Carl Pinkert, vice president for research and economic development at the University of Alabama, will interview on campus Thursday for the permanent chancellor role.

Pinkert, who took over his role at Alabama in November 2013, will interview at 8:45 a.m. Thursday in Guyon Auditorium. The candidate will then answer questions at a student-led forum from 5 to 6 p.m. the same day in the Student Services Building room 150/160. The events are open to the public.

At Alabama, Pinkert’s duties include advancing research goals and expanding the university’s research funding base through federal grants, foundations and private donations, according to his curriculum vitae.

In Alabama’s announcement naming Pinkert as vice president for research, then-UA President Judy Bonner said the candidate would help the university achieve its goals in the “area of funded research and technology transfer.”

“Dr. Pinkert brings a wealth of experience to the position based on his personal research achievement and his record of leadership in academic research administration,” she said.

During his time at Alabama, the university created a new center where researchers study the intersection of sports and technology, according to a June news release. With its successful athletic programs and experienced faculty, Pinkert said, Alabama made for “an outstanding place” to initiate the center that aims to develop new technology to reduce athletic injuries, among other things.

Pinkert has also helped further expand a partnership between his university and NASA. In November, he signed an agreement that allows students to work with “applied research ultimately used by NASA, which is a win-win for all sides,” he said, according to a news release from the Alabama Department of Commerce.

He has helped form partnerships with his university and numerous entrepreneurs and researchers. In one instance in July 2015, Pinkert formalized an agreement between Alabama and TDK Corp., a Japanese electronics giant, that focused the challenges “associated with the growing electric-energy movement and the miniaturization of electronic components,” the university said.

Throughout his research career, according to an Alabama news release, Pinkert led or co-led projects that have received more than $23 million in funding.

In his previous role as associate vice president for research and graduate studies at Auburn University, Pinkert oversaw a $19 million annual budget — about 4 percent of SIUC’s approximately $450 million operating budget. He worked as a professor and administrator at the public research university in Alabama from 2006 until 2013.

If selected as the next leader of SIU’s largest campus, Pinkert will likely be tasked with making large budget reductions. In late March, SIU President Randy Dunn announced his plan for the Carbondale campus to cut at least $30 million in spending from its budget. Shortly after the announcement, interim Chancellor Brad Colwell, who is also a finalist for the full-time position, said the changes at the university “will be challenging and painful” and “almost certainly include layoffs.”

In August, Pinkert was named as one of 19 candidates for the presidential position at the University of West Florida, according to the Pensacola News Journal. He later withdrew his name from consideration.

Pinkert is the co-author of more than 135 published articles, 24 reports and 175 abstracts, according to a news release from the University of Alabama.

He earned his master’s degree in animal science from SIU in 1977. He attended Colorado State University for his undergraduate degree and went to the University of Georgia for a doctorate in animal science and reproductive physiology.

Pinkert is scheduled to be the last candidate interviewed on campus. Interim Chancellor Brad Colwell interviewed Tuesday and George Hynd, president of Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, interviewed for the position April 19.

A fourth candidate, Jeff Elwell, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, dropped out of the running last week after being offered the president position at Eastern New Mexico University.

The SIU Board of Trustees, with a recommendation from Dunn, is expected to make an offer and approve the hire of their choice in May.

The Daily Egyptian’s news desk can be reached at [email protected] or 618-536-3397.

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