Jamestown (CSi) University of Jamestown President Robert S. Badal announces that Dr. Paul Olson has been named Vice President for Academic Affairs. He will begin his duties July 1, 2014.

olson, paulDr. Olson has spent the past nine years at Briar Cliff University, Sioux City, Iowa, where he is the Chair of the Division of Social and Behavioral Science and Associate Professor of Sociology. At Briar Cliff, Dr. Olson has also served on the Strategic Planning Committee and University Leadership Team and was Director of the honors program.

Dr. Badal says, “Dr. Olson’s leadership as a faculty leader and Division Chair at Briar Cliff University marks him as a person who has the qualities we seek in our next Vice President for Academic Affairs.”

Dr. Olson says he was impressed with the people he met through the interview process, including students, faculty, staff, administration and trustees.

He says, “I really look forward to working with all of the people at Jamestown. The University has an excellent combination of a reputation of producing outstanding graduates throughout its history plus an exciting future with the development of new programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels.”

Originally from Laurens, Iowa, Dr. Olson holds a bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Northern Iowa, a master of arts in Religious Studies from the University of Kansas, and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

He says, “I have a passion for the rural upper Midwest and understand how important higher education is in communities like Jamestown. It’s an exciting time to be at the University and in North Dakota in general.”

Dr. Olson and his wife, Teresa, have three daughters, ages nine, seven, and four.