UW-Waukesha Announces New Associate Dean

Dean/CEO Harry Muir has announced that Joe Foy will be the college’s new associate dean. Foy, who previously served as an associate professor of political science at UW-Waukesha before leaving last academic year to teach at UW-Parkside, will start Aug. 1.

“Joe brings incredible energy and leadership skills to the position,” Muir said. “Since Joe is returning to the campus, he will be able to ‘hit the ground running’ upon his start date.”

Foy said he was excited to return to UW-Waukesha and is optimistic about the great work being done on campus.

“We have wonderful staff and faculty who are among the very best in the UW System and a terrific community for students of all backgrounds to come to learn and earn a degree,” he said. “I look forward to working with everyone to continue to pave pathways of opportunities, and strengthen our relationship with the community in order to best serve Waukesha County and southeastern Wisconsin.”

Foy graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in political science and international relations from Carroll College (Helena, Mont.). He went on to receive a master’s and Ph.D. in political science from the University of Notre Dame, where he served in Washington, D.C. as a Manatt Fellow for Democracy Studies at the International Foundation for Election Systems. He began teaching in 2005 as a lecturer at UW-Waukesha and UW-Washington County before taking a tenure-track position at the Waukesha campus where he later served as department chair for political science for the 13 UW Colleges campuses.

He has maintained an active research agenda, editing three books with a fourth one forthcoming, and has published more than 20 essays in various edited anthologies. He has been an invited contributor to The New York Times, frequent guest on Wisconsin Public Radio, and has given numerous talks around the country, including being an invited speaker to the Clinton School of Public Policy and Service at the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library.

As a member of the faculty, Foy received numerous research, teaching and service honors, including the PCA/ACA’s John G. Cawelti Award for Best Textbook, the Barrington-Musolf UW Colleges Faculty Research Award, the Arthur M. Kaplan Fellowship for Significant Innovation in Teaching, the UW Colleges Student Services External Contributor Award, and the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence. He was also recognized with his “little brother” with the 2008 Male Match of the Year by the Big Brothers, Big Sisters Organization of Metro Milwaukee. Foy recently taught at the UW-Parkside in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Law before returning to UW-Waukesha to become the associate dean. He lives in Waukesha with his wife and two children.

served as UW-Waukesha’s associate dean from 1995 until his g in has held the position on an interim basis since January. 

Foy, who called Zweifel a friend and mentor, said Zweifel was the first person he met in the UW Colleges.

“No one can ever replace Phil Zweifel or what he has meant to this campus and this community,” Foy said. “He is dearly missed. What I hope to do is to continue to help support the collegial community he helped to build and maintain his commitment to providing our students with the best possible learning environment.”

Foy said his initial goal is to get a clear sense of the priorities and direction of UW-Waukesha as the campus works to bring its curriculum in alignment with the college’s mission of serving students and educating more degree holders within the community.

“This is important not only because of the strong relationship between levels of educational attainment and economic growth, but also because our community and future is stronger because of the promises higher education helps to fulfill,” he said. “If we can find new and better ways of delivering the same high quality degree that UW-Waukesha has earned a reputation for granting, it will help facilitate greater opportunities for us all. I am eager to be a part of helping to make that happen.”