UW-Madison is many things. UW-Madison is Bucky Badger. UW-Madison is Babcock ice cream. UW-Madison is the Memorial Union and State Street. UW-Madison is all of us; from the newest, excited incoming freshmen, to the seventh-year seniors who never want to leave, to all the faculty, staff and administrators that work so hard each day.
In many ways, UW-Madison can be seen as a microcosm of the rest of the world. Like any large and important institution, there are many people that work together to keep everything running smoothly.
However, there are so many people working here at UW-Madison that it can be quite difficult to keep straight who everyone is, and who does what.
\For new students coming into campus, it's often a bit of a difficult jigsaw puzzle to know how everyone fits together,"" said Martin Cadwallader, vice chancellor for research and dean of Graduate School.
The administration of UW- Madison can be seen as a family tree (a very large and complicated tree) with everyone connected somehow. It is no coincidence that many of the key players on campus all work in Bascom Hall, guarded by good ole' Abraham Lincoln.
Board of Regents
It all starts with the UW System Board of Regents. The board is appointed by the governor of Wisconsin. This 17-member board governs the whole UW System with Guy A. Gottschalk serving as the current president.
The Board of Regents does many things, including reviewing and approving university budgets, and setting admissions standards. They also appoint the chancellors and the deans of the 13 colleges in the UW System.
Chancellor
The chancellor of UW-Madison is John D. Wiley. He has been serving as chancellor since Jan. 1, 2001, but has worked on campus in various positions since 1986.
There really is no typical day in the life of Wiley.
""Every day is a little different than the one before,"" he said.
He spends a lot of time in meetings; meeting regularly with the Board of Regents, the provost and all of the deans. He also meets with the Hospital Authority Board and chairs the University Research Park. In addition, he frequently attends Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and UW Foundation meetings. He is off-campus and out of town about 25 percent of the time attending various alumni and community events.
Wiley's favorite part of his job is meeting with students.
""I try to take every opportunity to meet student groups,"" he said.
He holds about 80 events a year at the official chancellor's residence.
Chancellor Wiley often reassures incoming students who might be nervous and apprehensive that they are very good at picking students.
""We pick them because there is no doubt in the world that they will succeed here; and most likely they will,"" he said.
There are a number of various units that operate under the Office of the Chancellor, including the Campus Information and Visitor Center and University Communications. There are six vice chancellors that work in conjuction with Wiley and others to get things done.
Provost
Wiley works closely with Peter Spear, the provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs. He is the chief operating officer for campus and deals with many of the day-to-day issues on campus. He is also the deputy to the chancellor and stands in for him in times and places where the chancellor can not be.
He chairs a number of committees and holds a number of important roles, which include working with the director of the libraries on issues such as funding and getting the libraries open 24 hours a day. He works with the chief information officer who is in charge of running the Division of Information Technology.
A big part of his job is working closely with the 14 academic deans. They deal with many issues including the current budget issues and how the cuts affect various parts of the university.
Spear chairs the Campus Planning Committee and also the University Academic Planning Council. These committees talk about and approve every new building project on campus and every new program, respectively.
Spear also meets with student groups on a regular basis. He learns about what they do, and helps them with any concerns or problems that they might have.
Spear has been provost for almost two years, and started on UW System as an assistant professor in 1976.
""It's challenging and rewarding when you can make a system work better for students, faculty and staff,"" he said.
Dean of Graduate School
""The idea is that graduate education and research are closely intertwined,"" Cadwallader said.
Cadwallader holds the main responsibility for research on
campus.
""It's an exciting challenge, I enjoy it very much,"" he said.
UW-Madison is currently ranked No. 3 in the country in terms of the amount of money spent on research and development. Much of this money comes in the form of grants from federal agencies such as the National Institute of Health and the National Science Foundation.
As the dean of the Graduate School, he is responsible for admitting students to the school, handing out degrees and making sure students progress in between. There are seven associate deans that work along with Cadwallader to run the graduate school.
Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs
Paul Barrows took over as vice chancellor of student affairs July 1, 1999. The new position was an expansion of his old job. Barrows supervises the Registrar's Office, Office of Student Financial Services, Undergraduate admissions and student diversity. Barrows also took over the responsibility of overseeing the Dean of Students office and reports to the provost.
Barrows started his career at UW-Madison back in 1989 when he worked as a special assistant to former Chancellor Donna Shalala.
Dean of Students
Another important office for students to be familiar with is the dean of students. Luoluo Hong currently serves as the dean of students and has served this position since Nov. 1, 2002. The focus of her job is being a voice on behalf of the students.
""I never represent students,"" Hong said. ""I feel they can represent themselves. I bring their issues to the table.""
There are about 70 staff members working as part of the Dean of Students office in six units: Dean of Students Office, International Student Services, McBurney Disability Resource Center, Multicultural Student Center, Orientation Programs and the Student Organization Office.
""Our job is to help support student learning and student success,"" Hong said.
Hong constantly provides support to all her staff. She also maintains contact with outside communities such as parents, alumni and off-campus communities.
""My office is definitely the place to go if you don't know where to go. I have great comfy couches and good candy-don't wait until you're in trouble to come talk to me,"" Hong said.
This is merely a glimpse into the world behind the doors of Bascom Hall. Above is by no means an exhaustive list of all the administrators and various people who work hard to make UW-Madison what it is today.
There are a lot of great UW Web sites, and many of them have organizational charts that can help further clarify who does what.
The one thing that all these administrators have in common is that they are here for a reason-they care about the students and the future of this university.
""This is a wonderful university with many, many opportunities,"" Spear said. ""Take advantage of them.\
