SJSU News Archive
Date: 08/01/2008
Jon Whitmore, formerly president of Texas Tech University, took the helm as president of San José State University on Friday, August 1, succeeding Don W. Kassing who had led the university for the past four years.
"It is a distinct honor to serve as president of San José State," said Whitmore. "Because of its unique location in a vibrant city in the heart of Silicon Valley, the opportunity to further develop SJSU as a top-tier student-centered urban university is all but assured."
Whitmore was president of Texas Tech University for five years, where he also held a professorship in theatre. From 1996 to 2003, he served as provost and professor of theatre arts at the University of Iowa, and was dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas at Austin from 1990 to 1996. Before that he served as dean, Faculty of Arts and Letters, and as a professor of theatre at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Whitmore was affiliated with West Virginia University from 1974 to 1985, where he served as interim dean for the College of Creative Arts, interim director of the Creative Arts Center, faculty member, and assistant to the president. He holds a doctoral degree in theatre history from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and master's and bachelor's degrees in speech from Washington State University.