Provost John Aber has announced his intention to return to the UNH faculty on June 30. 

Aber, who is University Professor in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, has served as provost and vice president for Academic Affairs since 2009.  

“John’s leadership has been essential in such crucial areas as embracing interdisciplinary research and teaching, internationalizing our academic program and realigning budget priorities better to support our academic missions,” said UNH President Mark Huddleston. “He has been a true advocate for the work of our faculty. His own deep love of teaching and research, as well as his passion for quality, has made UNH a better place for all of us.” 

Huddleston added that he is consulting with members of the campus community and other stakeholders to develop a process to identify Aber’s replacement as provost. 

“Four years ago, no one could have foreseen the huge challenges we were about to face," Aber said. "We have been confronted with the biggest state budget cut in the history of higher education, rapidly changing demographics, and the phenomenal growth in online learning and MOOCs. Through all of this, we have, as a university community, not only preserved, but enhanced the quality of the work we do together. We have adhered to our core values, improved communication about our strategic direction and, I hope, built trust and understanding among faculty, staff and administrators."  

Driven by a 49 percent cut in the state appropriation for public higher education in 2011, the university convened a Budget Task Force to develop a response. Out of the task force came the concept for the academic review: a structured, data- and narrative-driven process through which every department defined its role at UNH and responded to quantitative information on its performance. That review was completed last spring, and each college dean responded to the findings.  

“Through the academic review process, we developed standards that will be useful in longer-term planning and decision-making," Aber added, "and I am grateful for the spirit of cooperation with which that effort was undertaken by the faculty and departments. Inclusive campus conversations about responses to the budget cuts and initiatives like the interdisciplinary schools have proven that we can plan in ways that truly reflect the interest both of those most directly involved and of the university community as a whole.”  

In assessing the organization of interdisciplinary research excellence in the areas of natural and social sciences, Aber sponsored a series of retreats and discussions that led to the development of proposals for interdisciplinary schools in marine science and ocean engineering, in earth science, and in social science and policy. Working closely with the Faculty Senate, a policy on the formation and operation of interdisciplinary schools was developed, and a mature proposal for the marine school is now under final consideration.  

Aber also expressed pride in a review of the RCM financial system completed in 2010. “Revisions of policies in complex organizations rarely result in greater simplicity and transparency," Aber said, "but in this case, it did!”  

Aber has been a professor of environmental sciences at UNH since 1987, and was vice president for research from 2003 to 2007.  

Aber's bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees are from Yale University. He taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1978-1987), and the University of Virginia (1977-1978), following a post-doctoral year at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA. He was a Charles Bullard Fellow at Harvard University in 1996. In 2003, Aber was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and also Distinguished Professor at the University of New Hampshire. He was awarded a University Professorship in 2009. In 2012 he received the Wilbur Cross Medal for excellence in academic achievement from Yale University, and currently serves there on the University Council (advisory to the president).

 He has written the basic text in his field (Terrestrial Ecosystems, 2^nd edition with Academic Press) and is co-editor and author of "Forests in Time: The Environmental Consequences of 100 years of Change in New England" (Yale University Press). He is also an author and co-editor with Tom Kelly and Bruce Mallory of "The Sustainable Learning Community: One University’s Journey to the Future," a presentation of the breadth and depth of sustainability activities at UNH. He has co-authored more than 200 scientific papers, and in 2003 was listed by the Institute for Scientific Information as one of the top ten scientists internationally in terms of publication impact in the field of ecology and environmental science.  

“I look forward to the coming months, as we have much to accomplish,” Aber said. “I know we will find occasions to celebrate our work as an academic community. In the meantime, I want to communicate to my colleagues in the administration, faculty and staff that I have the deepest professional regard for your abilities and dedication, and that I will leave the office of provost confident that UNH will be even stronger and more effective in the future, thanks to your efforts.”