Rita Cheng

2007;  First Term Completed October 2010

Rita Cheng has served as Provost at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee since April 2005.  She is the ninth person and second woman to serve as the provost of UWM since the university was established in 1956.

Rita joined UWM in 1988 as an assistant professor of accounting in the School of Business Administration.  Within the School of Business Administration, she held the title the A.O. Smith Professor of Accounting first as an associate professor from 1994 to 2002 and then as a professor from 2002 to 2004. She also served as Special Assistant to the School of Business Dean for Affirmative Action from 1994 to 2003.

Rita has served the university in several high-level administrative capacities in recent years. She was the Interim Dean of the School of Continuing Education in 2004 and 2005, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs from 2002 to 2005, and Associate Dean of the School of Business Administration from 1998 to 2003.  While in these roles, she led both the campus Higher Learning Commission and the Business School’s AACSB re-accreditation efforts.

Rita's research focuses on nonprofit and governmental accountability. She has published numerous journal articles and technical reports.  Recent articles have assessed government performance reporting, government accounting choice models, nonprofit financial performance, and the influence of accounting regulation on corporate business competitiveness. Her internationally recognized research and leadership in the academic accounting field have directly influenced today's national standards. She is a co-author of a leading accounting textbook and is a Wisconsin Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Government Financial Manager.

Her Ph.D. is from the Fox School of Business and Management at Temple University (major in accounting and minor in public administration). She earned her MBA degree from the University of Rhode Island and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with honours from Bishop’s University, Lennoxville, Quebec.

Personal Notes

Rita is married to Tom Cheng, and with his extended Chinese-American family, has traveled to the ancestral village in China, explored the far frontiers of Chinese cuisine, and acquired a jade bracelet that is a permanent fashion accessory—it can only be removed with a jeweler’s saw!

Rita has experienced Gen Y firsthand—her twenty something son Sam is a computer whiz at Amazon headquarters in Seattle—he is a strong advocate for ‘more toys for Mom.’

Rita’s daughter Erica works as a financial consultant to nonprofits—recent quote: “I really like the numbers—am I turning into my mother!?!