Dr. James Linder and his wife, Karen, pose at the 2012 Silicon Prairie Awards. Their angel investment group, Linseed Capital, won Investor of the Year at the 2013 event.
Dr. James Linder will serve as interim president of the University of Nebraska system, replacing outgoing president J.B. Milliken.
Linder is a long-time supporter of Midwest startups. He and his wife, Karen, head Linseed Capital, which has invested in several startups, including Bulu Box, EyeVerify, Flywheel, Nobl, SkyVu and Travefy, among others.
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He also is the senior associate to the president of NU for innovation and economic competitiveness and president of the University Technology Development Corporation. He previously was CEO of UNeMed Corporation at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and a professor of pathology and microbiology.
The announcement, made Wednesday in a press release, still needs to be approved by the NU Board of Regents on Friday. He would start April 1 and temporarily replace Milliken, who took a job as head of City University of New York.
The university is still searching for a permanent president, but Linder said in the release that there will be things that need to be attended to in the meantime.
Board of Regents Chairman Howard Hawks told the Lincoln Journal Star that Linder’s familiarity with the university as a faculty member and administrator at UNMC as well as the president’s office for three decades made him a natural choice for the interim post.
Linder said in a release that he has learned “a great deal by working with president Milliken and understand the priority of maintaining the momentum that has been built on each campus, and in our university-wide institutes.
“At the same time, until a new president is selected, the university must be ready to pursue new opportunities that arise.”
Credits: Photo by Malone & Co.
