By Matthew Keck —
Kevin Gardner, vice provost for research at the University of New Hampshire (UNH), will be the University of Louisville’s new executive vice president for research and innovation. Gardner will assume the role Jan. 27, pending the approval of the board of trustees.
“Dr. Gardner brings excellent credentials to this position,” said President Neeli Bendapudi. “As important, he brings energy, enthusiasm and communication skills that will help us build our research enterprise and share that knowledge to benefit our students, our community and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. We are excited to have him join our team.”
Gardner helped elevate UNH to the highest level among research universities during his tenure there. Since 1999, he served various roles at UNH including director of strategic initiatives and vice provost for research.
In his role as vice provost at UNH, he saw their rise from a Carnegie High Research Activity university (R2), to a Carnegie Very High Research university (R1). U of L has been a Carnegie R1 institution since 2005.
Gardner was also an associate state director of New Hampshire’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). In this position, he led them to develop a statewide plan to increase engagement among higher education, research-based business and industry and state government.
In addition, he served as director of New Hampshire’s Environmental Research Group and Recycled Materials Resource Center.
He received his bachelor of science in civil engineering from Union College and his master’s and doctorate degrees in the same field from Clarkson University. Gardner was a research assistant at Clarkson.
Gardner succeeds William Pierce, who served as the EVPRI at U of L from 2009 to 2018. Robert Keynton, professor and Lutz Endowed Chair for Biomechanical Devices, served as the interim EVPRI after Pierce retired.
Photo Courtesy of the University of Louisville
