Weigel named vice provost for faculty and staff affairs

Kent Weigel has been appointed the vice provost for faculty and staff affairs, a position that serves as a senior advisor to the provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. The individual in the position provides administrative leadership through collaboration and strategic action to support faculty and staff through new and existing policies, programs and services.

“Kent impressed me with his strategic vision, analytic approach to problem solving, and his inclination for taking on big challenges to improve the experience for faculty and staff on our campus in the context of our very diverse culture,” Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Charles Isbell says.

Weigel holds the Judge John J. Crown Chair of Dairy Genetics and has served as chair of the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences since 2010. He first joined UW–Madison in 1995 as a research scientist in the Department of Dairy Science.

Weigel was instrumental in the merger of two separate departments in CALS during the pandemic, and he has a strong track record in faculty hiring and mentoring. He was an architect and steward of the UW System Dairy Innovation Hub, and he’s currently administratively involved in the Center for Biomedical Swine Research and Innovation, a collaboration between CALS and SMPH.

“I am very excited about the opportunities associated with this new role, especially the chance to work alongside our amazing faculty and staff to advance the university’s research, teaching and outreach missions and position ourselves for the future” Weigel says.

The vice provost for faculty and staff affairs independently manages several initiatives on behalf of the provost, collaboratively develops and supports an array of programs and services, chairs or serves as a member of several committees, supervises several academic staff colleagues, and represents the UW–Madison in certain matters involving the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) and the Universities of Wisconsin.

The position is currently held by Beth Meyerand, the Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in the Departments of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering. Professor Meyerand was selected as associate dean in the Graduate School and assumed that position in late June. Provost Isbell expressed his appreciation for Beth’s work as vice provost, saying “Beth has been instrumental in a number of important campus initiatives including conducting a review and working on several enhancements to our efforts to address Hostile and Intimidating Behavior.  She also has worked with team members to shepherd the Faculty Strategic Hiring Initiative and deploy many programs to strengthen and support department chair leadership and programs for academic staff.

Weigel steps into the new role on Dec. 30.