The Texas A&M System Board of Regents formally appointed six new administrators during a specially called telephone meeting Wednesday afternoon.

The governing board formally hired university presidents at campuses in Commerce, Texarkana and Stephenville.

The panel also named a new director of the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Lab, a vice chancellor for research within the Texas A&M System and a vice president and chief financial officer for the flagship campus in College Station.

The group met via conference call at 4 p.m. Wednesday. All appointments were unanimously approved, officials said.

Dominic Dottavio, president and biology professor at Heidelberg College in Ohio, was named president of Tarleton State University and will take over Aug. 1. Carlisle Rathburn III, president of Savannah Technical College in Georgia, will begin his duties as leader of Texas A&M University-Texarkana on July 14.

Dan Jones, provost and vice president for academic affairs, chief student affairs officer and English professor at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, will become president of Texas A&M University-Commerce on July 1.

Regents also signed off on Terry Pankratz as vice president for finance and chief financial officer at Texas A&M, essentially making his interim position permanent.

Dr. Tammy Beckham, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in New York, was named director of the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory. Dr. Brett Giroir was named vice chancellor for research for the A&M System. Giroir is a physician-scientist who most recently worked as director of the Defense Sciences Office of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, based in Virginia.

• Holly Huffman's e-mail address is holly.huffman@theeagle.com.

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