CHICAGO — A veteran professor and administrator will be the next provost at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Lon Kaufman, a plant biologist, was named Wednesday as vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost, effective Aug. 15. The selection must be approval by the UI Board of Trustees.

Kaufman succeeds Michael Tanner, provost since July 1, 2002, who recently joined the staff of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.

A vice provost since 2003, Kaufman has led the Chicago campus in seeking out and mentoring under-represented students, especially in the science and technical fields.

"I intend to continue to move the mission of the campuses forward and in keeping with the goals of the chancellor," said Kaufman, who has been at the campus for 26 years.

Kaufman, 54, recently turned over his plant lab to a colleague so that he can concentrate on his administrative duties.

He has a doctorate in cell and developmental biology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and a bachelor's degree in biology from the Queens College of The City University of New York. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Carnegie Institution of Washington.

His research interests include the regulation of gene expression, signal transduction and crop productivity.

As vice provost for planning and programs, Kaufman has been involved in such projects such as the 2010 UIC Campus Master Plan, the UIC Diversity Strategic Thinking Document and Strategic Plan, the UIC Learning Outcomes Assessment Program, and the development of a UIC Social Justice pipeline, a press release said.

Before that, he was the vice provost for undergraduate affairs and dean of the Honors College where he helped develop the UIC College Prep, a health-science focused, lottery-based, charter school within the Chicago public school system.

He also served as head of the Department of Biological Sciences and director of graduate studies in biological sciences.

"His level of involvement with our various strategic planning advances will be of paramount importance to his role as the chief academic officer and budget administrator," said Chancellor Paula Allen-Meares.