Chancellor Who? Campus Debates UWM Chancellor Finalists

How quickly the list of UWM chancellor finalists was developed, and how short it is, surprised some. But overall the UWM community seems impressed with the three choices.  If they know who they are, that is.

“I am very excited on Mark Mone making the short list; he always takes the faculty concerns into consideration,” said Nik Rettinger, former president of the Student Association.

Some UWM employees said they wished the list was more diverse, however. And a number of students said they had no idea who the chancellor is now – forget knowing the names of finalists competing to assume the post permanently.

“The chancellor? Didn’t we just get a new one from Marquette?” said one student, who asked to remain anonymous.

“To be completely honest, I didn’t even know that (former Chancellor Michael) Lovell left. I haven’t heard of any of the finalists,” said UWM student Nicholas Coopmans.

There has been a change in chancellors three times within the past 10 years. Students are struggling to keep up with the frequent changes as well as their schoolwork. “I’m graduating in the spring, so at this point, I don’t really care,” said  UWM student Peter McDermott.

Others were hoping for bigger names to replace Lovell, who surprised the UWM community when he left for cross-city rival Marquette last spring.

“I wasn’t impressed, but I wasn’t like oh they picked that person. It was very underwhelming,” said Evan Braun, Vice President of the Student Association.

The list of finalists for the UW-Milwaukee Chancellor position was revealed last Wednesday. Finalists are two outsiders from Missouri and Ohio, Gail Hackett and William Sherman, and the Interim Chancellor, and former Lubar School of Business professor, Mark Mone.

“All three of these candidates have significant leadership experience at urban universities, and any of them would be a good fit at UWM. I was pleased to see that this list of finalists included a woman,” said UWM graduate student AK Riehle.  “Other recent leadership positions, such as the School of Education Dean finalist didn’t include any woman candidates. Gail Hackett is a true leader from UMKC, and I look forward to seeing her presentation in the coming weeks.”

Although the list includes one woman, some UWM faculty and students have an issue with the list not including people of varying ethnic backgrounds considering the diversity of both Milwaukee as a city and UWM.

“I always would like to have an African-American, or Latino, or Asian on the set of finalists, but that did not occur this time. Nonetheless, I believe the finalists have a good understanding of the proceeding three communities,” said Enrique Figueroa, Director of the Roberto Hernandez Center.

UW-Milwaukee student Solana Ramos thinks that the list of potential candidates should represent diversity or at least the candidates should show that it’s an issue important to him or her.

“It needs to be a diverse crowd, in terms of gender identity, race, or any self identification,” said Ramos. “The interim Chancellor’s wife works to get multi-cultural students scholarships, which is important to me. I’d rather have someone that’s been here, who’s been involved in multi-cultural issues. It doesn’t matter if they’re black or white.”

Student Association President Ryan Sorenson is mainly concerned with the actions the chancellor will take once he or she has the position. In terms of the high dropout and transfer losses UWM encounters every semester, Sorenson wants to see a chancellor who will make UWM a top priority for the state and the top choice for potential students.

“How will they make UWM a first choice for students?” said Sorenson.

Although members of the Student Association have concrete opinions on the matter, there also seems to be a fog of confusion on the matter among some members of the student population.

“I find it interesting that he’s supposed to be the face of UWM, but I don’t know who he is. He has no involvement in my life; I wish he did,” said Freshman Joey Crowley of the chancellor.

One student blamed the UWM administration for student lack of awareness about the new chancellor. UWM has alerted students about chancellor-related developments by email as one means.

“It’s the university’s fault for not responding in a way that is proactive with students. An email is just an email,” said Coopmans.

“I don’t read closely into the emails sent to all students unless there is a disease out there that I can potentially catch,” admitted UWM student Shawna Wickersheim.

Mone has been interim chancellor since May, so students have had a few months to see what he is capable of and decide if they would like to see him become the full-time chancellor. However, what exactly Mone has done since Lovell left is hazy to some students.

“To be honest, the chancellors have switched so many times since I’ve been here, so it’s hard to even keep track of who is who, let alone what they’ve done with their time,” said UWM student Michelle Pinnola.

Others didn’t know much about Mone.

“I am not aware of the things that Mone has done within the campus since Lovell has left. I think a lot of us students don’t really have the time to understand or realize how this would benefit us as students at UWM,”  Wickersheim said.

Among the surprising amount of students who are unaware of the chancellor search, there are students who have kept up-to- date on the subject.

Student Mike Franzini did his own research on each candidate and has decided which finalist he would like to become the next chancellor.

“I like Hackett. She seems intelligent and laid back. I’m also a fan of ‘southern hospitality.’ Obviously her credentials matter too,” says Franzini.

All three candidates will hold open forums in the UWM Union Wisconsin Room within the next three weeks.

• Interim Chancellor Mark Mone will be holding an open forum on Monday, Nov. 24 at 2 P.M.
• Finalist Gail Hackett will be holding an open forum on Monday, Dec. 1.
• Finalist William M. Mike Sherman will be holding an open forum on Wednesday, Dec. 3.