By Andy Szal
For WisBusiness.com
UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin said she was a recent, reluctant candidate for the presidency of Amherst College, but the opportunity to lead the Massachusetts liberal arts school was one she couldn’t turn down.
“I could not be more pleased about the opportunity,” Martin said in a press conference announcing her departure after three years at the helm of UW-Madison.
“I leave here, of course, with great sadness,” she added. “I had thought I might spend the rest of my career here.”
Her move follows months of tense debate between state lawmakers, UW administrators and campus officials over her proposal to split the campus into a new public authority. The Joint Finance Committee rejected that provision of the governor’s budget, instead enacting a series of block grants to provide more spending flexibility for all UW System schools.
But while she acknowledged UW-Madison didn’t get everything it wanted in the budget, she maintained the steps taken are “a great platform” to enhance the campus in future years.
“I’m not going because I’m disappointed in that outcome,” Martin said. Instead, she said Amherst presents an opportunity to lead a liberal arts institution — a type of education in many was just as threatened, she said, as public land grant universities.
“Amherst would have been a great opportunity no matter what,” Martin said.
Martin said she had a pleasant conversation with UW System President Kevin Reilly, who she said congratulated her on the new job and her successes at the Madison campus.
She estimated she would remain at the helm of UW-Madison for another six weeks or so, with Reilly naming an interim chancellor likely within a week.
Martin said she wished her UW System colleagues well, joking, “I think the relationship will be fine now.” She acknowledged “some nastiness” during the debate over the proposed New Badger Partnership, but said numerous leaders remain on the campus to advocate for greater flexibility.
Martin said she viewed the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates tuition surcharge as one of her proudest accomplishments, providing desperately needed faculty positions while enhancing need-based financial aid. She also predicted that the campus would be well served by its increased ties to China during her tenure.
“I don’t regret any of it. I wouldn’t change any of it,” Martin said.
Reilly issued a letter to UW officials commending Martin on her new job and accomplishments as chancellor, promising to work on a transition plan with regents and UW-Madison officials “immediately.”
“Since her appointment in May 2008, Chancellor Martin has been an energetic leader for UW-Madison, demonstrating a sincere commitment to the institution’s role as one of America’s finest research universities,” Reilly wrote. “She has been an effective communicator, and a strong advocate, engaging donors, legislators, students, alumni, and other stakeholders.”
Gov. Scott Walker issued a statement thanking Martin for her “personal friendship,” and commended “the tremendous courage she exhibited by being a strong leader of our state’s flagship university and showing independence from the bureaucratic status quo.”
