University of California, Riverside Chancellor, France A. Córdova, has announced the appointment of Dr. William Jury, Distinguished Professor of Soil Physics, to the position of Acting Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost beginning July 1.

"We are fortunate to have a person of Bill's stature, expertise, and drive for excellence serving in this significant role," said Cordova.

Jury will fill the post being vacated by David H. Warren, who in March announced his intention to step down after nine years serving as executive vice chancellor.

"I consider this a great honor," said Jury. "I look forward to working with Chancellor Córdova and the faculty and staff at this exciting time of growth and opportunity at UC Riverside."

A member of the UC Riverside faculty since 1974, Jury, an internationally recognized scholar, conducts experimental and theoretical research on water and chemical movement and reactions in soil and groundwater. He is a Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Geophysical Union. In 1999 he was presented in Washington, DC with the USDA Secretary's Honor Award for Environmental Protection, and in 2000 was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Recently, he has been identified by the Institute for Scientific Information as among the 100 most highly cited researchers in the world in both the fields of Engineering and Environment/Ecology.

While at UC Riverside he has received both the Graduate Student Association and Faculty Senate Distinguished Teaching Awards and was the 2002 UCR Faculty Research Lecturer. Jury has served in a number of important administrative and service positions at UC Riverside, including Interim Director of the Graduate Program in Environmental Toxicology 1987-88; Soil and Environmental Sciences Department Chair 1990-95; Director of the Graduate Program in Environmental Sciences 1998-2002; and Director of the Graduate Research Unit in Environmental Sciences and Engineering 1997-present. He has also chaired a number of important committees, including those that designed and developed both the Environmental Toxicology and Environmental Sciences graduate programs, and the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences Task Force on Research and Teaching Space Requirements. Most recently, he has co-chaired a UCR Task Force on General Education and was the Faculty Chair of the UC Search Committee to select UCR's Chancellor.

The Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost serves as Acting Chancellor in the Chancellor's absence; works closely with the Chancellor in the formulation of the campus vision and implementation of academic and administrative policies; works closely with the Deans in recruitment and retention of faculty; has responsibility for managing the daily operations of the campus; and is principal liaison to the Academic Senate.

The University of California, Riverside offers undergraduate and graduate education to nearly 16,000 students and has a projected enrollment of 21,000 students by 2010. It is the fastest growing and most ethnically diverse campus of the preeminent ten-campus University of California system, the largest public research university system in the world. The picturesque 1,200-acre campus is located at the foot of the Box Springs Mountains near downtown Riverside in Southern California.

More information about UC Riverside is available at www.ucr.edu or by calling 909-787-5185. For a listing of faculty experts on a variety of topics, please visit http://mmr.ucr.edu/experts/.