President Joan Leitzel

Dr. Joan R. Leitzel (Jo-ann Lite-zell) was appointed eighteenth president of the University of New Hampshire by the Board of Trustees on April 9, 1996. She assumed the full-time duties of the presidency on July 15.

Dr. Leitzel came to the University of New Hampshire from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), where she served as senior vice chancellor for academic affairs since 1992. She was second in UNL's administrative organization after the chancellor and served as the university's top academic officer. She also served as interim chancellor from August 1995 to February 1996.

As she began her career at UNL, she led the adoption by all undergraduate colleges of a new general education curriculum, which was implemented in 1995. She was responsible for all academic programs and academic support programs, with the exception of those in the Institute for Agriculture and Natural Resources. Dr. Leitzel oversaw the expansion of graduate education and the Honors Program, the introduction of information technology as an instructional tool, and the development of more rigorous methods for evaluating teaching. Additionally, she was a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics.

Prior to joining UNL, Dr. Leitzel was at the National Science Foundation, where she served as division director of materials development, research, and informal science education from 1990 to 1992. She was also a faculty member and administrator at Ohio State University for 25 years. She served as associate provost at Ohio State University from 1985 to 1990, where she was responsible for instruction and curriculum and for academic program assessment.

Dr. Leitzel earned her bachelor's degree from Hanover College in 1958, her master's degree from Brown University in 1961, and her doctorate from Indiana University in 1965, all in mathematics.

Dr. Leitzel has published many articles on mathematics and science education. In her position with the National Science Foundation, she was responsible for initiation and support of science, mathematics, and technology education projects in all fields of science including pre-college and informal science education experiences. She is listed in American Men and Women of Science.

She was elected vice chair of the board of directors of the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) in 1995 and began a four-year term on the board on July 1. She serves as chair-elect of the AAHE and will be the association's national chair in 1997-98.

Additionally, Dr. Leitzel has held a number of leadership roles in the Mathematical Association of America and the American Mathematical Society. She was a member of the Coordinating Council for Education of the National Research Council at the National Academy of Sciences and is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and Sigma Xi, the honorary science society.

Dr. Leitzel has two sons, both married, and a granddaughter. Her husband, James R.C. Leitzel, served as professor of mathematics at UNH until his death in February, 1998.