Presidential Search Finalists

Bernard Arulanandam

Curriculum Vitae (Marshall login credentials required)

Dr. Bernard Arulanandam is the vice president for research, economic development, and knowledge enterprise, and the Jane and Roland Blumberg Professor of Biology at The University of Texas at San Antonio. He co-led the Public Health Task Force for the COVID response and recovery efforts at UTSA.

Dr. Arulanandam embraces transdisciplinary discovery with longstanding federal sponsorship through the HHS, DHS and the DoD. He has dedicated his career to building strategic partnerships, cultivating scholarly professional development and advancing opportunities for student success. Through his efforts, he has developed faculty cluster hiring programs, aligned research and workforce development across interest groups, and created forward-thinking research institutes to enhance the visibility and prominence of the institution.

As an established Immunologist, Dr. Arulanandam is focused on cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the induction of immune responses against infectious diseases. He has served as the director of the South Texas Center of Emerging Infectious Diseases and is currently an administrator for the Vaccine Development Center of San Antonio. Dr. Arulanandam serves as the councilor for the Oak Ridge Association of Universities, a member of the Board of Directors for Biomed SA, chairman of the Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute Governance Board and advises on the National Commission on Innovation & Competitiveness Frontiers.

Honors and awards Dr. Arulanandam has received include:  election as a fellow to the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2014; election as a fellow to the American Academy of Microbiology in 2017; and most recently, induction as a fellow to the National Academy of Inventors in 2019.

Dr. Arulanandam obtained a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology at the Medical College of Ohio and received a postdoctoral fellowship at the Albany Medical College in New York, and an executive M.B.A. at The University of Texas at San Antonio.

Campus Visit Feedback Form for Dr. Arulanandam (Survey open from 8 a.m. to midnight on Friday, Oct. 15.)

Bret Danilowicz

Curriculum Vitae (Marshall login credentials required)

A strong advocate of shared-governance and transparency, Dr. Bret Danilowicz brings 22 years of higher education leadership experience to his position as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Florida Atlantic University. As provost, he implemented incentive-based budgeting, coordinated a nation-leading improvement in graduation rates, established a public forum for civil discourse, and developed and implemented strategies for advancement towards R1 reclassification.

Before joining Florida Atlantic, he served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Oklahoma State University. He created a shared-governance strategic planning and budgeting process, diversified college and departmental leadership, established a college-wide focus on diversity and inclusion, and always exceeded fundraising goals. While dean, he co-authored “Organizing Academic Colleges,” which uses models and case studies to describe how to successfully navigate administrative reorganizations.

Previously, he was associate dean, then dean, of the College of Science and Technology at Georgia Southern University. He added engineering programs, thereby disrupting a long-standing state monopoly held by Georgia Tech, greatly expanded undergraduate research opportunities, and initiated the university’s nationally recognized sustainability efforts. His administrative journey started as associate dean of science at University College Dublin, Ireland, with a focus on student success.

Dr. Danilowicz attained a B.S. in biology from Utica College of Syracuse University. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in zoology from Duke University, an M.A. in education leadership and management from Open University, and finally an M.B.A. from Georgia Southern University.

Bret and his wife Kay are active in the community. They co-trained a therapy dog and were a pet therapy team at universities and in the community. They have built sets, worked backstage, and performed onstage in local theatre, coached soccer, and served on non-profit and educational boards. When not at work or with the community, both are avid runners and horse-trail riders.

Campus Visit Feedback Form for Dr. Danilowicz (Survey open from 8 a.m. to midnight on Tuesday, Oct. 19.)

Robyn Hannigan

Curriculum Vitae (Marshall login credentials required)

A distinguished scholar, entrepreneur and academic leader, Dr. Robyn Hannigan became provost at Clarkson University in 2019 following her service as the founding dean of the School for the Environment at the University of Massachusetts Boston. As Clarkson’s provost, Hannigan is responsible for the academic enterprise of one of the nation’s leading innovative universities that ignites the power of engineering, science, humanities and design for the benefit of all.

She has earned wide recognition for developing and implementing strategic initiatives tailored to building both financial and institutional support for student success, research and technology transfer. A successful fundraiser and economic development partner, she has raised significant philanthropic support for facilities, scholarships and research at the institutions she has served.

Dr. Hannigan is the recipient of numerous national awards, including the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Award for Encouraging Disadvantaged Students into Careers in the Chemical Sciences and induction as fellow to both the Geological Society of America and American Association for the Advancement of Science. Hannigan is member of the board of directors of World Media Foundation Inc. (Living on Earth Radio) and the Blue Institute, and serves on a number of federal, state and local committees and boards centered on economic development and the environment.

Dr. Hannigan earned her a B.S. in biology from the College of New Jersey, a master’s in geological science from the University at Buffalo, and a master’s and Ph.D. in earth and environmental science from the University of Rochester. She has translated her spirit for innovation into several start-up companies founded with her students, and continues to be an active, prolific researcher and mentor, garnering more than $32 million in external funding and producing more than 100 peer-reviewed publications with her students.

Campus Visit Feedback Form for Dr. Hannigan (Survey open from 8 a.m. to midnight on Tuesday, Oct. 12.)

Kathy Johnson

Curriculum Vitae (Marshall login credentials required)

Dr. Kathy Johnson serves as executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), a core campus of Indiana University and the state’s urban research and academic health sciences campus.

She is a professor of psychology and has previously served as dean of University College and associate vice chancellor for undergraduate education, where she led the creation of a Division of Undergraduate Education as well as a number of initiatives aimed at enhancing the quality of the undergraduate experience while also improving on-time graduation rates.

She is trained as a cognitive developmental psychologist and has published extensively in scientific journals in areas related to expertise acquisition and conceptual development, serving as PI or Co-PI on a number of grants awarded through the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes for Health.

Nationally, Dr. Johnson has served as past-president for the Association of Chief Academic Officers (ACAO), as chair-elect of the Council on Academic Affairs for the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities, and as a Fellow with Complete College America.

She earned her doctorate in psychology (cognition and development) at Emory University and her M.S. and B.S. in psychology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Campus Visit Feedback Form for Dr. Johnson (Survey open from 8 a.m. to midnight on Thursday, Oct. 14.)