Smith, Berreau Take on New Administrative Roles

The recent appointment of David R. Woolstenhulme, Utah State University’s Vice President of Statewide Campuses, to interim commissioner of higher education in Utah has necessitated additional administrative changes at USU. 

Woolstenhulme will serve as interim commissioner beginning July 1 and plans to return to his position at Utah State once a permanent replacement for retiring Commissioner David L. Buhler is found. In the meantime, Larry H. Smith, who has been serving as interim vice president of research, will step into Woolstenhulme’s role as vice president of statewide campuses on an interim basis.

In turn, Smith’s position in the Office of Research will be filled by Lisa M. Berreau, who has been serving as the associate vice president of research since July 2018. 

Smith spent 18 months as interim provost at USU after the previous provost, Noelle Cockett, was appointed president of the university in 2016. Smith then moved to the Office of Research and Graduate Studies in August 2018, where he served as the interim vice president and dean of the School of Graduate Studies until the two offices were split last January. Smith then remained as the interim vice president of research. 

Smith has a background in biology and came to USU in 2003 to be associate graduate dean. He served as dean of the School of Graduate Studies from 2004-06 and as senior vice provost from 2006-16. 

Prior to coming to the Office of Research, Berreau served as associate dean of College of Science from 2005-14, as the interim dean from July 2014 to August 2015 and as executive associate dean from 2015-18. Berreau, who originally came to Utah State in 1998, has an active research program as a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and was honored in 2019 as Faculty Researcher of the Year by USU’s College of Science.