Hinshaw named provost at UC Davis

Virginia S. Hinshaw, the Graduate School dean and the leader of its half-a-billion-dollar program of research, has been named provost and executive vice chancellor of the University of California, Davis. She assumes her new position July 1, pending approval by the UC Board of Regents.

A microbiologist by training, and an administrator with a long and distinguished record of service to UW–Madison, Hinshaw departs to become a key leader at one of the nation’s best public universities, an institution known internationally for its research and academic prowess.
The post of provost and executive vice chancellor at UC Davis is the chief academic and operations officer of the campus with primary responsibility for the university’s academic and financial resources.

“When an exciting opportunity knocks, you have to open the door,” says Hinshaw, dean of the UW–Madison Graduate School and vice chancellor for research for the past six years. “I think it’s a great match and I’m excited about joining UC Davis at the beginning of a significant growth phase for the university. But it is very hard personally since I have very dear family members, friends and colleagues here.”

Hinshaw has led the Graduate School, the arm of the university responsible for graduate education and research, through a time of enormous change and growth. During her tenure, annual research expenditures grew by almost 25 percent from $370 million in 1995 to $476 million in 2000. At the same time, she successfully navigated increased regulatory pressure from Washington, infused the university’s tech-transfer programs with a new spirit and competitiveness, expanded opportunities for graduate students, and facilitated better communication with the public.

“I think the research and educational enterprises here are healthy and vital,” she says. “They’ve grown significantly and, at the same time, we’ve been able to make UW–Madison a stronger, more supportive place for current and future faculty, staff and students.”

Some of Hinshaw’s accomplishments over the past six years include:

• Established in 1998 the Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowships program, which has since distributed millions of dollars in contributed support to UW–Madison graduate students, enabling the university to compete for the nation’s best scholars.
• Created a more diverse administrative landscape by naming women faculty to several key leadership positions on campus.
• Energized technology transfer from university labs to the private sector by enhancing support and coordination for the triad of UW–Madison tech-transfer programs – University Research Park, the University-Industry Relations Program and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.
• Provided new educational and professional development opportunities for graduate students such as the creation of the K through Infinity program, a program designed to help graduate students extend their research experiences to the classroom.
• Improved communication about research with the public and educators, including assuming responsibility for The Why Files, a popular, critically-acclaimed web-based effort to make scientific research more accessible to the public.
• Implemented new electronic-based communication and service initiatives for faculty, staff and students.
• Addressed ethical issues related to research, including the establishment of the UW–Madison Bioethics Committee to review sensitive lines of research.

Chancellor John Wiley praised Hinshaw as a wise and effective leader, someone who will help UC Davis fully realize its aspirations as a research university: “While I’m sorry to lose someone of Dean Hinshaw’s caliber and commitment, she will undoubtedly continue to reflect well on UW–Madison as she helps UC Davis meet the challenges of the future. Dean Hinshaw is a dedicated, creative and energetic leader. She’s a catch for UC Davis. We’ll miss her very much.”

Hinshaw’s new post is a key leadership position at a California land grant institution. Davis enrolls more than 26,000 students, has a campus budget of $1.5 billion and a combined faculty and staff of nearly 20,000.

Hinshaw joined the UW–Madison School of Veterinary Medicine faculty in 1985. Her primary research focus was virology, specifically influenza viruses. In 1988, she was named interim associate dean for research and graduate studies for the School of Veterinary Medicine, and in 1994 she was named a UW–Madison associate vice chancellor. She became dean of the Graduate School and vice chancellor for research in 1995.

An avid Badger fan and booster, Hinshaw is proud of the fact that her sons and daughters-in-law have earned a total of six different degrees from UW–Madison.

“It will be hard to leave this place and I know that UW–Madison will always have a special place in my heart and mind,” she says. “I hope I’ve helped people realize what a great institution this is.”