WVU Tech welcomes Dr. Tamara Floyd Smith as dean of engineering and sciences
After a nationwide search, West Virginia University Institute of Technology
is pleased to announce Tamara Floyd Smith, Ph.D., P.E. as the dean of the nationally
recognized Leonard C. Nelson College of Engineering and Sciences.
In this role, Floyd Smith will serve as the chief academic and administrative
officer of the College of Engineering and Sciences and will report to the campus
provost.
Floyd Smith comes to WVU Tech from Tuskegee University, where she most recently
served as associate provost with broad responsibility for academic affairs, including
the planning and implementation of face-to-face and virtual instruction during
the COVID-19 pandemic. She has also served as a professor of chemical engineering
at Tuskegee University, instructing courses at all levels from undergraduate to
doctoral studies.
She has served as a principal investigator for millions of dollars in grant funding,
published dozens of peer reviewed publications and jointly holds two U.S. patents.
In addition to her work in traditional scientific research, she has also conducted
engineering education research with a focus on the relationship between belonging
and student engagement. She has served as a rotating program officer in the Division
of Undergraduate Education at the National Science Foundation (NSF). In that role,
she administered the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE), Scholarships
in STEM (S-STEM) and Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Programs.
Campus President Carolyn Long looks forward to having Floyd Smith on board.
“We are so pleased to have Dr. Floyd Smith join our campus community. She has
a wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise that will be beneficial in our
ongoing efforts to best prepare future scientists and engineers for the workforce
and life after college,” said Long.
Dr. Floyd Smith will be joining the Golden Bear family on July 1, 2022 and she
looks forward to this new opportunity.
“It is an honor and a privilege to be chosen to serve as the next dean of the
Leonard C. Nelson College of Engineering and Sciences. I am looking forward
to working closely with faculty, staff, administrators and students to collaboratively
move the college forward on strategic objectives,” said Floyd Smith.
Floyd Smith graduated Summa Cum Laude from Tuskegee University with a bachelor’s
in chemical engineering in 1996. She completed her graduate studies in chemical
engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she received
a master’s degree in 1998 and completed requirements for a Ph.D. in 2001.
She completed both the 2017-2018 Senior Leadership Academy sponsored by the Council
of Independent Colleges (CIC) and the American Academic Leadership Institute as
well as the NSF-sponsored Opportunities for Underrepresented Scholars (OURS) Post
Graduate Certificate Leadership Program in 2015. She is married with two children.