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Spaniolo
Named President of UT Arlington
 AUSTIN
– James D. Spaniolo, dean of the College of Communication
Arts and Sciences at Michigan State University has been named president
of The University of Texas at Arlington by the U.T. System Board
of Regents.
Spaniolo, a professor of journalism who has held his present administrative
position since 1996, was unanimously selected from among three finalists
to succeed Interim President Charles A. Sorber. Dr. Bob Smith and
Dr. Peter Hoff, previously named finalists, withdrew from consideration
prior to the final vote of the Board of Regents. Sorber, a former
U.T. System administrator, succeeded President Robert E. Witt, who
left UTA in March to become president of the University of Alabama.
"Spaniolo brings to the presidency of U.T. Arlington an extraordinary
record of service and achievement as a higher education leader,
and he has a deep understanding of the complex role that universities
play in today's society, as centers of research and education and
as partners in economic development," said Charles Miller,
chairman of the Board of Regents. "He has deep experience in
working with and leading foundations and a keen understanding of
the important role of private support to higher education. The importance
of communicating the crucial role of higher education in our communities,
to our state and to this nation is a key asset that he will bring
to this institution and to the U.T. System. We believe that he is
the right person to lead UTA into a new era of prominence in Texas
and the nation."
Spaniolo is chief academic officer of a college that has five departments
(advertising, audiology and speech sciences, communication, journalism
and telecommunication) and enrolls 3,500 undergraduates and 400
graduate students. As dean, he has fostered interdisciplinary programs,
forged a partnership with a newspaper corporation in Mexico, and
strengthened alumni outreach and fundraising.
Previously, Spaniolo served as vice president and chief program
officer of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, vice president
of human resources and assistant to the publisher at the Detroit
Free Press, general executive and general counsel of the Miami Herald,
and associate general counsel of the American Newspaper Publishers
Association.
"I feel very good about this selection. We've recruited a top
administrator from Michigan State University, one of the country's
outstanding research and comprehensive academic institutions with
a reputation for high standards in academic performance and enviable
graduation rates," said Mark G. Yudof, chancellor of the U.T.
System. "His experience in politics, journalism, law, philanthropy
and in higher education were essential qualities that the board
felt were important in his selection. His service and experience
on the Michigan State Capital Campaign steering committee and his
record in fundraising for the institution and his college as dean
will be enormously beneficial to UT Arlington and to the System."
Spaniolo holds a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University,
where he was editor in chief of the student newspaper; a master's
of public administration from the University of Michigan, and a
law degree from the University of Michigan Law School. He is a member
of the Florida Bar Association and has been admitted to practice
before the U.S. Supreme Court, the 5th and 11th U.S. Circuit Courts
of Appeals, and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District
of Florida.
He serves on the advisory board of the Knight Foundation and on
the accrediting committee of the Accrediting Council on Education
and Journalism and Mass Communication.
He and his wife, Sally, have two children. His wife works as an
academic adviser in the Honors College at MSU.
Contact
person: Emily
Battle, (903) 565-5604
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