Chancellor search committee narrows field of finalists

 

Chancellor search committee narrows field of finalists

Submitted by Carla Browning
Phone: (907) 474 -7778

04/09/04

The 27-member committee appointed by University of Alaska President Mark Hamilton to conduct a nationwide search for a new UAF chancellor has narrowed its field of finalists for the position. The committee of staff, faculty, students and community members began a nationwide search in December and will bring the first of several finalists for the job of UAF’s chief executive officer to Alaska for campus interviews Monday, April 12.

After serving as an educator in the state for more than 40 years, current UAF Chancellor Marshall Lind will retire July 1. Lind has been a university chancellor for nearly half his career, having led UAF for the past five years and the University of Alaska Southeast for more than 12 years prior to his Fairbanks appointment.

The first candidate to visit UAF is Stephen G. Wells, president of the University of Nevada’s Desert Research Institute. DRI is an autonomous nonprofit division of the University and Community College System of Nevada (UCCSN), reporting to the UCCSN chancellor and ultimately to the UN board of regents.

As DRI president and chief executive officer, Wells is responsible for a $37 million enterprise that conducts scientific research in Nevada and throughout the world. DRI is one of the world’s largest multidisciplinary environmental research organizations with approximately 460 scientists, technologists and other support staff.

Wells oversees three core research divisions (atmospheric sciences, earth and ecosystem sciences and hydrologic sciences) and two interdisciplinary centers (arid lands environmental management and watersheds and environmental sustainability).

Prior to joining DRI in July 1995 as Executive Director of the Quaternary Sciences Center, Wells was professor of geomorphology and chair of the graduate program in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of California, Riverside.

Wells began his academic career at the University of New Mexico in 1976, ultimately serving as chair of the Department of Geology from 1989 to 1991.

His visiting appointments include postings with the U.S. Air Force Office of Research, the U.S. Geological Survey, Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of Liverpool.

He is the associate editor and editorial board member of three international scientific journals, a member of the U.S. National Committee, International Union for Quaternary Research, a fellow in the Geological Society of America and has received three national awards for research excellence.

In 1971, Wells received his bachelor of science degree in geology from Indiana University. He received both his master’s and Ph.D. in geology from the University of Cincinnati in 1973 and 1976 respectively. He has published nearly 60 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters, and edited six volumes.

Several open forums will provide opportunities for people to meet the candidate. An online feedback form will be posted on the chancellor search website to provide an opportunity for the public to evaluate the candidate. Open forums to meet Wells are as follows:

Tuesday, April 13
1:30 2:45 p.m., Open Forum with faculty/staff/students
Wood Center Carol Brown Ballroom, Fairbanks
3:30 5 p.m., Open Forum with faculty/staff/students and community
Tanana Valley Campus Center, 604 Barnette Street, Fairbanks
5 6:30 p.m., Community Reception
TVCC, 604 Barnette Street, Fairbanks
Wednesday, April 14
1-2:30 p.m., Open Forum with faculty/staff/students and community
Kuskokwim Campus, Bethel

Thursday, April 15
10:15 a.m. noon, Open Forum with faculty/staff/students
Geophysical Institute, Globe Room, Fairbanks
Names of the other three finalists will be announced one week in advance of campus visits and in conjunction with finalized candidate itineraries. Tentative dates for the candidates’ visits are April 26-28, May 3-5, and May 12-14.

CONTACT: UAF Public Information Officer Carla Browning, (907) 474-7778 or visit the chancellor search website www.uaf.edu/chancellor/search/index.html or www.dri.edu/People/sgwells/ for more information.