MADISON – University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross today appointed a 21-member Search and Screen Committee to help identify a successor to UW-Oshkosh Chancellor Richard Wells, who announced in January that he will be retiring in August.
Cross appointed 11 UW-Oshkosh faculty members, two academic staff members, two classified staff members and two students. They will be joined by two administrators and two community representatives. Dr. Barb Rau, from UW-Oshkosh’s College of Business, Management and Human Resources, will chair the committee.
Serving on the Search and Screen Committee are:
Faculty
Barb Rau, Professor, College of Business, Management and Human Resources (chair)
Scott Beyer, Professor, College of Business, Finance and Business Law
Larry Carlin, Professor, Philosophy
Sharon Chappy, Professor, College of Nursing
Kevin Crawford, Associate Professor, Chemistry
Norlisha Crawford, Associate Professor, English
Edwin Jager, Associate Professor, Art
John Lemberger, Professor, Curriculum and Instruction
Kim Rivers, Professor, History
David Siemers, Professor, Political Science
Jennifer Szydlik, Professor, MathematicsAcademic Staff
Darryl Sims, Director of Athletics, Intercollegiate Athletics
Breck Speers, Senior Lecturer, EnglishClassified Staff
Paulette Feld, IS Network Support Technician, Polk Library
Jill Reichenberger, University Services Program Associate, RecreationStudents
Nicole Lehto, Junior, International Studies/Economics
Reginald Parson, Graduate Student, Public AdministrationAdministration
Donald Mash, Executive Senior Special Assistant, President’s Office
Petra Roter, Vice Chancellor, Student AffairsCommunity Representatives
Kathi Seifert, Co-Chair, New North Inc.
Elizabeth (Beth) Wyman, Board Member, UW-Oshkosh Foundation
Following a national search and an intensive screening process, the committee is expected to recommend no fewer than five candidates as finalists for consideration by the UW System President and a special Board of Regents committee, chaired by Regent Gerald Whitburn of Wausau. Other members of the committee include Regent Vice President Regina Millner (Madison), Regent Margaret Farrow (Pewaukee), and Regent José Vásquez (Wauwatosa).
After a series of public presentations and personal interviews, the UW System president and the Regent committee will recommend one individual to the full board, which must approve the appointment.
The campus search committee will convene for the first time at 1 p.m. Monday, March 31, at UW-Oshkosh. At that meeting, Cross will officially charge the committee with its mission, review procedures and begin the national search.
Chancellor Wells plans to officially retire on Aug. 31 as UW-Oshkosh’s 10th and third-longest-serving chancellor. In his 14-year tenure, Wells helped to demonstrate the critical leadership role that public higher education institutions can play in their community, regional and state economies. His chancellorship helped solidify UW-Oshkosh’s distinctions as a national leader in sustainability, an innovator in the transformation of general education and a collaborative catalyst in community revitalization, workforce-development and educational initiatives.
The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, with an enrollment of more than 13,900 students from across the state and beyond, is the third-largest university in Wisconsin. Supporting the institution’s more than 140-year tradition of leadership and innovation, including the transformation of general education, UW-Oshkosh’s respected faculty members have earned a host of UW System Board of Regents Teaching Excellence Awards. The University offers more than 70 baccalaureate and graduate degree programs in the colleges of Business, Education and Human Services, Letters and Science, and Nursing, which began offering the University’s first doctoral degree (Doctorate of Nursing Practice) in fall 2010. Serving as an educational and cultural anchor for the 1.2 million residents of northeastern Wisconsin, UW-Oshkosh champions the economic well-being of the New North with an annual impact of more than a half-billion dollars, directly and indirectly creating 9,000 jobs and collaborating with partners in an array of catalytic economic development initiatives. For an institutional overview, visit www.uwosh.edu/strategicplan.