October 14, 2010

Cheng announces finalists for provost position

by Tom Woolf

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Four individuals with extensive administrative and teaching experience in higher education are the finalists for the position of provost and senior vice chancellor at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

The finalists are: Robert L. Hampton, professor of sociology and social work at Tennessee State University; Don S. Rice, interim provost and vice chancellor at SIUC; Gary L. Minish, dean emeritus and professor emeritus of SIUC’s College of Agricultural Sciences; and Cameron R. Hackney, dean of the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, and director of the West Virginia Experiment Station, West Virginia University.

The finalists will visit campus between Oct. 17 and Nov. 2 for meetings with administrators, faculty and staff. Each will participate in an open forum, making a presentation and responding to audience questions.

Chancellor Rita Cheng, who announced the finalists today (Oct. 14), praised the work of the search committee, chaired by Laurie Achenbach, an associate dean in the College of Science.

“Thanks to the extensive work of this committee, we have four candidates with the skills, experience and commitment to serve our University well,” Cheng said. “The person in this position is the chief academic officer, so it is important that as many members of our campus community as possible participate in the open forums.”

The 11-member search committee began its work in August, reviewing applications from a strong pool of candidates. A selection announcement is expected in late November.

Achenbach called the search committee “one of the best committees I’ve been on,” adding, “They worked very, very hard in a very short time period to narrow the field down to the group we gave to the chancellor.”

She said the four finalists “all bring the capacity to communicate to different constituency groups across the campus and have proven records of decision-making abilities and leadership.”

Here is a brief look at each of the finalists:

• Robert Hampton has been a professor of sociology and social work at Tennessee State University in Nashville since 2008. From 2006 to 2008, he served as provost/executive vice president and chief operating officer at Tennessee State, which has 8,700 students and 450 tenure/tenure track faculty. From 2003 to 2005, he served as president of York College, a senior college of The City University of New York. Hampton was associate provost for academic affairs and dean for undergraduate studies at the University of Maryland in College Park between 1994 and 2003. Prior to that, he served as a professor of sociology and dean of Connecticut College in New London, Conn., from 1987 to 1994. He earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1970 from Princeton University, and his master’s and doctoral degrees in sociology in 1971 and 1977, respectively, from the University of Michigan. Hampton will visit campus Oct. 17-19; his campus-wide open forum is set for 1:30-2:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 18, in the Student Center Auditorium. To view his complete vita, click here.

• Don Rice has been a professor of anthropology at SIUC since 1991, and has served as interim provost and vice chancellor since 2006. His previous positions at SIUC have included associate provost and associate dean for budget, personnel and research in the College of Liberal Arts. He joined SIUC as director of the Center for Archaeological Investigations in 1991 after spending four years as a professor of anthropology at the University of Virginia. He was an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Chicago from 1978 to 1983, and was an associate professor of anthropology there from 1983 to 1987. Rice earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wake Forest University in 1969 and his master’s in anthropology, also from Wake Forest, in 1972. He earned his doctorate in anthropology from Pennsylvania State University in 1976. Rice’s campus visit is set for Oct. 19-21, with his campus-wide open forum scheduled for 1:30-2:30 p.m. on Oct. 20 in the Student Center Auditorium. To view his complete vita, click here.

• Gary Minish joined SIUC as dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences and professor of animal science, food and nutrition in 2004. He retired earlier this year. From 2001 to 2004, he was agribusiness manager of Edgemont Farm and Ranches in North Garden, Va., and Kiowa, Okla. He was a professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University from 1974 to 1976 and from 1977 to 2001. He also served there as assistant dean and assistant director of resident instruction from 1984 to 1986, associate dean and director of development and agriculture technology from 1986 to 1988, and as department head of animal and poultry sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences from 1994 to 2001. Minish earned his bachelor’s degree in animal science from Iowa State University and his doctorate in animal science with minors in biochemistry and physiology from Michigan State University. His campus visit is set for Oct. 25-27, with his campus-wide open forum scheduled for 1:30-2:30 p.m. on Oct. 26 in the Student Center Auditorium. To view his complete vita, click here.

• Cameron Hackney has served as dean of the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design and as director of the West Virginia Experiment Station at West Virginia University in Morgantown since 2000. He was department head and professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University from 1995 to 2000. He also served there as an associate professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology from 1989 to 1992, and as professor and extension project leader in the department from 1989 to 1995. Hackney earned his bachelor’s degree in animal science in 1973 and his master’s in agricultural microbiology in 1975, both from West Virginia University. He earned his doctorate in food science from North Carolina State University in 1980. He will visit campus Oct. 31-Nov. 2, and his campus-wide open forum is set for 1:30-2:30 p.m. on Nov. 1 in the Student Center Auditorium. To view his complete vita, click here.