Thomas J. McCoy, Ph.D.
Vice President for Research, Creativity, and Technology Transfer, Montana State University
Telephone:
406-994-2891
E-mail:
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Dr. McCoy was appointed Vice President for Research, Creativity and Technology Transfer at Montana State University in July, 1998. In this position Dr. McCoy has supported applied research in all academic areas with the goal of developing technologies which provide opportunities for start-up companies, collaborative efforts with Montana’s growing high-technology sector, opportunities for students to serve as interns, and ultimately to provide employment for students in technology companies in Montana. Dr. McCoy is active on both the board of directors of TechLink, an MSU department that works to transfer federal technology to regional companies, and TechRanch, a joint initiative between MSU and the City of Bozeman to incubate new technology companies.
As Dr. McCoy previously served as Dean of the College of Agriculture and Director of the Agriculture Experiment Station, he is especially interested in working to add value to agriculture products, develop new varieties of plants which will serve Montana farmers and finding ways to make Montana farmers more productive and profitable. Indeed, Dr. McCoy’s M.S. from the University of Wisconsin—Madison and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota—St. Paul are both in plant breeding and genetics.
Vice President McCoy has overseen the growth of research at MSU to over $100 million annually, placing MSU in the top 100 research universities in the nation as ranked by funding. These expenditures directly provide for $38 million in salaries in Montana and contribute significantly to the economy of Montana. Research also provides $5.5 million in salaries to students and provides excellent training which is highly sought after by employers.
Dr. McCoy is well-published and has received many honors during his career as an educator and researcher, a career spanning time with the USDA/ARS, an associate professor of plant sciences at the University of Arizona, Department Head for Plant Sciences at MSU, Dean of Agriculture at MSU and more recently as Vice President for Research, Creativity and Technology Transfer at MSU.