Associate Dean Richard Kurtz Named Among 2016-17 SEC Academic Leadership Development Program Fellows

Kurtz

 

 College of Science Associate Dean and Professor of Physics & Astronomy Richard Kurtz is one of four LSU faculty and administrators selected to participate in the 2016-17 SEC Academic Leadership Development Program, or SEC ALDP. This program is a professional growth initiative that seeks to identify, prepare and advance academic leaders for roles within SEC institutions and beyond. The SEC ALDP has two components: a university-level development program designed by each institution for its own participants and two, three-day, SEC-wide workshops held on specified campuses for all program participants.

“It is our strong belief that helping to prepare administrators for the next phase of their careers has the potential to impact all of higher education, both now and in the future,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. “Our universities make a significant investment in these individuals, and we are proud to work with them through this program.”

Kurtz earned his PhD in applied physics at Yale University in 1983, when he started work with the National Bureau of Standards as a National Research Council postdoctoral scholar. In 1992, he joined the faculty of the Department of Physics & Astronomy at LSU as an associate professor and was promoted to full professor in 1997. Since then, Kurtz has held several administrative positions at LSU. In 2000, he became interim associate vice chancellor in the Office of Research and Graduate Studies. During that time, he established joint research efforts in materials science and engineering with Southern University and A&M College and the University of New Orleans. In 2008, Kurtz joined the College of Science as associate dean for research and continues to serve in that role today. In this position, he supports the development of research funding, facility management, as well as building construction and renovations. Kurtz has also assumed the position of interim director of the Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices, LSU’s synchrotron light source, working to upgrade the accelerator and expand on beamlines and research capabilities.

Other SEC ALDP fellows from LSU are Andrea Beauchamp Carroll, interim associate dean for student and academic affairs and the Donna W. Lee Professor of Family Law at the LSU Law Center; Mandi Lopez, director of the Laboratory for Equine and Comparative Orthopedic Research and professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine; and Andrea Miller, associate dean for undergraduate studies and administration and professor in the Manship School of Mass Communication.

The SEC Academic Leadership Development Program is part of SECU, the academic initiative of the Southeastern Conference. The SEC supports and promotes the endeavors and achievements of the students and faculty at its 14 member universities.

Click here for the full list of 2016-17 SEC ALDP fellows.