HOUGHTON--Dr. Bruce E. Seely has accepted an appointment as chair of the Department of Social Sciences at Michigan Technological University.
He will assume his new duties August 19, said Dr. Max Seel, dean of sciences and arts. Seely succeeds Dr. Terry Reynolds, who, after 12 years as department chair, is stepping down to a regular faculty position.
Seely received his PhD in the History of Technology from the University of Delaware in 1982, joining the Michigan Tech faculty in 1986. During his tenure at Michigan Tech, he has served three years as president of the University Senate and was MTU's first conflict of interest coordinator. He has also been active on a number of University committees.
"Due to his extensive University-wide service, Bruce is not only highly respected by the faculty in the Department of Social Sciences, but by faculty and administrators across campus," Seel said. "In addition, Bruce has been highly active at the national level. The department and the University will benefit from Bruce's experience and connections."
Seely is a past secretary of the Society for the History of Technology and past president of the Public Works Historical Association. He has spent the last two years on leave from Michigan Tech serving as director of the Science, Technology and Society Program at the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Va.
Seely's research has been nationally recognized. Among his honors is the Abel Wolman Award of the Public Works Historical Society for his book, "Building the American Highway System: Engineers as Policy Makers." In addition, his scholarly articles have won prizes from the Society for the History of Technology, the Railroad History Society, the Society for Industrial Archeology and the American Society for Engineering Education.