UHCL appoints senior vice president for academic affairs and provost

May 21, 2018 | Staff

University of Houston-Clear Lake President Ira K. Blake has named Steven J. Berberich to become senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, effective July 2.  Since 2013, Berberich has been associate provost for faculty and staff affairs and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

“Steven Berberich is an experienced administrator, and an extremely accomplished educator. We are genuinely pleased to have him join us at UH-Clear Lake,” Blake said. “We’re gaining an outstanding academic leader and faculty development advocate with a deep understanding of diverse students’ needs at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.”

Berberich will succeed Glen A. Houston, who has served as interim senior vice president and provost for two years.

A search committee to fill the provost position was chaired by Faculty Senate President for 2017-18 and Associate Professor of Biotechnology and Biology Brian Stephens and Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management Yvette Bendeck. Assisted by Greenwood/Asher & Associates, an executive search and recruiting company, the search committee engaged with a strong and diverse pool of candidates, with Berberich emerging as the finalist.

“I look forward to this next chapter of my professional life,” Berberich said. “The success of higher education is tied to the people in the organization, and I’m truly enthusiastic about everyone I’ve met at UHCL, from leadership to staff.”

Berberich has been on the Wright State University faculty since 1993, establishing the Center for Genomics Research and serving as the chair of biochemistry and molecular biology. Under his leadership, the Associate Provost Office restructured the Center for Teaching and Learning to enhance faculty engagement, centralize distance-education support, and broaden the pedagogical support for active learning.

“I see so many opportunities that parallel with my experience at Wright State,” Berberich said. “We were once a commuter campus as well, and we’ve seen the growth that comes with bringing students to live on campus. Also, the Wright State campus is next door to Wright Patterson Air Force Base, just as UHCL is next to NASA-Johnson Space Center. The two campuses are closely connected with community partners that are government agencies. This is a great opportunity for outreach.”

Berberich holds a bachelor of science in biology with honors and a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences, both from Wright State University.

Since welcoming students in 1974, UHCL has evolved into a four-year university offering more than 80 undergraduate and graduate degree programs and three doctoral programs. To help meet the growing needs of area communities and the future workforce, a new STEM and Classroom Building and Recreation and Wellness Center at UHCL will open this fall. A 300-bed student-housing facility is expected to open in fall 2019. A Health Sciences and Classroom Building at UHCL Pearland Campus is scheduled to open spring 2019. For more information, visit www.uhcl.edu.