Colorado State University Names Vice President for Research and Information Technology

Colorado State University President Albert Yates named Dr. Anthony Frank as the University’s new Vice President for Research and Information Technology. Frank currently is associate dean for research at Colorado State’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and head of the University’s Department of Pathology.

"Tony Frank’s outstanding reputation and history with our University have positioned him well to take on this new challenge," Yates said. "He is widely respected as both a scholar and administrator, and we believe he is the right person to guide our institutional research efforts to the next level of excellence."

Frank will begin his new duties effective August 1, pending final approval by the State Board of Agriculture, Colorado State’s governing board.

One of five vice presidents, the vice president for research and information technology reports directly to the University President and serves as the institutional advocate and facilitator for faculty research activities. The vice president is responsible for programmatic excellence in research and its integration into the graduate and undergraduate learning experience. Specific responsibilities of the position include oversight and promotion of external research funding and associated needs and capabilities; liaison with federal and state officials and agencies; identification of research opportunities and development of interdisciplinary programs; technology transfer; oversight of the Graduate School; and planning and administrative oversight of the University’s information technology programs.

Frank earned his doctorate of veterinary medicine at the University of Illinois in 1985 and his doctorate in toxicologic pathology at Purdue University in 1988. He joined Colorado State in 1993 as an assistant professor of pathology and became head of that department in 1996. He was appointed associate dean for research in 1998. In a letter stating his interest in the position, Frank wrote:

"Research, in all of its myriad forms of scholarship, is a central mission of all higher education, but it is a particularly critical mission at our institution. As the state of Colorado’s land-grant university, Colorado State has a responsibility to create new knowledge and understandings and to translate these into public application for the good of society. Colorado State has a history of excellence in meeting this responsibility, as demonstrated by our standing as a Carnegie Class I research university."

Among the greatest challenges facing the University in the next decade will be to provide for the transition and turnover of research faculty, he noted.

Frank will replace Judson Harper, who is retiring from the position after 18 years as vice president.

"Jud really has been an extraordinary leader for this University, and when he announced that he would retire, we all knew it would be extremely difficult to find a person of his character and caliber to fill this position," Yates said. "Tony Frank is such a person. He already has a strong commitment to our University, and he brings to this new role the values, energy and intellect that have distinguished his work in veterinary medicine."