Mone Named Interim Chancellor

Mark Mone was named interim chancellor of the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee on April 22, and he pledged to focus on the university’s strategic plan and work to boost enrollment.

“I intend to work with all constituencies to complete our strategic plan and begin its implementation,” said Mone. during his acceptance speech. He added that that he also wants to strengthen education quality and improve enrollment at UWM.

Ray Cross, the University of Wisconsin System President, announced Mone’s choice at a press conference on campus.

Mone officially accepted the position less than a month after current Chancellor Michael Lovell announced his resignation. He will be obtaining the official job title on May 31.

Mone has been employed at UWM for 25 years, starting out in 1989 as an Assistant Professor at the Lubar School of Business. Previously, Mone taught at Washington State University as an Assistant Professor in the College of Business and Economics, where he received a Ph.D. in management. Currently, Mone is a professor of management in the Lubar School of Business.

On March 26, Chancellor Lovell announced on the Marquette University campus that he would be resigning from his position as Chancellor of UWM and was accepting the position of First Lay President of Marquette University.

Lovell said that he made the decision to switch to neighboring Marquette University so he could openly practice his Catholic faith at a religious institute.

Mone also serves as chair to multiple committees’ on the UWM University level, including the Graduate Faculty Council and the Graduate School Research Awards Committee.

Mone has a taste for how things run in the Chancellor’s Office, having served as the Chancellor’s Designee for Strategic Planning & Campus Climate since 2012. One of Mone’s roles as Designee is to work with affiliates to create UWM’s 2020 strategic plan. This plan is to establish and offer different programs throughout campus to improve the campus’s overall climate.

Lovell originally planned on occupying the seat until Aug. 1, giving him time to catch the Interim up on current projects. Lovell’s departure is now rescheduled for May 31, as Mone has knowledge of the position and current projects.

Mone’s position as Interim Chancellor isn’t permanent, as the UW-System Search Committee wants to find a permanent Chancellor of UWM by the beginning of 2015. No comment was made at his acceptance ceremony about whether Mone would consider the position permanently, but with his longevity in the university and first-hand experience, he will likely be considered. Lovell served as Interim Chancellor from Oct. of 2010 until he was named permanent Chancellor in May of 2011.

UWM has a recent history for a lack of longevity between the men and women who have held the position. Within the last two-and-a-half decades, the longest reigning Chancellor was John Schroeder, who served in this position at the university for seven years. Lovell became Chancellor of UWM in 2011 and will become the shortest position holder in campus history with having only served for three years.

After hearing Mone’s acceptance speech, UWM junior Logan Mitchell thinks that Mone could enact change in the University, and hopes that he will be considered for the position of permanent Chancellor of UWM come early 2015.

“We need a Chancellor that is dedicated to the University and is willing to hang around long enough to make a real change around here. He has been here for so long, and seems like he could be our guy,” he said.

However, Mone only temporarily occupies the position. The University of Wisconsin System plans to conduct a national search for the new Chancellor of UWM.