Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex
Dr. Christopher Ray, PhD, serves as the Senior Vice President and Provost for the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth. Leading the provost’s executive team, he oversees all academic colleges, schools, and departments, ensuring high-quality education, research, and service. Dr. Ray offers support in university curricula, instruction, student services, academic resources, and faculty affairs. Previously, at Texas Woman’s University (TWU), Dr. Ray was the dean of the College of Health Sciences. There, he managed five departments, two schools, and five on-site clinics across three campuses. Under his leadership, TWU’s School of Occupational Therapy became the top-ranked program in Texas and 17th nationally in 2020, as per U.S. News and World Report. He secured a $2 million donation for the program and established an endowed directorship. Dr. Ray expanded research and clinical learning at TWU, launching innovative programs in occupational therapy, nutrition, and public health. He also secured $100 million in legislative funding for a new health sciences building, set to open in fall 2025. Earlier, at The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), Dr. Ray served as associate dean for research in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation. He directed UTA’s Postural Control Laboratory and Center for Health Living and Longevity, increasing research funding from $3 million to $18 million in 18 months. He oversaw program approvals with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. In 2018, Dr. Ray participated in the Texas Governor’s Executive Development Program. He received nominations for the Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award in 2011 and 2014, and the UTA President’s Award for Excellence in Distance Education Teaching in 2011. He is an active member of professional associations and reviews for the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Ray earned his PhD in movement studies from the University of Georgia and holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He completed his post-doctoral fellowship at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Atlanta.
Provide leadership, vision, and fiscal management for the College of Health Sciences (Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Nutrition and Food Sciences, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Health Studies, Kinesiology and Dental Hygiene) across three campus locations (Denton, Dallas and Houston). Primary Achievements: ● Implemented initiatives that resulted in 100% increase in external research funding ● Increased master’s level SCH production by 6.1% ● Highest college giving rate at the university ● Secured $2 million for program naming rights and endowed program director ● Launched college-wide interdisciplinary research institute ● Increased undergraduate SCH production by 3% ● Instituted an external advisory board of healthcare executives ● Launched the Dean’s Distinguished Fellows, an internal advisory group of top-performing faculty ● Strategically realigned college operations to streamline processes, increase efficiencies, and enhance communication response time from 72 to 24 hours ● Launched college-wide student success center ● Advancing research infrastructure through strategic faculty hires and alignment of college research focus resulting in increased external funding (exceeding numbers from the previous 2 years) ● Strategically growing enrollment in programs with high student and labor market demand including Flavor Chemistry, Communication Sciences specialized PhD track in Health Studies, and foundational curricular alignment to pursue Public Health graduate program ● Recruitment of strong college leadership, including component administrators, school associate directors, and associate dean for roles that have been left vacant for extensive time-frames
Responsible for all pre-award and post award functions within the college external funding portfolio. Lead all faculty research development activities, chair all tenure stream faculty searches and responsible for all external accreditation and data reports to National and state organizations (> 20 per year). Primary Achievements: ● Significant expansion of 300% in external research funding from $3 million to $18 million in 18 months. ● Initiated and led cluster hires of research faculty in expanding research infrastructure ● Guided and oversaw addition of PhD in Kinesiology and Master of Public Health through state processes. ● Managed all data for program accreditation and program rankings.
The center for healthy living and longevity, aims to improve the quality of life and improving physiological health with innovative, evidence based physical interventions. Center efforts utilize focus on the development of activity interventions and community education related to reducing fall risk, increasing fall resiliency (bone mineral density), improved cardiovascular response and overall reduction in co-‐morbidity in high risk populations (obese, chronic disease, frail, pre-‐frail, visual impairment, etc.). Primary Achievements: ● Created the center from its inception ● Grew clinic participation to over 150 seniors per day ● Incorporate multi-disciplinary approach inclusive of engineering, social work, nursing, kinesiology, and other disciplines focused on geriatric based research ● Focal point of university’s capital campaigned leading to targeted gifts ● Secured external funding through NIH and NFS
Led the Postural Control lab and sought the development of evidence-‐based interventions that sought innovative therapeutic interventions to improve postural control in the elderly (pre-frail, non‐frail and visually impaired). My lab was dedicated to the study of geriatric syndromes and their impact on fall risk. Specifically, the research being conducted in the lab was committed to developing more sensitive predictors of falls by employing increased cognitive and environmental load computerized dynamic posturography testing and evaluating the impact of treatments on older adults capacity to withstand these increased load conditions.