Ten Finalists Selected for Interdepartmental Strategic Hiring

University officials are praising the initial response to the interdepartmental strategic hiring plan.

Ninety-five proposals were submitted under the plan announced by Chancellor David Ward during his State of the University Address in November. Ten proposals have been selected by the chancellor for further study.

“I am encouraged with the creativity and enthusiasm of the proposals, and I am gratified that faculty are thinking and communicating beyond departmental lines,” Ward says. “The experiment is clearly a success up to this point, and I think serious consideration needs to be given to repeating it in the future.”

Ward’s initiative is designed to promote more cross-college connections and prepare for growth in academic fields that extend beyond traditional areas of study. About 12 new faculty are projected to be hired in clusters of three or four that will combine the resources of several departments to meet new needs.

Katherine Kalil, an associate vice chancellor who is coordinating the program, says the 10 proposals selected for further development appear poised to advance current needs to expand and also open up new areas of knowledge.

“They have the combination of breadth and sufficient focus to be really imaginative,” says Kalil, who is also a professor in the Department of Anatomy and the Neuroscience Training Program. “They have identified how several new faculty can really make a difference when departments collaborate.”

Of the 10 proposals selected for further development, four are in the biological sciences, with two each in the humanities, physical sciences and social sciences. Faculty involved with these proposals have been asked to submit more detailed plans and obtain firm commitments from their departments to leverage the resources needed to support the cluster hires.

Of the 95 original proposals submitted, 45 were in biological sciences, 23 in physical sciences, 15 in humanities and 12 in social sciences.

“All of the proposals were meritorious ideas, and they have identified several areas of possible future academic development,” says Provost John Wiley. “Everyone has something that is worth doing.”

Wiley says the large number of submissions from biological sciences reflects the reorganization of the division over the past several years to enhance departmental relationships and incorporate a variety of disciplines, including engineering, mathematics and some social and physical sciences.

“Biological sciences could serve as an example for the other divisions to follow as they move toward a more interdepartmental way of operating,” says Wiley.

The 95 proposals included input from every college, almost every department and approximately one-half of the university’s 2,200 faculty – proof that the hiring plan is already fostering more cross-college connections, Wiley says.

“This is encouraging people to interact and collaborate with each other in ways they haven’t done before, and the entire university will benefit from that,” he says.

The following proposals have been selected for further study. Faculty members who helped develop the proposals are listed as contact persons.

Biological Sciences
Institute of Genomics: encompassing genome sequencing, functional genomics, comparative genomics and bioinformatics. Contact: Frederick Blattner, genetics.

Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience: In vivo Imaging of Human Brain Function. Supporting departments/units: Mathematics, Medical Physics, Radiology, Psychology, Psychiatry, the Waisman Center and Center for Neuroscience. Contact: Richard Davidson, psychology.

Zebrafish: A Model Species for Vertebrate Molecular Genetics. Supporting departments/units: Anatomy, Genetics, Zoology and the Neuroscience Training Program. Contact: Seth Blair, zoology.

Biophotonics: photon-based experimental manipulation and advanced optical imaging of live tissues. Supporting departments/units: Physics, Physiology, Zoology, Integrated Microscopy Resource and the Molecular Biology Laboratory. Contact: John White, director, Integrated Microscopy Resource.

Humanities
A program in American Studies. Supporting departments/units: Afro-American Studies, Art History, English and History. Contact: Donald Rowe, English.

Religious Studies: Islam and Society, Japanese/Chinese Religious History and Literature, The Global Church, Religion and Society in South Asia. Supporting departments/units: Anthropology, East Asian Languages & Literature, History and South Asian Studies. Contact: Charles Cohen, history.

Physical Sciences
Nanophase Inorganic Materials and Devices: Magnetic/Ferroelectric/Semiconductor/Superconductor Monoliths and Composites. Supporting departments/units: Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Engineering Physics, Physics, Materials Research Science and the Engineering Center. Contact: Eric Hellstrom, materials science and engineering.

Applied and Computational Probability. Supporting departments/units: Computer Sciences, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Engineering Physics, Finance, Industrial Engineering, Mathematics and Statistics. Contact: Center for Mathematical Sciences.

Social Sciences
Learning, Economic Development and the Changing Workplace. Supporting departments/units: Agricultural and Applied Economics, School of Business (Management and Human Resources and the Enterprise Center), Educational Administration, Educational Policy Studies, Educational Psychology, Engineering Professional Development, Center on Education and Work, Center on Wisconsin Strategy and the Industrial Relations Research Institute. Contact: L. Allen Phelps, Center on Education and Work.

Development of a program in international public affairs within the Robert M. La Follette Institute of Public Affairs. Supporting departments/units: Agriculture and Applied Economics, Economics, Political Science, School of Business and the International Institute. Contact: Donald Kettl, La Follette Institute.