Duane Hrncir, PhD
Acting President
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
With a distinguished record in academia spanning more than three decades, Acting President Duane C. Hrncir, PhD, boasts a wealth of experience in education, research, and administration, propelling the School of Mines forward as a dynamic agent of scientific, technological, and economic progress and a powerful transformational force locally and abroad.
After earning a doctorate from Texas A&M in 1979, Dr. Hrncir launched his academic career as a faculty member and chair of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Texas-Dallas before becoming the assistant dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Moving north to Mesa State College in 1999, Dr. Hrncir accepted a position as the dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and professor of environmental sciences, rising quickly through the ranks to become the associate vice president for academic affairs.
Dr. Hrncir joined the School of Mines community in 2006, serving as the founding dean of the College of Science and Letters, where he steered private fund raising necessary to construct the James E. Martin Paleontology Research Laboratory and guided the transformation toward a sustainable campus. He later assumed the role of provost and vice president for academic affairs, where he collaborated with faculty and administrators to align institutional growth with the university's strategic priorities. He was appointed acting president in 2012, following the death of President Robert A. Wharton.
Dr. Hrncir has served as science advisor to the Food and Drug Administration, presented at national and international scientific meetings, and participated on numerous professional and community boards.
He earned a bachelor of science in chemistry from the University of Alabama; a master of science in inorganic chemistry from the University of Massachusetts; and a doctorate in inorganic chemistry from Texas A&M. He is a 2011 alumnus of the Institute for Educational Management at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.