GLT » HRC: UW-Madison will be biggest university with gay leader

President of Wisconsin Technical College System Board Mary Quinnette Cuene, left, and Bettsey Barhorst, President of Madison Area Technical College, meet with Cornell University Provost Carolyn “Biddy” Martin, center, during a reception on Tuesday, May 13, 2008, in Madison, Wis. Martin was recommended Wednesday, May 28, 2008, as the next chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The Associated Press: Wisconsin State Journa, Steve Apps

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HRC: UW-Madison will be biggest university with gay leader

Cornell provost recommended to post

Published Thursday, 05-Jun-2008 in issue 1067

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The University of Wisconsin-Madison is set to become the biggest university to have an openly gay leader, according to gay rights advocates who are hailing the appointment as a milestone.

Cornell University Provost Biddy Martin was recommended May 28 to be the next chancellor at UW-Madison, a top national research university with 40,000 students.

Martin, the No. 2 official at Cornell since 2000, is a professor of women’s studies and German studies who wrote the 1995 book: “Femininity Played Straight: The Significance of Being Lesbian.”

About eight to 10 openly gay people have become college presidents and chancellors but mostly at small colleges, said Candace Gingrich of the Human Rights Campaign.

“None the size of UW-Madison,” she said in a phone interview. “It is a big milestone, and it’s part of the progress that we’re seeing at the college and university levels. When you’ve got more and more openly gay faculty members and openly gay administrators, there are bound to be those who want to aspire to presidencies and chancellorships.”

UW System spokesman David Giroux said Martin’s sexual orientation was not a factor in her appointment, which is expected to be confirmed by the Board of Regents next week.

“What she is, in our eyes, is an exceptionally qualified academic leader. Period,” Giroux said. “And she was brought here so she can apply that considerable experience to our flagship campus and move us forward in areas of education and research.”

Still, the move is another gay rights milestone for Madison, which was the first area in the nation to elect an openly gay member of Congress, Rep. Tammy Baldwin, in 1998.

Amit Taneja, co-chair of the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals, said Martin follows in the footsteps of other openly gay university leaders including Ralph Hexter, president of Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., and Chuck Middleton, president of Roosevelt University in Chicago.

“They have been trailblazers in showing to the public that sexual orientation has little to nothing to do with their ability to do their job, although it definitely shapes their world view just like any other identity,” Taneja said. “I think this decision exemplifies UW-Madison’s commitment to diversity and willingness to hire the best candidate for the position.”

Through a UW-Madison spokesman, Martin downplayed the significance of her appointment for the gay rights movement.

“Although she certainly appreciates the sentiment, she believes the focus and responsibility of her chancellorship is to make sure that all constituencies at UW-Madison are treated fairly,” spokesman Dennis Chaptman said.