Contact: Phil Hearn
Longtime Mississippi State employees Patti S. Abraham and Lynda G. Tuck are filling key directorships administered by the university's Office of Research.
Jonathan Pote, interim vice president for research, said Abraham is the new director of the Research and Curriculum Unit for Workforce Development and Vocational and Technical Education. Abraham, who has served as research professor and interim director of the unit since 2002, succeeds veteran faculty member and administrator Bruce Stirewalt, who retired.
Tuck now is interim director of the Office of Sponsored Programs Administration, succeeding James Peterson. Tuck previously was the division's facility security officer, a position now held by Deana Card, her former assistant.
Pote also announced that Chase Kasper, formerly of Nacogdoches, Texas, is being appointed manager/administrator of the MSU Research and Technology Corp.
Abraham, a Starkville resident, holds three degrees from MSU, including a 1985 doctorate in vocational education and technology. The unit she now directs provides leadership and support for state workforce development efforts of the Mississippi Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Technical Education.
Tuck, who resides in Maben, first joined the MSU staff in 1973. She has held a number of positions at the university, including administrative duties in the Office of Sponsored Programs Administration 1992-98. She also was the institution's intellectual property officer 1992-94.
Kasper, who earned a bachelor's degree in management and master's in international management from MSU in 1989 and 1994, respectively, previously worked as product manager and market analyst for JM Clipper in Nacogdoches.
RTC is a non-profit corporation organized exclusively for scientific, literary and educational purposes. It promotes development of new businesses and industries formed to take MSU technology and intellectual property into the marketplace.