UNT System picks NASA official as next leader
Move into academia comes as agency gets new leadership
A top NASA official who spent time at Houston’s Johnson Space Center has been named the sole finalist for chancellor of the University of North Texas System.
Lesa Roe, the space agency’s acting deputy administrator, led International Space Center research programs while in Houston.
The 54-year-old will become the first woman to lead the UNT System. Trained as an electrical engineer, she will oversee more than 10,000 employees and a system that includes campuses in Denton, Dallas and Fort Worth.
The Trump administration is poised to name new top leaders for NASA in September, the Chronicle has reported.
U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine of Oklahoma, a military aviator and Rice University graduate, reportedly will become the next NASA administrator. His deputy is expected to be John Schumacher, vice president of Aerojet Rocketdyne.
Bridenstine is a pilot in the U.S. Navy Reserve who has shown deep interest in the future of American space exploration. He has been a fierce advocate of U.S. leadership regaining preeminence in space.
The congressman introduced legislation last year called the American Space Renaissance Act to “permanently secure the United States of America as the preeminent space-faring nation.” He also helped secure funding for the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation. SpaceNews named him one of five game-changers in the world in space in 2015.
He also has supported the role of the commercial space industry as NASA strive store turn to the moon and then to Mars and beyond. Today, American astronauts hitch rides on Russian space launches.
On Thursday, NASA spokeswoman Stephanie Schierholz said the agency has three Senateconfirmed political appointee positions: Administrator, Deputy Administrator, and CFO.
“Any others beyond those positions will be at the discretion of the White House,” she wrote in
an email.
Roe transitions to higher education leadership following a 30-year career at NASA.
In a video introducing herself to the public university system’s students, faculty and staff, Roe said she looked forward to learning more about them and their campuses.
“I’m a lifelong learner with a passion for working with students and I believe that the UNT System and its institutions — UNT, UNT Health Science Center and UNT-Dallas–are-positioned to push the limits of higher education. UNTS is unique as the only university system based in what is arguably the nation’s most robust economy,” she said. “I want to be a part of your exciting community of learning, teaching, inventing, exploring and achieving.”
Roe received her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Florida and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Central Florida.
The chancellor-elect spent 15 years in program and project management at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. She also served as director of the space agency’s Langley Research Center. Her husband, Ralph Roe, is NASA’s chief engineer.
State law requires a 21day period before final action can be taken by the Board of Regents.
Lesa Roe will succeed Lee Jackson, who has led the UNT System since 2002 and is the state’s longestserving chancellor. He will remain at his post until Roe takes office in early 2018.