MADISON, Wis. – University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross today announced five finalists for the position of chancellor at UW-Oshkosh.

A 21-member search and screen committee, chaired by Dr. Barb Rau, from UW-Oshkosh’s College of Business, Management and Human Resources, recommended the slate of finalists to Cross and a special committee of the UW System Board of Regents chaired by Regent Gerald Whitburn of Wausau.

Finalists (in alphabetical order):

Lane R. Earns
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs,
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wis.

Beverly A. Kopper
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs,
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Whitewater, Wis.

Andrew J. Leavitt
Vice President for University Advancement,
University of North Georgia, Dahlonega, Ga.
Chief Executive Officer, University of North Georgia Foundation

Margaret E. Madden
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs,
State University of New York at Potsdam, Potsdam, N.Y.

Mark A. Pagano
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs,
Montana State University Billings, Billings, Mont.

The five candidates will participate in a series of public forums, offering opportunities for faculty, staff, students, and community members to interact directly with the finalists. The campus search and screen committee will announce a schedule for those public conversations.

Whitburn and the Regent selection committee will interview finalists on September 24. Other committee members include Regent Vice President Regina Millner of Madison, Regent Margaret Farrow of Pewaukee, and Regent José Vásquez of Wauwatosa. 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 be UW-Oshkosh’s 11th chancellor, succeeding Richard Wells, who announced last January that he would retire effective Aug. 31, 2014, after 14 years as UW-Oshkosh’s leader.

For more information about UW-Oshkosh, see http://www.uwosh.edu/.

The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, with an enrollment of more than 13,900 students from across the state and beyond, is the third-largest university in Wisconsin. Supporting the institution’s more than 140-year tradition of leadership and innovation, including the transformation of general education, UW-Oshkosh’s respected faculty members have earned a host of UW System Board of Regents Teaching Excellence Awards. The University offers more than 70 baccalaureate and graduate degree programs in the colleges of Business, Education and Human Services, Letters and Science, and Nursing, which began offering the University’s first doctoral degree (Doctorate of Nursing Practice) in fall 2010. Serving as an educational and cultural anchor for the 1.2 million residents of northeastern Wisconsin, UW-Oshkosh champions the economic well-being of the New North with an annual impact of more than a half-billion dollars, directly and indirectly creating 9,000 jobs and collaborating with partners in an array of catalytic economic development initiatives. For an institutional overview, visit www.uwosh.edu/strategicplan.

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Media Contact:

Heather LaRoi
UW System
hlaroi@uwsa.edu
608-265-3195

Alex Hummel
UW-Oshkosh
hummela@uwosh.edu
920-424-1398

Mandy Potts
UW-Oshkosh
pottsa@uwosh.edu
920-424-2067