THE MARTINI ERA. Incoming Chancellor Edwin Martini, pictured during a chat with Volume One on April 22, will be UW-Eau Claire's ninth chancellor. He aims to hit the ground running on this summer, July 1, by creating and building upon relationships both on and off campus.

Following a year-long search for the ninth chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, the nationally top-ranked college in our backyard has named its next leader: Dr. Edwin “Ed” Martini.

Martini’s appointment was officially announced by the Universities of Wisconsin System on Wednesday, April 22. He succeeds former Chancellor James Schmidt, who led UW-Eau Claire for over a decade, from 2013-2025. 

In mid-April, Martini and three other candidates – Matt Cecil, Raj Dakshinamurthy and Diana Rogers-Adkinson – spoke on campus and interacted with students, faculty and the public.

Those speaker forum events touched on a number of topics, with a particular focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Martini, who will be leaving his role as Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh to become UW-Eau Claire’s ninth chancellor, beginning July 1, comes with fresh experience related to creating and implementing an AI policy.

While AI will certainly continue to be a top-of-mind issue on college campuses and beyond, Volume One chatted with Martini about his background as a historian, his Midwestern roots and vision for year one as chancellor of UW-Eau Claire.

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(THE CHANCELLOR) IS KIND OF THE CHIEF STORYTELLER OF THE UNIVERSITY.

There's a lot more to that ... overseeing the whole operation; being a good steward of the budget and working with the System, region and other universities, but we have to be telling our story.

CHANCELLOR MARTINI

Martini’s Professional & Academic Background

Martini’s resumé is extensive. It displays his academic interests – he earned his bachelor’s degree and Ph.D. in American Studies – among a record of wide-ranging, interdisciplinary involvements from his former years as a professor and administrator.

Perhaps firstly a historian, Martini is also a published author; his research interests reflected in works he has written and edited, including Invisible Enemies: The American War on Vietnam, 1975-2000 and History of American Foreign Relations: Culture & Foreign Policy, War & Environment, among others.

Beginning in the mid-2000s, Martini’s career in academia turned to administrative leadership roles; he has served as an associate dean of arts and sciences, associate provost for extended university programs, vice provost for teaching and learning and founding dean of the Merze Tate College at Western Michigan University.

Martini joined UW-Oshkosh in July 2023, serving as the institution’s Academic Affairs Provost and Vice Chancellor.

There, according to his resumé, Martini “led a major academic realignment” which helped eliminate the university’s $18.5 million operating deficit in less than two years. He also “led institutional strategic planning” for student success and enrollment efforts; UW-Oshkosh has about 12,000 students compared to UW-Eau Claire’s 9,000 or so student population.

Martini also guided a reimagining and planning process of UW-Oshkosh’s library, helping the institution gain approval for the $137.5 million Polk Library Commons project in the state’s 2025-27 biennial budget.

He’s been a member or co-chair of many committees and initiatives with both Western Michigan University and the Universities of Wisconsin System, including the latter’s advisory board.

Why UW-Eau Claire And Why Now?

During a roughly half-hour conversation with Martini on UW-Eau Claire’s campus – on the day his appointment was announced, April 22 – he shared more about his upbringing, his taste in music and his vision for year one.

Unfortunately, he is a multi-generational Minnesota Vikings football fan, hailing from Bloomington, Minn.

“Full transparency,” he started, “My grandfather was actually a lawyer for one of the original partners who founded the Vikings back in 1960 and my parents met while working for the Vikings. So, you can see that I have absolutely no choice in the matter.”

Martini will strictly rep blue-and-gold on campus, he promised. (Perhaps a foam cheesehead cap will come later?)

Clearly, Volume One is hilarious. Or, Chancellor Martini was simply a good sport about our Vikings and Packers-related questioning. 

“Some faculty members kind of accidentally fall into administrative roles, and some have that as a defined career path. For me, it was always the latter,” Martini shared.

“It was really about fit,” he continued. “I didn’t just want to be a chancellor for chancellor’s sake. I wasn’t just going to go to any institution or any community. … I just thought so highly of the university and the community; it felt like a good professional and personal fit for me.”

UW-Eau Claire’s chancellor role was the only position Martini applied for in the past year, he said.

The university’s bold strategic plan – coupled with its reputation for maintaining long-standing, positive partnerships within the city – drew him to the institution.

“When I came to campus and had the chance to do a community dinner with alums and local partners, I was just absolutely overwhelmingly sold,” he said. “The passion that they used to talk about the university and the relationship between the community and university, it seemed like an incredible opportunity."

To that end, Martini will focus on creating and building upon relationships on campus and in the wider community, he said.

Outside of his central focuses – his family and his work – Martini pointed to three passions: Music, books and sports. Martini and his wife will relocate to Eau Claire soon, as his children are now college-bound or already living on their own.

"WE HAVE TO BE CHAMPIONS FOR OUR UNIVERSITY, FOR THE UNIVERSITIES OF WISCONSIN AND FOR HIGHER ED IN GENERAL."

CHANCELLOR MARTINI

He’s heard Eau Claire’s open mic scene is great, and folks may just see him get up on a local stage in the future. According to Martini's kids, his music taste is totally “dad rock” – Wilco, Jason Isbell and the Indigo Girls are on his regular rotation.

Martini is a big Division III athletics fan and frequently watches collegiate sports in his free time, he added. While he doesn’t have as much time for research and reading these days, storytelling has found its way into his work anyway.

“(The chancellor) is kind of the chief storyteller of the university,” Martini said. “There’s a lot more to that – being chief executive at a university means overseeing the whole operation; being a good steward of the budget and working with the system, region and other universities – but we have to be telling our story.

“We have to be champions for our university, for the Universities of Wisconsin and for higher ed in general,” he said.

View Dr. Edwin Martini's resumé, as shared by the Universities of Wisconsin online • Incoming Chancellor Martini will officially begin at UW-Eau Claire on July 1, 2026