Tony Frank, president of Colorado State University and chancellor of the CSU System, has been elected to the Universities Research Association (URA) Board of Trustees, representing Region 2 among the coalition of top U.S. and international research universities.
The Universities Research Association is a consortium of 89 leading research institutions, located primarily in the United States, with members also in Canada, Japan, Italy, and the United Kingdom. URA has operated the Department of Energy Fermi National Laboratory (Fermilab) since 1967 and has shared that responsibility since 2007 with the University of Chicago through the Fermilab Research Alliance, LLC. URA also receives National Science Foundation support for the U.S.’s operational role in the international Pierre Auger Cosmic Ray Observatory.
“Colorado State University and other members of the URA consortium are committed to advancing research every day, and we recognize that as a group of leading research universities, we are stronger than any one institution would be on its own,” Frank said. “It is a privilege to be invited to serve on the URA Board of Trustees, and our community of scientists at CSU is committed to advancing innovation and discovery in collaboration with our research colleagues across the country and around the globe.”
URA membership
Last year, CSU became a URA member, recognizing its ongoing partnership with Fermilab in particle physics, accelerator research and graduate student training. This close collaboration with Fermilab is managed by Sandra Biedron, associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Robert J. Wilson, professor in the Department of Physics. Others working in the Fermilab partnership at CSU come from the Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Two Colorado State graduate students are currently URA Visiting Scholars working on accelerator science at Fermilab. Many other students and postdoctoral researchers also collaborate with CSU faculty on Fermilab research programs.
URA’s Board of Trustees exercises direct oversight of the organization. Trustees representing each of seven regions must be sitting presidents or chancellors; Frank will represent Region 2, which includes the Midwest and parts of the Southwest. Nominated by the URA board and elected by its Council of Presidents, regional trustees may serve two consecutive three-year terms.
Founded in 1965
URA was founded at the behest of President Lyndon Johnson’s Science Advisory Committee and the National Academy of Sciences in 1965 for management and operation of research facilities in the national interest. URA’s charter is “…to acquire, plan, construct, and operate machines, laboratories, and other facilities, under contract with the Government of the United States or otherwise, for research, development and education in the physical and biological sciences… and to educate and train technical, research and student personnel in said sciences.”
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the URA corporation acts under the authority of its governing body, the Council of Presidents of its 89 member universities. The Board of Trustees appoints governing boards for each major research activity. It is also responsible for oversight and governance of URA’s enterprises and for corporate relations with the federal government, industry, academia and the general public.
