Update From Chancellor David Wilson
David Wilson
Issue date: 12/9/09 Section: News
I am writing to inform you that, after careful deliberation, deep thought, and much soul-searching, I have accepted the position of president of Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, effective July 1, 2010.
During my tenure as your chancellor, I have received scores of phone calls and emails from search firms and other institutions trying to entice me to consider presidential or chancellorship opportunities. In each case, I rebuffed them. But late this past summer, representatives of the Morgan State University Board of Regents came to Wisconsin to personally convince me that Morgan State was interested in embracing my leadership as its 12th president. I was flattered with the outright "courting", but frankly did not follow-up. But they were persistent, and because of that, I started to conduct my own research into the mission of the university. The more I researched, the more impressed I became. As many of you know, I am enormously passionate about access, and Morgan State, much like the UW Colleges and UW-Extension, sits on a solid access foundation. So I move on - still championing in a lot of ways many of the tenets of the Wisconsin Idea, albeit in Maryland and not in the state of Wisconsin.
Please know that my time here has been, and will continue to be until July 1, a labor of love. How could it not be when I am surrounded every day by colleagues who are so dedicated and committed to working with others as they navigate through what, admittedly, is some rather thick fog at times to see a clear path ahead? I have spent time in every corner of the state of Wisconsin, and have met with thousands of citizens who have shared with me how UW-Extension and the UW Colleges are transforming their lives and communities. Your work is extremely important.
Between now and July 1, I will devote a significant amount of my attention to advancing a number of initiatives to ensure that our institutions are poised for greater success. Some of these include: a) advancing the BAAS degree proposal; 2) launching UW online; 3) ensuring that our institutions are on solid fiscal foundations as the 2011-13 biennial budget looms; 4) working with local county partners to ensure stable funding to support our Extension programs and personnel; and 5) addressing faculty salary compression issues in the Colleges.
I appreciate all that you do to help people transform their lives in the state of Wisconsin, and I remain grateful for the opportunity to have served as your chancellor. But I'm not out the door yet, and I look forward to our continued work together until July 1.
During my tenure as your chancellor, I have received scores of phone calls and emails from search firms and other institutions trying to entice me to consider presidential or chancellorship opportunities. In each case, I rebuffed them. But late this past summer, representatives of the Morgan State University Board of Regents came to Wisconsin to personally convince me that Morgan State was interested in embracing my leadership as its 12th president. I was flattered with the outright "courting", but frankly did not follow-up. But they were persistent, and because of that, I started to conduct my own research into the mission of the university. The more I researched, the more impressed I became. As many of you know, I am enormously passionate about access, and Morgan State, much like the UW Colleges and UW-Extension, sits on a solid access foundation. So I move on - still championing in a lot of ways many of the tenets of the Wisconsin Idea, albeit in Maryland and not in the state of Wisconsin.
Please know that my time here has been, and will continue to be until July 1, a labor of love. How could it not be when I am surrounded every day by colleagues who are so dedicated and committed to working with others as they navigate through what, admittedly, is some rather thick fog at times to see a clear path ahead? I have spent time in every corner of the state of Wisconsin, and have met with thousands of citizens who have shared with me how UW-Extension and the UW Colleges are transforming their lives and communities. Your work is extremely important.
Between now and July 1, I will devote a significant amount of my attention to advancing a number of initiatives to ensure that our institutions are poised for greater success. Some of these include: a) advancing the BAAS degree proposal; 2) launching UW online; 3) ensuring that our institutions are on solid fiscal foundations as the 2011-13 biennial budget looms; 4) working with local county partners to ensure stable funding to support our Extension programs and personnel; and 5) addressing faculty salary compression issues in the Colleges.
I appreciate all that you do to help people transform their lives in the state of Wisconsin, and I remain grateful for the opportunity to have served as your chancellor. But I'm not out the door yet, and I look forward to our continued work together until July 1.
Be the first to comment on this story