Vice President of Research, Lloyd Chesnut to leave UM

In his six years at the University of Montana, Lloyd Chesnut has propelled UM’s grant-funded research beyond the $50millioin mark and doubled the institutions’s past funding efforts.

By Betsy Cohen of the Missoulian

He’s helped develop a partnership between the university and the Missoula Area Economic Development Corp. to create MonTEC, a research technology and enterprise center. And he’s helped UM climb into prestigious spots on college ranking lists of publicly funded research institutions.

Now, the second highest paid UM administrator is moving on to greener pastures at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas.

Chesnut will leave behind his title of vice president for research and development and his $136,700 salary to take on the Texas school’s title of vice president for research and technology transfer and receive a pay raise of an undisclosed amount.

He officially leaves his UM post June 30 and begins his new job July 1, where he’ll have the challenge of getting the Texas university’s new research park up and running.

The move, Chesnut said, is timely and necessary. It will allow him to be closer to family in Mississippi and Georgia, I will be an exciting change to work for a larger institution with more than 30,000 students and be at the helm of a new venture.

“It’s a difficult decision to leave Montana,” he said. “I like Missoula, and President George Dennison is a great guy to work for. But the opportunities in Texas are enormous.

“Texas very much values education at all levels, and yes, they do have a budget deficit, but North Texas is growing so rapidly student enrollments are projected to continue to increase.”

UM’s top administrators said Chesnut will be greatly missed.

“I’m sorry to see him go,” Dennison said. “It really is a case of too bad for us, good for them in Texas. Lloyd has done a great job here.”

Dennison and others said they will miss Chesnut’s ability to see research and funding opportunities, direct people in those directions, and then get out of the way for researchers to make projects happen.

“He’s been a real facilitator,” said David Forbes, dean of the School of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences.

“Instead of saying ‘no, I don’t think we can do it’ he always would think about the issue at hand and then say ‘let’s do it.’ He had done a very nice job at UM and we wish him well.”

A search to replace Chesnut will begin immediately, Dennison said. The goal is to have a new person chosen as soon as possible in order for a relatively seamless transition.

Chesnut’s announcement mean UM is now conducting searches for two vice president positions, as Barbara Hollman, vice president for student affairs, will retire at the end of spring semester.

Reporter Betsy Cohen can be reached at 523-5253 or at [email protected].