Bowen Loftin was given a standing ovation Thursday morning after his introduction as the next Chancellor of the University of Missouri.
Loftin recalled as a young professor visiting the Columbia campus to do research and following the university in recent years.
Loftin’s new boss, University of Missouri System President Tim Wolfe, gave a long list of Loftin’s accomplishments at Texas A&M that will be a fit at Missouri.
It’s the second time Missouri has had a chancellor with a pedigree from A&M. Retired professor and Dean of Faculty Emeritus Haskell Monroe was in Columbia between 1987 and ’91.
Loftin says his start date in Columbia is February 1 of next year and he has a five year contract. He also said his wife, Karin, will be “a partner” with him in his new job and “she wants to ride horses.”
Click HERE to read the employment agreement, which includes:
• At-will employment, and not a contract, with no guaranteed length of employment, or buyout provisions.
• Serves as General Officer of the University, reports to President Wolfe like other 3 chancellors.
• Effective start date is February 1, 2014.
• Annual salary is $450,000.
• Eligible for all employee benefits, including medical, dental, life, disability insurance, retirement plans.
• Annual deferred compensation of $50,000, with 3-year vesting (forfeiture if leaves before 3 years)
• One-time hiring incentive of $135,000 to cover unreimbursed moving expenses and loss of unvested deferred compensation payments.
• One-time relocation expenses up to 10% of annual salary.
• Will live in Chancellor residence on campus.
Listen to Bowen Loftin introduction’s at Missouri
Listen to Bowen Loftin’s news conference
Click HERE to read Dr. Loftin’s curriculum vitae.
From Dr. Loftin’s A&M Facebook page:
To the Aggie Family
When I announced, in July of this year, my resignation from the presidency of Texas A&M University, I noted that my love for students is and has been my primary motivation. At that time a return to the faculty and to teaching and research seemed the logical path for me. Since that announcement I have devoted a great deal of thought to how best to continue doing what I love—se…rving students. Recently, a unique and exciting opportunity came my way, an opportunity to continue affecting the lives and futures of thousands of students, not just a few dozen enrolled in the classes I would teach or working in the laboratories where I would do research. While it is very difficult to imagine ourselves anywhere else but Aggieland, Karin and I have found a new home with many of the attributes of Texas A&M. Today the University of Missouri System is announcing that I will become the 22nd Chancellor of its flagship campus in Columbia, Missouri. As a Fightin’ Texas Aggie, a piece of me will always be here, and my love for this university’s students will not lessen. We look forward to maintaining the friendships we have forged here while we develop new ones in the State of Missouri. I will be leading the oldest public university west of the Mississippi, a land-grant institution that shares much with Texas A&M—a rich history, membership in the Association of American Universities and the Southeastern Conference, an outstanding faculty and staff, and a passionate student body and alumni. We wish only the best for Texas A&M and for its students, former students, faculty and staff.
News release courtesy of the University of Missouri System:
COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri System President Tim Wolfe today announced the appointment of Dr. R. Bowen Loftin, president of Texas A&M University, as the 22nd chancellor of the University of Missouri–Columbia. Loftin will begin serving as chancellor on February 1, 2014.
President Wolfe made the announcement to the University of Missouri community today at the Reynolds Alumni Center on the MU campus, introducing Loftin as the successor to Chancellor Brady Deaton, who retired November 15.
“Dr. Loftin is regarded as one of the top academic leaders in the nation and one of the most beloved and respected presidents in the history of Texas A&M, and we are honored to have him join us at the University of Missouri,” Wolfe said. “His impressive track record of leading Texas A&M to tremendous growth and advancement, and sterling credentials in research, teaching and public service, make him the perfect fit for MU’s elite status as a public land-grant, AAU institution.”
“I commend the chancellor search committee for performing an extraordinarily thorough, national search,” Wolfe added. “Through their tireless efforts, we have found the individual who will lead our university to new heights in the 21st century with vision, energy, dedication and creativity.”
In making the announcement, Wolfe emphasized the need for a leader to step in and both maintain and expand the positive momentum that the university has seen in recent years in terms of academics, research, fundraising and athletics.
“His steadfast leadership and guidance elevated A&M into one of the top universities in the country, which is the kind of excellence we demand in an MU chancellor,” Wolfe said.
Under the leadership of Loftin, research expenditures at Texas A&M have reached approximately $700 million annually, while a new multi-billion capital campaign garnered a school record $740 million in gifts during fiscal year 2013 alone. In addition to spearheading the move of Texas A&M from the Big 12 Conference to the Southeastern Conference, Loftin also led efforts to acquire a private law school that was integrated into the university along with a merger between the university and the university system’s Health Science Center. Current enrollment at Texas A&M of 56,255 students in the fall of 2013 is the school’s largest enrollment ever.
“My wife Karin and I are excited about this opportunity to join the first public university west of the Mississippi,” Loftin said. “The University of Missouri-Columbia is an extraordinary institution in so many ways. It is a model land-grant university for the 21st century as well as the home to a truly first-class faculty and dedicated staff. The student body exhibits a deep passion for its university’s history and traditions and brings that passion to athletic events, student organizations and service activities.”
“We look forward to working with the students, faculty and staff of the university, the University of Missouri System members and leadership, and the university’s enthusiastic and engaged alumni to accelerate the university’s advancement as one of the very best public, land-grant universities in the nation,” Loftin said.
Loftin, professor of industrial and systems engineering, was named the 24th president of Texas A&M on February 12, 2010, after serving as interim president for eight months. Prior to that, he served as vice-president of the university and chief executive officer of Texas A&M University’s branch campus in Galveston, where he also was a professor of maritime systems engineering. Before joining the Texas A&M University System, Loftin served as a professor of electrical and computer engineering and professor of computer science at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, where he also was the university’s director of simulation programs and held the responsibility for the school’s graduate programs in modeling and simulation. In addition, Loftin was the executive director of the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center. Earlier in his career, Loftin was a professor in and chair of the Department of Computer Science and director of the NASA Virtual Environments Research Institute at the University of Houston.
Loftin has been a frequent consultant to both industry and government in the areas of modeling and simulation, advanced training technologies, and scientific/engineering data visualization. He is the author or co-author of more than 100 technical publications. Serving on numerous advisory committees and panels sponsored by governmental and professional organizations, Loftin has received many citations and honors, including the University of Houston-Downtown Award for Excellence in Teaching (once) and Service (twice), the American Association of Artificial Intelligence Award for an innovative application or artificial intelligence, NASA’s Space Act Award, the NASA Public Service Medal, and the 1995 NASA Invention of the Year Award.
Among other recognitions, Loftin was named the 1996 Phi Kappa Phi South Central Scholar, the Shell Distinguished Lecturer (1997), the Halliburton Distinguished Lecturer (1998) and a member of the Academy of Distinguished Former Students of Texas A&M University’s College of Science (2010). He has received the IEEE Computer Society Meritorious Service Award (2005) and the IEEE Virtual Reality Conference Career Award (2008) and is a Charter Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.
Loftin is a 1970 graduate of Texas A&M with a degree in physics, and also holds an M.A. and Ph.D. from Rice University, earned in 1973 and 1975, respectively, both also in physics.
“Karin and I have already found the people of the university and of the State of Missouri to be welcoming and supportive,” Loftin said. “We are looking forward to our impending move to Missouri and to building a network of great friendships.”
Loftin is married to Dr. Karin Loftin, who has held a number of faculty and staff positions in universities and health science centers in Texas and Virginia. They have two adult children and three grandchildren.