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UW-River Falls welcomes new chancellor this week


UWRF Chancellor Maria Gallo July 12, 2021 – UW-River Falls will begin fall semester with a new leader in the Chancellor’s Office. Maria Gallo, Ph.D., former president of Delaware Valley University in Doylestown, Pa., will begin as UWRF’s 20th chancellor on Thursday, July 15.

Prior to her DelVal post, Gallo, a Fulbright Scholar, a fellow of the American Society of Agronomy and the Crop Science Society of America, and a plant molecular biologist, was dean and director of Research and Cooperative Extension of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa and was professor and chair of the Agronomy Department at the University of Florida where she specialized in crop improvement. She earned her bachelor’s degree in agronomy from Cornell University and both her master’s degree in crop science and Ph.D. in genetics from North Carolina State University. 

Gallo says she was inspired by the university’s commitment to academic excellence, student success, and affordability.

“I look forward to partnering with the 12 chancellors in the UW System along with UW-River Falls faculty, staff, alumni, and friends to bring innovation and opportunity to the state and the St. Croix Valley,” Gallo said.

Gallo was selected for the UWRF leadership role by the UW System Board of Regents in May. UW System President Tommy Thompson emphasized Gallo’s extensive academic background in announcing her selection as UWRF’s next chancellor.

“She is a scholar with expertise in agronomy and genetics,” Thompson said. “She will take UW-River Falls to new heights.” 

The naming of Gallo as chancellor follows the departure of Chancellor Dean Van Galen who left UW-River Falls in July 2020 after being selected president of Missouri Southern State University. Van Galen was succeeded by Interim Chancellor Connie Foster who has lead the university for the past year.

For more information, email dina.fassino@uwrf.edu

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