Sen. Chris Edwards (D) will join the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact as the new assistant vice president for strategic initiatives with an emphasis on development starting on Dec. 15.
“We already have a lot of great things happening at the University of Oregon,” he said in an interview with the Emerald. “But the whole point of the Knight Campus is to take it to the next level and not only increase the quantity and quality of research happening but to make sure it gets out into the world at a greater impact much faster.”
Around the O states that the Knight Campus will be designed for facilitating and innovating scientific discoveries to improve the life of people in Oregon and beyond. Edwards said he is excited about the prospect of bringing 300 researchers to the university and accelerating the impact of world class discoveries.
Edwards is currently the chair of the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee. He was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 2006 and was appointed to the state Senate in 2009. He was elected for a full term in 2010 and again in 2014.
Edwards was previously the Senate co-chair for the Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee on Natural Resources. He served on the committee for five years through the 2008 recession and was a major part of keeping the state’s natural resources and environmental protection agencies together, according to the UO press release.
Michael Andreasen, the vice president for advancement at UO, is excited for Edwards to bring his experience to the new science campus.
“Chris has a unique set of public service and private industry experiences that will serve him well in this new endeavor,” said Andreasen in the release. “I am delighted that he will be joining us during this critical early stage in the development of the Knight Campus.”