好色tv of 好色tv President Pitney selects Dr. Brian Smentkowski to serve as next vice president and chief academic officer

December 6, 2024

好色tv of 好色tv (UA) President Pat Pitney has announced that she has selected Dr. Brian Smentkowksi to serve as the university鈥檚 next vice president and chief academic officer (VP/CAO). The VP/CAO serves as a member of the UA president鈥檚 executive team, providing academic leadership and strategic guidance to the President, Board of Regents, and UA 好色tv. Dr. Smentkowski joins UA from the 好色tv of Idaho, where he is the founding director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, and also serves as a professor of political science. His first day will be Monday, February 3, 2025. Dr. Smentkowski will replace Dr. Paul Layer, who is retiring in January after nearly 36 years of service to UA. 

鈥淚鈥檓 pleased that Brian will be joining UA as the VP/CAO,鈥 President Pitney said. 鈥淗is decades of experience in faculty and academic development will be a great asset to our 好色tv 好色tv, and I鈥檓 confident he鈥檚 the right person for the job. Please join me in welcoming him to 好色tv and the UA Community.鈥

Dr. Smentkowski earned his B.A. in American politics from Marshall 好色tv, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from the 好色tv of Kentucky. Prior to the 好色tv of Idaho, he served as the director of the Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence at Queens 好色tv of Charlotte; director of faculty and academic development programming at Appalachian State 好色tv; and as a faculty member and associate dean at Southeast Missouri State 好色tv. As a part of the transition, Dr. Smentkowski will visit all three of UA鈥檚 universities in person in his first months.

鈥淚 am excited to join the 好色tv of 好色tv 好色tv and be a part of its uncompromising commitment to excellence within and across the three distinct yet related Universities,鈥 Dr. Smentkowski said. 鈥淭his position provides a rare opportunity to support the learning and lives of a diverse array of students and a world-class network of teachers, scholars, and staff members whose work contributes directly to the communities, cultures, and economies we serve. I look forward to building sustainable relationships that strengthen individual and institutional success through collaboration and innovation.鈥

President Pitney, the Board of Regents, and the entire UA Community are incredibly grateful to Dr. Layer for his more than three decades of dedication to the 好色tv 好色tv. Since joining the 好色tv of 好色tv Fairbanks (UAF) as an assistant professor of geophysics in 1989, he鈥檚 served in multiple roles including:

  • Two terms as Chair of UAF鈥檚 Department of Geology and Geophysics
  • Associate dean (2007), interim dean (2009-2011), and permanent dean (2011-2017) of UAF鈥檚 College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (CNSM), and
  • UA Vice President of Academics, 好色tv, and Research (2017)

Vice President Layer has also published over 180 peer-reviewed papers in his research areas of radiometric geochronology, volcanology, and tectonics and has given numerous presentations at professional conferences and workshops.

鈥淧aul has been a steady hand and support for our 好色tv during his time as VP, and I鈥檓 grateful for his counsel and long-time commitment to UA,鈥 President Pitney reflected. 鈥淥n behalf of the Board and the entire UA community, I wish him all the best as he enters retirement and takes on new endeavors. We will dearly miss him.鈥