Leadership
Dorota Brzezinska
Vice Chancellor for Research
333 Bascom Hall
608-262-1044
dorota.brzezinska@wisc.edu
Dorota Brzezinska, is faculty in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and as Vice Chancellor for Research, oversees the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, which includes administration of 20 cross-campus offices and research and service centers. The Vice Chancellor’s leadership team consists of faculty and staff representing various disciplines of research, including administration, compliance, policy, physical sciences, biological sciences, social sciences and arts and humanities.
Member, National Academy of Engineering
Member, National Science Board
Principal Investigator – NSF Engineering Research Visioning Alliance (ERVA) https://www.ervacommunity.org/
Associate Vice Chancellors
Cynthia Czajkowski
Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Research
330 Bascom Hall
608-262-1044
cmczajko@wisc.edu
Cynthia Czajkowski, is a neuroscience professor in the School of Medicine and Public Health. Czajkowski supports the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, which includes administration of 20 cross-campus offices and research and service centers.
Lonnie (Lawrence) Berger
Associate Vice Chancellor for Research in the Social Sciences
332 Bascom Hall
608-263-6332
lmberger@wisc.edu
The associate vice chancellor for social sciences provides leadership for social science and interdisciplinary research across campus. Berger is a professor of social work in the Institute for Research on Poverty. His research interests are focused on economic resources, sociodemographic characteristics, and public policies affecting parental behaviors and child and family well-being. Berger’s OVCR responsibilities include: divisional area recruitment and retention, grant matches, research center reviews, faculty awards and Fall Competition awards.
Nadine Connor
Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Policy and Compliance
321 Bascom Hall
608-262-1044
nadine.connor@wisc.edu
The associate vice chancellor for research policy and compliance provides leadership executing institutional research compliance priorities and seeks to maintain and enhance research excellence. Connor is a professor in the College of Letters and Science’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health’s Department of Surgery. Connor’s research interests are in the areas of communication disorders and swallowing impairments. She focuses on how aging and neurological diseases effect these critical functions and partners on a clinical project in the area of thyroid cancer. Connor’s OVCR research compliance responsibilities include: institutional official for Human Research Subjects Protection, institutional official for research animals, occupational health, controlled substances, and stem cell oversight program.
Florence Hsia
Associate Vice Chancellor for Research in the Arts & Humanities
323 Bascom Hall
608-262-1044
fchsia@wisc.edu
The associate vice chancellor for arts and humanities provides leadership for arts and humanities and interdisciplinary research across campus. Hsia is a professor of history of science. Her research focuses on the history of astronomy, cartography, sinology, and print culture, with particular interests in scientific data practices, communication, and cross-cultural knowledge production. Hsia’s OVCR responsibilities include: public access compliance, publishing subventions for scholarly monographs, salary supplementation for research fellowships, divisional area recruitment and retention, grant matches, research center reviews, faculty awards, Fall Competition awards, and UW2020 awards. Hsia also holds an associate dean position in the Graduate School, providing advice and input to the Dean of the Graduate School regarding programmatic and graduate education issues. Hsia will participate in review considerations for arts and humanities programs and will assist with other Graduate School initiatives related to the arts and humanities. Other responsibilities include direct interaction with graduate program leadership in the arts and humanities, serving as a member of the Graduate Faculty Executive Committee, participating in Graduate School leadership meetings, and chairing the arts and humanities component of the annual Graduate Student Support Competition.
Mark Sweet
Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Administration, Director Research and Sponsored Programs
Room 6310
21 N. Park Street
608-262-3822
masweet@rsp.wisc.edu
As Interim Director of Research and Sponsored Programs, Sweet promotes and facilitates the research, education, and outreach missions of the University of Wisconsin–Madison by supporting and administering extramurally sponsored programs. RSP is responsible for the final review, negotiation and submission of all grant and contract applications and for the negotiation of agreements. RSP staff provides financial and other administrative assistance by preparing financial reports, submitting invoices, processing payments, and addressing other primary functions.
Mark Rickenbach
Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Policy and Integrity
211 Bascom Hall
608-890-0228
Mark.Rickenbach@wisc.edu
The associate vice chancellor for research policy work and integrity provides leadership in setting and executing institutional research integrity priorities and seeks to maintain and enhance research excellence. Rickenbach, a faculty member in the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, became a senior associate dean in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences in 2019. In 2021 he also took on research responsibilities on an interim basis, including oversight of the Research Division and the Agricultural Research Station system and managing relationships with campus and external research partners. Rickenbach’s OVCR responsibilities include: conflict of interest (financial and institutional), research-related facility use, Research Integrity Officer, responsible conduct of research training and tracking, IP and entrepreneurship, and Research Policy Advisory Committee.
Petra Schroeder
Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration
328 Bascom Hall
608-262-1044
petra.schroeder@wisc.edu
The associate vice chancellor for administration manages finances and is chief financial officer for the WARF gift to campus and for all OVCR centers. Schroeder, who previously served as assistant dean for research services, also oversees facilities management, and supervises accounting, human resource management, research administration and information technology services.
John Svaren
Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Research in the Biological Sciences
350 Bascom Hall
The associate vice chancellor for biological sciences provides leadership for biological sciences and interdisciplinary research across campus. His OVCR responsibilities include divisional area recruitment and retention, grant matches, faculty awards, Fall Competition awards and UW2020 awards. Svaren is professor of Comparative Biosciences at the School of Veterinary Medicine and director of the Waisman Center IDD Models Core,
Amy Wendt
Associate Vice Chancellor for Research in the Physical Sciences
325 Bascom Hall
608-262-1044
wendt@engr.wisc.edu
The associate vice chancellor for physical sciences provides leadership for physical sciences and interdisciplinary research across campus. Wendt, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, is an expert in understanding the behavior of plasmas, how they interact with materials substrates and implications for process development, in addition to design of plasma generation systems for new applications. Wendt’s OVCR responsibilities include: research grant or contract exceptions (limited to classified research and publication restrictions), divisional area recruitment and retention, grant matches, research center reviews, faculty awards and Fall Competition awards.
Assistant Vice Chancellors
Julie Karpelenia
Human Resources Director
327 Bascom Hall
608-262-8389
julie.karpelenia@wisc.edu
The assistant vice chancellor for human resources has primary responsibility for all personnel compliance, employment relations, labor relations and staff development, and affirmative action and equal employment opportunity functions of the OVCR and its centers. Karpelenia provides advice and counsel to senior leadership on a range of personnel matters.
Nick Novak
Assistant Dean, Research Services
317D Bascom Hall
608-265-4868
nick.novak@wisc.edu
The assistant vice chancellor for research services manages research administration for the OVCR research centers including acting as the Vice Chancellor’s representative for submission of grant proposals, acceptance of gifts and management of pre and post award matters. Novak previously served as manager of the proposal team at Research and Sponsored Programs and as a grants manager for several non-profit organizations.
Russell Schwalbe
Financial Reporting Director
317 Bascom Hall
608-262-8386
russell.schwalbe@wisc.edu
The assistant vice chancellor for accounting manages the functional accounting duties and services for the OVCRGE, is the operational liaison for our campus stakeholders, and provides financial analysis and guidance to the OVCR leadership team. Schwalbe, who previously managed business operations at the UW Press, also oversees financial outreach services on behalf of OVCR accounting which provides practical fiscal guidance for end-users.
Mark Wegener
IT Director
350B Bascom Hall
608-261-1565
mark.wegener@wisc.edu
The chief information officer advises and represents the OVCR leadership team with respect to information technology and cyberinfrastructure to support the research and graduate education missions of the university.