Gilligan Returning to College of Engineering After Six Years as Research Vice Chancellor

North Carolina State University Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies John Gilligan has announced his intention to leave the vice chancellor position to return to the College of Engineering as a faculty member and special advisor to the dean on June 1. Chancellor James Oblinger made the announcement today.

The vice chancellor for research and graduate studies is responsible for state, federal, industry, and foundation-sponsored programs; university regulatory compliance, sponsored program support, university project development, technology transfer and commercialization, Centennial Campus and NC State’s graduate school.

“NC State is a great university. I am especially proud of the new programs we have put in place to strengthen research and increase graduate student support,” Gilligan said.

“John’s work as vice chancellor has helped NC State continue to build its patent portfolio and continue its strong support of start-up companies and economic development in general. We have added many centers and institutes and graduate enrollment reached an all-time high,” Oblinger said. “We appreciate his leadership and wish him success as he resumes a faculty position.”

Oblinger said a national search would begin soon; Terri Lomax, dean of the graduate school, has been named interim vice chancellor.

Gilligan joined NC State as a nuclear engineering faculty member in 1983 and has served as vice chancellor since 2002. During his tenure as vice chancellor, NC State’s patent holdings grew to more than 600, while the number of spin-off companies grew to 68. In a recent study conducted by the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), NC State’s technology transfer activities ranked ninth in the nation.

Graduate enrollment has grown to more than 7,500 students. Centennial Campus is now home to 71 corporate and government partners employing more than 2,000 people; Centennial Campus enjoyed a record year for new partners in 2006-07, adding 19, and was named the nation’s top Research Science Park by the Association of University Research Parks in 2007.

NC State’s total research and development expenditures have reached more than $330 million per year and is ranked seventh nationally for industry sponsored research. The number of university centers and institutes has grown to about 70.

An author of more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, Gilligan sits on the boards of several nonprofit organizations such as the Research Triangle Institute International, the National Institute for Aerospace and UT-Battelle. Gilligan’s areas of scholarly expertise include plasma physics, plasma-material interaction, engineering education and fusion energy engineering.