Cornell University Provost Biddy Martin, one of four candidates in the running for UW-Madison chancellor, is no stranger to hard decisions.

Nor does she duck controversy, colleagues say.

At Cornell, she co-chaired a committee that recommended dissolving the division of biological sciences and spreading the majors among campus schools. It was a dramatic change for the 30-year-old division.

"I think it's fair to say that the majority of faculty members in the division were against the breakup," said Jeff Doyle, professor of plant biology and director of undergraduate biology. "And so there was considerable resistance and resentment."

But the discontent died quickly, Doyle said, and Martin was instrumental in making the new system successful. Ten years later, the reorganization is considered a success, Doyle and others said.

"She's been a very strong provost," said Peter Lepage, dean of the College of Letters and Sciences at Cornell. "She has not shied away from controversial things that needed to be done."

As provost, Martin developed a program to provide more financial aid to struggling students, helped raise money for a $110 million life science building, administered a retention plan for faculty and created a reading program for incoming freshmen.

Martin grew up in Lynchburg, Va. Born Carolyn, she got her nickname, Biddy, because her older brother would refer to her as the "biddy baby," as in, itty-bitty, Martin said. Like many southern nicknames, it stuck.

She got her doctorate in German literature at UW-Madison in 1985, then took a job as assistant professor of German studies and women's studies at Cornell, where she climbed the ranks, eventually landing the No. 2 job of provost in 2000.

At a news conference Tuesday at Memorial Union, Martin noted the advantages of having an insider's perspective at UW-Madison with years of administrative experience at a different university.

"It's always an advantage to know a place and love a place, and then also to have had experiences elsewhere," she said. "And to know from firsthand experience how things can be done differently. That's the advantage probably anyone from the outside can bring. It's just a fresh pair of eyes, a new look at things."

Martin has studied sexuality and gender and wrote a book, "Femininity Played Straight: The Significance of Being Lesbian."

The director of UW-Madison's LGBT campus center, Eric Trekell, said he believes Martin would be the first openly gay chancellor of UW-Madison.

As provost, Martin is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the university, including 12 colleges and an annual budget of $2.8 billion.

Martin stressed the importance of balancing scientific research and supporting arts and humanities at the university.

"I think it can be a chancellor's job, among many other jobs, to be a translator of the importance of the arts and humanities to a wider public," she said.

Because Cornell is New York state's land grant university, the school is an unusual hybrid of private and public, with some programs receiving public money to further a public mission.

"A place like Madison would not be such a big, new kind of surprise," said Hunter Rawlings, former president of Cornell. "She's been to Albany many times to work with legislators and the governor."

Martin led an initiative to make Cornell more accessible to students regardless of ability to pay by providing financial aid for families who make less than $75,000.

Martin is also known for starting a reading project for incoming students at Cornell. They spend a part of their first week on campus in small groups discussing a book assigned over the summer.

She is "intellectual" in her leadership approach, Rawlings said, and relates well to students and faculty.

"She has a certain kind of nice, informal way about her, not only with students, but generally," Rawlings said. "She's just not a self-important person. That makes her easier to approach."