Four UW-Madison deans will stick around following their successful comprehensive reviews, which assesses their leadership and performance every five years.
The four deans’ reviews began last fall and recently were concluded. School of Veterinary Medicine Dean Mark Markel, College of Engineering Dean Ian Robertson, College of Letters & Science Dean Karl Scholz and College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Dean Kathryn VandenBosch will all be re-appointed, according to the press release.
“First, [they] ask you for a synopsis of what you think [are] your accomplishments, your challenges and the things that you’ve succeeded at over the previous five years,” Markel said. “You put together a document that highlights what you’ve done over the previous five years and also suggest members of a potential review committee — people that can be contacted to evaluate, whether it’s your alumni, your donors for us, your hospital, your faculty or your staff.”
Sarah Mangelsdorf, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, gathered feedback from faculty, staff, students and individuals outside of the university in order to complete the review.
“They provide opportunities in a place that’s confidential for faculty, staff and students to meet with the review committee, just to talk about their perspective on what their dean has done over that five-year time frame,” Markel said.
Robertson discussed the expectations and responsibilities of being a dean, establishing the importance of taking on leadership roles and providing individuals with opportunities to succeed within the college.
“This responsibility involves ensuring that our faculty, staff and students have the environment and resources to succeed in their endeavors, and that our world-class College of Engineering continues its leadership in teaching, research and service to society,” Robertson said in an email.
Robertson also spoke to the past five years' successes, highlighting the new Kohler Visualization Studio in Wendt Commons as an example of creating more opportunities for his students.
“Looking back over the past five years, our college has enjoyed many successes, including hiring several outstanding young faculty members, creating and improving facilities for both research and teaching —including our new makerspace in Wendt Commons — and increasing the number of women who major in engineering, among many others,” Robertson said.
Markel also shined a light on the achievements at the School of Veterinary Medicine throughout the past five years, stating how beneficial and impactful the five-year review is, compared to an annual review.
“What did we achieve in the research that we do? What did we achieve in our hospital? What did we achieve in scholarship support?” Markel said. “That really gives a better perspective, when your look at that long-term time frame [rather] than what you can capture on an annual basis.”
