Colleen Fitzgerald will be the new NDSU vice president for research and creative activity.
Colleen Fitzgerald has accepted the position of vice president for research and creative activity at NDSU starting on Oct.1, Provost Margaret Fitzgerald announced Aug. 18.
“Dr. Fitzgerald brings both experience and a vision for success in research, scholarship and the arts,” said Provost Fitzgerald. “She has strong interpersonal skills, and is committed to building partnerships, especially those that achieve the goals of diversity and inclusion.”
Fitzgerald has experience in economic development, technology transfer and licensing, and has built relationships at the National Institutes of Health, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Institute for Library and Museum Studies, among others.
“From coatings and polymers to public history and new therapeutics for pancreatic cancer, NDSU's research and scholarly activities enhance the quality of life for the state's citizens and power the region's economic engine,” she said. “I am excited about joining such a vibrant, land-grant, research university, where the existing disciplinary and interdisciplinary strengths are well-positioned to capitalize on national funding initiatives and priorities.”
Her previous roles include program director, Documenting Endangered Languages Program, Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, Social Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate at the National Science Foundation; director, 2014 Institute on Collaborative Language Research; director of the Native American Languages Lab at the University of Texas at Arlington; and director of the ESL/Literacy Service-Learning Initiative at Texas Tech University.
Fitzgerald earned her undergraduate degree in French from Loyola University and her master's degree and doctorate in linguistics at the University of Arizona. Her research investigates the phonology of Native American languages and Indigenous language documentation and revitalization.
Search committee members included:
• Jo Ann Miller, committee chair, University Distinguished Professor, Challey School of Music
• Heather Fuller, associate professor, Department of Human Development and Family Science
• David Grewell, department chair, Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
• Khang Hoang, research facilitator, Center for Computationally Assisted Science and Technology, and adjunct professor, Department of Physics
• Erik Hobbie, professor, Department of Physics and Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials
• Nancy Hodur, director, NDSU Center for Social Research
• Pamela Jo Johnson, associate professor and chair, Department of Public Health
• Val Kettner, associate vice president for sponsored programs administration
• Pan Lu, associate professor and associate research fellow, Department of Transportation, Logistics and Finance
• Phillip McClean, professor, Department of Plant Sciences
• Hallie Pritchett, interim dean, NDSU Libraries
• Florin Salajan, president, Faculty Senate
• Canan Bilen-Green, ex officio, vice provost for faculty affairs and equity
