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Bios for UW-RF Chancellor Candidates
JAN. 21, 2005--Dr. Don Betz is Provost and Vice President
for Academic Affairs at the University of Central Oklahoma. He has held
previous administrative positions including Provost and Vice President
of Academic Affairs at Palmer College of Chiropractic, and several administrative
positions at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, including
Vice President of University Relations, Dean of Continuing Studies, Assistant
to the President, Director of University Relations, and Executive Director
of the Educational Foundation.
His administrative accomplishments include the founding of the University
of Central Oklahoma Center for Undergraduate Research and the establishment
of the annual statewide Undergraduate Research Day; the establishment
of a Faculty Enhancement Center; co-founding of the Oklahoma Center for
Arts Education; serving on the original implementation committee of the
American Association of State Colleges and Universities’s American
Democracy Project; and initiating the Center for Tribal Studies at Northeastern
State University.
Dr. Betz, who is a board member and regular presenter for the Oklahoma
Educators’ Leadership Academy, has made leadership development among
faculty, staff and students an integral part of his administrative accomplishments.
Dr. Betz has significant fundraising experience and is a co-founder of
the University of Central Oklahoma Alliance for Institutional Advancement,
an innovative and successful campus-wide collaboration for the advancement
of the institution.
Dr. Betz also has considerable international experience, having worked
at the United Nations on the Question of Palestine, one of his areas of
expertise, and having served as an Assistant Foreign Editor for the Daily
Star in Beirut, Lebanon, during the 1970s. He is the author of numerous
final declarations, statements and communiqués adopted at United
Nations conferences, symposia and seminars.
He has given presentations on leadership, globalization, civic engagement
and higher education and is an international affairs analyst for regional
media.
Dr. Betz, who earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in international relations from
the University of Denver, has held the position of Professor of Political
Science at University of Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State University
and has awards for excellence in service and teaching.
Dr. Kendall Blanchard is Professor of Business and Anthropology
at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo., where he served as President
from 1999 to 2002. His administrative appointments include Vice Chancellor
for Academic Affairs at the University of Tennessee at Martin, Dean of
the College of Arts and Sciences at Lamar University, and Dean of the
College of Arts and Sciences at Emporia State University.
Dr. Blanchard’s administrative accomplishments demonstrate his commitment
to academic excellence, such as instituting a Teaching Technology Lab
the University of Tennessee at Martin and leading the development of online
courses at Fort Lewis College, which has been named one of the nation’s
Top 10 "most wired" campuses of its size and mission. Dr. Blanchard
has a record of supporting faculty development, having established a special
fund, administered by the faculty, for the support of faculty research
and instructional innovation.
Under Dr. Blanchard’s leadership, Fort Lewis College increased the
diversity of its student body, enrolling over 700 Native American students,
representing over 100 tribes, and significantly increasing the Hispanic
student enrollment. As President of Fort Lewis College, Dr. Blanchard
secured funds for two building projects, including a Child Development
Center, and laid the groundwork for a new capital campaign.
Dr. Blanchard received his Ph.D. in cultural anthropology and M.A. in
anthropology from Southern Methodist University, a M. Div. in religion
studies and anthropology from Vanderbilt University, and a B.A. in English,
history and philosophy from Olivet Nazarene College in Illinois.
He has published numerous articles on Native Americans and on the anthropology
of sport. His book publications include The Anthropology of Sport: An
Introduction (Greenwood Press, 1995), The Mississippi Choctaws at Play:
The Serious Side of Leisure (University of Illinois Press, 1981), The
Economics of Sainthood: Religious Chance Among the Rimrock Navajo (Farleigh
Dickinson University Press, 1976), and The Ramah Navajos: A Growing Sense
of Community in Historical Perspective (Navajo Tribal Press, 1971). Dr.
Blanchard, whose research interests include K-12 and post-secondary education,
is also co-editor of the book Humanizing Science Education in Tennessee:
An Interdisciplinary Approach to Ecology (National Science Foundation,
1980).
Dr. Sharon Hoffman is Provost and Vice President for
Academic Affairs at Clayton State College and University in Georgia. She
previously served as Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Spalding
University in Kentucky, where she also served as Interim President. Dr.
Hoffman was the Dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee,
Dean of the College of Nursing at the Medical University of South Carolina,
Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the University
of Texas Health Sciences Center and Assistant Dean for Outreach at the
University of Minnesota.
She is responsible for developing and implementing the strategic plan
at Clayton State University where she reorganized enrollment services
and led an enrollment management team that increased student enrollment
and retention. In her various administrative roles, Dr. Hoffman has led
in the development of academic and outreach programs, launching one of
the first undergraduate history majors with a focus on archives at Clayton
State University; implementing an M.F.A. in creative writing and support
for the literary magazine, the Louisville Review, at Spalding University;
and establishing and raising funds for the Institute for Urban Health
Partnerships at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a public-private
partnership that delivers health care to over 12,000 indigent families
in Milwaukee.
Working with various faculty groups, Dr. Hoffman has been responsible
for the development and implementation of over 26 undergraduate and graduate
majors. She has considerable experience in fund raising, including three
endowed chairs, building renovations, and scholarships.
Dr. Hoffman received her M.S. in Nursing and Nursing Education and Ph.D.
in Higher Education: Cognitive Psychology, from the University of Minnesota,
and holds an M.B.A. in marketing from Duke University. She has published
articles and has given numerous presentations in the field of nursing,
organizational development, and higher education. She is an internationally
known leader in health care and is a Fellow in the American Academy of
Nursing.
Dr. Hoffman has served as a consultant to the government of Taiwan on
public health education and as a consultant to the government of Cyprus.
She engaged the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in a faculty and student
exchange with Keimyung University in Tageu, South Korea. Dr. Hoffman has
held tenured faculty positions in nursing and health services and has
taught in Colleges of Education and Business. She is known for supporting
the liberal arts and assisting with the development of graduate programs
in the arts and sciences.
Dr. Robert A. Kennedy is Interim President at the University
of Maine, where he previously served as Executive Vice President and Provost.
Dr. Kennedy was Vice President for Research and Associate Provost for
Graduate Studies at Texas A & M University; Vice President for Research,
Maryland Institute for Agriculture and Natural Resources, at the University
of Maryland; Director of the Cellular Biochemistry Program at the National
Science Foundation, Chair of the Department of Horticulture at Ohio State
University; Assistant Director of Research, Agricultural Experiment Station
and Director of the Graduate Program in Horticulture at Washington State
University.
Dr. Kennedy led the strategic planning process at the University of Maine,
which resulted in the creation of a campus-wide Information Sciences Initiative
that stresses the life sciences and digital technologies, as well as the
creation of an Honors College that emphasizes undergraduate research.
Under his leadership, the University of Maine developed a multi-college
statewide program for teacher preparation in math and science education.
Dr. Kennedy, who has received awards for his commitment to diversity in
higher education, led the reorganization of the Native Studies and Franco-American
Studies programs into university-wide programs at the University of Maine.
Dr. Kennedy has received federal and foundation grants and private money
in support of undergraduate research and student diversity.He has significant
experience and success in developing partnerships with constituents outside
the university.
Dr. Kennedy, who holds a Ph.D. in botany from the University of California,
Berkeley and a B.S. in plant science from the University of Minnesota,
has published numerous articles on plant biochemistry in various academic
journals and has received grants for his research from agencies such as
the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and
the National Institute for Health. Dr. Kennedy has held tenured faculty
positions in horticulture and botany.
Dr. Judith Ramaley holds a presidential professorship
in biomedical sciences at the University of Maine and is a fellow of the
Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy. She is also a Visiting
Senior Scientist at the National Academy of Sciences. From 2001-2004,
she was Assistant Director for Education and Human Resources Directorate
at the National Science Foundation. From 1997 to 2001, Dr. Ramaley served
as President of the University of Vermont, and from 1990 to 1997, she
served as President of Portland State University.
Her previous administrative experience includes Executive Vice Chancellor
at the University of Kansas; Vice President for Academic Affairs and Acting
President at the University of Albany, State University of New York; and
Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Nebraska,
Lincoln.
Under Dr. Ramaley’s leadership, the University of Vermont established
a center for Teaching and Learning, which enhanced undergraduate learning
and support for faculty development, as well as a Life Skills program
in intercollegiate sports. She played a significant leadership role in
the creation of the Vermont Public Education Partnership, involving the
Vermont Department of Education, the University of Vermont and the Vermont
State Colleges for the support of pre-kindergarten to postsecondary education.
Dr. Ramaley has demonstrated success in fundraising the University of
Vermont increased during her tenure as President, and total giving tripled
during her tenure at Portland State University.Under her leadership, Portland
State University became a national model for developing a general education
curriculum built on community-based learning. At Portland State University,
Dr. Ramaley led the initiative that established the Portland Education
Network, which supports collaboration among K-12 schools, community colleges,
and public four-year institutions in Washington state and Oregon.
Based on her accomplishments as President of Portland State University,
Dr. Ramaley received the first Leadership Award from the American Association
for Higher Education and the National Conference on School / College Collaboration.
She has served on numerous national committees and boards, including the
Subcommittee on College Drinking, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse
and Alcoholism, the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Advisory Council
for School-to-Work Opportunities, and the Kellogg Commission for the Future
of the State and Land-Grant Universities.
Dr. Ramaley holds a Ph.D. in anatomy from the University of California-Los
Angeles and a B.A. in zoology from Swarthmore College. In addition to
the numerous articles in her field of expertise, puberty onset, stress
and fertility, Dr. Ramaley has published articles on institutional change
and reform in higher education, the "engaged" university, and
science education. She has held tenured faculty positions in departments
of biology, physiology and anatomy.
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