Provost
The University of Southern Mississippi
Dr. Jay Grimes was named Provost in 2002 after having served as Dean of the College of Marine Sciences from 1997-2002. He also has served as Director of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory and Professor in the Department of Coastal Sciences since 1997.
A microbiologist, Dr. Grimes earned his PhD from Colorado State University in 1971 and both his master’s and bachelor’s degrees in biology from Drake University. His career has included academic appointments at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, the University of Maryland and the University of New Hampshire. While at New Hampshire, he also served as Director of the University’s Sea Grant College Program (1987-1990) and Director of the Jackson Estuarine Laboratory (1989-1990.
Dr. Grimes serves on numerous national and international committees, boards and panels, most notably the Board of Governors for CORE, and the Ocean Studies Board for NRC/NAS. He is principal or co-principal investigator on grants totaling more than $10 million, and has authored 68 publications, including one book, 25 book chapters and 10 technical reports.
He is a member of Beta Beta Beta, a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.