OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — As current Provost John Koker gets set to retire, UW Oshkosh has officially named Dr. Edwin "Ed" Martini as his successor.
Martini currently serves as the Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning at Western Michigan University. He says he's seen the importance of expanding and adapting education during his time there and says that approach will be important for UWO as well.
“We’ve gotta make sure we’re offering the right mix of programs and the right modalities for programs…" he said, "as we think about long-term sustainable enrollments, it’s not just those traditional 18-22 year olds coming out of high school, but learners who maybe have some college but no degree, adult learners who need to retool to stay competitive in the global economy. UWO’s gonna be well positioned to tackle all those challenges as well.”
UWO Chancellor Dr. Andrew Leavitt said Martini's skill set will complement UWO well, and strengthen weak spots in the school's strategy.
“Dr. Martini has a lot of experiences in some of the areas we want to work on…" he said, "colleges and universities are always interested in programming array and delivery methods of instruction.”
In addition to overseeing budgeting and day-to-day operations of the university as provost, Martini will also serve as the Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs. He says he's excited for that challenge and happy to be part of a school he thinks makes a big impact in the area.
“It’s a campus that really has a good sense of who it is…" he said, "building on it’s well known reputation for things like sustainability and it’s ability to get students involved in doing that kind of community-based research that can help solve the problems of the region and the state.”
Martini is set to officially begin at UWO the first week of July.
