About the Vice President
Richard W. Linton received his B.S. in Chemistry with Highest Honors from the University of Delaware in 1973 and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois in 1977. His academic career has been associated with public institutions that are members of the Association of American Universities (AAU): the University of Illinois, UNC-Chapel Hill (1977-2000) and the University of Oregon (2000-present). He has held faculty positions since 1977 and concurrently has served in full-time administrative positions since 1986.
Dr. Linton has served since 2001 as the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies and Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Oregon (UO). In addition to overseeing over 70 graduate programs, Dr. Linton is responsible for over 30 interdisciplinary research centers and institutes, ranging from the physical and life sciences (e.g., molecular biology, marine biology, neuroscience, materials science, optics, nanoscience, cognitive science) to the social sciences and humanities disciplines (e.g., humanities center, women's studies center, Asian studies center, center on diversity and community, center on second language studies, child and family center, community service center). As UO's Chief Research Officer, Dr. Linton oversees sponsored research, research compliance, technology transfer, and the Riverfront Research Park.
Over the past decade, the UO's annual sponsored research expenditures grew from $63M to $110M. On a per capita or per research dollar basis, the UO's tenure-line faculty are now among the nation's best in sponsored research and technology transfer activities, respectively. Under Dr. Linton's leadership, UO's interdisciplinary research initiatives such as the Brain, Biology, and Machine Initiative (BBMI), and the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI) have attracted targeted private, state and federal research investments exceeding $100M. The UO has also developed an entrepreneurial technology transfer program that emphasizes "Next Generation" approaches to innovation management and proactively pursues regional economic engagement through collaborative industry relations and the formation of high-quality startup companies. During each year of Dr. Linton's nine-year tenure, the UO has set a new institutional record for innovation income, which has risen 23-fold to more than $7.1M in FY2008-09. With recent funding from the National Science Foundation's "Partnerships for Innovation" program and the emergent University of Oregon Venture Development Fund, UO's research-engaged graduate entrepreneurship program has prospered and ranks among the top 25 in the United States (by the Princeton Review/Entrepreneur in 2008). In addition, Dr. Linton has fostered UO's active engagement with the University-Industry Development Partnership (UIDP), an initiative of the Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable (GUIRR) at The National Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Linton represents the UO in national organizations such as the AAU (Chief Research Officers, Graduate Deans), APLU (Research Policy and Graduate Education), and the Council of Graduate Schools. He currently serves on the Oregon University System Research Council and on various regional research or economic development boards such as the Eugene Chamber of Commerce, the Lane Metro Partnership, the Oregon Innovation Council, the Oregon Cluster Network, and the Engineering and Technology Industry Council (ETIC).
Prior to joining the University of Oregon, Dr. Linton was Chief Research and International Programs Officer for the University of North Carolina system, and Professor of Chemistry at UNC-Chapel Hill. He supervised 35 doctoral students, and co-authored 170 publications in analytical chemistry at UNC-Chapel Hill. Dr. Linton has been elected to the boards of directors of two national scientific societies, was the founding editor of an interdisciplinary scientific journal, has held visiting scholar appointments in Taiwan and Belgium, and has led state-to-state collaborative research initiatives in countries such as Germany and Israel. He has received the outstanding young scientist award from a national scientific society and citations for outstanding service from the Governors of North Carolina and Oregon.