Frank Franz, a former West Virginia University provost and current president of the University of Alabama in Huntsville, will give the annual Neil S. Bucklew Lecture in Higher Education Administration at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28, at Blaney House.

His address,Problems, Solutions, Teamwork, Success: A Physicists Trek Through Academic Administration,is free and open to the public. Please call Ginny Petersen at 293-7072 to reserve a seat.

Franz served as provost and vice president for academic affairs and research at WVU from 1985-1991. While serving as the Universitys chief academic officer, he was responsible for academic programs, research activities and student affairs.

Franz is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and he has received fellowships from organizations such as the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow of the National Science Foundation and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland.

In addition, he is a frequent spokesperson for higher education in Alabama, and served as chairperson of the Alabama Council of College and University Presidents from 1995-1997.

Franz became president of UAH in 1991. His achievements there include restructuring the university to strengthen its core academic programs, implementing effective programs and policies to improve student recruitment and retention and improving the UAH s performance and stature in externally-funded research. He is also credited with creating a moreuser-friendlyuniversity and improving the quality of academic life.

Franz received a bachelors degree in physics from Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. He earned a masters degree and doctorate in physics from the University of Illinois. Franz was at Indiana University in Bloomington from 1967-1985, first as a professor of physics and then as associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences prior to his appointment as dean of the faculties in 1977.

The Neil S. Bucklew Lecture Series in Higher Education Administration was endowed by Tom and Jean Clark in 1998, and has featured speakers such as Penn State University President Graham Spanier, Purdue University President Emeritus Steven C. Beering and National Association of State and Land Grant Colleges President Peter Magrath.

Dr. Bucklew served as WVU president from 1986-1995. He is now a faculty member in WVU s College of Business and Economics.