SIU Board planned to name new chancellor of Carbondale campus
The Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees planned to meet Friday, May 29, to consider the appointment of Austin A. Lane as the next chancellor of SIU Carbondale.
The appointment was recommended by SIU system president Dan Mahony and would be effective no later than July 6, pending the board’s approval.
Lane was president of Texas Southern University, based in Houston and enrolling 10,237 students, from 2016 to February 2020.
Texas Southern is a doctoral-level institution designated as “high research activity” by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions in Higher Education.
A 25-year higher education administrator and faculty member, Lane led the development of the university’s strategic plan that focused on five top priorities: student success and completion, academic program quality and research, culture, partnerships and finances.
While at Texas Southern, Lane developed a strategic enrollment management plan that increased student enrollment by 28 percent over a three-year period.
The university also posted the highest student persistence, progression and graduation rate increases in school history; saw year-to-year increases in the general operating budget; exceeded fund-raising goals; enhanced sponsored research awards and expenditures; and completed a university-wide equity compensation study that led to increases in faculty and staff salaries that were historically below market value.
Mahony said Lane’s leadership experience and collaborative approach will be an asset in his new role.
Lane said he was impressed by the dedication of the university’s faculty, staff and students he met during his two-day interview, which was conducted virtually.
Prior to his presidency at Texas Southern, Lane was executive vice chancellor for academic and student affairs for the 90,000-student Lone Star College System in Texas in 2015 and 2016.
He served as president of Lone Star College-Montgomery from 2009 to 2015 and executive vice president for student affairs for Tyler Junior College in Texas from 2005 to 2009.
He worked at the University of Texas at Arlington from 1995 to 2005 as a counselor, assistant dean of students and director of judicial affairs and dean of students.
Lane holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Langston University in Oklahoma, a master’s degree in human relations from the University of Oklahoma and a doctor of education degree in higher education administration from the University of Alabama.
His recommendation as chancellor follows a national search overseen by a screening committee that included representatives of multiple campus groups as well as community members.
The committee vetted 26 nominees and applicants for the position, interviewing nine individuals before identifying finalists for virtual interviews.
The new chancellor will replace John M. Dunn, who has served as interim chancellor since January 2019 following the death of previous chancellor Carlo Montemagno.