James Paul Holloway

James Paul Holloway joined The University of New Mexico as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs in July 2019. He is also a professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering. As provost, he has been committed to providing students and faculty with the support needed to both further the academic mission at UNM and equip them to make a positive impact in a diverse and constantly evolving world. During his first five years in the role, new first-year students at UNM have increased by over 40% and a long decline in enrollment has been reversed; research expenditures in Academic Affairs units have grown by 46%; and philanthropic giving has doubled.

Always passionate about engineering, his worldview was equally shaped as a child when he lived in Thailand with his family, which taught him that different cultures bring valuable insights into the various ways that human societies address their challenges. As a result, his career has been a mix of research, teaching, administration and global work, including in India, Ethiopia and Ghana.

Holloway came to UNM after a long career at the University of Michigan, where he was the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and Professor of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences (now emeritus). While there, he was associate dean for undergraduate education in the College of Engineering, vice provost for global and engaged education, and finally vice provost for global engagement and interdisciplinary academic affairs. His research has been in the areas of computational and mathematical modeling with applications in areas such as neutron and photon radiation transport theory, inverse problems, and uncertainty quantification.

Born in Washington, D.C., into an Army family, he has lived in Thailand, Germany and five different U.S. states.  He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nuclear engineering from the University of Illinois, completed advanced graduate work in mathematics at Cambridge University, and earned a doctorate in engineering physics from the University of Virginia.