Interim Vice President for Research and Economic Development Harold Blackman will retire on June 25.
Blackman has served at Boise State since 2012. Blackman will be followed in his role by new interim VPR, Nancy Glenn, who currently serves as the senior advisor of strategic initiatives and research advancement.
“Harold’s dedication to the betterment of this university, of Idaho and of our entire region through research and innovation has been inspirational,” said Marlene Tromp, Boise State president. “We will miss his extraordinary kindness, his generosity of spirit, and his talent for guiding the university’s research mission, whether it be through flourishing times or during challenging times. On behalf of the entire Boise State family, I wish him a happy and fulfilling retirement.”
Under Blackman’s guidance, Boise State rose to an RII doctoral research university with “high research activity” according to the nation’s premier college classification system, Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The university also witnessed an increase in research and sponsored projects awards of 62%, as well as an increase in invention disclosures and patents issued.
Before joining Boise State in 2012, Harold Blackman served as the director of research for the Materials and Fuels Complex at the Idaho National Lab in Idaho Falls. For more than 34 years, he has contributed to research and education initiatives in the West, with an emphasis on research management and human reliability analysis.
In addition to his leadership role at Boise State, Blackman led the Initiative Leadership Office, as well as completion of the Taleo and Oracle Financial Cloud implementations at the university.
Prior to his work at the Materials and Fuels Complex, Blackman held various management positions at the INL including the Associate Laboratory Director for Energy and Environment, and most recently built and directed the Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES), a significant research collaboration between Boise State University, University of Idaho, Idaho State University and INL.