COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Dr. R. Bowen Loftin, vice president of Texas A&M University and chief executive officer of its branch campus at Galveston, was named interim president of Texas A&M today by The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents.
The board took the action after formally accepting the resignation of Dr. Elsa A. Murano, who had served as president of Texas A&M since January 2008 and has announced her intent to return to the faculty of Texas A&M’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. In accepting her resignation, the regents awarded her the designation of president emerita.
Loftin will serve as interim president of Texas A&M while a national search is conducted, a search that Board of Regents Chairman Morris E. Foster of Houston said he hopes will be completed within six months.
“The board believes Dr. Loftin has clearly demonstrated the ability to carry out the responsibilities of the job of president,” Foster said, noting that Loftin has had “a distinguished career and is very well published,” with the latter reference directed to his scholarly works. “He is an excellent leader and has the full support of the board.”
“I have known and worked with Dr. Loftin for many years and have always been impressed by his leadership skills,” said Michael D. McKinney, chancellor of the Texas A&M System. “Those skills were put to the test last fall when he helped the Texas A&M University at Galveston community deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. I have the utmost confidence in his ability to lead Texas A&M during this period of transition.”
Loftin, who is a 1971 Texas A&M graduate and has headed TAMUG since 2005, said he considers it a “privilege” to serve as interim president of his alma mater. “As a former student, I have an abiding love for Texas A&M University. It is a privilege to serve in this interim capacity. I will ensure that we remain committed to our core values as well as to our status as one of the top teaching and research universities in the nation,” Loftin said.
Dr. Rodney P. McClendon will serve as acting vice president and CEO of TAMUG during the period that Loftin serves in the College Station position. McClendon currently serves as executive associate vice president and chief operating officer for the Galveston campus.
In addition to his bachelor’s degree in physics from Texas A&M, Loftin earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. in physics from Rice University in 1973 and 1975, respectively.
In addition to his administrative positions, Loftin also serves as professor of maritime systems engineering at TAMUG.
From 2000 to 2005, Loftin was at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., where he served as professor of electrical and computer engineering and professor of computer science. In addition, he served as Old Dominion’s director of simulation programs with responsibility for the university’s graduate programs in modeling and simulation. Additionally, he was executive director of the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center.
Before going to Old Dominion, Loftin was professor and chair of the Department of Computer Science and the director of the NASA Virtual Environments Research Institute at the University of Houston.
For more than 20 years he, his students and coworkers have been exploring modeling and simulation in a variety of domains. He is a frequent consultant to both industry and government in the areas of modeling and simulation, advanced training technologies and scientific/engineering data visualization.
Loftin serves on advisory committees and panels sponsored by numerous government and professional organizations. His many honors and citations include the University of Houston-Downtown Awards for Excellence in Teaching and Service (twice), the American Association of Artificial Intelligence Award for an innovative application of artificial intelligence, NASA’s Space Act Award, the NASA Public Service Medal, and the 1995 NASA Invention of the Year Award.
He is the author or co-author of more than 100 technical publications.
About the A&M System
The A&M System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation, with a budget of $3.04 billion. Through a statewide network of 11 universities, seven state agencies and a comprehensive health science center, the A&M System educates more than 109,000 students and makes more than 15 million additional educational contacts through service and outreach programs each year. Externally funded research brings in almost $676 million every year and helps drive the state’s economy.
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