President James J. Duderstadt will recommend to the Regents at their May meeting the appointment of Charlie Nelms, chancellor of Indiana University East, as chancellor at U-M-Flint. If the Regents approve the appointment, Nelms will begin his new duties Aug. 1.
Nelms will succeed Clinton B. Jones as Flint chancellor, who is returning to teaching political science at the Flint campus. Lawrence D. Kugler, professor of mathematics, now serves as interim chancellor.
“Dr. Nelms will bring to his new position an excellent background as an educational leader,” Duderstadt says. “And he is a person of great integrity and personal warmth.
“This announcement follows a national search in which a number of very strong candidates were considered. The efforts of the search advisory committee in conducting this search have produced an outstanding chancellor.”
During his 20-year career in higher education, Nelms has held a number of leadership positions in a variety of settings, including residential and commuter campuses, multicampus systems, community colleges and the private sector. In each instance, he combined teaching and administration with community involvement.
Nelms has been chancellor and professor of education at Indiana Univer-sity East (IU-East) in Richmond, Ind., since 1987. IU-East, with about 2,600 students, is a commuter campus and one of eight campuses in the Indiana Uni-versity system.
Under his leadership, IU-East became the first of the Indiana University regional campuses to develop and publish a strategic plan, outlining “the qualitative ways in which the campus wishes to grow along with the strategies for achieving that growth.”
During his tenure as IU-East chancellor, his accomplishments included increases in faculty salaries and support for professional development and research; a 43 percent increase in the campus’ state appropriation; a 52 percent increase in enrollment; legislative approval of more than $15 million for library and classroom facilities; a four-fold increase in the number of individual and corporate donors; and implementation of a variety of strategies to support regional economic development.
Before he was named IU-East chancellor, Nelms was vice president for student services at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, in 1984–87. He was associate dean for academic affairs at Indiana University Northwest in Gary, Ind., in 1978–84; associate director, Center for Human Development and Education Services and assistant professor of education at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in 1977–78; associate dean for student development and assistant professor of education at Earlham College in Richmond, Ind., in 1973–77; lecturer and counselor at Lehman College, City University of New York, in 1971–73; and ombudsman for student affairs at the University of Ark-ansas at Pine Bluff in 1968–70.
At the national level, Nelms has maintained an active leadership role with the American Council on Education and the National Association of State Colleges and Universities. He also has been on the editorial board of the Negro Educational Review since 1982 and has been a member of the American Association for Higher Education since 1970, among other professional groups.
Among his community activities, Nelms was president of the school board in Gary, Ind.; president of the Community Education Council in Dayton, Ohio; treasurer and founding member of the board of directors of the Indiana Youth Institute; co-founder of two economic development groups; and vice president of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce.
Nelms received his undergraduate degree from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in 1968 and his Ph.D. in higher education administration from Indiana University in 1977.
U-M-Flint was established in 1956 and has nearly 6,500 students, enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Health Professions and Studies, and the School of Management.
