FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Three candidates for the position of vice provost of research and economic development at the University of Arkansas have been selected by the search committee and will visit the campus for interviews and open forum presentations in February and March.

The three candidates are:

• Bill Hardgrave, who holds the Edwin and Karlee Bradberry Chair in the department of information systems in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. He will interview on Feb. 22.

• James Rankin, associate dean for research, graduate studies and planning in Russ College of Engineering and Technology at Ohio University. He will visit campus and interview on March 3.

• Gregory Reed, vice chancellor for research at the University of Tennessee is scheduled to visit and interview on March 15.

The three candidates will interview with the chancellor and provost, members of the executive committee and vice-provosts, the search committee members and several stakeholder groups, including community business leaders in the Economic Development Group. Each candidate will also address the campus community in an open forum presentation, followed by a question-and-answer session. The open forum will be held in Engineering Hall, Room 209, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. The public is welcome to attend the open presentations.

Bill Hardgrave established the Information Technology Research Institute at the University of Arkansas with a $4 million endowment from the Walton Family Charitable Trust Foundation and continues to serve as executive director of the institute. He is founder and director of the Radio Frequency Identification Research Center at the University of Arkansas. He has published four books and more than 70 articles, primarily on the topic of software development and RFID, and has generated more than $1.95 million in external project funding from grantors including the National Science Foundation and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. He received the Ted Williams Award from AIM Global as the most influential researcher in the field of RFID in 2009. Hardgrave earned his master’s degree in computer information systems from Missouri State University and his doctorate in management information systems from Oklahoma State University.

James Rankin is a tenured professor in the department of electrical engineering in addition to his position as associate dean. He wrote the foreword for Trends in Advanced Avionics and authored numerous articles and technical reports, and has generated more than $2 million in external project funding from grantors, including the Federal Aviation Administration, NASA and Rockwell International. He is deputy director of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Information Systems Group. He is an associate fellow of AIAA (2007) and a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (2003). He is a member of the National Council of University Research Administrators and the Society of Research Administrators. He has served as a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program panelist, is a current member of the Joint Planning and Development Office for the Next Generation Air Transportation System Aircraft Working Group, and is the institutional representative for both the Ohio Space Grant Consortium and the Universities Space Research Association. Rankin received his master’s degree and doctorate in electrical engineering from Iowa State University.

Gregory Reed is a tenured professor in the department of civil and environmental engineering. He is a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and fellow of the National Society of Professional Engineers. He is a member of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and the National Council of University Research Administrators. He authored and co-authored over 70 articles and reports and has served as a reviewer for Addison Wesley Publishers and numerous journals. He patented the system for desulfurization of flue gases in 1991 and has generated more than $8.8 million in external project funding from grantors, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, and the Tennessee Department of Transportation. He has 22 years of consulting experience in industrial wastes and waste management. He received the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2007 from the College of Engineering at the University of Arkansas. He received his master’s degree and doctorate in environmental engineering from the University of Arkansas.