PULLMAN – V. Lane Rawlins, who served as president of WSU from June 2000 until his retirement in June 2007, has been named president of the University of North Texas for the 2010-11 academic year.
The University of North Texas System Board of Regents made the appointment Friday. The appointment will take effect on May 14, 2010, and Rawlins is expected to serve as president through the summer of 2011 during the system’s national search for a new president for its flagship university.
Rawlins will replace Phil C. Diebel, who was appointed to serve as UNT’s interim president following the February 2010 resignation of Gretchen M. Bataille.
Located in Denton, the University of North Texas is the flagship institution of the University of North Texas system, has an enrollment of about 36,000 students and is Texas’s fourth largest university.
“Since I retired as WSU president, I have greatly enjoyed teaching and my work with the Ruckelshaus Center,” Rawlins said. “At the same time, my years in university administration were also very rewarding and challenging. When I was contacted by UNT, it seemed like an outstanding opportunity to be of service.”
Rawlins was nominated for the position by his successor, WSU President Elson S. Floyd, who was among college administrators nationwide contacted by UNT officials seeking recommendations.
“When I heard that the University of North Texas wanted to fill this position, Lane’s name came to mind immediately. He is a proven leader with great academic experience. I am certain he will do an excellent job there. They are lucky to have him,” Floyd said.
Rawlins, a native of southeast Idaho, began his academic career at WSU in 1968 as an assistant professor of economics, after earning his doctoral degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley. He co-authored books on labor economics and public policy and served as chair of the Department of Economics from 1977-1981 and as vice provost from 1982-1986.
He left WSU to serve as vice chancellor of the University of Alabama System for five years, and then as president of the University of Memphis from 1991 to 2000.
As president, Rawlins led WSU through a period of growth and change. During his tenure, the university strengthened its statewide presence as the roles of campuses in Vancouver, Tri-Cities and Spokane were redefined to allow them to be more responsive to community needs. He built closer ties to the University of Washington and raised the awareness of the important role played by the state’s research universities – WSU and UW – in building Washington’s economy.
During Rawlins’ tenure, WSU saw growth in both the number of students and the academic profile of its student body. Research funding grew, as did the university’s facilities, with a number of new research buildings coming on line.
In June 2007, Rawlins retired from the presidency and returned to the faculty in the WSU School of Economic Sciences. He also served as interim director of the William D. Ruckelshaus Center from June 2007 until May 2009. The center is a joint program of WSU and the UW that fosters collaborative problem-solving.
At UNT, Rawlins will be taking over leadership of a university that includes 12 colleges and schools and offers nearly 250 degree programs. UNT is home to one of the nation’s top music programs, the only Ph.D. program in the country with an emphasis on environmental philosophy and ethics and Discovery Park, a nearly 290-acre research park.
Bataille had served as UNT’s president since 2006. Previously, she was provost and vice president for academic affairs at WSU from July 1997 to February 2000 before leaving to become senior vice president and vice president for academic affairs for the 16-campus University of North Carolina.