UW-Madison chancellor finalists named

Five finalists have been named in the search for the next University of Wisconsin-Madison chancellor.

Chancellor Rebecca Blank, the second-longest serving leader of the state’s flagship university, will step down in at the end of May to become the president of Northwestern University in Illinois.

UW System said 37 people applied for the position, 21 of whom are white and 16 people of color. Seven applicants are women.

The finalists include one internal candidate and four leaders from universities across the United States.

The candidates are:

• Ann E. Cudd, provost and senior vice chancellor and professor of philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh.
• Marie Lynn Miranda, professor of applied computational mathematics and statistics and former provost at the University of Notre Dame.
• Jennifer L. Mnookin, professor and dean of the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.
• Daniel A. Reed, professor of computational science and former provost of the University of Utah.
• John Karl Scholz, provost and professor of economic policy at UW-Madison.

Candidates were identified by a 21-member search committee lead by Karen Walsh, UW System Board of Regents vice president, and Susan Hagness, UW-Madison professor and department chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Finalists were selected by a special regent committee, chaired by Regent president Edmund Manydeeds and includes Regents Amy Blumenfeld Bogost, Mike Jones, Tracey Klein, John Miller and Karen Walsh.

Finalists will interview with the regent committee and UW System interim president Michael Falbo along with representatives from UW-Madison’s shared governance groups, students, faculty and deans. The UW System announcement said finalists will also participate in a public conversation. According to UW-Madison’s chancellor search website, the public Q&A sessions with candidates will run from May 2 through May 6.