reps. Spencer Black and Terese Berceau criticized Nass for distributing a National Review Online article about Martin to his GOP colleagues.
Plans have quickly fallen into place to find the Universityâ??s next chief academic officer. Less than three weeks after Provost Biddy Martinâ??s announcement that she will leave Cornell to become the next chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, President David Skorton named Deputy Provost David Harris to temporarily fill her position. Harris will serve as interim provost until Martinâ??s successor is chosen, according to the University.
As an administrator, former Provost Biddy Martin was devoted to improving the lives of students, faculty and staff. As President David Skortonâ??s first deputy officer, she pioneered initiatives to increase financial aid, appoint new deans and increase communication and cohesion across our large and disparate University. Itâ??s because of her stellar academic and administrative record at Cornell that weâ??re disappointed to learn of the controversy surrounding her appointment as the new chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Two weeks ago, a blog post on the National Review Online criticized Martin as a â??self-indulged, theory-laden, post-modern scholar.â? And after Wisconsin State Rep. Steve Nass circulated a link to the blog within the State House, state representatives have made public a debate over Martinâ??s administrative qualifications.
A new president comes to the job with enthusiasm and optimism. The board that hired the president, as well as the faculty and staff members who anticipate the new leader’s arrival, share those sentiments. Some people hope he or she will do as well as the previous president; more often, they hope the new president will do everything that the predecessor did well and improve on what that person did not do well. An impossible assignment? No, but a difficult one.
Author: Harry L. Peterson, president emeritus of Western State College of Colorado, also served as a senior administrator at the Universities of Idaho and Wisconsin. This article is adapted from his book Leading a Small College or University: A Conversation That Never Ends, to be published this month by Atwood Publishing.
While many Cornell students, faculty and staff have offered both praise for Provost Biddy Martin as she prepares to assume the position of University of Wisconsin-Madison chancellor in September and lamentation in the wake of her absence at Cornell, the chancellor-elect has become the brunt of harsh criticism amidst a highly publicized battle between members of Wisconsinâ??s state legislature.
On May 30, the National Review Online ran a blog post questioning if Martin â?? who the author described as an â??obscure, self-indulged, theory-laden, post-modern scholarâ? â?? has what it takes to be chancellor of UW-Madison. Soon after the post was published, Rep. Steven Nass (R-Whitewater) circulated it among senate and assembly Republicans, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Here we go again, with the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents demonstrating its arrogance and contempt for the taxpayers who foot the bills.
The board approved whopping raises for top UW officials. The new UW-Madison chancellor, Biddy Martin, was hired with a salary of $437,000 a year, more than $100,000 higher than her predecessor John Wiley was paid. President Kevin Reilly was granted a raise of nearly $80,000, moving from $342,000 a year to $421,500 annually by next June.
Biddy Martin hadn’t finished signing her contract to be the next chancellor of UW-Madison before inflammatory e-mails about her began flying around the state Capitol.
“An obscure, self-indulged, theory-laden, post-modern scholar, ” read the National Review Online commentary circulated by an aide to Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, chairman of the Assembly Colleges and Universities Committee.
The message came on the heels of a press release Nass issued the day Martin was named, saying he was “cautiously optimistic ” about her appointment but asserting the people of Wisconsin “don ‘t want a university promoting the liberal indoctrination of young minds at the altar of political correctness. “
Everyone is talking about Biddy Martin, the next UW-Madison chancellor. After seven years of the gray chancellor, David Ward, and another seven of the combative John Wiley, the word on most Badgersâ?? lips is â??change.â? The hope is that Biddy Martin will be the agent of that change, and not a moment too soon, since Bucky is in big trouble.
MILWAUKEE — The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents drew criticism Friday for voting in private the day before to award President Kevin Reilly a $73,000 raise.
The regents approved the 21 percent raise in a closed-door meeting at UW-Milwaukee. The board also agreed to hire Biddy Martin as the next UW-Madison chancellor with a salary of $437,000. Neither action was approved in open session.
UW System spokesman David Giroux said the moves did not violate the state open meetings law, but advocates for open government said the law was uncertain on that point.
MILWAUKEE — On the same day the University of Wisconsin System’s Board of Regents approved a 5.5 percent tuition increase for most students, Carolyn “Biddy” Martin became the highest-paid chancellor in UW-Madison history and System President Kevin Reilly received a raise of more than $70,000.
Martin, the provost at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., was unanimously approved by the Regents as next chancellor of UW-Madison here on Thursday.
For the first time in University of Wisconsin System history, the UW-Madison chancellor will earn more than the System president.
Cornell University Provost Biddy Martin, 57, was unanimously approved Thursday as the next leader of Wisconsin’s flagship university by the UW Board of Regents. She will earn a salary of $437,000.
Cornell University Provost Carolyn “Biddy” Martin will take a pay cut when she takes the helm of the state’s flagship public university this fall, but her salary sets a couple of precedents: She will receive more than the University of Wisconsin System president, and she will get a six-figure chunk of her pay from private sources.
MILWAUKEE â?? The Board of Regents gave a $73,000 raise to University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly on Thursday, rewarding him for what the board’s president called an outstanding performance.
In a closed-door meeting at UW-Milwaukee, the regents agreed to increase Reilly’s pay 21 percent, from $342,000 to $414,600, on July 1. His salary will go up to $421,500 on June 1, 2009, the board decided.
A week after her recommendation for the position, Carolyn “Biddy” Martin has been formally approved as next chancellor of UW-Madison. The UW System Board of Regents approved Martin during its meeting in Milwaukee Thursday. The 57 year-old Martin, currently provost of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., was recommended for the Madison post by UW System President Kevin Reilly and a Board of Regents search committee.
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (AP) — The Board of Regents gave a $73,000 raise to University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly on Thursday, rewarding him for what its president called an outstanding performance.
In a closed-door meeting at UW-Milwaukee, the regents agreed to increase Reilly’s pay to nearly $414,600 on July 1 from its current $342,000, a 21 percent increase. The board said his salary would increase to $421,500 on June 1, 2009.
The regents also approved Cornell University Provost Biddy Martin as the next UW-Madison chancellor and gave her an annual salary of $437,000. That’s about $110,000 more than outgoing Chancellor John Wiley earns and marks the first time in the 37-year history of the system that a chancellor will make more than its president.
The raises are sure to draw criticism at a time when the state is facing a budget shortfall and a slowing economy. UW System officials said the raises brought the salaries of Martin and Reilly to the average of their peers nationwide and were needed to attract and retain top leaders.
MILWAUKEE — Carolyn “Biddy” Martin was formally approved as next chancellor of UW-Madison at a Board of Regents meeting here on Thursday.
Martin, the current provost of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., was recommended as the next leader of Wisconsin’s flagship university by UW System President Kevin Reilly and a Board of Regents search committee, led by chair David Walsh, on May 29.
On Thursday, the full board unanimously approved Martin during a closed session.
Although Martin will take a cut in base salary to come to Madison, she will be the first UW-Madison chancellor to make more money than the leader of the UW System as a whole — in this case, President Kevin Reilly.
More than a few people wondered why a separate news story was necessary to let the world know the University of Wisconsin-Madison will be the largest institution of higher learning led by an openly gay chancellor, Carolyn “Biddy” Martin.
Fair question. Martin’s private life should have no bearing on whether she is the most qualified to succeed John Wiley at the helm of Wisconsin’s largest university â?? and clearly, it did not enter into the equation when the search committee made its decision.
“What she is, in our eyes, is an exceptionally qualified academic leader. Period,” UW System spokesman David Giroux told The Associated Press. “And she was brought here so she can apply that considerable experience to our flagship campus and move us forward in areas of education and research.”
Turning down the possibility to become chancellor at a major public university may sound strange, but to Vice President for Research Tim Mulcahy it made perfect sense.
Mulcahy said his decision to withdraw his bid to become the University of Wisconsin Madison chancellor came down to his love for the position he’s held at the University since 2005 and his desire to spend time with his family.
Is the state Legislature’s most vocal critic of the University of Wisconsin gearing up to give the new UW-Madison chancellor a hard time?
An aide to Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, circulated a Web link Monday to a National Review Online story slamming Carolyn “Biddy” Martin, the provost at Cornell University, who is expected to be confirmed this week by the Board of Regents.
“Can you be an obscure, self-indulged, theory-laden, post-modern scholar and manage to be an effective university president?” writes Travis Kavulla, a former associate editor of the National Review.
The great challenge facing the great state University of Wisconsin is to forge a 21st century variation on the Wisconsin Idea — the relationship between the UW and the state that enriched both during much of the 20th century.
That the linkage has been weakened is beyond debate.
While there remain some institutions within the university that are engaged with the state and its citizens — such as the Center on Wisconsin Strategies on the UW-Madison campus — the vital connection that once existed has frayed.
There is plenty of blame to go around.
UW-Madison ‘s new chancellor, Caroline “Biddy ” Martin, is upbeat and thinking big about the many challenges she ‘ll face running a world-class research and teaching institution.
Martin also brings a strong resume and record of achievement to the job.
Her positive energy, combined with her experience making tough decisions at Cornell University, make her a promising choice to lead UW-Madison.
Carolyn A. (Biddy) Martin is about to become the nationâ??s most prominent openly gay college chief. The Cornell University provost is the choice to be the University of Wisconsin at Madisonâ??s next chancellor, university officials announced on Wednesday.
She hasn’t even been confirmed for the position yet, but the next possible Chancellor at the UW-Madison is already attracting controversy.
State Senator Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) is raising concerns about Biddy Martin’s support for bringing domestic partner benefits to UW faculty and staff.
Under John Wiley, the University of Wisconsin-Madison burnished its reputation as one of America’s leading research institutions and built a broader and deeper pool of resources. The university is an international leader in stem cell research, pre-eminent in biosciences and is poised to be a leader in bioenergy research. Among his major accomplishments, Wiley oversaw planning for the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, a new hub of interdisciplinary learning.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is set to become the biggest university to have an openly gay leader, according to gay rights advocates who are hailing the appointment as a milestone.
Carolyn â??Biddyâ? Martin was recommended to be the next chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Brian Mattmiller, a spokesman for University Wisconsin-Madison, said Wednesday.
MADISON, Wis. — A gay rights group said that Biddy Martin would be the first openly gay person to lead a university as large as the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Candace Gingrich, of the Human Rights Campaign, said that about eight gay people have become university presidents and chancellors in recent years, but mostly at small schools.
She said that the nomination of Martin to lead UW-Madison is a milestone and reflects the increasing number of openly gay professors and administrators in higher education.
Cornell University Provost Carolyn Martin has accepted the job as the next University of Wisconsin-Madison chancellor.
When we sat down with Dr. Martin a few weeks ago, she told us she’s always loved Madison and the UW and was honored when she was asked to apply.
Cornell University Provost Biddy Martin is poised to become the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s new chancellor.
Education committee leaders in both houses of the state Legislature said they hoped the choice of Carolyn Martin to lead UW-Madison would help solve funding problems for the university in tight financial times.
Carolyn “Biddy” Martin isn’t unfamiliar with the numerous challenges she’ll face when she becomes the next chancellor at UW-Madison.
In fact, the current provost of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., is keenly aware that some at UW-Madison are concerned about a range of issues that potentially threaten the university’s ranking as one of the premier public institutions of higher education in America.
But instead of focusing her energy on the many concerns — such as relatively low faculty pay, the sometimes contentious relationship between the university and state Legislature, and the uphill battle to create a more diverse campus — Martin seems determined to focus on the positives.
Back in 1994, Carolyn “Biddy” Martin was part of a Cornell University committee that was in charge of drafting a policy to make health insurance and other benefits available to same-sex partners.
At the time, Cornell was joining a growing number of universities and businesses that were recognizing homosexual couples.
Flash-forward 14 years, and Martin now finds herself days away from being appointed the next chancellor at UW-Madison — the only school in the Big Ten that does not offer domestic partner benefits.
The next chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison will be Carolyn A. (Biddy) Martin, university officials announced today.
Ms. Martin, 57, provost at Cornell University since 2000, earned her doctorate in German literature at Madison in 1985. She will succeed John D. Wiley in September, pending her approval by the universityâ??s Board of Regents this month.
The University of Wisconsin at Madisonâ??s next chancellor will be Biddy Martin, provost of Cornell University. Martin taught at Cornell before becoming an administrator, but also has roots in Madison, where she earned her Ph.D. in German literature in 1985.
A search committee is recommending that Cornell University Provost Dr. Carolyn “Biddy” Martin begin leading the UW-Madison this September, when current Chancellor John Wiley steps down after seven years in the position. Martin says she’s eager to get started working with the faculty, students, and the community surrounding the UW.
Martin has served as the chief academic and operating officer at Cornell since 2000. She received her doctorate in German Literature at the UW-Madison in 1985. If confirmed, Martin would be the first outside candidate to head the university in nearly 20 years, a fact she says should give her a fresh perspective on the problems and challenges facing the university.
Biddy Martin knows that other universities raid promising UW-Madison faculty.
She understands the climate of reduced state aid and the ever-growing need for private fundraising.
She also knows the Legislature hasn’t always been friendly to the university.
Yet, Martin maintains a sunny attitude about the vast institution she is likely inheriting â?? not flinching at the signs that its future course will surely be bumpy at times.
The University of Wisconsin System said Wednesday that the Cornell University provost had accepted an offer to become UW-Madison’s next chancellor.
Cornell University provost Carolyn â??Biddyâ? Martin was recommended today as the next chancellor at the University of Wisconsin.
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A Board of Regents committee and UW System president Kevin Reilly recommended Martin, a professor of German studies and womenâ??s studies, for the job out of three finalists. The regents are expected to confirm her appointment next week.
A search committee is recommending that Cornell University Provost Dr. Carolyn “Biddy” Martin begin leading the UW-Madison this September, when current Chancellor John Wiley steps down after seven years in the position. Martin says she’s eager to get started working with the faculty, students, and the community surrounding the UW.
The next chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison will be Carolyn A. (Biddy) Martin, university officials announced today.
Ms. Martin, 57, provost at Cornell University since 2000, earned her doctorate in German literature at Madison in 1985. She will succeed John D. Wiley in September, pending her approval by the universityâ??s Board of Regents this month.
The top pick to lead Wisconsin’s public flagship university plans to make higher faculty compensation one of her first priorities so the school can better compete for quality instructors and researchers.
University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly on Wednesday recommended Cornell University Provost Carolyn “Biddy” Martin as the next chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, bringing the Virginia native back to her doctoral alma mater and ending a monthslong search to replace Chancellor John D. Wiley.
Governor Doyle has issued a statement regarding the recommendation of Biddy Martin to the UW-Madison chancellor position:
â??Through wise and dedicated leadership, the University of Wisconsin has grown to become our countryâ??s largest public research institution, and I welcome Dr. Martin to a role that is so vital to our state. I am confident that she will use her expertise to carry UW-Madison, her alma mater, forward.â?
The list of potential candidates to become UW-Madison’s next chancellor is down to three.
Tim Mulcahy, who spent 20 years in Madison before leaving to become vice president for research at the University of Minnesota in February of 2005, has withdrawn his name from consideration.
