Following a national search, four finalists for the next chancellor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have been named. The finalists will visit the university over the next several weeks.
They are Sabah Randhawa, provost and executive vice president at Oregon State University; April Mason, provost and senior vice president at Kansas State University; Daniel Reed, vice president for research and economic development at the University of Iowa; and Ronnie Green, vice chancellor of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources and interim senior vice chancellor for academic affairs at UNL.
Hank Bounds, president of the University of Nebraska system, announced the names of finalists Feb. 16. He said each will visit the university for interviews, meetings with university and community stakeholders, and public forums that will provide Nebraskans chances to meet the candidates, ask questions and offer feedback.
“I’m pleased that we have identified four talented individuals who recognize UNL’s impressive momentum and are excited about the opportunity to lead this campus,” Bounds said. “I look forward to getting to know our finalists better and hearing more about their vision for UNL.
“I hope students, faculty, staff and all Nebraskans will take advantage of the many opportunities we are offering to meet the finalists and share their thoughts. Feedback from our stakeholders is an important component of the search process.”
Bounds praised the work of the 25-member advisory committee that, with the professional firm Isaacson, Miller, assisted with the search. The committee, chaired by Susan Sheridan, UNL professor of educational psychology, included representatives of UNL’s major stakeholder groups and helped to identify, recruit and vet applicants, he said.
Chancellor Harvey Perlman has announced that he will step down on June 30 after more than a decade and a half of leadership at the university. His tenure has marked a period of growth and progress, including the university’s admission into the Big Ten Conference; growth in research, enrollment and physical facilities; and the formation of Nebraska Innovation Campus, among other accomplishments.
While the forums are intended to focus discussion on topics relevant to their particular audiences, all are open to any member of the public or news media.
Finalist backgrounds and visit schedules are:
Sabah Randhawa, provost and executive vice president at Oregon State University; campus visit Feb. 21-23. Staff forum: Feb. 22, 2 p.m., Nebraska Union Auditorium; faculty forum: Feb. 22, 3 p.m., Nebraska Union Auditorium; student forum: Feb. 22, 4 p.m., Nebraska Union Auditorium; media availability: Feb. 22, 5 p.m., Nebraska Union Auditorium; research faculty forum: Feb. 23, 9:45 a.m., Nebraska Union Auditorium; open forum: Feb. 23, 10:30 a.m., Nebraska Union Auditorium.
As Oregon State’s second-ranking administrator, Randhawa serves as chief operating officer and chief academic officer, reporting to the president. As chief academic officer, he provides intellectual leadership to the entire university, including oversight of faculty and student services, information and technology services, research and graduate program administration, the university’s global diversity and internationalization agenda, statewide public service programs, and activities related to distance and continuing education. Randhawa works with the vice president for research to advance the university’s research agenda and bring a research experience to undergraduate and graduate education. He also serves as the liaison to the OSU Faculty Senate and is responsible for maintaining relationships with academic officers of other public universities within Oregon, Oregon community colleges and independent higher education institutions in Oregon and across the nation.
As chief operating officer, Randhawa is responsible for the university’s budget and infrastructure planning, and for continuing the development and implementation of the university’s strategic plan.
Reporting to the provost are deans of 11 academic colleges, the Graduate School and the University Honors College; vice provosts for academic affairs, information services, international programs, student affairs, undergraduate studies and university outreach and engagement; associate provosts for enrollment management and extended campus; the chief compliance officer; and the vice president for OSU’s Cascades campus.
At OSU, Randhawa has served as vice provost for academic affairs and international programs, interim dean for the College of Business, associate dean for operations in the College of Engineering, and department head for industrial and manufacturing engineering. He earned a bachelor’s in chemical engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology in Pakistan and a master’s and doctorate in industrial engineering from Oregon State and Arizona State University, respectively.
April Mason, provost and senior vice president at Kansas State University; campus visit Feb. 23-25. Staff forum: Feb. 24, 2 p.m., Nebraska Union Auditorium; faculty forum: Feb. 24, 3 p.m., Nebraska Union Auditorium; student forum: Feb. 24, 4 p.m., Nebraska Union Auditorium; media availability: Feb. 24, 5 p.m., Nebraska Union Auditorium; research faculty forum: Feb. 25, 9:45 a.m., Nebraska Union Auditorium; open forum: Feb. 25, 10:30 a.m., Nebraska Union Auditorium.
As Kansas State’s chief academic officer, Mason provides oversight and leadership to the academic dimensions of the university and ensures the university’s academic standards. She is the second-ranking administrator, responsible for undergraduate and graduate academic programs on three campuses. The deans of the nine academic colleges, the Libraries, Graduate School, Global Campus, and the CEOs of K-State Salina and K-State Olathe, among other offices, report to Mason.
Since her arrival at Kansas State in 2010, Mason has worked closely with the president as a key driver of the K-State 2025 strategic plan and is committed to helping K-State become a top 50 public research university by 2025. She chairs the University Budget Advisory Committee, works closely with the K-State Foundation and president on the university’s comprehensive development campaign, is responsible for the university’s academic reporting to the Kansas Board of Regents, and serves on several boards, including K-State Athletics and the Kansas State University Research Foundation.
Mason also is chair of the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities Council on Academic Affairs and as president of the newly formed Association of Chief Academic Officers, an affiliate organization of the American Council on Education.
Mason came to K-State from the position of dean of the College of Applied Human Sciences at Colorado State University. Before that, she was on the faculty and served as an administrator at Purdue University in the College of Consumer and Family Science and the Department of Foods and Nutrition.
Mason holds her doctorate in nutrition and her master’s degree in botany from Purdue, and her undergraduate degree in biology from University of Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio. Her primary research areas have been food security and nutrient availability from plant food products.
Daniel Reed, vice president for research and economic development; university chair in computational science and bioinformatics; and professor of computer science, electrical and computer engineering and medicine at the University of Iowa; campus visit Feb. 29-March 2. Staff forum: March 1, 2 p.m., Nebraska Union Auditorium; faculty forum: March 1, 3 p.m., Nebraska Union Auditorium; student forum: March 1, 4 p.m., Nebraska Union Auditorium; media availability: March 1, 5 p.m., Nebraska Union Auditorium; research faculty forum: March 2, 9:45 a.m., Nebraska Union Auditorium; open forum: March 2, 10:30 a.m., Nebraska Union Auditorium.
Reed oversees the University of Iowa’s portfolio of more than $400 million in externally funded research, its campus-wide research centers, its economic development mission, faculty startups and corporate licensing, its Pentacrest museums and mobile outreach to schools and communities, and several state agencies.
Previously, he was Microsoft’s corporate vice president for technology policy and extreme computing, where he helped shape Microsoft’s long-term vision for technology innovations in cloud computing and associated policy engagement. Before joining Microsoft, he was the founding director of the Renaissance Computing Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he also served as Chancellor’s Eminent Professor and vice chancellor for information technology. Prior to that, he was the Edward William and Jane Marr Gutgsell Professor and head of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and director of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. He was a principal investigator and chief architect for the NSF TeraGrid, an $80 million national project to provide advanced computing infrastructure for scientific and engineering discovery.
Reed has been a member of the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and the President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee. He is the past chair of the Board of Directors of the Computing Research Association and currently is on its government affairs committee. He chairs the Department of Energy’s Advanced Scientific Computing Advisory Committee and is a member of the executive committee for the APLU’s Council on Research. Reed earned a bachelor’s from the University of Missouri-Rolla and a master’s and doctorate from Purdue, all in computer science.
Ronnie Green, vice president for agriculture and natural resources at the University of Nebraska; Harlan Vice Chancellor of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources and interim senior vice chancellor for academic affairs at UNL; campus visit March 2-4. Staff forum: March 3, 2 p.m., Nebraska Union Regency A; faculty forum: March 3, 3 p.m., Nebraska Union Colonial A & B; student forum: March 3, 4 p.m., Nebraska Union Colonial A & B; media availability: March 3, 5 p.m., Nebraska Union Colonial A & B; research faculty forum: March 4, 9:45 a.m., Nebraska Union Colonial A; open forum: March 4, 10:30 a.m., Nebraska Union Colonial A.
Green was raised on a mixed beef, dairy and cropping farm in Virginia. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in animal science from Virginia Tech and Colorado State University, respectively. His doctorate program was completed jointly at the University of Nebraska and the USDA-ARS U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in animal breeding and genetics.
Green has been on the animal science faculties of Texas Tech University and Colorado State, and as the national program leader for animal production research for the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service. He has also served as executive secretary of the White House’s interagency working group on animal genomics within the National Science and Technology Council, where he was one of the principal leaders in the international bovine, porcine and ovine genome sequencing projects. Prior to coming to NU in 2010, Green served as senior global director of technical services for Pfizer Animal Health’s animal genomics business.
Green has published 130 refereed publications and abstracts, nine book chapters and 56 invited symposia papers; and has delivered invited presentations in 43 U.S. states and 21 countries. He is a past president of the American Society of Animal Science and the National Block and Bridle Club, and has served in leadership positions for the U.S. Beef Improvement Federation, National Cattlemens Beef Association, National Pork Board, Federated Animal Science Societies, National Research Council, Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, the Farm Foundation Roundtable, and several corporate task forces and boards. He was named a fellow of ASAS in 2014 and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2015.
Bounds will make the final selection of the next UNL chancellor, subject to approval by the NU Board of Regents. Detailed and updated information on the chancellor search is available here.
