New provost to take reins at UHV
The next University of Houston-Victoria provost and vice president for academic affairs will be a university dean who also holds positions as a foundation president and executive director, and is the founder of a 3D printing technology company.
Chance Glenn Sr., dean of the College of Engineering, Technology and Physical Sciences at Alabama A&M University in Huntsville, will start his new position Aug. 5. Glenn also is president and executive director of the Alabama A&M Research, Innovation, Science and Engineering Foundation; and founder and president of Morningbird Media, the creators of Electronic Alchemy eForge 3D printing technology.
“I’m looking forward to getting started at UHV,” Glenn said. “This is a great opportunity to do special things at a university that is poised to go to the next level.”
The provost serves as the chief academic officer of the university. The deans of UHV’s three schools and University College report to the provost, and the provost sits on the President’s Cabinet and the university’s Executive Committee.
Glenn started his academic career in 2003 at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York as a faculty member in the College of Applied Science and Technology. In 2008, he became associate dean in the Office of Graduate Studies. In 2012, he was hired as dean of the Alabama A&M College of Engineering, Technology and Physical Sciences.
Glenn earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland at College Park. Both his master’s and doctorate in electrical engineering were earned at Johns Hopkins University. He also holds a certificate in management development from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
“Dr. Glenn is highly qualified to be UHV provost and vice president for academic affairs,” said UHV President Bob Glenn, who is not related. “His experience as a university professor, administrator and entrepreneur will help the university continue to grow.”
One reason Chance Glenn said he was attracted to UHV was the opportunity to start an engineering program in the future. The university’s new Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics building is set to open in fall 2020 south of the UHV University Center.
Glenn’s honors include a 2018 induction into the Indispensable Role of Blacks at JHU exhibit, a traveling and online exhibit honoring the contributions people of color have made to Johns Hopkins. In addition, Morningbird Media’s Electronic Alchemy eForge was named as a 2019 finalist in the experimental category in Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas.
Glenn is an avid artist, singer/songwriter and was part of The Praise Project, a gospel group that recorded “First Fruits,” a CD nominated for a Grammy in 2000.
“I have an appreciation for artistic things as well as technology,” Glenn said. “Both are creative, and I bring that to the table,” he said.
Glenn and his wife, Marsha, an early childhood educator, have been married almost 30 years and have four children.
The national search for a new UHV provost resulted in three finalists who came in mid-April to the main UHV campus in Victoria and the UHV Katy teaching center. The finalists each took part in an open forum for faculty, staff, students and community members.
David Cockrum, who previously worked at Sul Ross State University, has served as UHV’s interim provost and vice president for academic affairs since August 2016 and will retire once Glenn begins.
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
