#2 At NASA To Become UNT Chancellor
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The University of North Texas System Board of Regents has selected Lesa B. Roe, Acting Deputy Administrator for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), as the sole finalist for the position of Chancellor.
Roe's selection was announced August 17 during the UNT System Board of Regents meeting at the UNT Health Science Center in Fort Worth, according to a UNT news release Thursday.
"The UNT System is very proud to present Lesa Roe as the sole finalist for our Chancellor position – she is a results-oriented, decisive leader with proven success in operating in a high-risk, high-visibility environment," said G. Brint Ryan, Chairman for the UNT System Board of Regents. "Lesa has more than 30 years of experience in corporate-level strategic positioning and execution for a multi-billion dollar federal agency and her track record of driving efficient productivity, combined with a wealth of experience working with federal and state-level legislators, makes her an ideal fit to lead the UNT System into a new era."
Roe is set to replace Lee F. Jackson, becoming the UNT System's third Chancellor and the first-ever woman to lead the UNT System.
In her current position with NASA, Roe partners with the Chief Operating Officer to lead strategy, execution, and operations nationally across all NASA field centers for a $19.6 billion annual federal agency and $31 billion in assets.
According to the UNT news release, her leadership has led to numerous breakthrough science, space, and aeronautics innovations and missions advancing our nation's leadership and international knowledge of aeronautics and space. Ms. Roe provides cross-functional corporate management and directs 10 field center installation managers, five primary product line managers, CIO, CFO, and general oversight of 17,000 employees.
"Serving the UNT System, the North Texas region and the State of Texas would be a tremendous honor and opportunity – thank you to the Board of Regents for their confidence and trust in my leadership," Ms. Roe said. "As a leader I strive to be strong, but approachable, and I believe teamwork is fundamental to the success of any organization. I am extremely proud of our NASA teams' mission accomplishments over the years, but I'm just as proud of the fact that NASA has been an employee-rated best place to work in the federal government for five consecutive years."
State law requires that 21 days must pass before final action can be taken by the Board of Regents on her employment. Chancellor Jackson, the state's longest-serving Chancellor, will remain in his position until Ms. Roe takes office and will continue to serve the UNT System until the end of 2017. The search and selection process for the UNT System Chancellor position was conducted by Mike JR Wheless and Scott Watson of Wheless Partners Executive Search.
Roe holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Florida and a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Central Florida.
Roe and her husband, Ralph, NASA's chief engineer, have three children.