ADMINISTRATIVE POSITIONS

December, 2014-2018     Division Director, Earth Sciences Division, National Science Foundation

• As division director, I promote excellence in Earth Science research and discovery through oversight of portfolio of basic research and education awards ($178M/year);
• Oversee 40 scientific and administrative division staff, including recruitment, performance appraisal, and succession planning;
• Lead organizational change through division strategic planning and self-study activities, including commissioning a National Academy decadal survey of Earth Science priorities; and
• Develop and strengthen partnerships, including with international, government, and private sector organizations and the general public. I communicate and promote NSF’s contributions to the nation’s economy, security, and global leadership.

2012-Aug. 31, 2013   Associate Provost, University of Wyoming

• Responsible for Undergraduate Education and Academic Budgets ($102.5M/year)
• With provost and the two other associate provosts, guided strategic planning for 2014-2020 [PDF] and completion of action items for 2009-2014 plan
• Performed critical analysis of the $32M annual budget of the College of Arts and Sciences, addressed budgetary shortfalls, and corrected procedures to produce more stable fiscal operations
• Designed and oversaw process of managing staff vacancies to reduce staff by 44 positions as part of $12M budget reductions that took effect July 1, 2013, then revised and continued process to enable reallocation of staff resources to priority areas (see Update on second quarterly non-academic staff vacancy management PDF  and Central Position Management Process forUW Staff PDF)
• Oversaw faculty committees developing and implementing new undergraduate general education requirements (University Studies Review Task Force –Stage 3: Implementation PDF)
• Guided faculty committees in developing expertise in innovative pedagogies and selection of versatile learning management system to support them (UW’s new WyoCourses learning management system PDF)
• Initiated an academic leadership program for associate professors who show promise as future department heads, research directors, or other leadership positions
• Together with the Dean of Health Sciences and state leaders in medical sciences, reorganized UW Family Practice Residency Centers in Cheyenne and Casper as an Educational Health Center to enable sustainable, quality medical education and safety-net health care (Report to the Governor on the University of Wyoming Family Medicine Residency Program PDF)
• Analyzed faculty retention and prepared strategies for increasing salaries with Associate Provost Ballenger (Scenarios for Increasing UW Employee Salaries PDF)

 

2010-2012             Vice President for Special Projects, University of Wyoming

• Led successful initiative to raise undergraduate assured admission standards at UW in order to increase student success and completion rates (see UW's Redefined Categories of Admission PDF and Meeting the Higher Education Challenge: A Strategy for SuccessPDF)
• Developed and implemented a strategic plan for raising the quality of graduate education at UW (Raising the Stature of Gradute Research Education at UW PDF)
• Coordinated a faculty task force to establish an interdisciplinary program in biodiversity conservation (A Biodiversity Initiative for the University of Wyoming PDF)
• Initiated and facilitated a faculty steering committee to establish a humanities research center (A Proposal for the Humanities PDF)

 

2008-2010             Associate Vice President for Research, University of Wyoming

• Initiated UW’s research program in carbon sequestration with a $2.3 million DOE contract, overseeing 11 groups of faculty and student researchers. Subsequently secured $16.9 million in contracts from the Department of Energy and industry sources along with $40 million appropriated by the Wyoming state legislature that established a Carbon Management Institute in the School of Energy Resources
• Reviewed and reorganized UW’s core research facilities, establishing uniform operations structures and bringing them into financial compliance with federal regulation governing specialized service facilities
• Co-authored State Science and Technology Plan and Wyoming Economic Index (A Plan for WyomingScience and Technology PDF)
• Authored UW’s Code of Ethics and Conflict of Interest policy (see University of Wyoming Code of Ethical Conduct PDF, Policies Governing Conflict of Interest and Commitment PDF, and UW's Board of Trustee Conflict of Interest Policy PDF)

 

2006-2007             Founding Director, School of Energy Resources, University of Wyoming

• Implemented the strategic plan for the school, including hiring permanent director and first faculty members; starting research centers, matching grant programs, and graduate student assistantship program; designing undergraduate major; and assisting in fund-raising for an energy resources building

 

2005-2008             Associate Head, Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wyoming

• Responsible for faculty and staff performance evaluations, annual reports, departmental plan, and serving as department head in his absence