Chancellor Rebecca Blank
The chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison is the administrative leader for the university and in charge of financial and academic decision-making. The chancellor often works closely with the Board of Regents and state legislators to represent the best interests of the university.
Rebecca Blank will begin her tenure as chancellor of UW-Madison July 15, succeeding David Ward, who served as interim chancellor for two years after the departure of former Chancellor Carolyn “Biddy” Martin in 2011.
Blank said matters such as expanding funding sources and connecting with students and faculty, will be top priorities on her agenda. Blank also said she hopes to announce a more defined list of initiatives dealing with these issues by the end of her first year as chancellor.
“UW-Madison is an absolutely first-rate school, which is facing the challenges that all public universities are facing—some of which are funding challenges, some of which are competition from the top [private universities], which are just raising gads of money, therefore being harder to compete with,” Blank said.
A special committee of the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents recommended Blank for the position after a search and screening committee chose four finalists. Blank was also a finalist for the position in 2008 when Martin received the job.
University officials pointed to her experience in a variety of challenging positions as well as her leadership roles at larger institutions as important factors in her hire.
Blank is presently the acting U.S. Secretary of Commerce and has a PhD in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Prior to her work in government, Blank was a visiting fellow at UW–Madison’s Department of Economics and Institute for Research on Poverty in 1985 before moving on to teaching positions at MIT, Princeton University, Northwestern University and the University of Michigan. At Michigan, she served as dean of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy from 1999 to 2007.
Blank said during a visit to the university that she has grown tired of political conflicts in Washington and has always considered college campuses to be where she belongs.
“Dr. Blank is uniquely qualified to lead UW-Madison, coming to us with broad national and international experience in roles where big science and big research intersect with job creation and commercialization,” UW System President Kevin Reilly said in a news release.
—Megan Stoebig
Madison mayor, city officials
Madison city officials, including three-time Mayor Paul Soglin, make decisions that affect not only the city of Madison, but also student life.
Soglin began his third term in office in 2011 after a 14-year absence, and is known for having attended the first Mifflin Street Block Party in 1969.
City alders, officials who influence city policies and regulations, are involved in projects such as State Street’s design and maintenance as well as construction on Library Mall.
Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, is a 2008 University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate and represents the campus area, including residence halls and on-campus housing. Resnick is the vice president of the Madison Common Council, which is responsible for passing city laws and regulations.
Ten-year Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, represents students and residents in the State Street and Capitol Square areas. He serves on the Alcohol Licensing and Review Committee, which reviews local establishments for adherence to city alcohol policies.
Ald. Ledell Zellers, District 2, serves students primarily in the Langdon Street area, which encompasses much of UW-Madison’s Greek community. She is a first-time Common Council member who narrowly defeated her opponent in the 2013 spring elections.
—Sarah Olson
Board of Regents
The Board of Regents is a governing body that oversees the University of Wisconsin System, which consists of 13 four-year universities, 13 two-year colleges and the University of Wisconsin Extension that works with all 26 UW campuses and 72 Wisconsin counties.
The board appoints the president of the UW System, the chancellors of the 13 universities, the chancellor of UW Extension and UW colleges and the deans of the 13 colleges. It also sets admission standards, analyzes and approves university budgets and creates the regulatory structure wherein the individual entities function.
The board is a group of representatives for the UW System schools, including two student regents, which sets admission standards, sets policy for the colleges and approves the system budget, according to the board’s website. The board also works with state legislators to accomplish their goals.
The UW System and Board of Regents were recently involved in widespread controversy after an audit revealed the UW System was operating with approximately $648 million in unrestricted surplus revenue.
UW System President Kevin Reilly and the Board of Regents argue the large surplus was necessary to maintain the quality of the state’s universities. However, it drew heavy criticism from state legislators, who said the excess money proved the system was running ineffectively.
A particular point of controversy for legislators came from approximately $414 million of the $648 million derived from student tuition payments, which the board argued was within their usual surplus amounts.
—Megan Stoebig
ASM Chair David Gardner
Pulling in two-thirds of the Student Council vote in a May election, David Gardner was elected as chair of the Associated Students of Madison for the 2013-’14 academic year.
ASM is the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s student government and officially represents the student body. Student government is divided into branches with different focuses.
The largest branch of ASM, Student Council, advocates for students on issues that affect them and works with campus administrators to represent the student voice. As chair, Gardner’s tasks will include presiding over Student Council and coordinating work with different ASM committees.
ASM won’t vote on its official campaigns until next year, but Gardner said one campaign he would like to see is a continuation of ASM’s previous sexual assault prevention work.
Next year, Gardner said he wants to ensure ASM effectively serves the campus by communicating with students to assess their needs and working with other university bodies.
“We need to be working with groups all across campus,” Gardner said. “ASM can’t do this alone.”
—Tamar Myers
State representatives
The Capitol building in downtown Madison is the central hub for Wisconsin state politics. It contains offices for the governor as well as members of the state legislature and state Supreme Court.
Gov. Scott Walker is a Republican and both houses of the state legislature currently hold Republican majorities.
Walker’s position as governor of Wisconsin allows him to work closely with legislators to enact state laws. He also serves as the final step in the process for a bill to become a law.
One of Walker’s main jobs over the last year was to craft and introduce his version of a state budget. The new budget, which is currently being considered by legislative committees, will serve as the basis for state funding over the next two fiscal years.
Additionally, a proposed two-year tuition freeze for all universities in the University of Wisconsin System would be included in the language of the budget.
Two main legislators who serve as representatives for students on the UW-Madison campus are state Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, and state Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison.
—Jack Casey
