Website
Areas of Responsibility
As vice provost for faculty and staff affairs, Kent Weigel works in collaboration with deans, academic leaders, shared governance, and other units across campus to advance a shared vision in support of our faculty and staff, and contributes to the work of the Office of the Provost more generally.
The vice provost for faculty and staff affairs supports faculty and staff recruitment and retention through various programs, including the Excellence in Mentoring Initiative, the Wisconsin RISE Initiative, and the Dual Career Couples Program; as well as through recognition and scholarly support opportunities made available by the generosity of donors to the university.
Working closely with the provost and the vice chancellor for finance and administration, the vice provost for faculty and staff affairs supports an array of compensation efforts – including the faculty block grant, the discretionary compensation fund for staff, as well as the promotion and post-tenure review increments – to reward high performance and to address compression and equity.
With other team members and campus partners, the vice provost for faculty and staff affairs offers an array of leadership and professional development opportunities for chairs, assistant and associate professors, and members of the academic staff through various programs including those offered through the Big Ten Academic Alliance’s Academic Leadership Program and Department Executive Officers (DEO) program.
The vice provost for faculty and staff affairs also works with campus partners to address employee concerns. The campus ombuds service administratively reports to the vice provost for faculty and staff affairs, as does the Hostile and Intimidating Behaviors Liaisons initiative. The vice provost also serves as an additional point of contact for the provost’s office with several committees and initiatives that focus on enhancing the workplace and learning environment for all.
Biography
Kent Weigel, Ph.D., is the Vice Provost for Faculty and Staff Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A Wisconsin native, Kent joined the faculty of the Department of Dairy Science in 2001. He served as Department Chair for nearly a decade before shepherding a merger with the Department of Animal Sciences, and he led the combined Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences for four years prior to his current appointment in the Office of the Provost. Kent’s scientific expertise is in quantitative genetics and genomics of farm animals. He earned B.S. degrees in Animal Science and Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, M.S. degrees in Animal Science and Biometry from Iowa State University and UW-Madison, respectively, and a Ph.D. degree in Dairy Science from UW-Madison. He worked in the non-profit and private sectors for eight years before returning to UW-Madison, where his faculty position included research, teaching, and extension responsibilities. Kent’s research accomplishments were recognized by his appointment as the Judge J. Crown Chair in Dairy Genetics, whereas his broader research, teaching, outreach, and service contributions were recognized by the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences through the Robert G. F. and Hazel T. Spitze Land Grant Faculty Award for Excellence.