Cadwallader named grad school dean

Reaching into the ranks of his own faculty for a “proven and effective leader,” Chancellor John D. Wiley today, Aug. 5, selected Martin T. Cadwallader as dean of the Graduate School and vice chancellor for research.

Cadwallader, a professor of geography and the current interim dean of the Graduate School, now assumes leadership of one of UW–Madison’s largest and most vital schools, a sprawling academic enterprise that encompasses all graduate education and research at one of the nation’s premier research universities.

Cadwallader succeeds Virginia Hinshaw, who served as Graduate School dean from 1995 until June of 2001, when she was named provost and executive vice chancellor of the University of California at Davis.

In making the appointment, Wiley cited Cadwallader’s long and distinguished career as a scholar and as an administrator in one of the University’s most complex settings. “He is a proven and effective leader. He’ll take us to new heights, I’m sure.”

Cadwallader has served as a ranking administrator in the Graduate School for more than a decade. As associate dean, he helped lead an internationally recognized school that oversees the graduate education of nearly 9,000 students. The school is the administrative home for 19 centers and institutes and has overarching responsibility for a $550-million-plus cross-campus research enterprise in addition to its own $130 million annual budget.

“Martin was an excellent candidate and he will be an excellent Graduate School dean,” Wiley says. “In addition to his solid credentials as a scholar, Martin has proven his leadership as an associate dean in our Graduate School. As the interim dean for the past year, he has gotten a taste of the challenge ahead. He understands our graduate and research programs and knows what we need to do to position UW–Madison for the future.”

Indeed, Cadwallader cited keeping UW–Madison on its perch as one of the nation’s preeminent research institutions as a top priority: “A challenge is maintaining our position, especially in an era of constrained budgets and intense competition for the best faculty and students. But it is imperative that we do so. The UW–Madison research enterprise is the envy of our peers and it helps drive our state’s economy. The more successful we are as a research institution and center of graduate education, the more benefit will accrue to Wisconsin.”

Jo Handelsman, a professor of plant pathology and chair of the search committee, says the search to replace Hinshaw, the school’s first woman dean in its 100-year history, was sweeping and challenging.

“It was a very comprehensive and competitive search,” she says.”The candidates were so strong. Martin has a tremendous ability to envision change and build consensus. His intelligence, vision and ability to foster teamwork will provide the graduate school with excellent leadership.”

One place where Cadwallader’s abilities and background will be especially valued, Handelsman says, will be in the area of diversity. Developing a faculty and student body reflective of the world we live in will be no small feat.

“Diversity is a passion for Martin,” Handelsman says. “We know this will be a time of huge change in higher education in terms of diversity, and we think he’ll be a terrific leader helping us to confront this problem. He’s clearly done a lot of thinking about the issue and he came prepared with some innovative ideas reflective of our need to build a diverse student body and faculty.”

Handelsman also cites Cadwallader’s experience as an applied mathematician as a plus for helping the Graduate School navigate a time of difficult and rapidly changing budgets.

Cadwallader joined the UW–Madison faculty in 1974. He is a former chair of the geography department and served as the Graduate School’s associate dean for the social sciences from 1990 until 2001, when he was named interim dean. Cadwallader will have an annual salary of $195,000 in his new position.

Trained as a geographer with degrees from the University of Sheffield, England, and UCLA, Cadwallader is an authority in the area of urban geography, specializing in the development of statistical models of human migration. He is the author of three books, numerous scholarly articles and is the winner of a 2001 Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award.

Finalists for the position were chosen by a 17-member committee of faculty, staff and students. In addition to Cadwallader, there were two other finalists for the position:

• R. Timothy Mulcahy, a UW–Madison professor of pharmacology and Graduate School associate dean for the biological sciences.
• Wendy Baldwin, deputy director for extramural research in the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health. Baldwin has held a number of administrative and research positions over 30 years at NIH.

Wiley says his choice was a difficult one: “The finalists were all eminently qualified. Each would have been a good choice for different reasons. It is gratifying to have candidates of this caliber.”