Kim A. Wilcox

Kim A. Wilcox was appointed as UC Riverside’s ninth chancellor in August 2013. Since then, he has spurred a new era of growth of the campus, embarking on the expansion of the faculty by 300 positions; development of new facilities for research, teaching, and public service; and a new emphasis on institutional globalization. Wilcox is a long-time national advocate for increased access to quality higher education, and for the particular role public universities play in the United States. Under his leadership, UC Riverside became a charter member of the University Innovation Alliance, a collaboration of major public research universities in America seeking to improve student graduation rates and outcomes across all socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds. Wilcox participated in the 2014 White House College Opportunity Day of Action, at which President Barack Obama recognized the Riverside County Education Collaborative and the participation of UCR and regional school districts in improving the pipeline from K-12 to two- and four-year colleges. UC Riverside, with 22,000 students, hosts the most diverse student population of any major research university in the nation, and has received acclaim for student outcomes. Wilcox, himself, was a first-generation college-going student, matriculating at Michigan State University, where he earned a Bachelor’s of Arts in Audiology and Speech Sciences. He also holds MS and PhD degrees in Speech and Hearing Sciences from Purdue University.

Prior to UC Riverside, Wilcox served in senior positions at Michigan State University and the University of Kansas, and began his academic career at the University of Missouri. As provost of Michigan State from 2005 to July 2013, Wilcox implemented major institutional restructuring and strategic positioning initiatives, broadened international research collaborations, redesigned undergraduate student support programs, and facilitated the growth of research programs, significantly increasing grants and contracts activity. Previously, he was dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Kansas, from 2002 to 2005, and president and chief executive officer of the Kansas Board of Regents from 1999 to 2002.