Choosing a chancellor:
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Members of the Wisconsin Alumni Association—France: Consider the global attitude of the chancellor

April 25, 2008

Dear Members of the Search Committee,

As members of the Wisconsin Alumni Association—France, we are writing to urge you to consider the global attitude of the chancellor you will be choosing. As expatriates and ex-Badgers, we feel strongly that a truly global education has been, remains, and will be an increasingly important priority for the University of Wisconsin.

A global university educates competent world citizens, wherever they may reside, and contributes to solving critical international issues while serving state and local communities.

Chancellor Wiley participated in the Worldwide Universities Network, which was devoted to deepening the engagement of global education and seeking examples of new models of international collaboration. We very much hope that new chancellor will continue this important engagement.

UW alumni are crucial in assisting the university to maintain involvement in local issues but also in initiatives such as the international industrial internship program with IBM and Rolls Royce and the French Business program. International programs in the field of development are also in place with support from the World Bank and a global public health initiative.

We write to urge you to consider the global attitude of the chancellor you will be choosing and to seriously take into consideration the importance of educational and scientific cooperation on an international level in maintaining — and increasing — the University of Wisconsin’s excellence. We thank you for selecting a future chancellor with both a high level of global scholarship interest and demonstrated international awareness and experience.

Janine Brimbal, Carrie Estill, Constance Genet Konold, Jenny Pilling and Kyle Schneider
Steering Committee
Representing Wisconsin Alumni Association - French Chapter

Sara L. Hinkel, Student Academic Affairs, College of Letters and Science: Professional integrity

March 26, 2008

The chancellor must embody the highest standards of professional integrity, conduct and productivity for UW-Madison. The university invests a tremendous amount of taxpayer dollars on personnel, and people equals productivity on this campus.  Intentionally or not, a chancellor leads very often by example.

Both employees and taxpayers need to know (and say) that  the chancellor is an effective steward of taxpayer resources because she or he has already shown themselves to be the exemplar of outstanding fiscal, management and supervisory practice.

This type of leadership excellence does not happen by osmosis after someone has been appointed into a leadership role long enough — it takes a commitment to developing authentic leadership and willingness to stake one's own reputation on both the successes and the failures of an entire organization.

A leader of integrity will expect the same of all facets of campus leadership and make it a priority to seek appropriate remedies when falling short of those expectations.   As a result, no one should be too "comfortable" with our next chancellor.   We literally cannot afford to expect anything less when evaluating candidates.

David Kaplan, professor, Department of Educational Psychology: Academic values are key

March 15, 2008

Thank you for the opportunity to provide input regarding the leadership priorities of the next chancellor of UW-Madison.

In my view, the next chancellor must be a prominent scholar who has made key contributions to his/her field of study and who embodies the core academic value of open and unfettered inquiry.

The next chancellor must embody the idea expressed on the plaque at Bascom Hall: “Whatever may be the limitations which trammel inquiry elsewhere, we believe that the great State University of Wisconsin shall ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth may be found.”

In turn, it is crucial that the next chancellor be able to effectively communicate to all key constituents the importance of unfettered inquiry as the key underlying engine that has made UW-Madison the top public research university in the country, and to articulate how this enviable status benefits Wisconsin, the nation, and the world. 

Robert F. Hendricks, assistant director for planning, emeritus: Maintaining and developing the future campus

Feb. 26, 2008

It is important for the next campus leader to follow the lead and examples set by Chancellor Wiley in dealing with the physical renovation and development of the UW-Madison campus. The upgrading and replacement of campus facilities must undergo continuous planning, followed by the development of implementation strategies to meet its current and future needs.

To maintain its role as a major educational and research institution, the campus leadership must continue to recognize the need to provide the necessary support to upgrade buildings, utilities and other components of the campus infrastructure as they age and wear out. Where necessary, existing buildings may need to be demolished and replaced, or new sites must be found for locating totally new buildings as the needs for campus educators and researchers change.

The UW-Madison campus has a reputation of being one of the most beautiful campuses in the country. It is important that the beauty of the campus be retained and enhanced as the balancing act of improving/replacing elements of the campus infrastructure is played out. Maintaining, enhancing and creating elements of campus beauty should be an important priority for the next chancellor.

Melba Jesudason, senior academic librarian, emerita: An accessible leader

Feb. 21, 2008

I was a graduate student at UW-Madison from 1965-1969 and was employed by the General Library System on campus from 1979-2000. I have been on many committees while employed and was given Norman Bassett Award in 1994 for reaching out to diverse students through library skills instruction programs

One important aspect of leadership is being accessible and willing to listen to ideas offered by the employees irrespective of the hierarchy.I have had positive experiences with Chancellors Donna Shalala and John Wiley. One need not be hesitant to share ideas with them through email and they took the time and trouble to respond to you immediately and helped to implement  the idea. promptly. If your idea is not applicable due to certain negative reaction expected from the public, they would explain it politely in their response..

I hope that you will consider accessibility to the UW-Madison employees, parents, public,etc. as one of the  important characteristics. Thanks for giving me an opportunity to share my opinion with you based on my experience.

Kristopher Imbrigotta, department of German: Advocate for graduate students

Feb. 15, 2008

The next UW-Madison chancellor must be a better advocate for graduate students/ graduate funding on this campus! It is crucial that he/she takes an active role in this endeavor as it has an effect on all other aspects of this university. I would encourage the search committee to keep this in mind for its decision on a new chancellor.

Larry Meiller, professor emeritus, life sciences communication: Commitment to international activities

Feb. 26, 2008

I hope that the next chancellor has a strong commitment to international activities. We need to strongly encourage our students to participate in student exchange/study abroad programs. We also need to encourage our faculty to develop relationships with faculty members in other countries and be involved in international teaching and research. The boundaries of the campus should in many ways be the boundaries of the world.

Marilyn McDole, financial specialist, Department of Medicine: Support staff needed for research excellence

March 21, 2008

Thank you for the opportunity to share leadership views for campus. I bring to the discussion more than 12 years of UW–Madison experience in various administrative positions and in various academic units on campus. It is extremely important that the next chancellor work diligently with the state Legislature and the appropriate state agencies to gain more full-time equivalent positions (FTEs) to support the excellent academic research on campus. It is also important that the support staff be adequately paid, or there will be limited staff to support the faculty.

We need a leader who can work well with the state Legislature and understands the importance of building a strong relationship with lawmakers, without compromising the mission of the university—a fine line to walk, to be certain, but I believe this is critical.

Masarah Van Eyck, communications director, Division of International Studies: Spread UW–Madison’s influence to all corners of the globe

March 21, 2008

In a recent announcement, Marsha Mailick Seltzer pledged that UW–Madison’s chancellor search-and-screen committee will request the appointment of an individual who can “provide leadership through vision and inspiration” .

Today, our chancellor’s vision for UW–Madison must extend not just to the boundaries of the state, but to all corners of the globe. Internationalizing education and research in every discipline—from engineering to humanities, health care to the arts—is the single most significant way our leader can nurture the future of our students, our faculty, and the state at large.

Now more than ever, Wisconsin residents are encountering the changes wrought by increasingly interdependent markets, corporate outsourcing, and new labor demographics. But as Chicago Tribune international news writer Richard Longworth warns: “The Midwest is dealing with a 21st-century problem with long-outdated tools.”

If it is to remain competitive on a national and international scale, Wisconsin must retain and attract the global talent necessary for its businesses to thrive in an increasingly international sphere. And it must foster the kinds of transnational partnerships that will distinguish Wisconsin as a thriving global business community.

As one of the state’s greatest resources in international scholarship and contacts, UW–Madison is poised to help Wisconsin residents embrace their role as global citizens, whether by developing global talent, serving as a resource on such global issues as health and sustainability, or developing international partnerships that have a local impact.

Thanks to UW–Madison, Wisconsin residents have enjoyed access to some of the world’s renowned health care providers and researchers. More than 1,600 students study abroad in one of our more than 180 programs in 51 countries around the world. They bring back to their communities a first-hand experience of different cultures and an awareness of global interconnections. Moreover, in addition to providing the state with countless international contacts and allies, the thousands of international students who enroll at UW–Madison contribute millions of dollars to Wisconsin’s economy annually. They also bring a cultural diversity to our state befitting of global citizens.

UW–Madison has been fortunate to have leaders who recognized the value of its international reach. Chancellor David Ward advanced a campus-wide effort to ‘accelerate internationalization.’ And under Chancellor Wiley, the 2009 reaccreditation committee allocated two of its six goals to addressing international needs: ensuring that each UW–Madison student graduate with a competitive degree of global competence and supporting international scholarship that allows UW–Madison to help shape global affairs.

To succeed, the next chancellor of UW–Madison must possess both a panoramic vision of the university as a whole, and a global perspective of UW–Madison’s role in the state and the world.