Associate Professor of Meteorology and Director of Program Review Richard Wagner was recently named interim associate vice president of Academc Affairs.

Interim Provost Linda Curran has announced the appointment of Richard Wagner as the interim associate vice president for academic affairs - curriculum and programs following an internal search.

Wagner is an associate professor of meteorology who began teaching in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences in 1997. Since 2004, he has served as director of program review. Previously, he served for four years on the Faculty Senate Curriculum Committee, including a stint as committee chair.

"Serving as director of program review has given me the background to follow through with my new responsibilities," Wagner said. "I already have a good idea about all the programs and know many of the faculty."

Wagner currently is the representative for Metro State's membership in the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, the governing body for the National Center for Atmospheric Research. His teaching and professional interests include climate dynamics and climate change, air pollution and science education.

Prior to joining the Metro State faculty, Wagner was a NASA Global Change Doctoral Fellow while completing his Ph.D. in atmospheric science at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. He has additional degrees in geography, science education and physics. Other formative experiences included teaching high school science and serving in the Peace Corps in Africa.

Wagner said that his short-term goal is to catch up with the backlog of issues since the position has been vacant. "In the long term I want to continue to work on the somewhat streamlined curriculum process," he said, adding that assessment and general studies revision will be important issues in the coming months.