By a unanimous vote July 29, the UW System Board of Regents appointed Kevin Reilly as the new president of the UW system.
Reilly, the former chancellor and provost of UW-Extension, was one of 32 applicants for the position being vacated by Katharine Lyall, who is retiring in early September after serving as UW System president for almost 13 years.
Regents President Toby Markovich said in a July 29 press conference the board was \delighted"" to have Reilly as incoming system president.
""[Reilly] has done an exemplary job as chancellor of UW-Extension system,"" he said. ""He is highly respected, not only by regents, but by students and faculty.""
Doug Bradley, spokesperson for the regents, said one of the primary reasons Reilly was chosen over the other candidates was his experience as chancellor of UW-Extension.
""He has as good a handle of the state and the system as anybody,"" Bradley said.
""[The regents] were really interested in communication with the public, with somebody who is very accessable, pretty articulate and has got good relationships and relationship-building skills, and I think they really felt Kevin was head and shoulders above the others in his ability to do that,"" he said.
Reilly, who received a lengthy round of applause from all who attended the July press conference, said it is a genuine honor to be selected as president, and quickly began to outline his goals.
""Our job ... is to be Wisconsin's premier developer of human potential,"" he said.
Reilly said a major goal of his is keeping higher education affordable for all Wisconsin people. Noting that high tuition is a problem all over the country, Reilly said he plans to focus many of his efforts on keeping higher education accessible to all cuts of economic wealth.
Efforts will be made, according to Reilly, to obtain more funding from outside of the state.
""The whole public has a vested interest in the University of Wisconsin,"" he said.
Reilly also addressed his desire to continue to be able to recruit the best faculty available.
""I didn't take this job to recruit second and third-class faculty,"" he said, adding that the salaries offered to potential faculty must remain competitive.
Reilly earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Notre Dame and a master's degree and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Before becoming head of UW-Extension, he served as associate provost for academic programs at the State University of New York system.
