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Chancellor

Applications Close: Sep 4, 2026

University of Wisconsin - Madison

500 Lincoln Dr, Madison, WI 53706, USA

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Job Details

Chancellor

The University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) invites nominations and applications for a dedicated and inspiring leader to serve as its next Chancellor. This is an extraordinary opportunity to lead a globally recognized institution distinguished by world-class teaching, groundbreaking research, and a longstanding commitment to public service and the Wisconsin Idea – the principle that the University's influence should improve lives well beyond the boundaries of its campus.

UW-Madison is the flagship of the Universities of Wisconsin and a member of the Association of American Universities. As a land-grant institution with one of the nation's largest research enterprises, UW-Madison ranks fifth nationally in research expenditures, generating nearly $2 billion in research activity annually. The University has long advanced discovery, innovation, economic development, and the public good. Few universities can match UW-Madison's breadth of excellence across the sciences, engineering, medicine, agriculture, business, education, law, the humanities, the social sciences, and the arts.

At a pivotal moment for public higher education, UW-Madison is poised to lead. In 2026, the University launched Forward, Together, an ambitious campus-wide strategic framework intended to guide the campus' next era of excellence. Financially strong and with one of the most loyal and generous philanthropic bases, UW-Madison is investing in its future, expanding its impact through efforts such as the signature RISE initiative, which is catalyzing interdisciplinary scholarship through strategic hiring and expanded computational capacity.

Reporting to the Universities of Wisconsin President and the Board of Regents, the Chancellor oversees an institution consisting of 28,000 faculty and staff, over 50,000 students, and an operating budget of $4.95 billion. UW-Madison seeks a leader who can chart an ambitious course for an institution of extraordinary scale, leveraging its distinctive public mission, vast intellectual capital, and broad strengths to define the role of a leading public university in today's landscape. The next Chancellor will be a champion for the University across Wisconsin and will develop a vision and plan to propel the University toward even greater national and global prominence. The successful candidate will value transparency, academic freedom, inclusive excellence, and shared governance while serving as an energetic and enthusiastic spokesperson and chief fundraiser for the University.

Application materials must be submitted electronically and should include a letter of interest that addresses the candidate's experiences and qualifications as identified in the search prospectus and a curriculum vitae. For fullest consideration, application and nomination materials should be submitted by September 10, 2026, through the Isaacson, Miller website: https://www.imsearch.com/open-searches/university-wisconsin-madison/chancellor

The University of Wisconsin–Madison is an equal opportunity and affirmative action educator and employer.

Organization

In achievement and prestige, the University of Wisconsin–Madison has long been recognized as one of America's great universities. A public, land-grant institution, UW–Madison offers a complete spectrum of liberal arts studies, professional programs and student activities, and many of its programs are hailed as world leaders in instruction, research and public service. Spanning 935 acres along the southern shore of Lake Mendota, the campus is located in the city of Madison.

The university traces its roots to a clause in the Wisconsin Constitution, which decreed that the state should have a prominent public university. In 1848, Nelson Dewey, Wisconsin’s first governor, signed the act that formally created the university, and its first class, with 17 students, met in a Madison school building on February 5, 1849.

From those humble beginnings, the university has grown into a large, diverse community, with about 40,000 students enrolled each year. These students represent every state in the nation, as well as countries from around the globe, making for a truly international population.

UW–Madison is the oldest and largest campus in the University of Wisconsin System, a statewide network of 13 comprehensive universities, 13 freshman-sophomore transfer colleges and an extension service. One of two doctorate-granting universities in the system, UW–Madison’s specific mission is to provide “a learning environment in which faculty, staff and students can discover, examine critically, preserve and transmit the knowledge, wisdom and values that will help insure the survival of this and future generations and improve the quality of life for all.”

The university achieves these ends through innovative programs of research, teaching and public service. Throughout its history, UW–Madison has sought to bring the power of learning into the daily lives of its students through innovations such as residential learning communities and service-learning opportunities. Students also participate freely in research, which has led to life-improving inventions ranging from more fuel-efficient engines to cutting-edge genetic therapies.

The Wisconsin Idea

Students, faculty and staff are motivated by a tradition known as the “Wisconsin Idea,” first started by UW President Charles Van Hise in 1904, when he declared that he would “never be content until the beneficent influence of the university [is] available to every home in the state.” The Wisconsin Idea permeates the university’s work and helps forge close working relationships among university faculty and students, and the state’s industries and government.