Alumnus Eric Barron named interim president of national nonprofit research consortium

This spring, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research named former Florida State University President and alumnus Eric Barron to serve as interim president with a term beginning May 4. 

UCAR, a nonprofit consortium of more than 129 North American colleges and universities focused on research and training in Earth system science, manages the National Center for Atmospheric Research on behalf of the National Science Foundation. Founded in 1959, UCAR administers the financial, human resources, facilities, and information technology functions essential to NSF NCAR’s success. 

Barron, who earned a bachelor’s in geology from FSU as an honors student in 1973 and oceanography graduate degrees from the University of Miami, served in various faculty and research roles, including as NCAR director from 2008-2010, before returning to Tallahassee as FSU’s 14th president. Following his departure from FSU in 2014, Barron was president of Penn State University until his retirement in 2022.