Syracuse University forms search committee to find next VP of research

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse University has formed a 21-member search committee to pursue the school’s next vice president of research.

The VP of research oversees the office of research, “supporting and leading university-wide efforts to sustain and encourage innovation and research across all academic disciplines,” the university said in a news release.

Dacheng Ren, interim director of the Syracuse Biomaterials Institute, will chair the search committee, Syracuse said. Ren is a professor in the department of biomedical and chemical engineering in the university’s College of Engineering and Computer Science.

Peter Vanable, who was appointed interim VP of research in January 2016, will continue to serve until Syracuse selects a new VP.

The university also named Vanable associate provost for graduate studies and dean of the Graduate School in January, per the release.

Vanable assumed the VP of research role after Gina Lee-Glauser, Syracuse’s previous VP of research, vacated the position with her retirement at the end of 2015. The university had announced her retirement in a Sept 30, 2015 news release. Lee-Glauser, who came to Syracuse in 2001, had led the office of research since 2009.

“The next VP of research will lead our endeavors as a person with high academic stature in their own right, a great understanding of funding resources and a collaborative focus,” Michele Wheatly, Syracuse University’s vice chancellor and provost, said in the release. “I look forward to the work done by the search committee as they identify our next leader of this central critical role for our university.”

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

PHOTO CAPTION: The Hall of Languages on the campus of Syracuse University, which has formed a committee in its search for a new VP of research, according to a news release posted on the school’s website. (Eric Reinhardt / BJNN file photo)