Eric Wilcots Named Interim Chancellor for UW-Madison Amid Mnookin Departure
Wilcots, UW-Madison dean since 2020, will lead amid a $5 billion budget and 50,000 students while a national search for a permanent chancellor begins.
- Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman named Dr. Eric Wilcots interim chancellor on Feb. 11, 2026, with Wilcots starting on May 17 at University of Wisconsin–Madison.
- Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin is departing to lead Columbia University, creating the vacancy after she announced in January she would step down and the university will search for a successor later this year.
- A longtime campus leader, Dr. Eric Wilcots has served at UW–Madison since the mid-1990s, led the College of Letters & Science since May 2020 and was interim provost in 2023.
- Budget cuts and enrollment declines, including about 500 fewer international students, shape immediate priorities as UW–Madison faces at least $27 million in lost federal research money and 143 grant disruptions.
- Jennifer Mnookin said she will work with Wilcots "to ensure a seamless leadership transition," and Jay Rothman praised Wilcots' steady, values-driven leadership as the new provost will be named in March.
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13 Articles
UW-Madison Dean Eric Wilcots named interim chancellor
The Dean of the College of Letters & Science will lead Wisconsin's flagship university in May when Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin leaves for Columbia University. The post UW-Madison Dean Eric Wilcots named interim chancellor appeared first on WPR.
Universities of Wisconsin: Dr. Eric Wilcots named as interim chancellor of UW-Madison
MADISON, Wis.—Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman has named Dr. Eric Wilcots as interim chancellor of UW-Madison effective May 17. Wilcots, currently Dean of the College of Letters & Science, the university’s largest college, will succeed Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin when she departs to become President of Columbia University. “Dean...
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