Leadership Transition in the Division for Research

Dear Colleagues:

After 12 years as Vice President for Research (VPR), Dr. James (Jim) Dias has announced that he will retire from the University at Albany.

As the longest serving VPR in University history, Dr. Dias has played a significant role in shaping and building research excellence. Dr. Dias co-designed the research-entrepreneurship model behind our $180 million, 240,000 square foot ETEC facility scheduled to open this summer. He strategically advanced a wide array of transformative research initiatives, including building one of the largest concentrations of weather, climate, and emergency preparedness researchers in the nation, a signature strength of the University. He was also one of the founding scientific thought leaders behind the New York Capital Region Research Alliance—a biomedical research collaboration that includes Albany Medical College, RPI, Wadsworth, and UAlbany.

Among his many other achievements, Dr. Dias initiated efforts that led to the buildout of the NYS Mesonet; a landmark $10 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) S21 Health Disparities Endowment Grant; and the ground-breaking RNA Epitranscriptomics & Proteomics Resource–an emerging R&D facility that will position UAlbany to be at the forefront of one of the next frontiers of RNA science.

Before being appointed VPR in 2009, Dr. Dias served as a faculty member in the School of Public Health and chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences.

We are currently in the process of launching a national search for a new Vice President for Research. Jim has graciously agreed to continue to serve as VPR until the completion of this search. Please join me in thanking Jim Dias for his leadership and his very significant contributions to our University.

To Jim, UAlbany’s VPR, our colleague, and my friend: ¡muchísimas gracias! 
 

Sincerely,

Havidán Rodríguez
President