Gery Essenmacher

Gery Essenmacher retired in 2015 after over 30 years as a UW-Madison academic staff member. Gery was the undergraduate coordinator and undergraduate advisor in the Department of Chemistry for 25 years. In these positions, he worked with countless undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, academic and university staff, as well as administrative units across campus.
Gery then served as the associate dean for student academic affairs in the College of Letters and Science overseeing staff that provided college‐level academic and career advising, diversity and academic enrichment programs, scholarship management and official academic actions for over 17,000 undergraduates in UW‐Madison’s largest college.
He also served on countless UW-Madison and UW-System committees involved with advising, SOAR planning and operation, college and campus administration, search committees and was a key part of the development of the Query Library.
After retirement, Gery has continued his involvement with the university for the past few years working with Professor Bassam Shakhashiri in science outreach to provide science presentations and hands-on and minds-on activities throughout Wisconsin, teaming with undergraduate and graduate students to help make connections between science and current societal issues for younger students and adults.
Gery enjoys trailer camping and international travel with his wife, and being a real part of the lives of his 8 grandchildren. Their favorite activity usually involves some aspect of science experimentation.