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Dear Colleagues, I am delighted to announce that Professor Radenka Maric has agreed to serve as UConn's next Vice President for Research. After a rigorous internal search, Professor Maric recently participated in two open town hall-style meetings in Storrs and in Farmington as the sole finalist for the position. I would like to thank her for doing so and also thank our colleagues, who asked important questions and provided me with very useful feedback. As I previously noted, President Herbst and I agreed that Professor Maric's very impressive record as a researcher, strong leadership qualities, highly collaborative approach, and the energy and comprehensive vision she has for the role of the VPR combined to make her an ideal choice for this important position. Professor Maric earned her BS in materials science from the University of Belgrade, and her MS and PhD in materials science and energy from the University of Kyoto. She is currently the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund Professor of Sustainable Energy at UConn, appointed in the departments of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering. She is also the Executive Director for the Innovation Partnership Building and Tech Park here at the university. Professor Maric will begin serving as the VPR on July 1, 2017. I will appoint an Acting VPR for the month of June 2017 and will provide more information on that very soon. As I mentioned earlier this month, the president and I were thrilled that this search drew so many truly exceptional candidates from UConn's own ranks, and the process was an extremely competitive one. We would like to thank all of our colleagues who sought the position for their interest in it and the thoughtful discussions that took place throughout the search. The fact that there were so many highly qualified candidates for this position reflects both the quality of our faculty and our academic strength as an institution. I would again like to thank the search committee and its chair, Professor Michael Lynes, for their excellent work. Finally, I would like to thank Jeff Seemann, who has served as our Vice President for Research for the last four years and will be stepping down at the end of this month. Under his leadership, the university's research-support philosophy shifted dramatically and is now firmly rooted in an Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) that is service-driven, with the expressed goals of providing more effective, efficient, and accessible services and support to faculty. Jeff's efforts have made a dramatic difference for the better and we remain thankful for his service to the university. Sincerely, Jeremy Teitelbaum -- Jeremy Teitelbaum, Ph.D. Professor of Mathematics and Interim Provost University of Connecticut 352 Mansfield Road, Unit 1086 Storrs, CT 06269-1086 P: (860) 486-4037 Email: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>