Bevlee Watford accepts one-year post with NSF

Bevlee Watford, associate dean for academic affairs for Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering, has accepted a temporary assignment for one year at the National Science Foundation (NSF) beginning in August.

Watford will be serving as a program director in NSF’s Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE).

Housed within NSF’s Education and Human Resources Directorate, DUE’s programs represent a comprehensive approach to strengthening science, technology, engineering, and math education at two- and four-year colleges and universities. Recently, Virginia Tech was awarded a $2 million grant from DUE to provide academic support services to College of Engineering students. Watford will be leading the proposal review and program evaluation for a specified program within DUE.

Michael Deisenroth, professor and assistant department head of industrial and systems engineering at Virginia Tech, will be acting associate dean for academic affairs while Watford is on assignment at the NSF. Deisenroth will oversee all academic undergraduate engineering programs and students.

“Join me in congratulating both of these individuals on their new assignments,” said Ed Henneke, interim dean of the College of Engineering.

Watford received her bachelor’s degree in mining engineering from Virginia Tech in 1981. She also earned her master’s and Ph.D. degrees in industrial engineering and operations research at Virginia Tech in 1983 and 1985, respectively. Her research areas of interest are related to the recruitment and retention of engineering students, particularly under-represented students.