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University of Wisconsin–Madison

Leadership

Cynthia CzajkowskiCynthia Czajkowski

Interim Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education
333 Bascom Hall
608-262-1044
cmczajko@wisc.edu

Cynthia Czajkowski, is a neuroscience professor in the School of Medicine and Public Health. As Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education, Czajkowski oversees the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education, which includes administration of 19 cross-campus offices and research and service centers and maintains oversight of the Graduate School. The Vice Chancellor’s leadership team consists of faculty and staff members representing the various disciplines of research and graduate education, including administration, compliance, policy, physical sciences, biological sciences, social sciences and arts and humanities.

Bill Karpus

Dean, Graduate School
217 Bascom Hall
608-263-1353
william.karpus@wisc.edu

As Dean of the Graduate Srchool, Karpus provides leadership for all aspects of the graduate student experience, from recruitment through graduation, and serves as a campus-wide leader in graduate education. He is responsible for approximately 9,000 graduate students in over 140 master’s and 100 doctoral fields of study.

Marcy Carlson

Associate Dean, Graduate School
Bascom Hall
608-262-1085
carlson@ssc.wisc.edu

In partnership with the dean, associate deans provide institutional leadership for graduate education across campus, administer policies governing graduate education, develop standards and guidelines for student services, and monitor educational outcomes. Carlson is a professor of sociology. As interim associate dean, Carlson guides the delivery of student services including funding, professional development, and communications, and will help develop practices for the recruitment, retention, and completion of a diverse graduate student body. She also serves on the Graduate School leadership team and the Graduate Faculty Executive Committee.

Parmesh Ramanathan

Associate Dean, Graduate School
Bascom Hall
608-263-1353
parmesh.ramanathan@wisc.edu

In partnership with the dean, associate deans provide institutional leadership for graduate education across campus, administer policies governing graduate education, develop standards and guidelines for student services, and monitor educational outcomes. Ramanathan is a professor of electrical and computer engineering. As associate dean, he will serve on the leadership teams of both the Graduate School and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education and will work alongside Associate Dean Lisa Martin, under the leadership of Dean Karpus. Ramanathan leads research projects in applications for ultrafast networks, millimeter wave wireless networks, and smart electric grid technologies. More recently, his research group has started working in the area of genomic networks.

Nadine Connor

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 OVCRGE 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.

John SvarenJohn Svaren

Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Research in the Biological Sciences
330 Bascom Hall

john.svaren@wisc.edu

The associate vice chancellor for biological sciences provides leadership for biological sciences and interdisciplinary research across campus. His OVCRGE 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,

Brian Fox

Brian Fox

Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Policy and Integrity
333 Bascom Hall
608-262-1044
bgfox@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. Fox is a professor of biochemistry whose research interests include biochemical, catalytic, and structural studies of enzymes and integral membrane proteins with application in biofuels, environmental carbon cycling, and human health. Fox’s OVCRGE 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.

Mark Rickenbach

Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Policy and Integrity
350 Bascom Hall
608-890-0225
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 OVCRGE 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.

Florence Hsai headshot

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 OVCRGE 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.

Kim Moreland

Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Administration, Director Research and Sponsored Programs
Room 6428
21 N. Park Street
608-262-3822
kmoreland@rsp.wisc.edu

As Director of Research and Sponsored Programs, Moreland 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.

Lonnie Berger headshotLonnie (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 OVCRGE responsibilities include: divisional area recruitment and retention, grant matches, research center reviews, faculty awards and Fall Competition awards.

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 OVCRGE 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.

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 OVCRGE 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.

Julie Karpelenia

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 OVCRGE and its centers. Karpelenia provides advice and counsel to senior leadership on a range of personnel matters.

Nick Novak

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 OVCRGE 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

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 OVCRGE leadership team. Schwalbe, who previously managed business operations at the UW Press, also oversees financial outreach services on behalf of OVCRGE accounting which provides practical fiscal guidance for end-users.

Mark Wegener head shotMark Wegener

IT Director
350B Bascom Hall
608-261-1565
mark.wegener@wisc.edu

The chief information officer advises and represents the VCRGE leadership team with respect to information technology and cyberinfrastructure to support the research and graduate education missions of the university.