The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents voted Thursday to revise how the UW System will hire its top positions.
Regent Tony Evers was the only one to vote against the policy change.
Under the change, the hiring process will be streamlined and the applicant pool will be broadened. Instead of a search committee consisting of 17 members, it will include 10 members with five of them being regents.
Vice President Drew Petersen said in a statement the changes being made will make the UW system more “efficient and effective” when it comes to attracting new university leaders.
“The average amount of time to hire a new chancellor from the announcement of their resignation or retirement to naming a replacement is about nine months,” Peterson said. “That is simply too long as we want our campuses to continue to run smoothly during this type of transition.”
The policy will also open up the application pool by not requiring candidates to have a background in academics. Candidates will also no longer be required to have masters or doctorate degrees.
Regent President John Behling said in a statement these changes will “modernize” the hiring process and attract more nontraditional candidates.
“We are leading the way in enacting meaningful and impactful reforms to reflect the changing dynamics of higher education, including attracting more non-traditional candidates to executive leadership positions,” Behling said.
In addition to the vote, UW System President Ray Cross gave the first annual report on 2020FWD, a framework designed to connect the UW System to the state of Wisconsin.
The Board of Regents will reconvene Friday to vote on a resolution that would allow chancellors to expel students who violate speakers’ or other students’ freedom of expression three times.
