UWT Names Harrington Jr. New Vice Chancellor Of Academic Affairs

James W. Harrington, Jr., a University of Washington Seattle professor and recent chairman of the Faculty Senate, will become vice chancellor for academic affairs at UW Tacoma.

Harrington will start his new job on Sept. 1, UW Tacoma Chancellor Debra Friedman announced today.

As vice chancellor, Harrington will provide support for the academic dean and directors, and ensure integrity of the promotion and tenure processes, Friedman wrote in an announcement to the campus. Harrington also will join the faculties of both Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences and of Urban Studies at UW Tacoma.

Harrington has been a professor of geography at UW since 1997, and served as department chairman from 2000 to 2005.

He’s also been active inthe UW Faculty Senate, which plays a key advisory role on curriculum, degree requirements, faculty affairs and review, and budget planning. In the 2010-11 school year, he served as the senate’s chairman. As chairman, he was an ex officio member of the Board of Regents and a member of the Advisory Search Committee for the university’s president.

“He has unusually broad knowledge of the UW as a result of his faculty senate leadership activities and through his service on the UW presidential search committee,” Friedman wrote. “He has demonstrated abiding interest in the three campuses of the UW.” 

Earlier, he served as director of the National Science Foundation’s Geography and Regional Science Program (1994-97); Associate Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University (1991-97); and Assistant and Associate Professor of Geography at SUNY-Buffalo (1983-91).

He holds doctoral and master’s degrees in geography from the University of Washington, and graduated with a bachelor of arts degree, cum laude in general studies, from Harvard University.

Harrington's research and teaching interests include economic geography, specifically subnational, regional economic development, occupational attainment, international trade. His work focuses on the U.S., Canada and China.

(This was a news release from University of Washington-Tacoma)