As vice chancellor for finance and administration, Rob Cramer supervises UW-Madison’s budget, facilities, business services, human resources, police services, and university housing. He works closely with the provost to manage data, information technology, and strategy in support of the university’s teaching, research, and public service mission. The vice chancellor also serves as a senior advisor to the chancellor and provost on financial and administrative policies and procedures.
Cramer began his appointment in May 2021. He has extensive experience in higher education with the University of Wisconsin System and in state government at the Wisconsin Department of Administration. At UW-Madison, Cramer serves as executive sponsor for major campus and system projects, including Procure-to-Pay (P2P) and Administrative Transformation Program (ATP). He is committed to an engaged, diverse, and inclusive campus community and ensuring that all students, faculty, and staff flourish.
Prior to joining UW-Madison in November 2020 as the associate vice chancellor for Facilities Planning and Management, Cramer was Vice President for Administration at the University of Wisconsin System. As Vice President, his accomplishments included leading the UW Restructuring Project, establishing the UW System Office of Information Security, sponsoring the System-wide Digital Learning Environment project, and launching the Enterprise Risk Management program.
At UW-Platteville, Cramer was the Vice Chancellor for Administration. He directed the development of new residence halls through public/private partnerships, led campus recovery from a tornado in June 2014, strengthened financial modeling and planning, and promoted transparency and engagement in institutional budgeting.
Cramer served as Secretary of the State of Wisconsin Building Commission and Administrator of the Division of Facilities in the Wisconsin Department of Administration. He directed the development of several state biennial capital budgets and oversaw capital projects including the renovation of Camp Randall, the construction of Microbial Sciences, and the public/private University Square project.