Vice President of Research

University of New Mexico Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs James Holloway has appointed Ellen Fisher as Vice President of Research effective Feb. 22, 2021. Fisher is currently the Assistant Vice President for Strategic Initiatives in the Office of the Vice President for Research at Colorado State University.

“As a top-tier public research institution, our research enterprise is core to our mission and touches nearly every area of the university, all in service to the public good,” said UNM President Garnett S. Stokes. “I am excited to work with Professor Fisher to advance outstanding innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship at UNM, as well as to strengthen institutional collaboration and partnerships.”

“Dr. Ellen Fisher really stood out as both an incredibly accomplished researcher and as an individual dedicated to helping her colleagues grow their research and scholarly impact,” said Holloway. “She has been a strong supporter of multi-disciplinary team-based research, and championed programs that would catalyze more competitive grant applications from CSU faculty. Her teaching ranges from chemistry, to women’s studies, to materials science & engineering.”

“I’m very excited to be working with Dr. Fisher and all of UNM’s faculty to support and grow our research enterprise, which is so central to the mission of UNM and to our ability both to engage young learners in an environment of creativity and discovery, and to our positive impact on the communities of New Mexico.”

Fisher is a Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Chemical Society (ACS) and the American Vacuum Society (AVS). Her efforts in research and education have garnered notable recognition including the NSF CAREER award, was an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator, received the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar award and most recently the Plasma Prize from the American Vacuum Society.

She has also received numerous individual awards from CSU, including the Jack E. Cermak Outstanding Graduate Advisor Award, the Natural Sciences Award for Mentoring Undergraduate Research, and the Hazaleus Award for Empowering Women. For her outstanding efforts and excellence in research, teaching and service, the College of Natural Sciences at CSU named her a Professor Laureate in 2009 and in 2010 she was honored with the University’s highest award for research, the Scholarship Impact Award. She has also been recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus by the Department of Chemistry at the University of Utah.

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