Spectrum - Volume 20 Issue 16 January 15, 1998 - Ford named vice provost for academic affairs

A non-profit publication of the Office of the University Relations of Virginia Tech,
including The Conductor , a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

Ford named vice provost for academic affairs

By Larry Hincker

Spectrum Volume 20 Issue 16 - January 15, 1998

Provost and Senior Vice President Peggy Meszaros has named David R. Ford vice provost for academic affairs. Ford spent more than a decade in various positions at Virginia Tech, but most recently was vice president for instructional services and dean of the faculty at Vincennes University in Indiana.
"Dave's tenure at Vincennes and Virginia Tech were marked by successes in academic and administrative leadership. His colleagues here and at Vincennes were highly laudatory. We're happy to have him back and look for him to hit the ground running," Meszaros said.
The vice provost for academic affairs serves as the chief deputy to the provost with wide-ranging responsibilities including leadership in enhancing the learning environment, strategic enrollment services, faculty development, academic support units and other areas that support the academic agenda.
"My roots are in the land-grant university, so it is a pleasure to have the opportunity to return to Virginia Tech. Establishing the vision of a land-grant learning community supported through the academic agenda will be especially exciting and challenging. With the encouragement and patience of the university community, I am looking forward to my new assignment," Ford said.
While at Vincennes, Ford was responsible for academic budgets, evaluation of personnel, curriculum development, new program development, faculty professional development, extended instruction, and university scheduling. He co-chaired the Strategic/Operational Plan Steering committee and provided oversight for the developing the enrollment-management plan, a retention plan, and information-technology plan. He also developed a new performance-evaluation system for the faculty and staff.
Ford's last position before leaving Virginia Tech in 1990 was associate vice president for facilities with responsibility for Physical Plant, Facilities Planning and Construction, and Public Safety, Health and Transportation. For three years before that, he was assistant provost with oversight of the university core curriculum and course development. He also chaired the steering committee for the 1986 Self Study.
Before joining the central administration, Ford was assistant and later associate dean in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. In the college, his primary duties included recruitment, placement, and fund raising. As assistant dean, helped develop a merit-scholarship program, oversaw the development of new programs for integrated pest management and agricultural mechanization, and the implementation of the Agricultural Technology Program.
Ford's academic background includes teaching assignments at Vincennes and Purdue University. He holds a B.S. in agronomy, an M.S. in crop physiology and crop ecology, and a Ph.D. in crop physiology and biochemistry all from Purdue University.