UW President Extends Appointment of Vice President for Academic Affairs

University of Wyoming President Dick McGinity has extended the appointment of Vice President for Academic Affairs David Jones, citing his excellent work as an administrator and a need to move forward on important university initiatives.

Jones, UW professor of communication disorders, has been UW’s chief academic officer since May after joining UW’s central administrative team as interim associate vice president in October 2013. His appointment as vice president of academic affairs now extends through June 30, 2016. In connection with the extension, "interim" has been removed from his title.

“Dr. Jones has stepped up to provide outstanding leadership at a crucial time for the university, effectively managing the university-wide tenure and promotion process while handling a large number of other challenging tasks,” McGinity says. “He is an outstanding scholar and teacher, a seasoned faculty leader, a hard-working team player and an effective communicator who has my complete support and confidence.”

Jones’ appointment clears the way for the university to attend to the leadership of UW’s Colleges of Law, Business, Education, and Engineering and Applied Science, which now are headed by interim deans. McGinity leads the current search process for a new College of Engineering and Applied Science dean; Jones now will attend to processes for the other three college deans.

“Attracting quality dean candidates will be facilitated by their knowing to whom they will report,” McGinity says. “We’re now in a position to move ahead with these important academic leadership selections without the uncertainty of a vice president search, which would take an entire academic year.”

In addition, Jones’ appointment will enable the university to focus on a number of other important initiatives, including its strategic planning process; pursuit of significant near-term funding opportunities from public and private sources; planning for programmatic and facilities projects that are central to UW’s top-quartile research and teaching aspirations; implementation of the new University Studies Program; and a transfer credit project underway with the state’s community colleges.

“Dr. Jones has demonstrated a very deep commitment to the university’s best interests, as well as an ability to communicate and work well with his colleagues, the Board of Trustees and legislators,” McGinity says. “These interactions will be crucial in helping the university successfully implement the historic initiatives already underway and capitalize on the tremendous opportunities that stand before us.”

A graduate of Westminster College (Pa., 1980) with a B.S. in biology and the University of Iowa with an M.A. (1983) and Ph.D. (1987) in speech pathology, Jones taught at the University of Iowa and Indiana University at Indianapolis before joining the faculty at UW in 2001. In addition to his teaching and research responsibilities, Jones has served on a number of college and university-wide committees. He served as the associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Health Sciences from 2007 to 2013.