Governance groups ask Ward to extend tenure

Two campus governance groups have asked interim Chancellor David Ward to consider extending his tenure beyond next summer, as previously planned.

The University Committee of the Faculty Senate and the Academic Staff Executive Committee (ASEC) submitted letters to UW System President Kevin Reilly asking that Ward’s tenure as interim chancellor be extended to two years, delaying the start of a search for a permanent chancellor until fall 2012.

Both groups cited the need for consistent leadership during a time of change for the university as the reasoning behind the request. Read the University Committee’s letter here. Read ASEC’s letter here.

Ward has been cautiously positive about the potential for a longer interim tenure.

“I’d like to let people think about it for a week or two,” Ward told the Daily Cardinal editorial board Monday. “I’m going to let other people work it out, and if the president of the system — whose decision it is — feels, let’s say a week or so from now, that this makes sense to him and the board and he’s consulted very, very broadly, I’d consider it then.”

The decision of whether to extend Ward’s tenure as interim chancellor is up to the UW System Board of Regents and Reilly.