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Regents Approve Oklahoma Official as Next UW-RF Chancellor
 FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Doug Bradley (608) 262-5061
MADISON--FEB. 11, 2005--Donald Betz, provost and vice president for academic
affairs at the University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, Okla., has been
selected as the next chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.
UW System President Kevin P. Reilly and theUW System Board
of Regents’ Special Committee for the UW-River Falls Chancellor
Search announced the recommendation of Betz on Friday (Feb. 11). The Regents
approved the recommendation Friday afternoon.
"I am confident that Dr. Don Betz’s diverse background will
energize UW-River Falls’ faculty, staff and students; encourage
continued dialogue with the River Falls community; and invigorate the
campus’ commitment to excellence," Reilly said. "I look
forward to having Don as part of the UW System leadership team as we continue
to improve this university’s quality, access, efficiency and effectiveness."
Betz previously held several administrative positions, including provost
and vice president of academic affairs at Palmer College of Chiropractic,
as well as positions at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Okla.,
including vice president of university relations, dean of continuing studies,
assistant to the president, director of university relations, and executive
director of the educational foundation.
"It is with enthusiasm and a clear sense of service that I accept
the offer to join UW-River Falls and the other members of the UW System,"
Betz said. "I look forward to becoming a member of the community
and university at UW-River Falls, and to building leadership teams to
help students learn so that they can become productive, creative, ethical
and engaged citizens."
"I thank the campus search committee members, and the Regent selection
committee, for their expression of confidence in me to provide service
leadership at UW-RF," Betz said.
Betz’s administrative accomplishments include the founding of the
University of Central Oklahoma Center for Undergraduate Research and the
establishment of the annual statewide Undergraduate Research Day; the
establishment of a faculty enhancement center; co-founding of the Oklahoma
Center for Arts Education; serving on the original implementation committee
of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities’
American Democracy Project; and initiating the Center for Tribal Studies
at Northeastern State University.
Betz, who has also served as a board member and regular presenter for
the Oklahoma Educators’ Leadership Academy, has made leadership
development among faculty, staff and students an integral part of his
administrative accomplishments. He has significant fundraising experience
and is a co-founder of the University of Central Oklahoma Alliance for
Institutional Advancement, an innovative campus-wide collaboration for
the advancement of the institution.
"I am delighted to hear that Dr. Betz will be the next chancellor
of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, said UW-RF Professor Terry
Brown, who chaired the campus and community search committee. "Dr.
Betz brings the personal qualities, experience and skills necessary to
lead this university to a place of national prominence in public higher
education.
"Dr. Betz was warmly received by our students, faculty and staff,
as well as the larger community, when he visited us during the selection
process. I know that the Regents’ endorsement will be greeted with
great enthusiasm on the campus as well as in the community and region."
Dr. Betz also has considerable international experience, having worked
at the United Nations on the Question of Palestine, one of his areas of
expertise, and having served as an assistant foreign editor for the Daily
Star in Beirut, Lebanon, during the 1970s. He is the author of numerous
final declarations, and statements and communiqués adopted at U.N.
conferences.
He has given presentations on leadership, globalization, civic engagement
and higher education and is an international affairs analyst for regional
media. Betz earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in international relations from
the University of Denver. He has held the position of professor of political
science at University of Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State University
and has awards for excellence in service and teaching.
"My fellow selection committee Regents and I are delighted that Dr.
Betz has accepted our invitation to join the UW System and to lead the
UW-River Falls campus," said Regent Charles Pruitt of Shorewood,
chair of the Board of Regents Special Committee for the UW-RF Chancellor
Search. "His experience and leadership will compliment the excellence
and energy that is alive and well at UW-River Falls. We look forward to
his arrival on campus."
"I am thrilled for Don and I am happy for the UW-River Falls students
and community," said Roger Webb, President of the University of Central
Oklahoma. "We will miss Don terribly, but we are fortunate to have
had him here since 1999. He is a rare find."
Betz was one of five finalists for the UW-River Falls chancellor position
recommended by a UW-RF campus search-and-screen committee. The other finalists
were Kendall Blanchard, professor of business and anthropology, and former
president of Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colo.; Sharon Hoffman, provost
and vice president for academic affairs, Clayton State College and University,
Morrow, Ga.; Robert Kennedy, interim president, University of Maine, Orono,
Maine; and Judith Ramaley, visiting senior scientist, National Academy
of Sciences.
The Board of Regents’ Special Committee for the UW-River Falls Chancellor
Search was chaired by Pruitt, and included Regents Eileen Connolly-Keesler
of Oshkosh, Danae D. Davis of Milwaukee, Jesus Salas of Milwaukee, and
Brent Smith of La Crosse.
Betz will be joined in Wisconsin by his wife, Susanne. His expected start
date is July 1and he will be the 12th incumbent chancellor, not counting
interim chancellors, at UW-River Falls.
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UW-River Falls is a comprehensive university located in west-central Wisconsin,
and is part of the metropolitan area of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Founded
in 1874, it enrolls some 5,800 undergraduate and graduate students in
more than 40 academic majors and professional programs in education, business,
the sciences, liberal arts and agriculture. More information is available
at www.uwrf.edu/
Editor's note: Request digital photos of Betz from jens.o.gunelson@uwrf.edu
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Last updated:
Wednesday, 09-Mar-2005 09:19:04 CST
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