This morning the Caltech Board of Trustees unanimously agreed to appoint Edward Stolper to the role of interim president, effective July 1, 2013. He will assume the post from Jean-Lou Chameau, whose last day as president of Caltech will be June 30, 2013.
Over the past few weeks, the presidential search and selection committees have initiated the process of defining the qualities and range of experience that we will be looking for in the Institute's next leader. Our priority is to find the best next president for Caltech, and also to ensure that the Institute remains vital and growing during this transition.
When we considered who could best guide Caltech through this period, we immediately thought of Ed; he is uniquely positioned to lead and steady the Institute during this time of change. Ed arrived at Caltech in 1979 as an assistant professor of geology and served in various leadership roles, including division chair of GPS (1994–2004) and interim provost (2004), before being named Caltech's ninth provost in 2007. Ed is an accomplished scientist and educator; he is respected by the faculty and the administration; and he has a strong relationship with JPL and NASA, including his current participation on the science team of the Mars Science Laboratory mission.
"Ed has been an outstanding provost and partner during my tenure at Caltech," said President Chameau. "I have learned a lot from him and am delighted that he will be leading the Institute as interim president."
"I am humbled and honored to be asked to serve in this interim role," said Stolper. "Caltech is in a very strong position thanks to Jean-Lou's six years of dedicated leadership of the Institute, and I am committed to continuing its progress and momentum."
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I want to express our gratitude to Jean-Lou for his excellent service to Caltech and to Ed for agreeing to take on this responsibility. We are confident that naming Ed to the interim post will ensure the continued excellence of the Institute until the search committees have had the chance to find and name the next permanent president of Caltech. As you know, Jean-Lou is fully engaged in the life and leadership of the Institute and will remain so until his final day at Caltech. Over the next few months, we will have a variety of celebrations to mark Jean-Lou's great contributions to the Institute and to thank him for being a vibrant part of our community for these many years.
