MILWAUKEE-The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents elected new leaders on Friday (June 7), selecting Guy A. Gottschalk of Wisconsin Rapids as president and Toby E. Marcovich of Superior as vice president.
Gottschalk, chair of the Regents’ Business and Finance Committee and member of the Regents’ Executive Committee, succeeds Jay L. Smith as president of the board. Gottschalk began his seven-year term as a UW regent in 1998.
“This is a great honor and a heavy mantle of responsibility,” Gottschalk told his fellow regents during the board’s June meeting at UW-Milwaukee. “I pledge to you my very best efforts as the board charts the course to lead this great university forward.”
As chair of the Business and Finance Committee, Gottschalk has helped direct the effort to build the UW System’s resource base. He is president of Gottschalk Cranberry, Inc., and Biron Cranberry Co.
He is a UW System alumnus, having earned a bachelor’s degree in horticulture from UW-Madison. Gottschalk also serves on the University of Wisconsin Foundation board of directors and the UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences board of visitors.
Gottschalk was elected president on a unanimous voice vote after Regent Gerard A. Randall, Jr., of Milwaukee withdrew his nomination.
Marcovich, chair of the Regents’ Personnel Review Committee, succeeds Randall as Regent vice president. Marcovich begin his service as a UW regent in 1997 and previously served as chair of the Regents’ Business and Finance Committee.
A partner in the Marcovich, Chochrane & Milliken law firm in Superior, Marcovich is a current member of the Lawyer Pilots Bar Association and the American Academy of Trial Lawyers. A UW System alumnus, Marcovich earned his bachelor’s degree in economics and law degree from UW-Madison.
Marcovich defeated Regent Jose A. Olivieri of Milwaukee for vice president by a 9-7 vote. Gottschalk and Marcovich were elected to one-year terms as president and vice-president.
The board on Friday also unanimously re-elected several other board officers, including Board Secretary Judith A. Temby, Assistant Board Secretary Cheryle Goplin, Trust Officer Deborah Durcan and Assistant Trust Officers Patricia Brady and Douglas Hoerr.