UW’s search for vice chancellors underway, student leaders help screen candidates

Every single student on campus can provide input after hearing public presentations of finalists

by Xiani Zhong

February 22, 2016

Though they might not know it, University of Wisconsin students have some say on who will be their administrative officials.

As the search continues to fill two vice chancellor positions, university officials gathered input from a search and screen committee with shared governance group members on campus.

Three finalists for the vice chancellor for university relations position are giving presentations to the public in February where all students are welcomed to listen and provide feedback. Meanwhile, UW Chancellor Rebecca Blank is also seeking a new vice chancellor for finance and administration to take the place of Darrell Bazzell, who is leaving for University of Texas-Austin in March.

Student voice

John Lucas, UW spokesperson, said selected students, faculty and staff can provide input and represent the perspectives of their different groups when the university is searching for leadership or senior roles like vice chancellors and academic deans.

The shared governance group asks for nominations for people to sit on a search and screen committee, Lucas said, where committee members review applicants’ credentials to narrow the pool down to three finalists.

“The committee sort of works together as a team to review the applicants,” Lucas said. “They have discussions and usually move forward to a consensus about the best candidate for a role, and students are providing input to the chancellor based on the performance of the finalists.”

The search and screen committee includes at least one student, who usually comes from Associate Students of Madison, he said.

Laning said they select the student nominees strategically to make sure they understand the responsibilities of the specific candidates they will be screening. Laning said they solicit students who work in the office of university officials to make sure they know what’s going on because they will be involved in the reviewing process from start to finish.

“Getting students to have the knowledge of what the position does and why it’s necessary to have a student-centered candidate is really important,” Laning said.

Finalists

Charles Hoslet, the current interim vice chancellor for university relations, will be one of the finalists competing for the permanent position.

Hoslet served as the associate vice chancellor for government and corporate affairs for the last several years, where he was the deputy under the former vice chancellor. His duties as an interim now, he said, are what a full-time vice chancellor would do.

“The vice chancellor for university relations oversees and is in charge of communication, marketing, government relations, corporate relations, community relations — things like that,” Hoslet said. “Essentially the external relation functions of the university.”

The role of vice chancellor for finance and administration, oversees the finance and operational aspect of the university, which means everything from the university budget and housing to facilities, parking and recreational sports, Hoslet said.

Blank has recently appointed an interim vice chancellor, Michael Lehman, to fill in Bazzell’s shoes temporarily before the role is permanently filled.

UW names interim Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration

Lehman is on the board of the Nicholas Center for Corporate Finance and Investment Banking in the Wisconsin School of Business, and served as the former chair of the Dean’s Advisory Board as well as Board of Visitors for the Department of Computer Sciences.

Since Lehman is from outside the university and not very likely to apply for the permanent position, Laning said there will likely be many different candidates applying. But she said it doesn’t mean the university will only select internal candidates.

“Sometimes there is an internal candidate, but there isn’t really any biases towards hiring an internal candidate versus an external candidate,” Laning said. “It’s definitely based off of the expertise of the individual and how people think that they’ll do in the position.”

Selection process

The selection process for both vice chancellor positions is the same, Laning said. Shared governance selects a search and screen committee to review candidates’ résumé and cover letter, and decide on three finalists.

Lucas said he is unsure whether Lehman will even apply for the permanent position.

“He’s had a really lustrous career on the private sector, so I really have no idea if he would be interested in a role in the university,” Lucas said.

The final decision maker, Laning said, is a higher level administrator who oversees the position to be filled, and since the VCFA is directly under the chancellor, Blank will have the final say on who’s selected.

Until then, Lucas said students have other opportunities to provide input on the finalists. Anyone who comes to the public presentations of finalists can provide feedback on a survey posted on the Provost’s website, Lucas said.

“We try to advertise as widely as possible the time that you can go and submit feedback for these candidates, ask some questions and hear them speak about why they want the position,” Laning said. “So that’s a point where every single student on campus could attend and have their voice be heard.”