Virginia Tech has named Daniel Wubah its new vice president and dean for undergraduate education.

Wubah, 48, is currently associate provost for undergraduate academic affairs at the University of Florida. He will take his new post at Tech on Feb. 1, replacing David Ford, who is retiring at the end of December. Jerry Niles, former dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, will serve as his interim replacement.

Originally from Ghana, Wubah is a professor of zoology at Florida and will hold a position of professor of biological sciences at Tech. His starting salary will be $195,000.

He began his academic career at Towson University in 1992 and became the chair of the university's biology department. He then served as associate dean of the College of Science and Mathematics at James Madison University from 2000 to 2007 before taking his current position.

While at JMU, Wubah said he became familiar with Tech and its reputation. He said Tuesday he's hoping to build on what is already a strong undergraduate experience.

"And as a scientist, Virginia Tech is actually, to me, a perfect fit," he said.

Wubah received his bachelor's degree with honors from the University of Cape Coast in Ghana, a master's degree from the University of Akron and a doctorate from the University of Georgia. He also worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Environmental Protection Agency research lab in Athens, Ga. He and his wife, Judith, have two daughters.