Doug Rigney, special assistant to the provost, has been appointed the acting vice president of student affairs.

Rigney assumes the day-to-day responsibilities for the post held by Vice President Jenny Gauld, who announced her retirement, effective Sept. 1.

Rigney is a professor of biomedical engineering in the School of Engineering and earned four degrees, including his PhD, at UAB. He also holds secondary appointments as a professor in the department of materials and mechanical engineering and assistant professor in metallurgical engineering.

In his role as special assistant to the provost, a post he has held since 2005, Rigney has been responsible for implementing new student records and information systems for the campus. Prior to that, he was assistant dean for academic and student affairs from 2000 to 2002 before becoming associate dean for Engineering, a post he held until 2005.

Rigney has been a member of numerous campuswide committees and is a past president of the UAB National Alumni Society and the UAB Faculty & Staff Benevolent Fund Council.

Search under way
Marilyn Kurata, interim associate provost for Undergraduate Programs and director of Core Curriculum Enhancement, is chairing the search committee, which is being assisted in the search by Greenwood & Associates Inc. Ads have been placed in several national publications, and the position description is listed on the UAB Web site.

Search committee members include DeeDee Bruns, Enrollment Management; Stella Cocoris, Registrar’s Office; John Ehiri, Maternal and Child Health; Hughes Evans, Pediatrics; Dean Doreen Harper, Nursing; Eric Jack, Business; Janice Kluge, Art & Art History; Mindy Lalor, Engineering; Claude McCann, Financial Affairs; Diane Tucker, Science and Technology Honors Program; Nancy Walburn, General Studies; Charles Watkins, Chemistry; and students Andrew Brashier and Julia Schmitz of the undergraduate and graduate student government associations, respectively.