In a message to the campus community today, Colorado State University President Amy Parsons announced that Cassandra Moseley has been appointed as CSU’s next vice president for research, beginning Jan. 8. The appointment follows a six-month nationwide search. Moseley has served for more than 20 years as an accomplished administrator and research professor at the University of Oregon.
“Colorado State University continues to see record-breaking numbers in sponsored project expenditures, totaling $498 million in the last fiscal year,” said Parsons. “With Dr. Moseley’s strategic leadership and outstanding track record of campus collaboration, we can look forward to the continued expansion of CSU’s research portfolio and to the advancement of the university as a top-tier research institution.”
As vice president for research at CSU, Moseley will oversee the university’s research, discovery and creative artistry portfolio. She will work in partnership with the president, provost, deans, vice presidents and the campus community to advance the university’s reputation as an internationally recognized R1 institution. Moseley will report directly to the provost and executive vice president position, and she will serve as a member of cabinet and the executive leadership team.
“I am absolutely thrilled to be joining Colorado State as the next vice president for research,” said Moseley. “I am so looking forward to working with the campus community to develop initiatives that advance this fantastic university’s research and innovation goals.”
Background
Moseley is a research professor in the Institute for Resilient Communities, Organizations, and Environments at the University of Oregon. There, she also has served in a number of administrative leadership roles, including vice provost for academic operations and strategy. Prior to joining the office of the provost, she was in the office of research and innovation for eight years, most recently in the role of interim vice president for research and innovation. As the University of Oregon’s chief research officer, Moseley oversaw multidisciplinary research centers and institutes; strategic research initiatives and partnerships; research infrastructure and administration; compliance and regulatory environment; and innovation and commercialization efforts.
Moseley’s academic expertise is in wildfire and climate resilience, rural communities, and national forest policy. She has studied the changing face of wildfire management in the West and has a particular focus on how natural resource policies affect rural communities, businesses and workers. Moseley chaired the USDA Forestry Research Advisory Council, sat on the executive committee and was the liaison between the Council on Research and the Council on Government Affairs for the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities. She was also a founding member of the Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition and has testified before Congress and the Oregon State Legislature multiple times. Moseley earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics and government from Cornell University and her master’s degree and doctoral degree in political science from Yale University.
Christa Johnson has served as interim vice president for research over the last four months and will continue in that role until Moseley begins at CSU on Jan. 8. “As an executive in the division for the past eight years, Dr. Johnson brought stability and experience to the role,” Parsons said, expressing appreciation for Johnson’s ongoing service to the office of the vice president for research.
About the search
The search committee — chaired by Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences James Pritchett — conducted a search that yielded a large, highly qualified pool of candidates. The selection process included hundreds of faculty, staff, students and university supporters who participated in search forums and meetings, and who provided input to the committee.
“What a pleasure it is to welcome Dr. Moseley to Colorado State University,” said Pritchett. “Dr. Moseley rose to the top of a highly qualified candidate pool as part of a systematic and rigorous search process. I tip my cap to the search committee, which worked collaboratively and thoroughly when recruiting, evaluating and hosting the candidates.”
