Dr. Vaughn Vandegrift new SIUE Chancellor
by Scott Kaiser
 EDWARDSVILLE,
Ill. - Dr. Vaughn Vandegrift, who has moved up through the ranks of
higher education over the past thirty years, will become chancellor
of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville July 1. Vandegrift was
appointed to the position by SIU President James E. Walker and
approved by the Board of Trustees today after a national search.
Current SIUE Chancellor David Werner announced his retirement last
October after thirty-six years of service to the University.
"Dr. Vandegrift has the right combination of skills and
experience to guide SIUE into the future. I am confident that he
will be the kind of leader we need at an important time in the
development of SIUE," said James E. Walker, president of
Southern Illinois University.
"The opportunity to come to SIU Edwardsville and lead this
vibrant campus is exciting to me", said Vandegrift. "SIU
has a vision to achieve national prominence as a premier
metropolitan university. I'm looking forward to working with the
university and metropolitan communities to realize that vision
within the next decade".
Dr. Vandegrift's appointment comes as a result of a national
search and assistance from a search advisory committee composed of
students, faculty, staff and alumni from SIUE whose job it was to
review applications and make recommendations to President Walker.
"I want to thank the members of the search advisory
committee, particularly professor Don Elliott who served as chair,
for their hours of work and valued counsel in our effort to find a
new chancellor," Walker said. "We had an excellent pool of
candidates from which to choose and I thank the committee for their
efforts."
Dr. Vandegrift comes to SIUE from Georgia Southern University (GSU),
where he has served as Provost and Vice President for Academic
Affairs / Chief Information Officer since 2000. At GSU, a
residential university with nearly 16,000 students and more than 650
full-time faculty, Vandegrift oversaw six academic colleges,
graduate studies, international studies, information technology
services, continuing education, a wildlife center, a museum, a
library, and a botanical garden.
During his time at GSU, Vandegrift led the academic affairs unit
through state budget cuts of $5 million dollars during a period in
which enrollment grew by 1,500 students. He established a new
College of Information Technology and oversaw the program's
development and the construction of a new $33 million building to
house it, which opened last year.
Vandegrift created a new School of Economic Development at GSU to
address the needs of South Georgia and also established the first
School of Public Health in the University System of Georgia after
obtaining a gift of $2.5 million from a benefactor of the
University.
Vandegrift reorganized the recruitment and hiring process of
faculty, significantly increasing the representation of minorities
in the Academic Affairs unit during his time at Georgia Southern.
Prior to becoming Provost at GSU, Vandegrift spent twelve years
as Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics and a tenured
professor of chemistry at Montclair State University in Upper
Montclair, New Jersey. He also served for six years as Chair of the
Department of Chemistry and as a tenured professor during his twelve
years at Murray State University in Kentucky. Dr. Vandegrift has
moved through the academic ranks of assistant professor, associate
professor, full professor, department chair, dean, and provost.
Vandegrift began his higher education career as a chemistry
professor at Illinois State University in 1974.
Vandegrift, who graduated with a Ph.D. in chemistry from Ohio
University, is the author of numerous journal articles and
presentations on the topics of biochemistry, chemical education and
higher education. Vandegrift earned his bachelor's and master's
degrees in chemistry from Montclair State University. Vandegrift is
also a graduate of the Harvard University Institute for Educational
Management.
Vandegrift has been a member of numerous professional
organizations and civic groups including Rotary International, the
American Chemical Society, American Association of Higher Education,
Skidaway Institute of Oceanography Board of Directors, and the
Statesboro-Bulloch County (Georgia) Chamber of Commerce.
The 57-year-old Vandegrift, who hails from Saddle Brook, NJ, is
married to Suzanne Bouchoux Vandegrift, from Nutley, NJ, a recently
retired high school chemistry teacher from the Wayne, NJ schools.
They have three children: Beth Vandegrift, David Vandegrift, and
Mark Vandegrift. Vandegrift's parents, Frederick and Marjorie
Vandegrift, reside in Murray, KY.
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