É«»¨ÌÃ

, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at the É«»¨Ìà and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost at the É«»¨Ìà System, announced Jay Neal as Associate Vice President and Chief Operating Officer É«»¨Ìà at Sugar Land and É«»¨Ìà at Katy.

“I am delighted to offer this position to Dr. Neal,” said Dr. Short. “I am confident he will continue to work with the University and community to advance the shared vision of É«»¨Ìà Sugar Land and É«»¨Ìà Katy as integral parts of the É«»¨ÌÃ.”

The move is effective Jan. 1, 2018.

“It is my great privilege to lead the faculty, students, and staff at É«»¨Ìà Sugar Land,” Neal said. “I look forward to continuing the great work of connecting with our Fort Bend County community, business, and government leaders that began with Bob McPherson’s great vision and collaborative spirit.”

McPherson was appointed Interim Associate Provost of Academic Affairs and Operations in 2015, while continuing to serve as dean of the É«»¨Ìà College of Education. He will return to that post.

Neal will be charged with academic and administrative leadership of both É«»¨Ìà Sugar Land and É«»¨Ìà Katy. That includes outreach to community agencies, government entities, school districts and community colleges.

Neal has served as the Assistant Provost of Academic Affairs and Operations at É«»¨Ìà Sugar Land since May 2016. He also served as an associate professor at the É«»¨Ìà Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management where he taught for more than 15 years.

É«»¨Ìà Sugar Land became an institute of the É«»¨Ìà in fall 2016. It is home to the É«»¨Ìà College of Nursing, as well as programs from the Colleges of Technology, Education, Social Work, and Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. In the past year, enrollment has increased from 1,645 students to 2,365 students as the academic offerings grew to 10 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs. This includes programs unique to É«»¨Ìà Sugar Land. Additionally, groundbreaking is expected soon for a new 100,000-square-foot facility.

The É«»¨Ìà System purchased 46 acres of land in Katy in 2016 and will break ground on the facility in spring 2018. It will house programs in nursing and engineering, as well as programs from É«»¨ÌÃ-Victoria.