
Kelvin Lawson, chair of the board of trustees, stated that “extending Dr. Robinson’s contract gives us time to weigh our options, post the next Board of Governors’ meeting, to determine if we will conduct a national search or ask Dr. Robinson to continue his work as the permanent president. The Board is committed to making the best decision for our university.”
Before taking over as interim president last year, Dr. Robinson had been serving as chair of the university’s Strategic Planning Task Force. Over the years, he has served as provost and vice president of academic affairs, chief operating officer, special assistant to the president, professor, and director of the Environmental Sciences Institute. In 2010, Dr. Robinson took a leave of absence from the university to serve as assistant secretary for conservation and management at the U.S. Commerce Department.
Dr. Robinson is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Memphis. He earned a Ph.D. in nuclear chemistry from Washington University in St. Louis.

