MADISON – University of Wisconsin System Interim President Richard J. Telfer today appointed a 21-member Search and Screen Committee to help identify a successor to UW-Stout Chancellor Charles W. Sorensen, who announced last month that he will be retiring in August.

Telfer appointed 11 UW-Stout faculty members, two academic staff members, two classified staff members and two students. They will be joined by two administrators and two community representatives. Dr. Petre (Nelu) Ghenciu, from UW-Stout’s Mathematics Department, will chair the committee.

Serving on the Search and Screen Committee are:

Faculty

  • Petre (Nelu) Ghenciu, Associate Professor, Mathematics (chair)
  • Karunanithy Chinnadurai, Assistant Professor, Food and Nutrition
  • Kathleen Deery, Professor, Rehabilitation and Counseling
  • Kevin Drzakowski, Associate Professor, English and Philosophy
  • John Dzissah, Associate Professor, Operations and Management
  • Amy Fichter, Associate Professor, Art and Art History
  • Edward (Ted) Harris, Associate Professor, Hospitality and Tourism
  • Amanda Little, Associate Professor, Biology
  • Laura McCullough, Professor, Physics
  • Maureen Mitton, Professor, Design
  • Hollace Anne Teuber, Associate Professor, Speech Communication

Academic Staff

  • Jerry Addie, Laboratory Manager, Apparel and Communication Technologies
  • Robin Muza, Senior Lecturer, Human Development and Family Studies

Classified Staff

  • Jeffrey Ohvall, IS Supervisor 2, Enterprise Information Systems
  • Joan Wahl, Financial Specialist 3, Student Business Services

Students

  • Kelly Bloomgren, third-year student, Hotel, Restaurant & Tourism Management
  • Trevor Sobtzak, third-year student, Engineering Technology

Administration

  • Donald Mash, Executive Senior Special Assistant, President’s Office, UW System
  • Kim Schulte-Shoberg, Assistant Vice Chancellor, UW-Stout

Community Representatives

  • Christine Stratton, District Administrator, School District of Menomonie
  • S. Mark Tyler, President, OEM Fabricators, Inc.

Following a national search and an intensive screening process, the committee is expected to recommend five candidates as finalists for consideration by the UW System President and a special Board of Regents committee, chaired by Regent Drew Petersen of Madison. Other members of the committee include Regent Tony Evers (Madison), Regent Margaret Farrow (Pewaukee), and Regent Edmund Manydeeds (Eau Claire).

After a series of public presentations and personal interviews, the UW System president and the Regent committee will recommend one individual to the full board, which must approve the appointment.

The campus search committee will convene for the first time at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 14, at UW-Stout. At that meeting, Telfer will officially charge the committee with its mission, review procedures and begin the national search.

Chancellor Sorensen, the sixth and longest-serving chancellor in the history of UW-Stout, has served since 1988.

UW-Stout, Wisconsin’s Polytechnic University, has more than 9,200 students in 44 undergraduate and 21 graduate programs. UW-Stout, established in 1891, prides itself on the success of its students in the workplace, with an employment rate at or above 97 percent for recent graduates. The university was awarded the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality award in 2001.

Media Contacts

Doug Mell UW-Stout (715) 232-1198 melld@uwstout.edu
David Giroux UW System (608) 262-4464 dgiroux@uwsa.edu