NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 16, 2005

Contact: Eric Gerber
713.743.8189 (office)
713.617.7130 (pager)

DONALD J. FOSS NAMED CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER
FOR UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON SYSTEM, UH

HOUSTON, March 16, 2005 – Donald J. Foss has been named senior vice chancellor for academic affairs for the University of Houston System and senior vice president for academic affairs and provost for the University of Houston.

His appointment was announced today by UH System Chancellor and UH President Jay Gogue.

Foss is expected to assume this position in July 2005. The appointment is subject to approval by the UH System Board of Regents at its April 6 meeting. Foss has been the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla. since 1995.

“We are delighted to have Dr. Foss join the University of Houston System and the University of Houston. Dr. Foss is highly respected in the academic world as a researcher and as an administrator,” Gogue said. “He will make a great addition to the UH System and to the University of Houston. I also want to thank Dr. Jerald Strickland for his admirable service as interim senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. Dr. Strickland has done an outstanding job in reorganizing the division. His guidance and leadership have greatly benefited our students and faculty.” Strickland has served as interim since September 2003.

“I cannot think of a greater opportunity than to help lead the UH System and the University of Houston as they continue along their trajectory to greatness,” Foss said. “I am delighted to become part of such vibrant, important and caring institutions, and I deeply appreciate the support of the search committee and the trust that Chancellor and President Gogue has placed in me. My wife, Pat, and I are looking forward to our return to Texas, and we are excited about becoming members of the UH System family.”

The Minneapolis native holds a Ph.D. in experimental psychology with a minor in child development from the University of Minnesota (U of M). Prior to serving as an FSU dean, he was psychology chair and professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Foss is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, American Psychological Society, Psychonomic Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award from the U of M (1993) and the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award from UT (1986). Foss was a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University from 1966-1967.

“As provost, I look forward to working with individual colleges to strengthen them and to build interdisciplinary possibilities. I will also search for ways to improve our students’ educational experiences, and to build on the human capital to maximize research opportunities, teaching effectiveness, and overall efficiency,” he said.

Foss was selected from more than 50 candidates following a national search. Led by Chair and Physics Professor Paul Chu along with Vice Chair and Chemical Engineering Professor Michael Harold, the search committee earlier identified him as one of three top candidates in their recommendation to Chancellor Gogue.

Foss and his wife have two daughters: Melissa, an editor and writer in New York City, and Lara, who owns a consulting and software business in Austin. He enjoys outdoor sports, including alpine hiking, and says he is looking forward to conquering the highest hill he can find in Houston.

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON SYSTEM

The University of Houston System is the state’s only metropolitan higher education system, encompassing four universities and two multi-institution teaching centers. The universities are the University of Houston, a nationally recognized doctoral degree-granting, comprehensive research university; the University of Houston-Downtown, a four-year undergraduate university beginning limited expansion into graduate programs; and the University of Houston-Clear Lake and the University of Houston-Victoria, both upper division and master’s-level institutions. The centers are the UH System at Sugar Land in Fort Bend and the UH System at Cinco Ranch. In addition, the UH System includes KUHF-FM, Houston’s National Public Radio and classical radio station, and KUHT-TV, the nation’s first educational television station.

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.