Stuart Ray Bell (born 1957) is an American academic. He was named the 29th president of The

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

, located in

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of 1 ...

, on July 15, 2015.

Early life

Stuart R. Bell was born in

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor and Jones Counties in Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 census, making it the 27th-most populous city in the state of Texas. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan statis ...

in 1957.Bell Named UA President
''UA News'', Jun 18, 2015 He graduated from

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

College Station, Texas College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, situated in East-Central Texas in the heart of the Brazos Valley, towards the eastern edge of the region known as the Texas Triangle. It is northwest of Houston and east-northeast of Austin. ...

, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Nuclear Engineering in 1979. He received his master's and doctorate degrees in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M in 1981 and 1986, respectively.Melissa Brown
LSU's Stuart Bell tapped for University of Alabama presidency
''The Birmingham News'', June 9, 2015

Career

A 30-year veteran of higher education, Bell started his career as an assistant senior engineer for Mobil Research and Development Corp. in Dallas. First joining The

Melissa Brown
University of Alabama Board of Trustees unanimously approves new president
''The Birmingham News'', June 18, 2015 in 1986 as an assistant professor in the College of Engineering's department of mechanical engineering, Bell was named department head nine years later. With research interest in combustion engines, Bell has expertise in alternative fuels for engines, innovative engine designs, and modeling of engine and engine processes. He directed the University of Alabama's Center for Advanced Vehicle Technologies from 1998 to 2002. Immediately prior to becoming president of the University of Alabama, Bell was executive vice president and provost at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...

. During Bell's tenure there and earlier at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

, where he served as dean of its College of Engineering, those institutions opened new facilities, and student recruitment, retention and success were emphasized. Bell was awarded the Society of Automotive Engineers' Ralph Teetor Award for Outstanding Contributions to Research and Teaching in 1988. He was presented the T. Morris Hackney Faculty Leadership Award for the UA College of Engineering in 2001, and, in 2005, he received the Richard S. Woodbury Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Personal life

He is married to Susan Bell. They have two sons, Stuart and Stephen, and a daughter, Stacy.

References

External links

"Meet the President"
at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Stuart R. 1951 births Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Louisiana State University faculty People from Abilene, Texas Presidents of the University of Alabama Texas A&M University alumni University of Alabama faculty University of Kansas faculty