Interim Provost Janice L. Nerger is Colorado State University’s Chief Academic Officer and provides leadership to the University’s colleges and schools, overseeing the University’s academic mission and enterprise. Dr. Nerger is on temporary leave from her role as Dean of the College of Natural Sciences, a position she has held for 13 years.

Dr. Nerger has been at CSU more than 30 years and has served in other leadership roles, including Associate Dean of Academics for the College of Natural Sciences, Acting Chair for the Department of Psychology, Program Coordinator for Experimental Psychology, and Division Coordinator for Behavioral Neurosciences. During her tenure as Dean of the College of Natural Sciences, she led the successful proposals and construction of two new state-of-the-art science facilities that helped reform the CSU main campus landscape: the Biology and the Chemistry Research buildings, both LEED Gold-certified and part of what is now known as CSU’s Science Quad.

Dr. Nerger received her Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the University of California, San Diego in 1988. After a two-year postdoctoral research appointment at NASA/Ames Research Center at Moffett Field and SRI International, Menlo Park, CA, she joined the faculty at Colorado State University in 1990. She progressed through the academic ranks and was named Dean of the College of Natural Sciences in 2010. In July 2022 she was appointed Interim Provost.

Dr. Nerger is internationally recognized for her research on human vision, in particular on the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying color perception. Her research has resulted in numerous publications and presentations and recognition from the Rank Prize Foundation, the National Research Council, and the National Science Foundation. Dr. Nerger is a strong advocate for diversity, particularly for women in science, and is the co-founder of the Women in Natural Sciences organization at Colorado State University.

She was also instrumental in establishing the University center on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education (CSU STEM) and chaired the STEM-Ed Deans Council. She instituted the first Professional Science Master’s degree in the State of Colorado and the first interdisciplinary, cross-college undergraduate degree in neuroscience at Colorado State University. In 2016 she was named a Woman of Influence and awarded the Dr. Joan King International Woman of Vision award by the Colorado Organization of Women of Influence. She was also selected for inclusion in the “Her Legacy: Women of Fort Collins” project.

Dr. Nerger’s professional affiliations include the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences, on which she served as President; the Association for Public and Land-grant Universities; the National Professional Sciences Master’s Association; the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology; the International Colour Vision Society; and the Optical Society of America.