Spectrum - Volume 18 Issue 27 April 11, 1996 - Hauger selected for NVGC post

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Hauger selected for NVGC post

By Susan Trulove

Spectrum Volume 18 Issue 27 - April 11, 1996

J. Scott Hauger has been named assistant director of the Northern Virginia Graduate Center effective May 15, according to center director Judy Pearson.

Hauger, who is associate professor of science and technology studies, will split his service between the STS graduate program and center administration.

The assistant director position is new. "It is intended to provide support to the director and the faculty for establishing, nourishing, and maintaining programs in education, research, and public service that involve the cooperation or collaboration of Virginia Tech with firms and state and local government entities in the northern Virginia area," Pearson said.

"The assistant director will provide a primary point of contact for the exploration of new program needs and opportunities between the firms and agencies in northern Virginia and the university's colleges, departments, centers, and programs state wide. The assistant director's primary responsibility is to work with programs and faculty members on one hand, and with employers and potential students on the other, to help ensure that our programs are responsive to the changing and evolving needs for graduate education in northern Virginia in the coming century."

Pearson said Hauger, as the assistant director, "will work to establish enhanced liaison with major firms and agencies who employ potential NVGC students, to learn their perceptions of educational needs at the graduate level, and to inform them of opportunities and programs that are available or can be made available at NVGC. At the same time, he will work with college representatives and program directors to determine interest, willingness, and capability of providing expanded or new programs.

"Dr. Hauger will work to facilitate the establishment of new curricula, and the expansion or revision of existing curricula to meet the emerging needs of the commonwealth," Pearson said. "He will seek to identify and foster areas for synergy and interdisciplinary collaboration between and among programs, to improve existing cross-program activities, and to represent the center as a rich site for students to pursue their individual interests within and across programs.

"Dr. Hauger will also seek to identify and implement opportunities for collaborative research between Virginia Tech and research and development firms in northern Virginia," Pearson said.

Hauger has been at Virginia Tech for five years. He was assistant director of the Biobased Materials Technology Development Center, coordinator of accessibility research and planning, and a senior research associate in the Center for Gerontology.

Since February 1995, he has had the task of establishing the STS graduate program in northern Virginia.

Hauger holds advanced degrees in chemistry from Johns Hopkins and in history from the University of Chicago.