vailsymposium

Eric J. Barron began his tenure as the 18th president of The Pennsylvania State University on May 12, 2014. Previously, Barron served as president of Florida State University. He has more than 35 years of leadership experience in academic administration, education, research and public service, as well as a track record as a talented manager of fiscal policy within large and complex institutions.

Barron is chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Universities Research Association (URA). He also serves on the Board of Directors for Kish Bancorp, Inc. He is also a member of the Knight Commission and the College Football Playoff Board of Managers.

Barron spent the first 20 years of his career at Penn State, serving as dean of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences from 2002 to 2006, and as founding director of the Earth System Science Center, one of the first major initiatives focused on the total study of Earth as a system. In 1999, he was named Distinguished Professor of Geosciences at Penn State.

An accomplished scientist with a long background in atmospheric research, Barron was the director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and dean of the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin. Over the decades, Barron has lent his significant expertise in the areas of atmospheric science and the geosciences to many national committees and federal agencies, including nearly 20 years of service as the chair of multiple National Research Council committees and boards.

Barron earned a B.S. in geology at Florida State University and his M.S. and Ph.D. in oceanography at the University of Miami.