Three men with a combined 43 years in leadership roles at Texas A&M are leaving their positions.
Not seeing a fourth-four year term as deans are Joe Newton at the College of Science and Jerry Strawser at the Mays Business School. And Pierce Cantrell, who has been vice president of information technology for 16 years, is returning to the classroom.
Along with the ongoing search for the next president, there are or will be searches for three vice-presidents…which includes marketing and communications and student affairs. And there will be searches for three deans, including the college of liberal arts following Jose Bermudez taking a position in the provost’s office.
There were no comments at this week’s Faculty Senate meeting to those announcements. But Provost Karan Watson was asked about getting the complete report from the consultant that has led to a hiring freeze of non-academic positions. Dr. Watson said she was not aware that anyone has seen more than the summary released last week by the A&M system.
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Departing Senate Speaker Walter Daugherity commented on the continuing presidential search, stating “The process for selecting a permanent president is very confidential at this point. So all we can be confident of is that the faculty members on the committee will insist on the most qualified and inspiring candidates to go on the short list.”
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Notice regarding the position of vice president of information technology is courtesy of Provost Karan Watson:
Dr. Pierce Cantrell, vice president and associate provost for information technology has announced his intentions to resign the position, effective June 15th and return to his teaching and research in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, where he is a tenured associate professor. Through Dr. Cantrell’s leadership the last 16 years, information technology infrastructure, support and utilization has expanded to become an essential operation for many aspects of university life.
“Pierce has been a consummate professional and leader in enhancing our information technology capabilities in teaching and research,” commented Karan L. Watson, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, “he has kept us at the cutting edge with limited resources during the highest period of technological advancement the world has ever seen.”
His support for teaching and learning included establishing Instructional Technology Services (ITS) in 2001 to assist faculty with instructional technology, expanding the mission of Instructional Media Services from 10 classrooms with permanent equipment in 1998 to 161 classrooms today, successfully moved to the eCampus learning management system from the eLearning system and the replacement of the legacy student administrative computing system with the web-based Compass system and the Howdy web portal.
Dr. Cantrell has continued the development of the Faculty Workstation program initiated with former Associate Provost for IT John Dinkel. When this program first started there were only two personal computers in the History department, today the program has ensured that each of the university’s over 3,000 faculty have a computer to support their needs.
Cyber-infrastructure improvements that support faculty research included strengthening the campus network, adding an off-campus 100-Gigabit per second (Gbps) connection, upgrading the high performance computers every three years, building the ScienceDMZ, providing federated identity through InCommon, and delivering eduroam Wi-Fi access for visiting faculty and access for our faculty and staff to Wi-Fi at universities worldwide.
“Pierce has been a great resource for the faculty of Texas A&M, enabling our work and connectivity for over 16 years,” offered Dr. Walter Daugherity, Speaker of the Faculty Senate. “As a former Speaker of the Senate, himself, Pierce has been outstanding at including faculty in the decision making process, in a spirit of shared governance, and consistently represented the university’s best interest in his dealings.”
Under Dr. Cantrell’s direction, the current Code Maroon system now provides the ability to simultaneously publish emergency information alerts to multiple channels. Code Maroon has grown to include the numerous sites for Texas A&M University, including the School of Law. The Code Maroon system has been recognized nationally and has become a shared A&M System service for system universities around the state.
Dr. Cantrell has worked to ensure the highest capabilities for Texas A&M, most often dependent on national infrastructure. His leadership has been vital in the creation of both local, state and national networks, such as the Lonestar Education and Research Network (LEARN), the National Lambda Rail, and Internet2. In 2004, Dr. Cantrell helped LEARN secure a $7.5 million grant from the State of Texas to establish a statewide Regional Optical Network devoted to research and education. Today, this network provides the infrastructure to support the A&M System’s TTVN network, most of the campuses in the University of Texas System and other universities and Regional Education Service Centers across Texas. He has worked closely with colleagues at the University of Texas to build statewide networks and enhance access for all of higher education. Cantrell is a past Chair of the LEARN Board of Directors and has served as Chair of the LEARN Operations & Services Committee for the last six years.
Dr. Cantrell also supported the Brazos Valley Community Network (BVCNET), a conglomerate of governmental and private agencies in the Brazos Valley that enhances regional network connectivity. With Dr. Cantrell’s support, a $2.8 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency supported the creation of the Brazos Valley Wide Area Communications System (BVWACS) which enabled Texas A&M, the cities of Bryan, College Station, Brenham, as well as Washington and Brazos counties, to install an interoperable, digital two-way radio system for effective communication during emergencies. This network connects to the greater Harris County network, spanning 20 counties, enabling radio communication throughout southeast Texas during large-scale emergency events. He has served on the BVWACS board of directors, and the Research Valley Technical Council, attempting to bring cost effective, next-generation, fiber-optic broadband networking to businesses, government, and residents throughout Bryan-College Station.
“Dr. Cantrell’s vision for enhancing our university capabilities didn’t stop at our campus borders. He has created beneficial partnerships with our local communities, state, national and even international entities, to build a rich portfolio of IT and telecommunication networks that assist Texas A&M and all the people of our region,” said Dr. Mark Hussey, interim president.
Dr. Cantrell has also been very successful in identifying additional resources to support information technology infrastructure and investment including:
a Broadband Technology Opportunities Program grant in 2010. This highly competitive grant provided $6.6 million in federal funds. Coupled with $3 million in matching funds from seven public-private partnerships, the project built high-speed fiber-optic links to each of the A&M System member campuses at 1 Gbps today and capable of supporting 10 Gbps in the future.
a $500,000 National Science Foundation grant used to build a 100-Gbps long-haul network connection. The new link between College Station and the LEARN hub in Houston advanced data-intensive scientific research with a five-fold increase in data transfer speed. High-speed connectivity supports the university’s growing demand to access national and international research resources and efficiently move large data sets;
Dr. Cantrell has received grants totaling $4.8 million for telecommunications, data and videoconferencing infrastructure and supported Executive Director of Educational Broadcasting, Mr. Rod Zent, in receiving a $20 million grant from the Texas Infrastructure Fund that enabled KAMU-TV and the 12 other Texas PBS stations to make the expensive transition from analog to digital television.
Please join me in thanking Dr. Cantrell for his distinguished service these past 16 years. We wish him all the best in his full time return to the department. More information will be shared prior to June 15th related to structure and leadership for information technology going forward.
Notice regarding the Mays Business School, courtesy of Provost Karan Watson:
Dr. Jerry Strawser has indicated that he will not seek another term as dean of Mays Business School. Dr. Strawser has served with distinction since being appointed in 2001 following an international search, including 3 full terms as dean and service as interim Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs in 2007-2008.
Under his leadership, Mays Business School has become recognized as one of the nation’s premier providers of undergraduate and graduate education. In recent rankings from Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, Financial Times and U.S. News and World Report, the undergraduate and graduate programs of Mays Business School are consensus top 30 nationally and top 10 among public institutions. Texas A&M is one of only 16 institutions (and only seven public institutions) whose undergraduate program in business and Full-time MBA program are ranked among the top 30 by Bloomberg Businessweek.
These reputational accolades reflect his leadership and the strategic course pursued by the Mays School and include developing a branding and communications strategy to raise the profile of Mays in both the business and academic communities, restructuring the Full-time MBA program, creating a Business Honors major for high-achieving undergraduates, launching a Professional MBA for early-career working professionals, and developing numerous high-impact learning experiences to enhance undergraduate student retention and graduation.
As Dean, he oversaw an expansion of faculty and infrastructure to better enable Mays to meet student and industry demands. Space expansion including Jerry and Kay Cox Hall, Benton and Dianne Cocanougher Special Events Center, and the state of the art Reliant Trading Center has increased both the capacity and pedagogical capabilities of the school.
Dr. Strawser also oversaw the relocation of the Houston-based Executive MBA program from the Woodlands, TX to CITYCENTRE, a multi-use development inside one of the nation’s leading energy and medical corridors. The space is enabling new recruitment and outreach opportunities, as well as raising visibility of Mays School and Texas A&M University with corporate and alumni partners.
During his tenure, he has supported an array of outreach and partnership efforts including development of the Aggie 100 and Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities, not to mention leading the Mays School’s efforts to seek new resources through philanthropic investment. During his tenure, gifts to the Mays School have surpassed $134 million and the annual programming revenues from the non-degree executive education programs have grown from $655,000 to $6.1 million.
He has brought this resource expertise to bear on the University’s finances as well, serving on numerous university-wide committees including Chair of the University Finance Council, co-Chair of the Academic Master Plan- Engagement Roadmap, and the Strategic Budget Reallocation committee.
The Dean of Faculties and I will begin the process of identifying search advisory committee members in the coming weeks.
Please join me in expressing appreciation to Dr. Strawser for his leadership and service. I look forward to building on the success of the last 13 years with the selection of the next dean of the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University.
Notice regarding the College of Science, courtesy of Provost Karan Watson:
Dr. Joseph Newton has indicated that he will not seek another term as dean of the College of Science.
Dr. Newton has served with distinction over the last 14 years, including 3 terms and 2 years as interim dean. He was formally appointed Dean, following an international search in 2002. Under his leadership the College of Science has had unprecedented growth and success, including the development of new academic programs in Astronomy, new offerings in Statistics and an enhanced math and science teacher-prep program, AggieTeach. He has helped departments recruit, hire and retain a distinguished faculty that includes winners of the Nobel Prize and members of the National Academy of Science.
He facilitated the completion of the George P. Mitchell Physics & Astronomy building and significant renovations and upgrades to facilities that support Chemistry and Biology, including the Interdisciplinary Life Science Building where he has served as a leader of the Council of Participating Deans.
In addition to attracting philanthropic gifts for these facilities, Dr. Newton has helped to grow the overall endowed gifts for the College of Science from approximately $4 million in 2000 to more than $40 million in 2013, including shepherding gifts for Texas A&M University’s participation in the international coalition for the Giant Magellan Telescope project.
These investments have helped the faculty of the college enhance research expenditures and improve the impact of their teaching and service. He has served on university-wide committees that govern our collective pursuit of excellence in teaching our students as well as the research of our faculty and service to the campus and broader community.
Dr. Glen Laine, vice president for research, has agreed to serve as chair of the search advisory committee. We will begin the process of identifying search advisory committee members in the coming weeks. I am pleased that Dr. Newton has agreed to continue to serve as dean while the search is conducted and will leave office at the arrival of the new dean or August 31, 2015, whichever occurs first.
Please join me in expressing appreciation to Dr. Newton for his leadership and service. I look forward to building on the success of the last 14 years with the selection of the next dean of science at Texas A&M University.