Jon Enslin named new assistant chancellor for advancement

December 15, 2004

Jonathan Enslin, executive director of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Foundation, has been selected by Chancellor Jack Miller to be UW-Whitewater’s new assistant chancellor for advancement, effective Jan. 15, 2005.

Enslin, who has been Foundation executive director since 1999, will succeed Mike Spellman, who has served as assistant chancellor since 1986. Spellman announced plans to change assignments in spring 2004 and will continue at UW-Whitewater for several years as a senior fund raiser responsible for major gift cultivation.

“I am very pleased to announce my selection of Jon to lead the university’s advancement efforts,” said Miller. “Jon has earned a broad base of support across the university. We have successes to build on but also challenges in taking advancement efforts to a new level, and I am confident Jon will rise to the occasion.”

Enslin will oversee the Advancement Division, which includes Alumni Affairs, the Foundation, News and Publications, Photographics and Printing Services. He will also serve as a lead fund raiser for the university and work closely with the chancellor and the four college development officers in setting institutional goals for development.

“I am honored and excited to be given this opportunity,” said Enslin. “Over the past eight years, I have seen firsthand how a UW-Whitewater education has transformed our students and made a big impact on their lives. I am dedicated to making a positive impact on this campus and enriching the student experience.”

One of Enslin’s top priorities will be to continue the progress of the Beyond Tradition campaign, which to date has generated more than $3 million in private support for a new Business and Economics building. Other priorities will be to build greater connections with UW-Whitewater’s more than 60,000 living alumni and to raise the university endowment to $15 million by 2007.

The endowment in particular will be critical to the university’s future by providing more merit and need-based student scholarships, endowed faculty chairs and other forms of academic support.

Enslin has been with UW-Whitewater since 1996, when he began as director of development and associate executive director of the Foundation. Prior to joining UW-Whitewater, Enslin was associate director of development and director of corporate and foundation relations for Indiana State University in Terre Haute. Enslin also held advancement posts at Mount Mary College and Cardinal Stritch College, both in Milwaukee.

A native of Madison, Enslin earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Marquette University and is currently working toward his MBA degree at UW-Whitewater. His wife, Kay, and their three children – Jacob, Samuel and Joseph — live in Fort Atkinson.