With the recent sunsetting of the UW’s Division of Diversity, Equity & Educational Achievement, many alumni have questions about the current and future state of student support at UW–Madison. That’s why the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association (WFAA) is connecting alumni with campus leaders for a special conversation about the student experience.
Learn about the evolving landscape of identity and inclusion on campus during this insightful Zoom conversation. You’ll hear from academic and programmatic leaders and have a chance to ask your own questions about how the UW is proceeding in the face of change.
Please register for this online conversation by December 1.
Speakers
Catherine Chan ’89, PhD’97 (she/her) is the assistant vice provost for high impact practices in the Division for Teaching and Learning at UW–Madison. Chan leads the development and implementation of impactful learning experiences that center evidence-based pedagogies and culturally relevant practices, thereby facilitating student flourishing and success. Currently, the four programs within her portfolio are the Center for Educational Opportunity, the Office of Experiential Learning, the McNair Scholars Program, and the Network for Development and Growth of Native Solidarity at UW–Madison. Chan is a two-time Badger alumna — she earned her B.S. in molecular biology and biochemistry and her PhD in cell and molecular biology — and is proud to have the opportunity to give back to her alma mater.
Fernie Rodriguez, PhD (they/them) is associate vice chancellor for student affairs at UW–Madison, where they lead a comprehensive range of programs and services designed to support student success and belonging on campus. They lead the UW’s Student Affairs student success and belonging portfolio, which includes the Center for Interfaith Dialogue, Gender and Sexuality Campus Center, McBurney Disability Resource Center, Multicultural Student Center, the Office of Inclusion Education, and University Veterans Services. They also support the First-Generation Badgers initiative. Rodriguez earned a bachelor’s in sociology from the University of Texas at Austin, a master’s in higher education student personnel administration from New York University, and a doctorate in higher education from the University of Minnesota. Their dissertation, “Borderland Masculinities in Higher Education,” chronicled the lives of six first-generation Mexican American gay undergraduate men living along the U.S.-Mexico border. Rodriguez is a proud Mexican American, transfeminine scholar-practitioner from the border region of El Paso, Texas, and Juárez, in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.
Raul Leon MIPA’07, PhD’10 (he/him) is the assistant vice provost for student engagement and scholarship programs in the Division for Teaching and Learning at UW–Madison. In this role, Leon supports and leads four iconic scholarship programs serving talented and high-achieving undergraduates. These programs include the First Wave Hip Hop and Urban Arts Program (housed in the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives), the UW Posse program, the PEOPLE Program, and the Mercile J. Lee Scholars Program. Dr. Leon earned two degrees from UW–Madison: a master’s degree from the La Follette School of Public Affairs, and a PhD in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the School of Education.
Wren Singer ’93, MS’95, PhD’01 (she/her), executive associate vice provost, currently leads the Division for Teaching and Learning at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Singer leads the division’s strategic visioning and its work to ensure that every UW–Madison student finds inclusive learning environments that make possible the personal and intellectual growth promised by the Wisconsin Experience. Singer works in close partnership with divisional leadership as well as leaders in schools, colleges, departments, and programs across campus. She received her B.A. in English and psychology, M.S. in counseling in higher education, and PhD in educational leadership and policy analysis from UW–Madison.
John Zumbrunnen, PhD began serving as UW–Madison’s interim provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs in June of 2025, having previously held a variety of academic and administrative leadership positions at the university. He is a professor of political science and studies the history of political thought, democratic theory, and American political thought, with a particular interest in the challenges and possibilities of democratic citizenship. Alongside his administrative duties, he continues to lead international study abroad programs, including in Ecuador, Ireland, and Singapore. He is a recipient of the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award, the Phi Beta Kappa Excellence in Teaching Award and the Alliant Energy Underkofler Excellence in Teaching Award, among others.
Coming This Spring
Watch for details about in-person listening sessions in spring of 2026. Scheduled to take place at four locations around the country, these sessions will offer great opportunities to continue the conversations around campus inclusion and student belonging. We will also ask for your input on what meaningful engagement with WFAA looks like to you.
