Provost Biddy Martin Accepts U.W.-Madison Chancellor Post

Cornell University students, faculty and staff may be surprised to hear the latest news about long-time University Provost Carolyn “Biddy” Martin: as of this morning, she has accepted the position of University of Wisconsin-Madison chancellor.

The decision is pending Board of Regents approval, according to The Capital Times, a Madison newspaper. She is expected to be approved at the Board of Regents’ meeting on June 5-6 at U.W.-Milwaukee.

Martin previously told The Sun that the position “is a particularly exciting opportunity because of the quality of the institution and the fact that it is [her] Ph.D. alma mater.” She graduated from U.W.-Madison in 1985 with a degree in German literature.

As chancellor, Martin would be the chief executive officer of U.W.-Madison, which has about 40,000 students, 16,000 employees and an annual operating budget of $2.2 billion, according to The Capital Times.

Martin was one of four candidates who made it to the final round of review for the position. The other finalists were U.W.-Madison College of Letters and Sciences Dean Gary Sandefur, and former University of Michigan dean Rebecca Blank. [1]Bye to Biddy: Provost Biddy Martin gives the State of the University Address in March. Today she was named the new chancellor of University of Wisconsin-Madison. Courtesy Cornell University

According to KNOW-TV, University of Minnesota Vice President for Research Tim Mulcahy announced that he had withdrawn his candidacy on Tuesday.

While Martin was appointed Cornell’s provost on July 1, 2000, she has been part of Cornell's faculty since 1984. She became an associate professor and then full professor in the Department of German Studies, and served as the department chair from 1994 to1997. In 1996, she was appointed Sr. Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences.