Biography

Dr. Luis M. Proenza is chief executive officer of The University of Akron. In his first 10 years at UA, he has led its transformation into the public research university for northern Ohio and one of the most attractive metropolitan campuses in the nation. Under Dr. Proenza's leadership, UA has undertaken a $500-million campus enhancement program, a university-community alliance to revitalize a 50-block area surrounding its campus, a BioInnovation Institute in partnership with three area hospitals and a medical school, and academic program enhancements that have made the University one of only 12 Carnegie Cluster Leaders nationally.

Dr. Proenza has been involved in national science and technology policy matters since the 1970s when he was study director of the National Research Council-National Academy of Sciences' Committee on Vision, then The University of Georgia's Liaison for Science and Technology Policy, a member of the National Biotechnology Policy Board-National Institutes of Health, and Advisor for Science and Technology Policy to the Governor of Alaska. In 1992, U.S. President George H. W. Bush appointed Dr. Proenza to the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. Dr. Proenza became its vice chairman.

In 2001, President George W. Bush named Dr. Proenza to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, the nation's highest-level policy-advisory group for science and technology. Dr. Proenza co-chaired PCAST's committee on Public-Private Partnerships and worked on panels on U.S. Research and Development Investments, Technology Transfer, Alternative Energy, Energy Efficiency and Advanced Manufacturing, Personalized Medicine, Information Technology, and Nanotechnology. He now serves on the Council on Competitiveness' executive committee and its National Innovation Initiative Leadership Council, co-chairs its Regional Leadership Institute Steering Committee and serves on the Steering Committee for the Energy Security, Innovation and Sustainability Initiative. In 2004, the Secretary of Energy appointed him to Chair of the Science and Mathematics Education Task Force and, later, to the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board. Recently, he was appointed to the Council of the National Academies' Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable and to the Technology Innovation Program Advisory Board for the National Institute of Standards and Technology. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a board member of the States Science and Technology Institute, a former board member of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (formerly the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges), the former chair of APLU's Commission on the Urban Agenda and current APLU co-chair of the APLU/AAU Patent Reform Committee, with Yale University President Rick Levin as Association of American Universities co-chair.

Dr. Proenza is a member of many professional, scholarly and honorary organizations; is the recipient of several awards and honors; has written numerous publications in nationally and internationally recognized journals; and edited and co-edited two books. He is invited frequently to speak worldwide, with presentations appearing in Vital Speeches of the Day and The Executive Speaker. He often is quoted on issues in education, research, economic development, and science and technology policy.

As president of The University of Akron, Dr. Proenza has grown it from a $270-million operation to an enterprise with over $435 million in annual revenues. Under his direction, the institution has financed $500 million in construction to completely transform its metropolitan campus, adding 15 new facilities and doing major renovations and additions to 17 others. Dr. Proenza also increased private donations and research funding to all-time records and, in 2007, initiated a $500-million comprehensive campaign that garnered more than $620 million in gifts and pledges by the end of 2009.

Recognized as one of the most influential leaders in the region, Dr. Proenza's acknowledgements include the 2008 Visionary Award, the 2006 Northeast Ohio Regional Vision Award, the 2005 CASE V Chief Executive Leadership Award and the 2001 SME Executive of the Year Award.

After earning a B.A. from Emory University (1965), M.A. from The Ohio State University (1966) and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota (1971), Dr. Proenza joined the faculty of the University of Georgia in 1971. There, his research in retinal neurophysiology was supported continuously by grants from the National Eye Institute, including a Research Career Development Award.

Prior to his appointment at Akron, Dr. Proenza was Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School at Purdue University. He also served the University of Alaska first as Vice Chancellor for Research and Dean of the Graduate School, then as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Research. 

Dr. Proenza and his wife, Theresa Butler Proenza, enjoy their careers, friends and numerous community activities. Together, they built the 44-foot sailing vessel, Apogee, which they sail on Lake Erie.