Allen Lee Sessoms (born November 17, 1946) is an American physicist, diplomat, and academic administrator. His scientific research focused on quarks and related subatomic particles at CERN and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. Sessoms worked in the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

for 12 years, rising to the position of deputy ambassador at the

Embassy of the United States, Mexico City The Embassy of the United States of America in Mexico City is the diplomatic mission of United States of America to the United Mexican States. The embassy's chancery is situated on the Paseo de la Reforma, Colonia Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City. Ken S ...

. He later served as president of

Queens College, City University of New York Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body ...

Delaware State University Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a public historically black land-grant research university in Dover, Delaware. DSU also has two satellite campuses: one in Wilmington and one in Georgetown. The university encompasses four colle ...

, and the

University of the District of Columbia The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is a public historically black land-grant university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1851 and is the only public university in the city. UDC is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall ...

Education

Sessoms was born on November 17, 1946. He completed a B.S. in physics at

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

in 1968. Sessoms earned a M.S. in physics at

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

in 1969. He completed a D.Sc. in physics at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

in 1972. Sessoms was a

postdoctoral researcher A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...

at the

Brookhaven National Laboratory Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory located in Upton, Long Island, and was formally established in 1947 at the site of Camp Upton, a former U.S. Army base and Japanese internment c ...

working on computer programs, and the production of quarks at the

Fermilab Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), located just outside Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago, is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics. Since 2007, Fermilab has been opera ...

Career

In 1973, Sessoms became a scientific associate at the CERN researching quarks and related subatomic particles. He became an assistant professor of physics at

while working for CERN. Sessoms was the senior technical advisor for the

Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs The Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES) is a functional bureau within the United States Department of State. The Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affa ...

from 1980 to 1982 where he served as director of the Office of Technology Safeguards from 1982 to 1987. Sessoms was counselor for scientific and technological affairs at the

Embassy of the United States, Paris The Embassy of the United States in Paris is the diplomatic mission of the United States in the French Republic. The embassy is the oldest diplomatic mission of the United States. Benjamin Franklin and some of the other Founding Fathers were t ...

from 1987 to 1989. Sessoms was minister-counselor of political affairs at the

from 1989 to 1991 and served as deputy chief minister of missions (deputy ambassador) from 1991 to 1993. Sessoms became executive vice president at

University of Massachusetts The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system and the only public research system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes five campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and a medical ...

in 1993 and served in the role until 1995. He was also the institutions vice president of academic affairs from 1994 to 1995. Sessoms was president of

from 1995 to 2000. He raised academic standards, tripled annual alumni giving, and oversaw $160 million in building renovations. He established international programs. Sessoms left amid debate about lack of funding for an AIDS research center. From 2000 to 2003, Sessoms was a fellow and lecturer of public policy at the

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs The Robert and Renée Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, also known as the Belfer Center, is a research center located within the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University, in the United States. From 2017 until his death in Oc ...

. Sessoms became the 9th president of

in 2003, serving in the role until 2008 when he became president of the

(UDC). He was terminated from UDC in December 2012.

Awards and honors

Sessoms was a Ford Foundation Fellow and a Sloan Research Fellow. The Union College and

Sōka University , abbreviated typically as or , is a private university in Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan. In 2014, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) designated Soka University as one of Japan's Top Global Universitie ...

presented him with honorary doctorates. He won the Wilbur Lucius Cross Medal in 1999. Sessoms is an Officier of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques. In 2008, he was elected Fellow of the American Physical Society.

Personal life

Sessoms speaks English, Spanish, French, and German.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sessoms, Allen 1946 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Union College (New York) alumni University of Washington alumni Yale University alumni University of Massachusetts faculty 20th-century American diplomats African-American diplomats Sloan Research Fellows Fellows of the American Physical Society 20th-century American physicists American academic administrators Delaware State University faculty Presidents of the University of the District of Columbia Queens College, City University of New York faculty Harvard University faculty Presidents of Queens College, City University of New York Officiers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques People associated with CERN American particle physicists 20th-century African-American scientists 21st-century African-American people African-American physicists