Bartell Jensen, vice president for research at Utah State University, is resigning from that position effective Jan. 1.
He will assume full-time responsibilities as president and chief executive officer of the USU Foundation and will also serve as assistant to the president of USU."On behalf of the faculty and everyone involved with Utah State University I want to thank Bartell Jensen for his 16-plus years as vice president of research," said USU President George H. Emert. "His efforts have been very productive for Utah State, resulting in remarkable growth in the area of research.
"The research dollars he has helped bring in have been the main source of financial support for numerous activities of this university. In the 10 years between 1980 and 1990, USU's contract and grant revenues increased 325 percent and by the beginning of this decade, USU ranked 52nd among American universities for receipt of federal research grant dollars."
Jensen gave full credit to the USU faculty for bringing in nearly $1 billion in research contracts and grants during his tenure as vice president for research.
Emert also praised Jensen for his work with the USU Research and Technology Park in North Logan.
"The research park is a place where ideas and techniques spawned by the university's researchers are transformed into high tech, revenue generating businesses," said Emert. "Dr. Jensen has been instrumental in establishing the park and securing the new, $10 million, NASA-funded addition to the Space Dynamics Laboratory"
As head of the USU Foundation, Jensen is chief executive officer of the Space Dynamics Laboratory, which brings together USU scientists and engineers to design and build instruments for space and atmospheric research. The lab and the university are industry-recognized leaders in space science and engineering, according to Emert.
Jensen joined USU as assistant professor of economics in 1964 and became associate director of the Economic Research Center at USU in 1967. He then spent two years with the Rockefeller Foundation in Uganda where he was chair of the Department of Economics at Makerere University and consultant to the cabinet and ministry of planning and development for Uganda.
Back at USU, he became a professor of economics and director of the Economic Research Center in 1971. He was named assistant dean of research in the College of Business that same year. He became associate vice president for research for the university in 1976, served as acting vice president of research for six months and then became vice president in 1977.
An acting vice president for research will be named soon, according to Emert, and a national search for a new vice president will begin shortly.