Lawrence Dreyfus, the final of four candidates chosen by the UHCL Presidential Search Committee, introduced himself to students and faculty at his open forum April 25. He spoke about his academic background and qualifications for the job before taking questions from the audience.
Dreyfus is currently the vice chancellor for research and economic development at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). He is also a tenured professor in cell biology and biophysics whose research focuses on the structure and function of bacterial toxins and their contributory role in microbial pathogenesis and human disease.
Dreyfus served several years on National Institutes of Health scientific review panels including the Bacteriology and Mycology Study Section, the Small Business Innovate Research Awards Committee and an NRSA fellowship review panel.
Dreyfus holds a doctorate in microbiology from the University of Kansas.
As vice chancellor for research and economic development at UMKC, Dreyfus is responsible for oversight of the university’s research operation, including grants and contracts (over $35 million annually), industrial relations and sponsored programs at the university.
Dreyfus has been responsible for attracting more than $2 million in support for his research on the structure and function of microbial toxins and other initiatives. He received the N.T. Veatch Award for Distinguished Research and Creativity in 1997.
Dreyfus also has experience working with other universities in a system of universities. He meets regularly with his counterparts on the other three University of Missouri System campuses and participates in system-wide research and economic development-related activities.
Dreyfus spoke about his success in increasing enrollment figures as a reason why he would be a good fit as a president. During his tenure as the dean of the School of Biological Sciences at UMKC from 2003-2012, the School of Biological Sciences saw a nearly three-fold increase in undergraduate enrollments and an expansion of their graduate programs.
Dreyfus was impressed by the system of shared governance at UHCL, and he believes that good communication between faculty and administrators is important for a university’s success.
“When I looked at the shared governance process here, it was different from other universities and I was amazed at how it was delineated so well,” Dreyfus said. “It is important to have a system in place where everyone gets to voice their opinion.”
Richard Walker, vice president of student affairs and enrollment services and chair of the UHCL Presidential Search Committee, discussed the process that the committee is going through to select the next president.
“Once the final candidate completes the campus visit, the search committee will provide the results of the feedback from the UHCL community evaluations along with the committee’s views for each candidate to Chancellor Khator,” Walker said. “The decision of who to hire as the next UHCL president will rest with the chancellor. I would anticipate an announcement sometime in May.”
More information on the presidential search can be found here.
Also published on Medium.