News

Chancellor may exit UW System

UW Colleges, Extension head finalist for Md. school; UWSP still looking for leader

The chancellor of the University of Wisconsin Colleges and Extensions has been named a finalist for the position of president at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Md., which could raise some concern about finding a replacement if he were to be offered the position and accept. The final stages of the search for president closely mirror that of UW-Stevens Point current search.

According to a statement from Morgan State University, UW-Stevens Point Chancellor David Wilson has 31 years in higher education experience and was chosen from 106 applicants. Also chosen as finalists were Carolyn Meyers, president of Norfolk University, and Calvin Jamison, vice president of Business Affairs at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Wilson has not yet been chosen as president, and Morgan State University will make its final decision between the three candidates Dec. 15, according to the statement.

If Wilson is chosen, a new chancellor for UW Colleges and Extensions will have to be selected, according to David Giroux, spokesperson for the UW System. This process would be almost identical to the one underway at UW-Stevens Point as they begin to search for a new chancellor to replace former Chancellor Linda Bunnel, who stepped down from her position last year following scrutiny from a hit-and-run accident in Madison and her questionable use of university funds.

The process is the same for the selection of all chancellors in the UW System, Giroux said, and it was the same for the selection of UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin.

With interim Chancellor Mark Nook in place at UW-Stevens Point until a new chancellor has been named, a search and screen committee has already met once to begin the search for a new chancellor.

The committee at Stevens Point is comprised of faculty members and representation from academic staff, students and community members, according to a release by the UW System.

The search and screen committee is based around the campus it represents, in this case Stevens Point. However, while the committee chooses the finalists, the decision must pass through UW System President Kevin Reilly and the Board of Regents, according to Giroux.

“We would welcome all candidates,” said Meghan Buckley, professor at UW-Stevens Point and faculty member on the committee, regarding the possibility of selecting an international candidate from the pool of applicants.

According to Randy Olson, a professor at Stevens Point and fellow faculty member on the committee, while the possibility for an international candidate exists, no names have been decided upon or even considered.

“All we’re doing is gathering information, ” Buckley said.

The committee’s first meeting was Oct. 28, according to a statement from the UW System, where Reilly assigned the committee its mission and roles, reviewed procedures, and began the national search.

While Reilly has mentioned the possibility of an international candidate as chancellor, a number of members on the committee are adamant that at this stage in the committee it remains merely a possibility.