Provost Brian R. Chapman officially begins his tenure today at UNCW. Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo issued the following statement welcoming Dr. Chapman to the university:
"Please join me in officially welcoming Brian R. Chapman, who begins his new duties today as Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at UNCW. He brings a wealth of experience as an educator and administrator to our university. He most recently served as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at West Texas A&M University. Previously, he was the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Sam Houston State University. At both Sam Houston and West Texas A&M, Dr. Chapman led efforts to develop new, innovative academic programs, to improve learning outcomes, and to increase student retention.
Most importantly, he brings to UNCW a strong commitment to support our mission. He knows that the UNCW experience has been, and will always be, dedicated to providing students with the most powerful learning experience possible. Dr. Chapman will be an advocate for our faculty; he fully understands that the best academic programs begin with recruiting, retaining, and developing the best teachers, scholars, and researchers.
Prior to becoming a university administrator, he served as a professor of zoology and graduate coordinator in the School of Forest Resources at the University of Georgia; he also served in faculty positions at the University of Oklahoma and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. He has published numerous academic papers and given many conference presentations related to his research on various species of birds. He received his master's and doctoral degrees in zoology from Texas Tech University and his bachelor's degree in biology from Texas A&M University-Kingsville.
I am proud to welcome Dr. Chapman to UNCW as our new Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. As you can imagine, the next few months will be especially busy ones for him, as he meets with numerous faculty and staff on campus, and with many other individuals throughout the greater Wilmington community, in an effort to learn more about UNCW, our region and our state. Please provide any assistance you can in making his transition an easy one."