Hoslet To Assist University’s State Relations Effort

Charles Hoslet, the executive assistant in the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs and former chief legal counsel to Gov. Tommy Thompson, has been named special assistant to the chancellor for state relations.

Hoslet began his new job June 1 and replaces Eric Borgerding, who left the university in February to become director of legislative relations at Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce.

A Green Bay native, Hoslet received his law degree from UW–Madison in 1989 and his bachelor’s degree from Marquette University in 1986. Before joining the Department of Veterans Affairs as its executive assistant in 1992, Hoslet worked for Thompson as a legal assistant, deputy legal counsel and then chief legal counsel.

As special assistant to the chancellor for state relations, Hoslet will represent UW–Madison at the Legislature, the Governor’s office and state agencies, and will work to forward legislation and building projects through the legislature.

“Charles will be an excellent advocate of the university,” says UW–Madison Chancellor David Ward. “His experience, his substantial understanding of the state legislative process and his contacts at the Capitol make him a valuable asset. The university is fortunate to have appointed this very capable individual.”

Hoslet says he welcomes the opportunity to make a positive impact on higher education and to keep state support for UW–Madison strong.

“It’s important that state support for higher education remains strong, not only for today’s students but for future generations, including my own children,” Hoslet says.

He says his immediate goal for the 1997-99 budget process is to secure the ability to adequately compensate faculty and staff through pay raises of 4 percent in each of the next two years. Raises of 1 percent and 2 percent the past two years have hindered the university’s ability to attract and retain quality faculty and staff, according to Ward.

“The challenge is to keep faculty and staff pay competitive in the face of shrinking state support for the university overall,” Hoslet says. State support as a percentage of UW–Madison’s budget has dropped from 37.5 percent to 23.3 percent in the last 10 years.

Hoslet’s long-term goals are to build on the legislative strategy for the chancellor’s office and to provide top-quality services to the university’s constituents.

“I want to make sure that the Legislature and our other customers are continually and better informed about what the university is and what it means to Madison and the state,” Hoslet says.

Hoslet is a member of the Verona Plan Commission and is a captain in the Judge Advocate General’s Corp in the Wisconsin Army National Guard. Hoslet’s wife, Rhoda Arzoomanian, is a research program manager for the developmental therapeutics program at the UW Medical School’s Comprehensive Cancer Center.