"Extraordinary leadership is crucial for our institutions and the unique and innovative environment at The University of Texas – Arlington calls for an effective and visionary leader,” commented Francisco Cigarroa, chancellor of the University of Texas (UT) System Board of Regents, welcoming Dr Vistasp Karbhari who "is extremely well suited to lead” as president of the prestigious institution. "I am confident under Dr Karbhari’s leadership UT Arlington will continue to advance its national research goals and excel in academic excellence, taking the University to new heights,” expressed Pedro Reyes, executive vice chancellor for academic affairs for the UT System.
Dr Vistasp Karbhari: next step
"UT Arlington stands poised to take the next step toward…being a model 21st century urban university, a shining example for others to follow,” Karbhari was quoted in the UTArlington Magazine of April 2013. "Together we will not just continue the journey toward Tier One status but we will become a world class institution, a preeminent place for intellectual pursuits and a driver of positive change…UT Arlington is…moving from teaching as delivering knowledge to instruction as facilitating discovery,” the president assured.
Beginning his tenure as the eighth president on June 1, he is committed to advancing UT Arlington’s national and international profile while strengthening excellence in research and teaching among its 2,200 faculty members and ensuring the success of the University’s 33,800 undergraduate and graduate students. Enrolment is stated to have risen by 35 percent over the past 10 years with remarkable growth in the College of Nursing, the College of Science, the College of Education and Health Professions and the School of Social Work. UT Arlington is also noted for its College of Business, College of Liberal Arts and its School of Architecture. Known to be one of the major employers in the region with a workforce of 3,900, according to the University website, "The total annual benefits stemming from the University’s ongoing operations create a billion dollar economic impact and more than 14,600 permanent jobs in North Texas. This includes educational and research spending as well as student and visitor spending.”
A professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering as also Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Karbhari is known to be a noted researcher and scholar. He has served as principal investigator or co-principal investigator in research projects exceeding $ 37 million and is considered an expert in the processing and mechanics of composites, durability of materials, infrastructure rehabilitation and multi-threat mitigation, as notes the introduction to the president on the University website. Besides holding one patent he is also a published author and co-author of more than 460 scientific papers in archival journals and conference proceedings. He presently lives in Arlington with his wife Lisa. Prior to his current posting he was associated with the University of Alabama in Huntsville, a top ranked public university, for the last five years as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.
After earning his master’s degree from the University of Poona, Karbhari studied for his doctorate from The University of Delaware where he served on the faculty of the College of Engineering and as a scientist at the Center for Composite Materials. In 1995 the Indian American academic joined the University of California, San Diego, and served as a professor of structural engineering and of materials science and engineering.