Chancellor John Wiley announced at a press conference Friday that he is stepping down as head of UW-Madison.
Wiley said he met with the UW System Board of Regents in a closed session Friday afternoon and told them it was time to begin forming a search and screen committee and set in motion a process to recruit a new chancellor to take over by September 2008.
“For a whole variety of reasons, this is a perfect time for the transition—September 1st is the perfect time,” he said.
The completion of the renovations to the official residence of the university—the Olin House—in July or August 2008 will be the perfect time for the new chancellor’s family to move in, Wiley said, adding his family vacated the residence over a year ago.
“In addition, UW-Madison is up for our decennial re-accreditation by the North Central Association,” he said.
With an accreditation committee visiting in April 2009, Wiley said this will give his successor enough time to prepare “to take full ownership and have full understanding of the self-study we will have completed by that time.”
“There is no perfect time for any chancellor at this university to take over on a biennial budget cycle,” he said. “But as far as I can tell from several years now of experience, the best time—if there is a best time—is right halfway through a biennium, and September 1st is just about exactly halfway through the ’09-’11 biennium.”
“Taking all of these things into account, plus my age, this seems like the right time to have a transition.”
Wiley will be 66 years old in March.
UW System Board of Regents President Mark Bradley said the UW System will move swiftly in finding a replacement for Wiley. He said he named former Regent president David Walsh as heading the search committee that will provide the final recommendation to the Regents.
“This is going to be an extensive, national search,” Bradley said. “We’re looking for someone obviously with impressive credentials, but also someone with comparable leadership capabilities to John’s.”
“That person will have very big shoes to fill,” he said.
Bradley said Wiley has played a key role in being strategic in working for the benefit of the entire UW System and commended his “tireless efforts” in funding UW-Madison.
“His ability, his commitment, to establishing a group of people from the Deans, leaders of the schools and the colleges of this campus to provide strong leadership for the future, setting up the next chancellor of this campus with qualified, dedicated people who are committed to the future of this university,” Bradley said.
Wiley said he will not immediately retire and plans to assume a faculty position after stepping down as chancellor.
