Tuesday, January 22, 2013
PRINCESS ANNE, MD – (Jan. 22, 2013) – Dr. G. Dale Wesson joined UMES’ administration today as vice president for research and economic development. President Juliette B. Bell announced the appointment earlier this month.
Wesson spent the past three years at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, where he most recently held a Samuel P. Massie Chair of Excellence Professorship in Science and (nuclear) Engineering, one of 16 such endowed professorships in the nation.
He previously served as vice president of research, economic development and public service and executive director of S.C. State’s land-grant program. Among his duties in that role were “the development, implementation, operation and assessment of programs that supported sponsored research, academic programs and extension or community outreach.”
“UMES has a long-standing reputation of working as a business incubator for our region,” Bell said. “Dr. Wesson’s background and experience in the public and private sectors, along with his research experience, will help to advance our role as a strong economic development partner and leading research university on the Eastern Shore.”
Wesson is a registered professional engineer with a decade of industrial experience, most of which came at the Dow Chemical Co., where he oversaw production of its Heat Transfer Fluids plant in Midland, Mich.
He played a key role at S.C. State launching a campaign in 2010 to boost annual research funding to $50 million in support of research and scholarship in nuclear engineering, transportation, education, business, chemistry and biological sciences.
Prior to working at S.C. State, Wesson was associate vice president of research at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee and from June 2008 through May 2009, served as FAMU’s interim vice president for research.
His Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering is from the Illinois Institute of Technology and he holds a master’s in the same discipline from the Georgia Institute of Technology. His doctorate in chemical engineering is from Michigan State University.
Bill Robinson, director, UMES Office of Public Relations, 410-621-2355.
