Erickson Named Vice President For Research

2-25-97

University Park, Pa. --- Dr. Rodney A. Erickson, dean of Penn State's Graduate School, has been named, in addition, vice president for research.

He had been serving as interim vice president for research since Dr. David Shirley, his immediate predecessor as vice president, retired in December.

As vice president for research, Erickson will lead a $350 million a year research enterprise that is the largest among universities in Pennsylvania and tenth among all American universities.

Penn State also ranks second in the nation, behind the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in industry-supported research.

In recent years Penn State's faculty and students have made discoveries and innovative advancements in fields as diverse as medical diagnostics, affordable housing, effective wastewater treatment systems, weather prediction, astronomy, early childhood development, global economic competition, feminism, and the effects of space flight, to name only a few areas of research .

Penn State research spans the entire University, at all of its locations, and enables both undergraduate and graduate students to gain "real world" experience through participation.

Dr. Graham Spanier, Penn State President, said, "We're delighted that Rod Erickson has agreed to apply his demonstrated administrative abilities, interdisciplinary outlook, and experience integrating research, teaching and service in leading the Penn State research enterprise as well as graduate education."

In addition to his administrative posts, Erickson is a professor of geography and business administration. He was head of the Department of Geography in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences from 1990 to 1994. From 1981 to 1995, he served as director of the Center for Regional Business Analysis, and from 1984-1995 was associate director of the Division of Research in the Smeal College of Business Administration. He was appointed dean of the Graduate School on July 1, 1995.

Erickson earned graduate degrees at the University of Minnesota and the University of Washington. He joined the Penn State faculty in 1977. His teaching and research have focused on urban and economic geography, and he has published widely on topics including regional economic growth theory, industrial location, international trade, and economic development policies.

Erickson has served in leadership roles in professional organizations for geography and business administration, and currently is a member of the editorial boards of four journals.

A former Fulbright Research Scholar in the United Kingdom, he has also been a Simon Senior Research Fellow at the University of Manchester, and a National Science Foundation/American Statistical Association Research Fellow at the U.S. Bureau of the Census. His current research involves the foreign trade and international investment of manufacturing and service industries across U.S. regions, and the evaluation of public policies for export expansion.

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Contacts: Barbara Hale (814) 865-9481 (office) bah@psu.edu Vicki Fong (814) 865-9481 (office) vyf1@psu.edu