Compiled from media reports

Meredith Hay, currently vice president for research at the University of Iowa, has been appointed the University of Arizona's new provost and executive vice president. Dr. Hay, who has maintained an NIH-funded physiology research program while working in administration at Iowa, will assume the UA provost's duty April 30.

"Meredith Hay is an outstanding scholar and exceptional executive, and we are fortunate she will be filling such a crucial leadership role at the UA," UA president Robert Shelton said. "The university has made tremendous strides in recent years. Having someone of Meredith's caliber to lead our academic enterprise portends great things for our future."

Before arriving at the University of Iowa in 2005, Dr. Hay was the assistant to the vice president for academic affairs for the University of Missouri System. At Iowa, she led an NIH-funded cardiovascular neurobiology laboratory; at UA she will also hold an appointment as a tenured professor of physiology in the College of Medicine.

"I am truly honored to be invited to join the UA family," said Dr. Hay. "The UA is one of the very best universities in the country—its commitment to student-centered excellence, its work and outreach to improve the lives and well being of the citizens of Arizona and the world, its bold and world-renowned research, ranging from plant genetics to planetary exploration, are all very exciting."

Dr. Hay told the Arizona Daily Star that she looks forward to strengthening faculty recruitment and retention, a key objective of Dr. Shelton. "There are so many outstanding areas at the university that are truly world-renowned," Dr. Hay said in the Daily Star. I have a lot of learning and a lot of listening to do, and the sooner I can get involved and start learning the ropes the better."

In her new role, Dr. Hay will inherit a challenging financial environment at UA; because of a slowing economy, non-critical hires have been frozen at UA for the rest of the fiscal year, and the state Legislature is considering spending cuts in many areas, including higher education.

"Many states are facing tough financial times, and the university has to do its part," Dr. Hay said in the Daily Star. "I look forward to helping to come up with a plan that will keep the university moving forward."

From 61 applicants, a search committee led by BIO5 director Vicki Chandler tabbed three candidates for on-campus interviews in January and February. Dr. Hay was also a finalist for the provost position at the University of California at Davis this year and for the presidency of the University of New Mexico last year.

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For more information:

"Iowa physiologist research chief appointed to UA provost post," Arizona Daily Star, 2/23/2008UA media release