Colón named to UW Board of Regents
Gov. Tony Evers on Thursday named Héctor Colón, president and CEO of Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, the newest member of the University of Wisconsin System’s Board of Regents.
Colón is a familiar name around Milwaukee County, having served six years as director of Milwaukee County Health and Human Services.
“The UW Board of Regents plays a critical role in not only the success of the UW System but the success of each of our students,” Evers said. “I believe Héctor’s experience turning around budgets, advocating on behalf of some of Wisconsin’s most vulnerable residents, and visionary leadership style will serve the board well.”
The UW System’s board is made up of 18 members. Fourteen members serve seven-year terms. Two students serve yearlong terms. And two positions are set aside for a Wisconsin Technical College System representative and the state superintendent of schools. Evers sat on the board for 10 years in the latter role.
Colón will take the seat left by longtime regent Gerald Whitburn, who served for years in Gov. Tommy Thompson’s cabinet and was first appointed to the board by Gov. Scott Walker. Whitburn resigned Jan. 3 effective immediately, vacating a seat he could have held until May 2025.
During Colón’s time as director of Health and Human Services, the department achieved a 58% reduction in Milwaukee County’s uninsured rate, reduced chronic homelessness by more than 75%, and pushed to move Milwaukee County youths out of the state’s juvenile prisons in northern Wisconsin and return them to the county.
In 2017, Colón resigned after six years amid pay cuts imposed by the Milwaukee County Board.