I want to let you know that I will be leaving UW–Madison at the end of this academic year to assume the presidency at Northwestern University.
I will have served as Chancellor at UW–Madison for 9 years by the time I step down next summer. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as your Chancellor.
Together, we’ve faced some big challenges during my time here – from debates over tenure and reduced state funding, to the need for greater diversity on campus, to a global pandemic.
But I have continually been amazed by the strength of this community, the character of its people and the capacity of the university to do great things.
I’m truly proud of all that we’ve accomplished together.
UW’s educational outcomes have improved, the diversity of our staff and students has grown, faculty salaries have markedly improved relative to our peers, and our research dollars have increased.
UW Extension and Wisconsin Public Media came back ‘home’ to Madison. We’ve completed an astonishingly successful fundraising campaign among our alumni that will help the campus move forward. I’m particularly proud of the increased scholarship dollars we’ve been able to dedicate to increasing access for Wisconsin students – today, we have almost 4,000 Bucky’s Tuition Promise students on campus.
Finally, in the midst of falling state dollars, frozen in-state tuition, and pandemic-related losses, UW–Madison remains in a strong financial position. We have been entrepreneurial, raising our own investment dollars and using this to fund key priorities on campus.
Even as I look forward to my next adventure, there are many things I will miss about UW, from game days on fall Saturdays to evenings on the Terrace to gathering each May in Camp Randall for graduation. Most of all, I will miss all of you, many of whom I’ve had the pleasure of meeting, talking with, and working with over my years here.
This is a great university because of the wonderful faculty, staff and students who inhabit this campus. Thank you for all you do for UW–Madison.
On Wisconsin!
Rebecca Blank