Brodd retiring from International Student Services

International Student Services Director Judy Brodd, who led the UW–Madison office through one of the most challenging periods in its history, will retire Friday, Feb. 13.

Brodd, who joined ISS in 2001 after 15 years at UW-Milwaukee, was named interim director in 2002; the interim designation was removed in 2003. She plans to retire to Door County.

Associate Director Pap Sarr will run the office until a search committee identifies Brodd’s replacement.

Brodd was primarily responsible for leading ISS through the difficult post-9/11 period, during which the federal government made sweeping changes to rules governing visas for international students and scholars. In particular, Brodd managed the complicated and labor-intensive implementation of the controversial Student Exchange Visitor Information System, and helped mitigate the impact of visa delays on students.

“Judy was an instrumental administrative leader as our university navigated the ‘mines’ of SEVIS compliance efforts this past year,” says Dean of Students Luoluo Hong, Brodd’s supervisor.

“In addition, she has been a true advocate for international education and its value to our institutional mission,” Hong adds. “I know that on a personal note, I will greatly miss her infectious sense of humor, her tenacity and her commitment.”

A unit of the Offices of the Dean of Students, ISS is responsible for services and programs that assist students coming to Madison from abroad. The university has more than 3,700 international students.