Posted by From the Dallas South News Wire (UNT Dallas Communications)
DALLAS—The University of North Texas at Dallas, the city’s first public university, has selected its inaugural provost and vice president for academic excellence and student success.
John Beehler, associate provost for economic initiatives and dean of the Haile/US Bank College of Business at Northern Kentucky University (NKU), will assume his duties March 1 and will immediately begin further preparations for the official opening of the university in the fall 2010 semester.
Dr. John Beehler
Beehler brings 29 years of higher education experience to UNT Dallas, including stints at the University of Texas at Arlington, Wichita State University, the University of Oklahoma and Indiana University. At NKU, he worked within the community to promote economic and workforce development and entrepreneurship in the region around the university.
With Beehler’s appointment, the school’s executive leadership team is completed, according to Vice Chancellor and President Designate John Ellis Price. Price said he was “delighted” Beehler has agreed to join UNT Dallas.
“This is a unique opportunity for him to mold a faculty and a university from its founding into a center of academic excellence. We are thrilled to welcome him to our leadership team, and we look forward to the expertise he will bring in the areas of faculty governance, teaching, and economic development – all of the key factors that will contribute to the success of UNT Dallas,” Price said.
Beehler said serving as the founding provost of a new university is a unique professional opportunity.
“This university was brought about by the combined vision of city, business, legislative and academic leaders,” he said. “I look forward to using both my academic and entrepreneurial skills to shape the university into a key driver for student success and the economic growth of Dallas. Together, we will build a great university.”
Beehler earned his Ph.D. in business and an MBA in finance and taxation from Indiana University. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting with highest honors from Penn State University. He is a licensed certified public accountant in three states and is a qualified mediator in Texas and Kentucky. He has won numerous awards including being named Beta Alpha Psi Outstanding Professor of the Year at UT Arlington in 1991-1992.
UNT Dallas has been operating since January 2000 as a branch campus of the University of North Texas and will apply for separate accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) in 2011. The school will accept freshmen and sophomore students for the first time in its 10-year history starting in August. Currently, junior-, senior- and master’s-level classes are offered at the campus in southern Dallas near the intersection of I-20 and I-35E.
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