Three finalists chosen for vice chancellor for university relations

Three finalists have been selected in the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s search for a vice chancellor for university relations. They are:

Brent Colburn, former assistant to the Secretary of Defense for public affairs, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C.

Charles B. Hoslet, interim vice chancellor for university relations at UW–Madison.

Richie Hunter, vice chancellor and vice president of university marketing, communication and media relations for the University of Houston System and University of Houston.

The candidates will give public presentations from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at Union South (check Today in the Union for room) on Feb. 16 for Hoslet, Feb. 22 for Colburn and Feb. 23 for Hunter. Videos of the candidates’ presentations will be available within 24 hours of each session.

The vice chancellor for university relations (VCUR) is responsible for strategic short-term and long-term communications and relationship building with key external audiences and with the multiple internal audiences inside the university. The position is part of the chancellor’s senior management team. The VCUR is responsible for ensuring that communications, marketing and branding, government and corporate relationship strategies are implemented for the good of the public and the university. The VCUR is responsible for setting, planning and executing the overall strategy for university relations and for coordinating university relations campuswide.

The vice chancellor oversees the offices of Communications, Marketing and Brand Strategy, and Strategic Partnerships (which includes federal, state, community, corporate and campus and visitor relations). In addition, the VCUR directs cross-functional teams, taking advantage of experts on and off campus to build a successful university relations strategy.

A nine-member search and screen committee made up of faculty, academic and university staff, and student and community representatives recently presented the unranked list of finalists to Chancellor Rebecca M. Blank. The committee is chaired by Katherine Cramer, director of the Morgridge Center for Public Service and professor of political science.

More on the finalists

Colburn served from February 2014 to July 2015 as the assistant to the Secretary of Defense for public affairs at the Department of Defense in Washington, D.C. Previously, he was the chief of staff for the Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington from March 2013 to February 2014 and national communications director for Obama for America from March to November of 2012. He holds a bachelor’s degree in government and a master’s degree in public policy, both from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. He was a fellow in residence in fall 2015 at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Hoslet has served as interim vice chancellor for university relations at UW–Madison since August. He has also served as associate vice chancellor for government and corporate affairs at UW–Madison since 2013 and was managing director for the Office of Corporate Relations from 2003 to 2014. He received a law degree from UW–Madison and his bachelor’s degree from Marquette University in Milwaukee.

Hunter has served since 2013 as vice chancellor and vice president of university marketing, communication and media relations for the University of Houston System and University of Houston. Previously, she served from 2012 to 2013 as vice president of government programs at Coventry Health Care and from 2010 to 2012 as vice president for marketing at Universal American. She holds a master’s of business administration degree from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

For more information and to view curriculum vitae for each candidate, visit the search website.

Feedback is welcomed. Submit feedback online by Feb. 25.