Dr. Ronald D. Townsend

Dr. Ronald D. Townsend is president and chief executive officer of Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), a position he assumed on April 7, 1997. He is the fifth president in ORAU's history. In this capacity, Townsend directs all programs, facilities, and personnel of the corporation; leads and directs the organization's pursuits of new initiatives and expansions; represents ORAU to the Department of Energy, other federal agencies, industry, foundations, and other organizations; and directs the strategic planning process of the organizations.

Prior to joining ORAU, Townsend was commandant of the Air Force Institute of Technology located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. In that position, Townsend was responsible for the operation of two resident graduate schools with an annual enrollment of approximately 550 M.S. and Ph.D. students in aerospace technology and management; a multimillion-dollar graduate engineering research program; two resident continuing education schools providing 100 courses to more than 20,000 students annually; and continuing education programs for more than 6,000 personnel at some 400 civilian institutions, hospitals, and industrial sites worldwide.

In his 24 years with the Air Force, Townsend also served as the director of Weather Operations for the Headquarters Air Combat Command and chief of the Weather Plans Division at the U.S. Air Force Headquarters.

Townsend earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in mathematics from Kansas State University and completed his Ph.D. in meteorology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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Debbie Boone
P.O. Box 117
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-0117
(423) 576-3776/FAX (423) 576-3643
E-mail: booned@orau.gov