The start of the new school year has brought big changes to UW-Milwaukee with the appointment of a new interim chancellor.

Michael Lovell, former Dean of the UW-Milwaukee’s College of Engineering and Applied Science since 2008, was appointed to be the interim chancellor on Friday, according to a statement from UW-Milwaukee.

Both leaders of the UW-System Board of Regents and members of the UW-Milwaukee campus asked Lovell to fill this position, according to Board of Regents President Chuck Pruitt.

Pruitt described Lovell as being the best choice for this position based on his previous work at UW-Milwaukee and great academic background.

“Michael Lovell will bring his own ideas and leadership style to this position, as well as continue the momentum and progress of the previous chancellor,” Pruitt said.

Pruitt also said Lovell will work with various groups on campus and continue work on numerous projects at UW-Milwaukee.

In a statement from UW-Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin System President Kevin P. Reilly said Lovell has a broad perspective on higher education and a clear vision for all of UW-Milwaukee.

“He has an impressive academic record of his own, and he’s recruited other talented faculty members of UW-Milwaukee at a time when the institution is [trying] to ramp-up its research capacity,” Reilly said.

UW-Milwaukee spokesperson Tom Luljak declined comment.

Lovell will replace current Chancellor Carlos Santiago who was named UW-Milwaukee’s seventh chancellor in 2004, according to UW-Milwaukee’s website.

Santiago will be leaving Oct. 1 to become the new chief executive officer of the Hispanic College Fund, a nonprofit organization based out of Washington D.C., according to UW-Milwaukee’s website.

According to the statement from UW-Milwaukee, Lovell will be responsible for important academic initiatives and major building projects.

He will also serve as UW-Milwaukee’s chief advocate during the upcoming state-budget project as well as continue to provide daily leadership for the campus’s 30,000 student population, the statement said.

President Reilly is now working with the Board of Regents to find a permanent replacement for Santiago, UW System spokesperson David Giroux said.

The national search for the new chancellor will be conducted by a new search committee composed of students, faculty and staff at UW-Milwaukee, Giroux said.

Giroux added this new process should take nine to ten months, resulting in a new chancellor appointment by the spring semester.

The Regents used their new hire protocols for hiring interim appointments, including Lovell, which were recently changed to be more in-depth and similar to the search for the permanent chancellor, Giroux said.

Over the summer the Regents hired were criticized for hiring Michael Morgan to the position of UW System interim senior vice president for administration and fiscal affairs.

State Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said the Regents violated their hiring policies by not creating a search committee to fill the position.

In their August meeting, the Regents changed the hiring policy to be more specific for hiring interim positions.