ODESSA, Texas — The University of Texas Permian Basin has announced a new Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs.
According to a press release from UTPB, Dr. Rajalingam Dakshinamurthy is the man for both jobs, as he's served as the interim Provost for the last seven months.
“I am honored to have been selected to serve as the Provost at UT Permian Basin,” said Dr. Dakshinamurthy. “I have an unwavering commitment to lead by example and build strong partnerships that mutually benefit and expand the University’s role in fostering and supporting our students, faculty, and staff and UTPB’s strategic plan and goals.”
He came to UTPB in 2020 as the Associate Vice President of Research and Dean of Graduate Studies. He also served in multiple admin roles, including Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and College of Health Science.
Over the past 10 years, he's served in other admin roles: Vice President for research, Academic Dean, Graduate Dean, Executive Director of Research and Sponsored Program, Graduate Program Director and Assistant Department Chair.
He earned a bachelor's degree and a dual Master of Science and Philosophy in Chemistry from St. Joseph's College in India. He also earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Structural Biology from the University of Arkansas. He has spent his professional career researching protein structure and function, drug discovery and biological nanomaterials. As a researcher, he has published over 40 publications in journals and 350 research presentation related to biomedical sciences. he has also secured a patent for synthesizing gold nanoparticles capped with drugs, among other accomplishments.
As the Provost of UTPB, Dr. Dakshinamurthy will be the Chief Academic Officer, the second executive in charge. He will lead the five academic colleges at UTPB, which have upwards of 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs and certificates.
