Program Facilitator

Diane Pillard, Emeritus CEO/Dean of UW-Rock County

Diane Pillard is the former Campus Executive Officer and Dean of the University of Wisconsin-Rock County in Janesville, a position she held from January 2006 to July 2011, when she retired. Prior to accepting the position as dean, Diane served as director of Continuing Education and Extended Services for the UW Colleges in Madison for six years. When she accepted the position as dean she described it as “coming home,” since she had worked at the campus from 1984 until 1999 as outreach program manager, director of university relations and associate lecturer.

Several major accomplishments occurred during Diane’s tenure as dean, including the addition of a collaborative engineering degree program with UW-Platteville and the construction of the Engineering Center on the campus; completion of an $11 million building and renovation project; record-breaking enrollment on the campus for the past several years; and, most recently, the addition of a collaborative bachelor’s degree in nursing with UW Oshkosh and Blackhawk Technical College.

Diane holds a Master of Science degree in mass communication and a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism and English, both from UW-Whitewater.

Diane and her husband Mike have deep roots in the Rock County community. A resident of Milton since 1973, she served two terms on the Milton Board of Education and has been a member of numerous boards and organizations over the years. She continues to serve on the Cedar Crest Board of Directors and the St. Mary’s Hospital Advisory Board, in addition to United Way.