University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly announced Friday the restructuring of four vice president positions into two in order to decrease costs and boost efficiency.

UW-Eau Claire Chancellor Donald Mash was appointed Friday as Executive Senior Vice President of the UW System.

As executive senior vice president, Mash will assume responsibilities for two positions. The senior vice president for administration position, currently held by David Olien, will be eliminated March 1 when Olien retires. The position of vice president for university relations was eliminated Feb. 1.

The creation of the new position comes after several major cuts and consolidations were applied to the UW System in an effort to save money.

The streamlining of the president’s administration will allow Reilly to be more active around both Madison and the state.

“The president is going to do what he can to get out of the office to really argue for the university’s budget, positions and vitality,” UW spokesperson Doug Bradley said.

The new executive senior vice president position will take over all other day-to-day operations, but the UW System’s 15 UW chancellors will continue to report to Reilly.

Mash, 62, has more than 40 years of experience in higher education. He will accept the two-year position with a $230,000 salary.

“I hope to be able to complement President Reilly’s statewide vision and also pursue a vision we both share of a more central role for the UW System,” Mash said.

Despite the large responsibility of taking over two positions, Mash said he is not daunted by the task.

“Reilly asked me to fill the position because he feels I can make a difference … and I welcome the challenge,” Mash said.

Mash’s lengthy career began at the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford as an instructor of geography. He later assumed the dean of students position at Ohio Dominican University-Columbus.

Mash then spent 13 years at George Mason University as vice president, 10 years at Wayne State College as president and seven years at UW-Eau Claire. His presence within the UW System has resulted in fund-raising campaigns for UW-Eau Claire.

Many UW System officials are pleased with the decision to appoint Mash to the new position.

“We’re lucky to have somebody who has [Mash’s] skills and experience in our system,” Bradley said. “We want to continue to have people of his caliber.”

Mash said he believes the most important topics within the UW System are the quality of education provided to students and students’ access to higher education.

“Public higher education is at a crossroads in the country,” Mash said.

Mash also said he hopes to challenge increasing tuition rates within the state, which have plagued students for several years.

Until recently, Wisconsin has suppressed tuition increases, Mash said.

“There was no plan in place to backstop those increases with financial aid for students who need it the most,” Mash said. “That still needs to be addressed.”