Coers Named VP
At Angelo State

ASU President James Hindman announced the appointment Friday (March 10). Coers will be coming to San Angelo from one of ASU's sister schools in the Texas State University System. His actual start date will be determined later.

Coers has been associate vice president of academic affairs at Sam Houston State (SHSU) for the past five years. Prior to that he served three years as coordinator of graduate studies and for a year as interim director of institutional reearch for the university. He originally joined the SHSU faculty as an assistant professor of English in 1969 and was promoted to full professor in 1986.

"Dr. Coers is well respected throughout the system," Hindman said, "and will bring to Angelo State University solid academic credentials, strong administrative experience and a thorough knowledge of the Texas State University System..

"We are confident that his leadership will further strengthen the educational experience we provide our students and will enhance the excellent reputation ASU has statewide for our academic programs and the success of our graduates," Hindman said.

Coers said ASU's academic reputation was a major factor in his decision.

"Over the last few months, I've talked to lots of people, friends of mine and others who were familiar with Angelo State in a variety of ways, and I've never heard such an outpouring of praise and positive comments," Coers said. "Just the overall quality and strength of the university is appeaing as well as the solid undergraduate program and the graduate program."

He said he was also impressed with his trip to interview because of his warm reception, the efficiency of the search committee and the campus itself.

"I just felt instantly at home. It's a wonderful place," he said.

Coers will succeed Ruth J. Person, who resigned in 1999 to become chancellor at the University of Indiana-Kokomo. E. James Holland has served as interim vice president for academic affairs since Person's resignation.

Coers brings to ASU vried administrative experience in higher education. He has served as chair of SHSU's President's Task Force on Student Retention, Financial Resources Committee and Strategic Plan Implementation Committee. He also directed SHSU's 10-year Reaccreditation Self-Study from 1986-89. Additionally, he served a year as chair of the SHSU Faculty Senate.

His state and regional service includes a two-year term as state president of the Council of Faculty Governance Organizations and a two-year term on the organizations's executive board. He was also president of the SHSU Chapter of the Texas Association of College Teachers.

Coers has been active in Huntsville, serving in various capacities, including president, with the Huntsville Rotary Club; on the administrative board of the First United Methodist Church; on the board of SHSU's Wesley Foundation chapter; and on both the Board of Adjustment and the Zoning Committee for the City of Huntsville.

Coers graduated cum laude from the University of Texas with a bachelor's degree in Englishin 1963. He received his master's degree in English in 1969 and then earned his Ph. D. from Texas A&M University in 1974.

His academic research has focused on the works of John Steinbeck and Ebenezer Cook, author of Sot-weed Factor. He received the Burkhardt Award from Ball State University as the outstanding Steinbeck scholar of 1995.

He has been associate editor of The Texas Reviewsince 1979 and has published numerous articles and presented several papers on both literary and academic administration topics. He is the author of John Steinbeck as Propagandist:The Moon is Down Goes to Warin 1991 and co-editor of After The Grapes of Wrath: Essays on John Steinbeckin 1995.

Coers and his wife, Mary Jeanne, are the parents of two adult children, Jeanne Coers Stacy of Kerrville and John Coers of Boca Raton, Fla.

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ASU Media Contact: Preston Lewis
SHSU Media Contact: Frank Krystyniak
March 10, 2000
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