Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene director finalists announced

A search committee has selected two finalists for the position of Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene director.

The nine-member committee, co-chaired by Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Chair Andreas Friedl and Waisman Center Director Albee Messing, selected:

• James Schauer, professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the Water Science and Engineering Laboratory at UW–Madison, and program director at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene.
• Michael Wichman, director of the Arkansas Regional Laboratory of the Food and Drug Administration.

The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene was established at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1903. The director, who reports to the vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine and Public Health, serves as the executive officer of the laboratory and provides strategic and visionary leadership in analytical services, research, teaching and outreach, as well as policy issues impacting public and environmental health in Wisconsin.

Each finalist will give two public presentations. The presentation dates and times, as well as candidates’ CVs, will be posted to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene website.

The selected candidate will succeed Charles Brokopp, who served as director since 2006. Brokopp retired in 2016. Peter Shult is serving as interim director.

In addition to Friedl and Messing, members of the search and screen committee include Mei Baker, co-director of the Newborn Screening Laboratory and professor of pediatrics; Karen Cruickshanks, professor of population health sciences and ophthalmology and visual sciences; Eric Lobner, deputy division administrator of the Office of Business Support and External Services at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources; Karen McKeown, state health officer and administrator of the Division of Public Health at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services; Peter Shult, interim director and director of the Communicable Disease Division and emergency response at the WSLH; Ellen Wald, professor and chair of pediatrics; and David Webb, director of the Environmental Health Division at the WSLH.