2004 Spring Conference - Robert J. Henry Biography

Robert Ford:
(Fort Valley State University)

Robert L Ford, Ph.D. is Vice President for Advancement and Research at Fort Valley State University. He was a professor of Chemistry at Southern University and A&M College - Baton Rouge. He currently is also a SU GLOBE Partnership Leader, Project Director for the Louis-Stokes Louisiana Alliance for Minority Participation Program (LS LAMP), and CEO of Neo-Tech South, Inc., an environmental consultant firm he founded in 1985. He is the founder of the Southern University Center for Energy and Environmental Studies and served as the first Vice Chancellor for the Southern University Office of Research and Strategic Initiatives. He managed an array of student development, outreach, and technology transfer projects for Southern University and the Louisiana Board of Regents. Dr. Ford has provided facilitation services in the public and private sectors for more than 20 years, beginning with serving as convener of the Kettering Foundation National Issues Forum Program at Southern University. He served as Assistant Secretary for the Louisiana Office of Community Services in the Department of Urban and Community Affairs in the 1980's where he provided statewide leadership to Community Action Agencies, Head Start, and Weatherization Assistance Programs. Recent business clients include Exxon, Rhodia, AlliedSignal, Honeywell, BASF, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, and their surrounding communities. Ford has conducted energy and environmental technology projects in the Republic of The Gambia, South Africa, Taiwan, Germany, and The Netherlands. Bob served as Vice Chairman of the Louisiana Research Park Board of Directors for more than 5 years; he is a graduate of Leadership Baton Rouge and Leadership Louisiana, and a Rotarian. Ford earned the Bachelor's degree in chemistry from Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge and the Ph.D. degree in physical chemistry from Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana.