Buchanan to Continue as UW President |  
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May 5, 2006 -- The University of Wyoming Board of Trustees and UW President Tom Buchanan have agreed on a contract that will extend Buchanan's presidency through June 30, 2007.
Buchanan, then UW vice president for academic affairs, was selected in March 2005 to replace Philip L. Dubois, who resigned to become chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He began a one-year contract on July 1, 2005.
During the 2005-06 academic year the trustees held a nationwide search for a permanent president. The search was ended in March, following the decision of two named finalists to withdraw from consideration, leaving Buchanan as the sole presidential candidate. At its April meeting in Casper the Board of Trustees offered Buchanan a one-year contract for Fiscal Year 2007.
"Following an appraisal of Tom's performance as president, the board decided to ask him to continue as president next year," says trustee President Judy Richards. "UW needs steady leadership during the coming year, and Tom will provide that leadership. The board will consider the issue of long-term leadership at an appropriate time."
Buchanan's contract for Fiscal Year 2007 mirrors his previous one-year contract, with the exception of a 3.5 percent salary increase to $238,044. That percentage increase is the average that UW employees will receive beginning July 1.
"As a UW graduate and as a 28-year UW employee, I have a deep regard for this university," says Buchanan. "When the trustees asked me to continue my presidency for another year, given the array of programs and projects we are pursuing, I accepted their offer.
"We have an opportunity to move the University of Wyoming farther, faster, than at any other point in its history," says Buchanan. "From the development of the School of Energy Resources, through implementation of the Hathaway Scholarship Program and the rebuilding of our faculty, to construction of major university facilities, this is a critical time for the University of Wyoming, and I am pleased to lead the university through this phase."
Buchanan earned a bachelor of science degree from the State University of New York, a master of science from the University of Wyoming, and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Prior to joining the UW faculty in 1979 as an assistant professor in the Department of Geography, Buchanan taught at the Pennsylvania State University and at the University of Illinois.
Buchanan served as assistant professor at UW from 1979-1985; associate professor from 1986-91; department head from 1988 to 1991, and was promoted to professor in 1991. He served as associate dean of the UW College of Arts and Sciences from 1991-1997, and was named UW's associate provost in 1997. He was chosen vice president for academic affairs in October 1998.
He received the John P. Ellbogen Meritorious Classroom Teaching Award in 1988 and the College of Arts and Sciences Seibold Professorship in 1990. In 1992 he was named a College of Arts and Sciences Exemplary Alumnus.
Currently a commissioner for the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education, Buchanan is former president of the Northwest Academic Forum, a 32-institution consortium of universities in 11 western states.
He has continued postdoctoral studies at the Harvard schools of Law, Business, and Graduate Education. Buchanan served as acting UW president during summer 2002. He is married to Jacque, whom he met while a student at UW. They have one son, Eric.
Posted on Friday, May 05, 2006
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