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University of Wisconsin–Madison

About

The over-arching goal of the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR) is to address the complex challenges of the university’s broad research enterprise and support the needs of graduate education across campus, in a thoughtful and collaborative manner, all while providing strong leadership and clear vision in the constant pursuit of research and graduate education excellence.

The OVCR oversees more than $1.52 billion in annual research expenditures, a figure that puts UW–Madison among the top 10 in the nation among universities for volume of research. The office also includes administration of 17 cross-campus research and service centers.

As a leading research institution, UW–Madison encourages creative and analytical inquiry. UW–Madison provides students opportunities to work alongside world-renowned scholars in pursuit of groundbreaking research with the potential to change lives. UW–Madison is distinct for its breadth of disciplines and cross-campus research collaborations. Hands-on research opportunities abound for undergraduate students and span the social sciences, medicine, humanities and STEM fields. The UW–Madison research enterprise invests in innovative research, outstanding scholarship, and next-generation thought leaders, which together form an enterprise that benefits Wisconsin, the nation, and the world.

The Vice Chancellor’s leadership team consists of faculty and staff members representing the various disciplines of research, including administration, compliance, policy, physical sciences, biological sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities. In addition, an extensive network of operational support is in place to support the office’s mission.

The OVCR values the contributions of each person and respects the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in research and diversity as inextricably linked goals. Diversity is a source of strength, creativity and innovation for UW–Madison.

Mission

The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research advances excellence in research and scholarship by strategically investing annual WARF resources; by supporting multidisciplinary research centers and institutes; and by providing campus-wide administrative infrastructure to support and enhance the university’s broad research enterprise.

Vision

We value and invest in innovative research, outstanding scholarship, and next-generation thought leaders, which together form an enterprise that benefits Wisconsin, the nation, and the world.

Values

Creativity: We identify and seed innovative ideas, which may grow into transformative knowledge.

Integrity: We pursue our mission rigorously through fair, impartial and disciplined processes.

Equity: We support discovery that is accelerated in a diverse and inclusive research community.

Excellence: We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in research.

Well-being:  We foster a balanced, supportive environment that enables our community to thrive.

Collaboration: We build relationships with campus and external partners to achieve our mission.

Service: We serve faculty, staff and students to advance their research and grow their productivity.

Strategies

To promote excellence in the UW–Madison research enterprise, we:

Build Partnerships with Schools, Colleges, Departments and Centers

  • Assertively recruit outstanding faculty and strategize to retain them
  • Cultivate the indispensable connection between research and education
  • Promote and nurture a culture of inclusion, well-being and belonging across the UW enterprise

Invest in Research and Researchers

  • Invest strategically in transformative research and scholarship to support and expand knowledge across all disciplines, in partnership with WARF and campus units
  • Advance research and scholarship through efficient research administration, including infrastructure that minimizes burdens on researchers, schools, colleges and departments
  • Escalate the university’s efforts to obtain extramural research funds, including field-specific and multidisciplinary grants and contracts

Educate and Advocate for Academic Research

  • Expand awareness of the value of UW research and the Wisconsin Idea
  • Recognize and celebrate research accomplishments
  • Advocate for the UW research community with all stakeholders — federal, state, philanthropic, industry, campus, public — in support of the research enterprise
  • Ensure the ethical conduct of research and promote research compliance, including support for accreditations for animal research and human research protection programs