Linda Lucas, Ph.D., who has served as UAB’s interim provost since May 2011, has been named to the permanent post after a national search.
UAB President Carol Z. Garrison announced the appointment effective immediately, saying Lucas “has built sustainable momentum this past year in some key areas, particularly in implementing additional tools and resources to enhance student success, and spearheading the opening of our new Center for Teaching and Learning for our faculty. She is high-energy, innovative and devoted to UAB and will continue to push to improve the academic experience of our students and faculty.”
Garrison thanked the search committee, led by Richard Marchase, Ph.D, vice president for research and economic development, for their thorough and committed work, saying, “We had the opportunity to review a large number of outstanding candidates.”
Marchase noted that Lucas “has a long track record as a dean who successfully encouraged interdisciplinary research, particularly in biomedical and materials engineering, and she brings that strength to the provost’s office.”
Lucas joined the UAB faculty in 1982 as an assistant professor. She was named department chair of biomedical engineering in 1995. She holds joint appointments in several UAB university-wide Centers, the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and departments within the School of Dentistry.
She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and chemistry from the University of Alabama and a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from UAB. She has master’s degrees in mathematics, education and materials engineering from UAB. She earned her doctorate from UAB in biomedical engineering with an emphasis in biomaterials.
Lucas is a past-president of the Society for Biomaterials and the Biomedical Engineering Society. She is a Fellow in the American Institute for Medical and Biomedical Engineers and an International Fellow of the Society for Biomaterials.