James R. Tucker was appointed Senior Vice President of Student Life and Administrative Services by Drexel President Constantine Papadakis on March 1, 2007.

As Senior Vice President, he oversees the largest non-academic administrative division at Drexel University. The broad spectrum of administrative services and educational programs for all Drexel campuses include: Athletics; Business and Finance; Business Services; Communications and Marketing; Equality and Diversity; Operations; Public Safety; Student Life; University Facilities; and University Procurement. Tucker also serves as President of Academic Properties, Inc. (API), a holding company owned by the University to purchase and manage its real estate properties.

As Senior Vice President for Drexel University he is Vice Chair for the University City District (UCD), a 2.2 square mile area of West Philadelphia. An independent, not-for-profit organization, UCD builds effective partnerships to maintain a clean and safe environment and promotes, plans, and advocates for University City's diverse, urban community.

Tucker arrived from Cincinnati, where he served as vice president for administrative and business services at the University of Cincinnati. He began his career at Cincinnati in 1977 at the age of 19 as acting supervisor, and moved through the administrative ranks to his most recent position.

As vice president, he was responsible for the combined operations of 1,800 university employees in 40 departments, 12.5 million square feet of building assets valued at more than $2 billion and a $200 million annual operating budget.

Among Tucker’s accomplishments were improving on- and off-campus safety by 35 percent and 25 percent, respectively, and earning $48 million in annual utility savings for the University over the past eight years.

He has received numerous awards and honors including the 2001 Award for Excellence in Facilities Management from the Association of Energy Engineers, the 1999 Facility Management Achievement Award from the International Facility Management Association and the 2003 Ohio Governor’s Award for Excellence (the Ohio Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award), the highest award given by the state of Ohio.

Upon his retirement from the University of Cincinnati, following 30 years of service, he was honored as being one of only a few non-academic administrators to be given the title of Vice President Emeritus in the University’s history.

Tucker holds three Bachelor degrees from the University of Cincinnati in Administrative Management, Marketing and Information Processing Systems; a Master’s degree in Business Administration from LaSalle University; and has completed all studies (ABD) for a Doctoral Program in an Interdisciplinary Degree in Arts & Science from Union Institute and University. He expects to obtain his Ph.D. in late 2007. The dissertation, “Higher Education Administration – Strategic Planning & Management,” articulates and assesses key plans and strategies implemented at the most improved colleges and universities that raised their level of quality, performance and rankings.

A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Tucker and his wife Lynn are the parents of four children and grandparents of five grandchildren all residing in Ohio.