03 Mar Wisconsin ‘Weather Guy’ and longtime prof to lead UW-Madison research enterprise
![Steve Ackerman, photo credit UW-Madison](https://universityresearchpark.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ackerman-5e5d892772ed3.image_-1024x683.jpg)
Steve Ackerman, photo credit UW-Madison
A longtime university professor will oversee UW-Madison’s research enterprise and graduate education, the university announced Monday.
Chancellor Rebecca Blank named Steve Ackerman the next vice chancellor for research and graduate education, one of a handful of high-profile positions that report directly to Blank. The job entails overseeing $1.2 billion in annual research spending and thousands of graduate students.
Ackerman emerged as the top choice in a search that began in 2018 but was put on hold last spring. He faces the challenge of reversing a recent slide in the university’s national research ranking and increasing research conducted in collaboration with businesses, an area in which UW-Madison significantly lags behind peer institutions.