​Professor James Calvin is Vice President for Academic Affairs at KAUST. He began his relationship with the University as the Director of one of the KAUST Global Research Partnership Research Centers, the Institute for Applied Mathematics and Computational Science (IAMCS) at Texas A&M University.

As Vice President for Academic Affairs, Professor Calvin is responsible for the formulation of the University's educational strategies and standards and for the advancement of a strong role for our Centers and Core Labs in graduate education. His management responsibilities include Graduate Affairs, Academic Affairs, Faculty Affairs, the University Library, International Programs and Enrichment Programs, and in this he represents the University’s​ commitment to excellence in graduate education.

Professor Calvin is an alumnus of the University of Oregon (B.S., Mathematics and Computer Science) and Colorado State University (M.S. and Ph.D., Statistics). His research emphasis has been on the development of general linear models for correlated data and applications in the environmental and life sciences. He was a member of the faculty at Texas A&M University for over 20 years, where he has served as a Professor Statistics, Head of the Statistics Department, Executive Associate Vice President for Research and Acting Vice President for Research before assuming the role of IAMCS Director.