May 4, 2001 UNT Inhouse publication: UNT inaugurates 13th university president

homepage

UNT inaugurates 13th university president

Norval Pohl will be installed at 3 p.m. today as president of UNT, the 13th president in the university's history and the first president inaugurated in 19 years.

Pohl joined UNT in January 1999 as provost and executive vice president and officially began his duties as president of the university on Oct. 15, 2000. In September 2000, the Board of Regents of the UNT System separated the duties of president from those of system chancellor.

Before joining UNT, Pohl served four years as the vice president for finance and administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Prior to that he was dean of the College of Business and Economics and professor of business administration at Northern Arizona University. His teaching career includes assistant and associate professorship appointments in the Department of Management Systems in the Graduate College of Business at the University of Santa Clara and in the Department of Quantitative Systems at Arizona State University. Pohl earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and an M.B.A. in management at California State University, Fresno, and a doctorate in quantitative systems at Arizona State University.

He has been involved in various field studies with businesses such as Intel Corp., NASA-Ames Research Center, Hewlett-Packard, Data Quest Inc. and Arthur Andersen. He also has been active in civic and professional associations, serving as president of Nevada District Export Council; vice president and member of the board of trustees of Nevada World Trade Council; and member of the board of directors for American Pacific Corp., Western ElectroChemical Co. Inc., Amerco Inc. and the Flagstaff Institute.

"We chose Dr. Pohl in 1999 after an intensive national search because he had the ability and potential to become a great president," says Bobby Ray, chair of the UNT System Board of Regents. "His commitment to the university, his administrative contributions and his rapport with the faculty are proof that he was the right choice, and the board is extremely pleased with the work he has done during the first months of his administration."

During those months, Pohl has begun work on establishing a school of engineering at UNT, strengthening the university's research programs and upgrading the athletics programs.

The inauguration ceremony begins with an academic procession, followed by greetings from guests and members of the UNT student body, faculty, staff and alumni. Before Pohl is installed as president, the UNT Symphony Orchestra will perform the Finale of BeethovenÕs Symphony No. 9 with the UNT Grand Chorus.

After Pohl has been presented with the university's mace and medallion at today's ceremony, he will give his inaugural address, "Shaping Our Future." The event will be followed by a public reception in the concourse of the Coliseum. For more inauguration information, visit the web site established for the event at www.unt.edu/inaugural.