Interim VCR Appointment and Next Steps

Dear Colleague,

I’m excited to share with you plans for interim leadership for our Office of Research and some details about our next steps.

Belinda Sturm, Professor of Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering and Director of the Kansas NSF EPSCoR Office, has agreed to serve as our Interim Vice Chancellor for Research. Belinda received numerous nominations from colleagues and is a respected researcher with a deep scholarly record. In addition to her faculty role, she has previously served as an Associate Vice Chancellor for Research. She is a dedicated and collaborative community partner. Some of you may recall her service to Lawrence and the surrounding region through monitoring COVID levels in wastewater during the pandemic. She also serves as an objective leader for our Jayhawks Rising institutional priority to Expand the Impact of KU Research in Kansas and Beyond.

Her appointment as Interim VCR will begin on Nov. 15 and will last until the next Vice Chancellor for Research is seated in the role. I have great confidence that Belinda’s experience and talents will be of great service in the months ahead.

I also want to share my thanks and appreciation for those who stepped forward to be considered for this interim leadership role. This was a difficult decision because the field of candidates was so strong. KU has a deep bench of leaders with creative abilities and energy that will serve us well in key areas of our research enterprise. I’m grateful for your willingness to serve and your dedication to KU. Thank you.

Next Steps

Our goal is to keep the positive momentum for growing research during this interim period, and I will soon announce several initiatives toward this end.

We will move quickly to begin the search for the next Vice Chancellor. Amy Mendenhall, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Professor of Social Welfare, and Perry Alexander, AT&T Foundation Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Director of the Institute for Information Sciences, have agreed to co-chair the search committee. Together we will work to assemble a broadly representative committee that will help shape the position description and help build and screen a strong candidate pool.

As one of the nation’s leading research institutions, each one of us at KU has an interest in ensuring our research enterprise is as strong as possible. Your input through the short survey below can help us identify the opportunities and challenges our next VCR will need address, as well as the qualities we expect this new leader to have.

Please complete the survey by Nov. 22, 2023.

We’ve been able to accomplish major advances in our research enterprise under the leadership of Simon Atkinson, and I know that Belinda Sturm will continue to carry our initiatives forward toward success. I look forward to hearing your aspirations and concerns about research at KU, and will be in touch soon with additional details about our search committee, how you can be involved and next steps.

Thank you for all you do for KU.

Respectfully,

Barb

Barbara A. Bichelmeyer

Provost & Executive Vice Chancellor