Yeiser Named UAM Provost and Vice Chancellor
September 27th, 2012 by UAM News
A familiar face is returning to the University of Arkansas at Monticello.
Dr. Jimmie Yeiser, professor, T. L. L. Temple Chair and Director of the Forest Resources Institute at Stephen F. Austin State University, has been appointed Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Dr. Yeiser will begin his appointment on October 29, 2012. He replaces R. David Ray, who retired in June after serving 42 years on the university faculty and administration.
The appointment was announced today by UAM Chancellor Jack Lassiter. Dr. Yeiser is no stranger to the UAM campus. He was a member of the school’s forest resources faculty for 19 years from 1980 to 1998. His wife, Linda, is a former Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration and Vice Chancellor for Advancement at UAM.
“On behalf of the entire university, I am pleased to welcome the Yeisers back to UAM,” said Lassiter. “Dr. Yeiser’s combination of experience as a classroom instructor, a distinguished research scientist, and an administrator, along with his familiarity with both the campus and the community made him an ideal candidate to become UAM’s chief academic officer. I look forward to working with Dr. Yeiser as we enter this new phase in the institution’s history.”
“Linda and I are very happy to be returning to a place we both love,” said Dr. Yeiser. “We made so many friends during our time in Monticello. I am excited by both the challenges and opportunities at UAM and look forward to working with the faculty as we map out the academic future of the institution.”
A native of Utica, Ky., Dr. Yeiser holds a Bachelor of Science degree in forestry with an emphasis in forest management from the University of Kentucky, a Master of Science in agriculture degree with an emphasis in silviculture, also from Kentucky, and a Ph.D. in tree improvement from Texas A&M University.
At Stephen F. Austin, Dr. Yeiser taught intensive silviculture to seniors and graduate students while conducting research in forest vegetation management, securing more than $4 million in research grants while also coordinating research for eight chemical and forest industries and completing 188 research publications. In 2010 he took on the additional duties of Director of the Forest Resources Institute at SFA, which monitors forest health, trends and conditions in industrial, private non-industrial and public lands.
In 2011-12, Dr. Yeiser was named the Regents Professor at Stephen F. Austin, the university’s highest honor, awarded annually to one faculty member for outstanding teaching and research. He received the Research, Development, and Innovation Award from the Texas Forestry Association and was named a Fellow by the Society of American Foresters, the Society’s highest honor, recognizing outstanding service to forestry and the SAF in 2008. He is currently the chairman of the Texas Society of American Foresters and a member of the board of directors of the Texas Forestry Association.
Dr. Yeiser joined the UAM faculty in 1980 as an assistant professor, became an associate professor in 1985 and a professor in 1991. He also held a dual appointment as a research scientist with the University of Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station located on the UAM campus. During his tenure at UAM, Dr. Yeiser acquired more than $2 million in research support from chemical and forest industries and completed 42 research publications.
For more information, contact Jim Brewer, director of media services, at (870) 460-1274.
