Academic Career
In 1968, Rawlins became part of the faculty of the Department of Economics at WSU. He served as the chair of the department from 1977 to 1981 and was WSU's vice provost from 1982-1986. He served as the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs of the University of Alabama for five years before assuming the presidency of the University of Memphis.
In June 2000, Rawlins returned to Washington State where he served as president until May 21, 2007. Rawlins created some controversy in the WSU community in 2002 when he tried to phase out the popular nickname "Wazzu" from usage. The change proved a firestorm of protest from students and alumni and he relented. He is remembered for a strategic plan developed by faculty that led to increases in research funding and to growth in the numbers of talented students choosing WSU.
Rawlins is a labor economist by training and much of his research work focused on the effects of education on earnings in people's lives. His books include "Public Service Employment: The Experience of a Decade," co-authored with Robert F. Cook and Charles F. Adams, published in 1985.
In 2006, Rawlins announced his retirement as president of WSU. He was succeeded by former University of Missouri System President Elson Floyd in late May 2007. Floyd is WSU's first African-American president.
Rawlins then returned to the School of Economic Sciences faculty. He served as the interim director of The William D. Ruckelshaus Center, a regional problem-solving program of Washington State University and the University of Washington, from 2007 - 2009.
On April 16, 2010, the University of North Texas System Board of Regents appointed V. Lane Rawlins as UNT's president for 2010-11. The appointment, effective May 14, was expected to run through summer 2011 as UNT conducts a national search for its next president. On November 9, 2010, Rawlins accepted the offer to become the university's permanent full-time President. Rawlins succeeded Phil C. Diebel who became UNT's interim president following the resignation in February 2010 of President Gretchen M. Bataille. President Rawlins' time at UNT has been marked by a failure to implement fiscal responsibility, as evidenced by the UNT system raising tuition while simultaneously instituting a hiring freeze for all faculty and staff.
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