The Board of Trustees of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) has announced the formation of the search committee that will help guide the selection of the next UCAR president. The current president, Antonio Busalacchi, is retiring at the end of his second five-year term on July 31, 2026.

The search committee will be supported by a professional executive search firm, which the Board of Trustees will announce shortly. After that, the Board will share details about how stakeholders can provide input directly to the search firm and submit nominations.

Search committee members

Gannet Hallar (Chair) 
Professor, Atmospheric Sciences, University of Utah
Incoming Trustee, UCAR Board (Feb. 2026)
Former Chair of UCAR President’s Advisory Committee on University Relations 
Former Program Director, Physical and Dynamic Meteorology, National Science Foundation

Raymond Ban
Managing Director, Ban & Associates
Consultant, Weather & Climate Enterprise Partnerships, The Weather Channel
Former Trustee, UCAR Board

Eric Barron 
Former President, The Pennsylvania State University
Former President, Florida State University
Former Director, NCAR 
Former Trustee, UCAR Board

Christopher Bretherton 
Senior Director of Climate Modeling, The Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI2)
Professor Emeritus, University of Washington 
Former Trustee, UCAR Board

Rita Colwell
Distinguished University Professor Emerita, University of Maryland
Former Director of the National Science Foundation
Trustee, UCAR Board

Heidi Cullen
Director, Climate Initiatives, Schmidt Sciences|
Vice Chair, UCAR Board

Lisa Dilling 
Associate Chief Scientist, Environmental Defense Fund
Former Director, Western Water Assessment, University of Colorado Boulder 

Michael Morgan
Professor, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Former Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation & Prediction, NOAA
Former Division Director, Atmospheric & Geospace Science, National Science Foundation  
Former Trustee, UCAR Board

Roger Wakimoto 
Vice Chancellor for Research and Creative Activities, University of California, Los Angeles
Former Assistant Director, Directorate for Geosciences, National Science Foundation
Former President, American Meteorological Society
Former Director, NCAR
Former Trustee, UCAR Board

Shuyi Chen (Ex officio)
Professor, Atmospheric and Climate Science, University of Washington
Former Associate Dean for Research, University of Washington
Chair, UCAR Board

See all News