Craig Thompson, Vice Chancellor for University Relations
Position tit
Craig Thompson, appointed Vice Chancellor for University Relations in 2024, has more than 30 years of experience across local, county, state and federal government. Prior to joining UW–Madison, Thompson served as secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation beginning in 2019, where he managed more than 3,200 employees and a biennial budget of more than $8 billion. Previously, he worked for the Wisconsin Counties Association for 16 years and led the Transportation Development Association of Wisconsin for 12 years. At the TDA, Thompson led a successful effort to amend Wisconsin’s state constitution to protect the transportation fund. A Racine native, Thompson is a 1991 graduate of UW–Madison with a degree in political science.
