MADISON, Wis. – University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross today announced four finalists for the position of chancellor at University of Wisconsin Colleges and University of Wisconsin-Extension.
A 27-member search and screen committee, chaired by Art Lersch, from UW-Extension, Lincoln County, recommended the slate of finalists to Cross and a special committee of the UW System Board of Regents chaired by Regent Charles Pruitt of Milwaukee.
Finalists (in alphabetical order):
Aaron M. Brower
Interim Chancellor
University of Wisconsin Colleges and University of Wisconsin-Extension
Madison, Wis.John L. Graham
Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer
Borough of Manhattan Community College; Manhattan Educational Opportunity Center – CUNY
New York City, N.Y.Mark A. Pagano
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Montana State University-Billings
Billings, Mont.Cathy A. Sandeen
Vice President, Education Attainment and Innovation
American Council on Education
Washington, D.C.
The four candidates will participate in a series of stakeholder forums, offering opportunities for faculty, staff, students, and community members to interact directly with the finalists. The campus search and screen committee is coordinating those conversations.
Pruitt and the Regent selection committee will interview finalists on October 22. Other members of the committee include Regent John Behling of Eau Claire, Regent Tony Evers of Madison, and Regent Janice Mueller of Madison. They will recommend one candidate to the full Board of Regents, which must approve the appointment. The committee’s recommendation is due to be taken up by the full Board of Regents the following week, and the appointment will be announced after that meeting.
The person selected through this process will succeed Ray Cross, who was named UW System president effective Feb. 15, 2014. Cross had led UW Colleges and UW-Extension since 2011.
For more information about the four candidates, the public presentations at the Pyle Center in Madison, and the search process, see http://www.uwex.uwc.edu/chancellorsearch/.
UW Colleges is an institution of the UW System comprised of 13 freshman-sophomore campuses and UW Colleges Online that offer an associate degree in arts and science and a single Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree, and prepare students of all ages and backgrounds for baccalaureate and professional programs. UW-Extension serves Wisconsin families, businesses and communities statewide through offices in all 72 Wisconsin counties and three tribal nations, continuing education services through all 26 UW System campuses, the UW Flexible Option partnership with UW System campuses, the statewide broadcasting networks of Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Television, and entrepreneurship and economic development activities by county throughout the state.