Mallory Musolf named next secretary of the academic staff

Mallory Musolf, a former member of the Academic Staff Executive Committee who has served in administrative roles on campus for more than a decade, has been named secretary of the academic staff.

The secretary of the academic staff serves as a resource for the more than 12,000 academic staff members at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, acting as a liaison between the Academic Staff Executive Committee and university administration, and assisting on any other matters related to shared governance. Musolf will step into the role on June 30 and succeeds Jake Smith, who served in the position since 2020 and is now in a position in the Office of Human Resources.

The Office of the Secretary for Academic Staff administratively supports all aspects of academic staff governance and coordinates programs such as professional development and executive education grants, academic staff excellence awards and the University Roundtable luncheon series.

“Shared governance is a foundational element of our campus community in its representation of stakeholder interests and its collaboration with campus leadership,” Provost Charles Isbell says. “Mallory brings an outstanding background in shared governance participation and administrative experience, and I look forward to working with her to build upon the strong tradition of shared governance at UW–Madison.”

Musolf represented District 440 in the Academic Staff Assembly for four years and served more than six years on the Academic Staff Executive Committee. She also co-chaired the Committee on Diversity Initiatives in the Graduate School (now Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research) and was president of the Madison Academic Staff Association (now Madison Academic Staff Network).

Since 2019, Musolf has served as associate director of the Office of Training Grant Support, providing university-wide support and expertise to over 30 National Institutes of Health funded institutional research training grants. She previously worked as the student services coordinator of the Neuroscience Training Program, an interdepartmental graduate program.

“One of UW–Madison’s great strengths is the mechanism it provides campus leadership, students, and all employee groups to meet, discuss, and solve problems together and celebrate the institution’s successes through shared governance,” Musolf says. “Participation in shared governance has been a privilege to experience, and I look forward to serving in this position as a vital facilitator and partner in the continued success of academic staff governance.”