Luis M. Proenza

Luis Mariano Proenza (born December 22, 1944, Mexico City, Mexico) is a Mexican-American academic administrator, neuroscientist, and science policy advisor. He served as the 15th President of the University of Akron, Ohio, from 1999 to June 30, 2014.

A researcher in retinal neurophysiology by training, Proenza held senior administrative positions at the University of Georgia, the University of Alaska, and Purdue University before his appointment at Akron. He was appointed to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) by President George W. Bush in 2001, serving until 2008, and was subsequently appointed to the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Steering Committee 2.0 (AMP2.0) by President Barack Obama in 2013.

Early life

Proenza was born in Mexico City, Mexico, to Luis Proenza Abreu, a Cuban-born immigrant, and Sara Gonzalez de Proenza, a Mexican national. He spent his earliest years in Mexico City before the family relocated, first to Cuernavaca and then to Acapulco. His father had emigrated from Cuba to New York City in 1920 and later settled in Mexico, where his parents established a silver jewelry business called Plata de Taxco at the Mexico City Airport, later opening a second location in Acapulco.

Education

Proenza enrolled at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1962, initially on a pre-medical track. He shifted his focus to psychology under the mentorship of Dr. Bonnie R. Strickland, who later became president of the American Psychological Association. He completed his Bachelor of Arts in psychology in 1965. He subsequently undertook a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Utah under Dr. Thomas H. Ogden, continuing research on retinal function.

University of Alaska (1987–1994) During this period, Proenza secured a five-year, $20-million National Science Foundation contract for the Polar Ice Coring Office (PICO), providing technical and logistical support for ice-core drilling in Greenland and Antarctica. He also secured a $25-million US Army Corps of Engineers grant to establish the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center. He subsequently served as Vice Chairman and Commissioner of the United States Arctic Research Commission, appointed by President George H. W. Bush in 1992.

He also served on the National Biotechnology Policy Board from 1990 to 1993, appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and as Science and Technology Policy Advisor to Alaska Governor Walter J. Hickel from 1991 to 1994.

Purdue University (1994–1999) He served on the Executive Committee of the Association of Graduate Schools (AGS) within the Association of American Universities (AAU), representing Purdue from 1994 to 1998. He led two major community initiatives: the University Park Alliance, a multi-partner effort to revitalize a 50-block area surrounding the campus, supported by a $2.5-million Knight Foundation grant in 2001; and the Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron, launched in 2008 with a $20-million Knight Foundation grant as a partnership with three area hospitals and a medical school to advance biomaterials research.

During his tenure, Proenza championed the creation of the National Polymer Innovation Center (NPIC), established as a partnership between the University's School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering and a number of polymer related companies. Separately, he oversaw the establishment of the Timken Engineered Surfaces Laboratory (TESL), a $5-million open-innovation facility in which Timken researchers and University of Akron faculty were co-located in the College of Engineering to conduct joint research in surface engineering and tribology.

He also oversaw the formation of the National Center for Education and Research on Corrosion and Materials Performance (NCERCAMP), a partnership between the University of Akron and the United States Department of Defense, which led to the establishment of the nation's first baccalaureate degree program in corrosion engineering.

In 2001, Proenza oversaw the establishment of the University of Akron Research Foundation (UARF), a non-profit organization created to promote and support university and industry collaboration and to provide mechanisms by which discoveries and inventions developed at the university are commercialized. UARF subsequently became a focal point of regional entrepreneurial activity, facilitating the launch of dozens of startup companies based on university-patented technology.

The approach to university-led regional economic development pursued under Proenza's presidency became known as the "Akron Model," documented as a case study in a 2013 report by the National Academy of Sciences titled Best Practices in State and Regional Innovation Initiatives: Competing in the 21st Century. The report described the University of Akron's approach to creating multi-way pipelines of intellectual property between the university and industry partners, targeting regional industry clusters in polymer science and biomaterials, and forging institutional partnerships to drive urban revitalization.

In 2014, three regional organizations recognized Proenza's contributions: the Greater Akron Chamber awarded him its H. Peter Burg Economic Leadership Award; Team Northeast Ohio honored him with its H. Peter Burg Regional Vision Award at its annual Economic Development Plus Awards ceremony; and he was inducted into the Northeast Ohio Business Hall of Fame.

He stepped down as president on June 30, 2014, and was designated President Emeritus. Among the major initiatives in which he participated were the National Innovation Initiative Leadership Council, the National Innovation Initiative Advisory Committee (2004), the co-chairmanship of the National Innovation Initiative Innovation Environment and Infrastructure Working Group (2004), and the National Steering Committee for Clusters of Innovation: The Regional Basis of U.S. Competitiveness (1999–2001). He also served on the Ohio Governor's Third Frontier Advisory Board, appointed by Governor Bob Taft, from 2003 to 2008. This research has been cited in peer-reviewed publications in Visual Neuroscience and related journals over several decades.

He also contributed to higher education policy discourse through a commentary published in Inside Higher Ed in May 2007, arguing for new frameworks to measure research competitiveness and productivity at universities beyond simple grant totals.

Awards and recognition

1983: ACE Fellowship in Academic Administration, American Council on Education His interest in sailing began during his graduate studies at the University of Minnesota, where he first learned to sail on Lake Minnetonka.