ASU announces finalists for Polytechnic Provost position

November 15, 2006

MESA, Ariz. — The Arizona State University search committee for the next vice president and provost of the Polytechnic campus has narrowed its selection to three finalists.<separator></separator>Each finalist will visit the university for interviews and open forums. The three finalists and the dates, times and locations of the open forums follow:<separator></separator>David A. Wagie recently completed a two-year position as an Educational Consultant to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In this position, he worked for the UAE Minister of Education, reviewing UAE colleges and universities, and formulating plans for enhancing higher education. Prior to that, he was the dean of faculty for the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado. Wagie has a Ph.D. in aeronautics and astronautics from Purdue University; an M.S. in systems management from the University of Southern California; an M.S. in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University; and a B.S. in engineering sciences from the United States Air Force Academy. Prior to being named dean of faculty and chief academic officer, Wagie was vice dean and assistant chief academic officer for the academy. Wagie held the rank of brigadier general in the Air Force before retiring in July 2004.<separator></separator>He will visit the university Nov. 15-16, with an open forum to be held from 1:30-3 p.m., Nov. 16, Student Union Cooley Ballroom.<separator></separator>James P. Riehl has been dean of the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota Duluth since 2000. He is recognized by the international scientific community as an expert in the use of spectroscopy to probe the structure of so-called "chiral" molecules, molecules which may occur in non-superimposable mirror-image form. Prior to joining UMD, he was a professor and chair in the Department of Chemistry at Michigan Technological University. He also held faculty positions at University of Missouri-St. Louis for 10 years, and has international experience while a visiting professor at King’s College in London and the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. He has authored or coauthored more than 90 research publications. Riehl received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Purdue and his B.S. in chemistry from Villanova University.<separator></separator>He will visit the university Nov. 20-21, with an open forum to be held from 1:30-3 p.m., Nov. 21, Student Union Cooley Ballroom.<separator></separator>Michael K. Mahoney has served as the dean of the College of Engineering at California State University, Long Beach since 2000. For more than 25 years, Mahoney has held faculty and academic professional positions at the University of California, Santa Barbara and California State University, Long Beach. He owned and operated a computer consulting firm during the 1990s and started the Southern California NeXTSTEP User’s Group. He has authored or coauthored books and articles relating to the Mac operating system, programming and the Web. Mahoney received his Ph.D., M.A. and B.A. in mathematics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.<separator></separator>He will visit the university Nov. 27-28, with an open forum to be held from 1:30-3 p.m., Nov. 28, Student Union Cooley Ballroom.<separator></separator>The search committee includes administrators and staff from the Tempe and Polytechnic campuses and community leaders and is chaired by Executive Vice President and Provost Elizabeth Capaldi.<separator></separator>"The candidates were selected for their knowledge of the academic disciplines on the Polytechnic campus and their ability to articulate and implement a vision of the future for the campus consistent with aspirations of the university and the community," said Capaldi. "We are very pleased to have attracted three excellent candidates."<separator></separator>Roc Arnett, president and CEO of the East Valley Partnership and a member of the search committee, said, "The search committee looked for a person who has the ability to leverage and further develop the polytechnic model envisioned by the faculty, staff and President Crow. This is going to require a person who is extremely intelligent with a phenomenal ability to lead the faculty, staff and engage the community in this direction, and we have three candidates who fit that bill." <separator></separator>The Polytechnic campus consists of four colleges, currently serving 6,545 students. The campus is slated to grow to up to 15,000 students in the next 15 years and focuses on offering a wide variety of professional and technical bachelor’s and graduate degree programs.