The Student News Site of Weber State University

The Signpost

The Signpost

The Signpost

The Signpost

Latest YouTube Video

Names of WSU presidential candidates released

The Utah System of Higher Education released the names of the four finalists for the position of Weber State University president today in a press release.

The finalists are as listed:

• Kathryn Cruz-Uribe, provost and vice president for academic affairs at California State University, Monterey Bay since 2007

• Kim Reed, chief of staff of the Louisiana Board of Regents since 2008

• Michael Thomas, president and CEO of the New England Board of Higher Education since 2008

• Charles Wight, associate vice president for academic affairs and dean of the graduate school at the University of Utah since 2006

According to the biographical information given about each finalist in the press release, Cruz-Uribe is second-in-command at CSUMB and leads academic operations there. She has overseen the development and implementation of a new university strategic plan and a five-year academic plan. She previously served as interim dean and then dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Northern Arizona University. She joined the faculty at NAU in 1989 as an assistant professor and was promoted to professor in 1998. She received the President’s Medal for Outstanding Administrator from CSUMB in 2011 and also received an Outstanding Teaching Award from NAU in 1996. She is the author of more than 45 scholarly authors and books. Cruz-Uribe graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts from Middlebury College and holds both a master’s degree and a doctorate degree in anthropology from the University of Chicago.

On the Louisiana Board of Regents, Reed oversees initiatives to strengthen completion, improve accountability and increase quality within the state’s institutions of higher education. While at Southeastern Louisiana University for five years, she served as executive assistant to the president and interim vice president for student affairs. She also previously served as deputy commissioner for public affairs for the Louisiana Board of Regents and executive vice president for the University of Louisiana system. Reed served as deputy chief of staff, director of policy and planning, and press secretary for two governors in Louisiana. She is also a senior higher education consultant for HCM Strategists in Washington, D.C. Reed holds a Bachelor of Arts in broadcast journalism and a Master of Public Accountancy from Louisiana State University and a doctorate degree in higher education policy from Southern University and A&M College. She also completed a program in education management and leadership at Harvard University.

Thomas has served with the New England Board of Higher Education since 2002 and also served as senior director of policy and research and senior vice president. Before that, he worked at Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass., as executive assistant to the president, assistant professor, and coordinator of institutional research and analysis. He is the author of more than 30 published articles and reports. Thomas graduated with honors from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy. He then earned a Master of Arts in higher education and student affairs administration from Teachers College Columbia University, as well as a master’s and Doctor of Education in administration, planning and social policy from Harvard. Thomas also holds a Master of Business Administration from Boston University. He served as a trustee and the vice chair of Worcester State University in Massachusetts and was a 2008 Millennium Leadership Initiative Fellow with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

Wight supports graduate students at the U of U throughout the institution and promotes academic quality through a system of program reviews. Wight first came to the U of U in 1984 as an assistant professor of chemistry and became a full professor in 1993. Since then, he has held numerous positions at the university, including associate dean for undergraduate studies and assistant vice president for continuing education. He received the R.W. Parry Teaching Award in Chemistry in 2006 and was also named a fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1994. Wight was an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow from 1990-94. He has filed three patent applications and authored 150 peer-reviewed articles and two books. He received a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the University of Virginia and graduated phi beta kappa, then received a doctorate in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology, where he also won the Best Dissertation award.

According to the release, the Board of Regents might hold a public meeting Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. to select the president. However, it might convene the meeting at another time, which will be announced at a later date.

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

Comments written below are solely the opinions of the author and does not reflect The Signpost staff or its affiliates.
All The Signpost Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *