Kirsten Wolf

2018 election statement:

Kirsten Wolf is the Torger Thompson Chair and WARF named Kim Nilsson Professor in the Department of German, Nordic and Slavic. She has been a member of the faculty since 2001. She has spent a total of 19 years in her 29-year academic career as department chair. She is currently an associate chair in the Department of German, Nordic and Slavic. She has served on numerous university and college committees, including the Graduate Faculty Executive Committee, the Committee on Honorary Awards, the Committee on Faculty Rights and Responsibilities, the Named Awards Committee (Arts and Humanities Division) and the Executive Committee of the Arts and Humanities Division.

There are many reasons why it is a pleasure to work at UW-Madison. One is, of course, the university’s commitment to excellence in teaching and research. Another is the Wisconsin Idea. A third is the strong system of faculty governance. Prior to my appointment at UW-Madison, I held positions at universities in Denmark and Canada with a governance that might be characterized as top-down and top-heavy. UW-Madison, in contrast, has a lean administration, and faculty members have a say in decision-making. If elected to serve on the University Committee, my main goal is to ensure that the voices of faculty members continue to be heard and respected in order to maintain or even strengthen this healthy and beneficial tradition of faculty involvement. I am especially committed to the well-being of minority groups—such as First Nation people, people of color, people with disabilities, and the LGBTQ community—and want to do the utmost to ensure that their voices are heard.