Jon Whitmore became C.E.O. of ACT, Inc., the college-entrance exam company, in September 2010. Previously he was president of San Jose State University

San José State University

San Jose State University is a public university located in San Jose, California, United States...

 and Texas Tech University

Texas Tech University

Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the...

, and provost at the University of Iowa

University of Iowa

The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...

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Education

Whitmore was born in 1945 in Seattle, WA. He earned BA (1967) and MA (1968) degrees in Speech from Washington State University

Washington State University

Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...

, and a Ph.D. in Theatre History in 1974 from the University of California, Santa Barbara

University of California, Santa Barbara

The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...

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University career

Whitmore began his career at West Virginia University

West Virginia University

West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...

, rising from assistant to full professor of theatre from 1974 to 1985, and served as interim dean of the college of creative arts in 1984-1985. He moved to the State University of New York at Buffalo to be dean of the faculty of arts and letters and professor of theatre from 1985 to 1990. He served as dean of the college of fine arts and professor of theatre at the University of Texas at Austin

University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...

from 1990 to 1996. He moved to Iowa City to become provost of the University of Iowa from 1996 to 2003. He was selected to be president of Texas Tech University in 2003, serving for five years. In 2008 he was named president of San Jose State University (SJSU).

Joining SJSU at a time of fiscal crisis for the state of California, Whitmore faced a difficult period of budget cutbacks. State support was cut 20 percent, forcing the layoff of 76 staff, reductions in part-time faculty and operating expenses, and limiting admissions of qualified students. Despite trimming the academic program, Whitmore was seen as a strong supporter of the SJSU Athletics program, retaining all of the Spartans sports teams. By accepting the top position with ACT, Inc., Whitmore exchanged "a bruising season of protests, layoffs and reduced enrollment at SJSU" for "a lucrative position in a comfortable Midwestern setting, free of the angst facing California's public universities," as an interviewer for the Mercury News wrote. Whitmore returned to Iowa City, where his two children are undergraduates at the University of Iowa.

Books authored and edited

• William Saroyan: A Research and Production Sourcebook (Greenwood Press, 1994). ISBN 978-0313292507
• Directing Postmodern Theater: Shaping Signification in Performance (University of Michigan Press, 1994). ISBN 978-0472065578
• Editor, Directory of Theatre Programs, 1991 (Association for Communication, 1991). ISBN 978-0929506029
• Co-editor, A Handbook for Theatre Department Chairs (1988; Association for Communication, 2001). ISBN 978-0929506005