News

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Dr. Parviz Ansari, provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs, has been selected for the Academy of Science-St. Louis board of trustees.

The Academy is an independent science organization supported entirely through community contributions. It is the driving force behind scientific progress and awareness in St. Louis for more than 150 years. Its purpose is advancing public understanding of science and promoting interest in the sciences to students and adults through accessible, year-round seminars and educational initiatives.

Ansari joins an 18-member board that includes higher education representatives from other area institutions such as Washington University, the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Webster University. The St. Louis business community is represented by such fixtures as The Boeing Co., Sun Edison, Mallinckrodt and Monsanto. As a new board member, Ansari will begin his activities in spring 2015.

Among other activities, the Academy annually promotes and recognizes St. Louis’ outstanding scientists. The Academy offers the Annual Outstanding St. Louis Scientists Awards, and each award-winner represents both an extraordinary caliber of expertise and a dedication to fostering science literacy.

Ansari joined SIUE during July 2014 after concurrently serving as dean of the College of Science and Mathematics (CSM) and founding dean of the School of Biomedical Sciences at Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J. Prior to that, he was dean of Rowan’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Before moving to Rowan, Ansari served Seton Hall University in a variety of capacities for more than two decades, including chair of the Department of Physics and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Photo: SIUE’s Dr. Parviz Ansari, provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs.