Chancellor's Office
Biography
High resolution photos of David Wilson
On May 1, 2006, David Wilson became the first chancellor to lead two UW System institutions simultaneously. As chancellor of the University of Wisconsin Colleges and the University of Wisconsin-Extension, he is responsible for a wide array of educational networks, campuses and programs that offer unparalleled access to higher education.
The 13 UW Colleges offers an Associate Degree in Arts and Science. Its general education, liberal arts curriculum prepares students of all ages and backgrounds for baccalaureate and professional programs, for lifelong learning, and for leadership, service, and responsible citizenship. The UW Colleges' campuses provide outstanding academic preparation for students, assuring successful preparation for transfer to baccalaureate institutions.
Through UW-Extension, all Wisconsin people can access university resources and engage in lifelong learning, wherever they live and work. UW-Extension includes Cooperative Extension offices in 72 counties and three tribal nations, 13 Small Business Development Centers and Outreach and E-Learning programs delivered via the 26 UW System campuses and distance-learning channels, as well as the statewide networks of Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Television.
Before joining UW Colleges and UW-Extension, Dr. Wilson served as Vice President for University Outreach at Auburn University. He was the first African-American to assume a Vice Presidency at Auburn.
Dr. Wilson earned his Bachelor of Science in Political Science and a Master's of Education at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University). He earned another Master's in Educational Planning and Administration and a Doctorate in Administration, Planning and Social Policy at Harvard University.
He serves on the Board of Directors of MDC, Inc. in Chapel Hill, NC; the University Continuing Education Association (UCEA) in Washington, DC; and is a co-founder of the Alabama Black Belt Community Foundation. Further, Dr. Wilson served as a consultant with Ayers and Associates in Arlington, VA, and was one of the co-authors of a national study on the state of financial aid among minority students. The results of the study were the basis of the billion-dollar Gates Millennium Scholars Program.
Wilson has been the Associate Provost at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey and was a Program Officer and Director of the Office of Minority Programs at the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation in Princeton, New Jersey. He has won numerous fellowships, such as the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship and the Kellogg Fellowship, and has received numerous awards and citations, including being selected by Dollars and Sense Magazine of Chicago as one of America's best and brightest young professional men. In 1998, he was named by the American Association of Higher Education as one of the top 100 leaders in higher education in the United States.