A Message from the President
August 26, 2014
Dear Friends,
I am pleased to announce the first of several appointments to my leadership team at UTRGV.
Dr. Havidán Rodríguez, Dr. Janna Arney, and Letty Fernandez will be taking on new administrative roles at UTRGV while continuing to serve their campuses.
Dr. Rodriguez will be Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at UTRGV. He is currently serving as the UTPA’s president ad interim. He joined UTPA in January of 2011 as provost and vice president for academic affairs and is a tenured professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. During 2014-15 he will continue to serve as Interim President at UTPA while serving as Provost and EVP for Academic Affairs at UTRGV.
Dr. Arney will be Interim Chief of Staff for UTRGV. At UTB/TSC, she is currently Associate Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs and will continue to serve in that role while serving as Interim Chief of Staff. She joined UTB/TSC in August of 2002 as an assistant professor in the School of Business. In June 2006, she joined the Office of the Provost/VPAA where she has held a variety of leadership roles in Academic Affairs.
Letty Fernandez will be Director of Media Relations for UTRGV. She is currently Director of News and Information at UTB/TSC and will continue to serve in that role while serving UTRGV as Director of Media Relations. A former television journalist, she joined UTB/TSC in August of 1992.
A newcomer to our work and someone I have known for many years is Doug Buchanan. Doug will join us in a temporary assignment as Special Assistant to the President for Human Capital.
With more than 35 years of experience in helping to organize educational structures with a focus on people, Doug will be an invaluable resource during these next few months.
When I was President of Texas Tech University, he served as Special Assistant to the President and Associate Vice President for Human Resources. He has been Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources at the University of Missouri- Kansas City and Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources at the University of Missouri System.
In the coming weeks, we expect to announce several more appointments. Additional jobs will be posted at UTRGV Careers on the Project South Texas website.
Building UTRGV is a tremendous challenge, and there is still much work to do as we prepare to welcome UTRGV’s first students.
I very much appreciate your patience and your support.
President