SAS Steers in Wright Direction

John Wright, the new dean of USM’s School of Applied Science arrived at USM over the summer, bringing with him a broad academic background.

Wright, who earned his Ed.D. in Technology Education from West Virginia University in 1976, came to USM from his position as dean of the School of Technology at Central Connecticut State University. He had served Central Connecticut from 1989 to 1998. Prior to that position, Wright had been associate dean of the College of Science and Technology at California University of Pennsylvania from 1984 to 1989. He had also been an assistant dean and then acting dean of the School of Technology at Eastern Illinois University.

“I’m looking forward to working in Maine,” he said, “to developing academic programs in our school, and to working with the industrial and business community here.”

Wright is the coauthor of a textbook, “Introduction to Materials Processing,” published by Delmar Publishing Company in 1996. He has a strong publication record in technology journals, dating back to the mid-1970s. His most recent articles are “Employing Omnidirectional Visual Control for Mobile Robotics” in Technology Teacher (September 1999) and “Teaming: The Key to World Class Manufacturing,” also in Technology Teacher (February 1999).

He also has served as a consultant to school systems on technology education and to industry on precision manufacturing and problem solving in cellular manufacturing and in material science.

In addition, Wright brought a total of more than $10 million in grants and gifts into his institutions. Six million of this total was raised to develop the Institute of Industrial and Engineering Technology, located in New Britain, Conn. This center now works, he said, with 4000 companies and has had a significant impact on the success of small manufacturers in the state of Connecticut. Wright raised another $1,130,000 for the Northeast Technology Education Consortium, including a $230,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education, and the rest from private sector funds, to create five centers of education in New York and New England.

Brian Hodgkin, the founding dean of USM’s School of Applied Science, stepped down from the position at the end of the 1999 school year, after serving as dean since 1985. Julie Ellis, associate professor of electrical engineering, served as acting dean during the 1999-2000 year.

The dean’s office, as well as some of the academic departments of the School of Applied Science, is located in the Mitchell Center on the Gorham campus.

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