Dr. Larry Lemanski serves as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Texas A&M University-Commerce.
He joined the university in July 2009. Dr. Lemanski is the second ranking administrative officer and the chief academic officer of the University.
Prior to coming to Commerce, Dr. Lemanski held the position of Senior Vice President for Research and Strategic Initiatives at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
He has authored over 300 publications, has served as the principal investigator/principal officer on more than $50 million in external research funding, has won numerous prestigious professional prizes and awards, has given invited lectures throughout the world, has mentored many graduate students and Postdoctoral Fellows and has served on several boards of directors.
In the latest issue of Texas Government Insider, published by Strategic Partnerships, Inc., Dr. Lemanski answered the following questions:
What I like best about my job is: Being able to have a major impact on helping to move the University to the next level.
The best advice I've received for my current job is: To be inclusive and transparent in the decision-making process.
Advice you would give a new hire in your office: is to put on their running shoes; this office is fast-paced and non-stop.
If I ever snuck out of work early, I could probably be found: Generally, I come to work before and leave after normal working hours. I never sneak out of work early, however, when I sneak out of my administrative office periodically, I can be found across the street in my research laboratory discussing research or writing publications with students and Postdoctoral Research Associates.
People would be surprised to know that I: have maintained an active laboratory and research program with a study of myofibrillogenesis and heart inductive processes in developing embryonic hearts at the cell and molecular levels. This research program has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association as well as other agencies. I was granted a patent for the sequence and action of a unique nucleic acid sequence which has the ability to turn non-muscle cells into beating cardiac muscle cells. This research has the future potential to help people who have damaged heart tissues from heart attacks or other disease processes by repairing the damaged area of the heart into normally functioning muscle tissue again. Thus, there is a potential for helping heart disease victims return to better health.
One thing I wish more people knew about my university: Texas A&M University-Commerce has focused on educational leadership in the state of Texas for many years. It is beginning to emerge as an outstanding research/scholarly/creative arts/performing arts university as well with scholarly/creative activities and world-class faculty members. New programs such as our proposed Nursing Program will very likely grow rapidly, creating the need for an additional new College at A&M-Commerce in the near future. The university also will see the addition of a new degree in Computational Science and a new doctoral program in Global E-Learning as well as a new international executive MBA and several other new programs. We are third in the state of Texas in online class offerings and we are continuing to expand in this area. In addition, our international programs are gaining national and international popularity at a tremendous rate. These, along with many other new, exciting and expanding programs will continue enrollment growth in the foreseeable future for our outstanding university.
Excerpt from Texas Government Insider