On December 15th, the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee will announce the new chancellor who will take over for Mark Mone, who has served as Interim Chancellor since Michael Lovell officially stepped down before fall semester.
The process of selecting a new chancellor is in progress, with applications for the position currently being analyzed by the UWM Chancellor Search Committee.
UWM is looking for a “…chancellor with the strategic vision, personal integrity, energy, and leadership skills to steer a large, dynamic, institution within a statewide public higher education system,” according to the Chancellor Search page.
What is missing from this list of suggested requirements? Someone who is actually going to stick around.
Martin Klotsche, the first chancellor of UWM, served from 1956-1973 and has been the longest reigning chancellor in the history of the university. Granted, 17 years is a long time to hold the position, but ever since then, the longest the position has been held was for 7 years, by John H. Schoeder from 1991-1998. This is a problem.
Take Lovell, for example. He jumped around a lot before attaining the position of UWM Chancellor, having multiple short term positions in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and UWM, as well. Not saying it’s a bad thing to travel around for jobs, but if a chancellor is willing to automatically jump to the next best offer, they are not what UWM needs. Especially going across town to our rival.
The list of potential chancellors has not yet been disclosed, but I am still hoping that Interim Chancellor, Mark Mone, is in the running. He started off as an Assistant Professor in the Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business in 1989, and has been with the university ever since. Following a list of promotions and moving up the ladder, he was named Interim Chancellor beginning Fall Semester 2014. With a resume that proves loyal to UWM, I can’t believe that he wouldn’t be at least considered for the position.
If the UWM Chancellor Search Committee follows the same path and chooses someone with a scattered resume and work history, they may be willing to leave just as quickly as Lovell did. Change and progress takes longer than you may think. If we are switching out chancellors every five years or so, how can goals even be met?