OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. announced the inaugural director of the OU Polytechnic Institute in an email Monday morning.
Pending OU Board of Regents’ approval, OU alumna Teri Reed will return to her alma mater on March 1 to begin her new position. In addition to serving as the inaugural director of the OU Polytechnic Institute, Reed will also hold the George Kaiser Family Foundation Chair.
"Reed is an internationally recognized leader in the field of engineering education," Harroz wrote in his announcement. "We are thrilled to welcome her back to her home state of Oklahoma."
In the announcement, Harroz thanked James Sluss, Jr. for serving as interim director of the OU Polytechnic Institute as well as interim president of OU-Tulsa.
"Dr. Sluss has provided key oversight and steady leadership during this critical phase of the institute’s development," Harroz wrote.
Announced in May 2022, the OU Polytechnic Institute was created to "provide new opportunities for northeastern Oklahoma and … expand and improve state higher education in technology and applied engineering studies," according to an OU Daily article.
Sluss' appointment as interim director of the OU Polytechnic Institute was announced later that year in October.
The OU Polytechnic Institute will be launching as a new school at OU-Tulsa and will provide bachelor’s completion and graduate degree programs that will initially focus on cybersecurity, data science, software development, medical informatics, and advanced mobility/manufacturing, Harroz wrote.
As director, Reed will oversee the design of those academic programs, develop the hiring strategy for the institute’s first wave of faculty, engage with industry stakeholders on curriculum and work with the OU Foundation to garner additional philanthropic support, Harroz wrote.
Reed previously served at the University of Cincinnati as assistant vice president of Faculty Research Development, executive director of the College of Engineering and Applied Science and professor of chemical engineering, Harroz wrote.
Reed has also held faculty and administrative positions at Texas A&M University, Purdue University and OU. During her time at OU, Reed earned tenure as an associate professor in the School of Industrial Engineering and served as the College of Engineering's associate dean of education, Harroz wrote.
Reed has received several accolades recognizing her teaching and leadership abilities, including the OU Distinguished Service Award from the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy and selection as one of the inaugural recipients of the OU Regents’ Alumni Award.
After earning her a Bachelor’s of Science in Petroleum Engineering from OU in 1985, Reed spent seven years in the petroleum industry and earned a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. She later graduated from Arizona State University with a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering.
"An advocate for research-informed approaches to engineering education and administration, Dr. Reed has made significant contributions to higher education nationally," Harroz wrote.
Reed helped establish the scholarly foundation for engineering education as an academic discipline through co-authorship of the 2006 “Journal of Engineering Education’s” special reports, “The National Engineering Education Research Colloquies” and “The Research Agenda for the New Discipline of Engineering Education.” She has also served as an executive board member and fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education and is a former president of the Women in Engineering ProActive Network.
"Dr. Reed is one of the nation’s leading minds in how to strategically align engineering education with rapidly evolving workforce needs, making her an outstanding choice to serve as the inaugural director of the OU Polytechnic Institute," Harroz wrote.
This story was edited by Alexia Aston, Karoline Leonard and Jazz Wolfe. Nikkie Aisha copy edited this story.
