University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto Wednesday announced that Tim Tracy, dean of UK's nationally ranked College of Pharmacy, will serve as the institution's next provost, beginning Feb. 23.
"Tim is an accomplished scholar and academic leader, which has been clear since he joined our campus community in 2010," Capilouto said. "In addition, having served for more than a year as interim provost during a time of both challenge and progress gives him a unique ability to hit the ground running as we tackle the significant opportunities we have as an institution with tremendous momentum."
"I am honored and humbled by the opportunity to work with world-class faculty at an institution that means so much to me and to the Commonwealth of Kentucky that we serve," Tracy said. "I look forward to beginning my work in collaboration with faculty, staff and students as we continue our efforts to ensure that UK is one of the handful of thriving public residential research campuses in America."
To that end, Capilouto in an email to campus Wednesday afternoon cited several issues that Tracy and the campus will be confronting immediately, including:
• Strengthening undergraduate student retention and graduation;
• Strengthening graduate and professional education efforts;
• Advancing the institution's research enterprise;
• Fostering with greater urgency an inclusive campus environment that celebrates the multitude of backgrounds, identities, and perspectives;
• Further refining and completing UK's next Strategic Plan;
• Implementing a new financial model; and
• Selecting deans for the colleges of Dentistry, Design, Medicine, and Public Health.
Tracy also will begin immediately the conversation about interim leadership in the College of Pharmacy.
He replaces Christine Riordan, who announced last year that she would be assuming the presidency of Adelphi University in New York.
Tracy received his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Ohio Northern University his Ph.D. in clinical pharmacy from Purdue University; and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in clinical pharmacology at Indiana University.
After serving on the faculty at West Virginia University and the University of Minnesota (where he also served as department chair), Dr. Tracy became Dean of UK's nationally ranked College of Pharmacy in August 2010.
From April 2012 until August 2013, Dr. Tracy served as Interim Provost.
He has published almost 100 scientific manuscripts, more than 15 book chapters and edited two books. He has been principal investigator and co-investigator on numerous grants funded by the National Institutes of Health and other agencies. He also holds two patents.
Capilouto also commended Gatton College of Business and Economics Dean David Blackwell, who was a finalist for the position.
"I want to thank Dean Blackwell for his interest in the opportunity to serve as Provost, his willingness to participate in our public conversation about the position, and his tireless commitment to the Gatton College of Business and Economics and the University of Kentucky," Capilouto said. "I was gratified that nearly all of the feedback I received about our two finalists praised them both for their talent, commitment, and capacity to succeed in the role. This was not an easy decision."