Dedric Carter, PhD, has been appointed to the newly created position of associate provost and associate vice chancellor for innovation and entrepreneurship at Washington University in St. Louis. The appointment is effective June 1, according to Holden Thorp, PhD, university provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, and Henry S. Webber, executive vice chancellor for administration.
Carter most recently has been associate dean for international education and research and professor of the practice in the School of Engineering & Applied Science.
In his new role, Carter will serve as a catalyst for cross-university initiatives in the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship, facilitating connections with members of the entrepreneurial community on the local, regional, national and global level who are interested in engaging with the university.
“Innovation and entrepreneurship are signature issues for Washington University,” Thorp said. “As we continue to build on our efforts in these critical areas, we will benefit greatly from Dedric’s insight, breadth of experience and passion for bringing people together to learn, create and solve problems. We are extremely grateful for his leadership and energy as we work to advance the university’s many entrepreneurial activities.”
Carter also will serve as a primary university liaison to the nonprofit organization CORTEX, a collaboration of WUSTL, Saint Louis University, BJC HealthCare, the University of Missouri-St. Louis and the Missouri Botanical Garden that is working to develop a 187-acre Central West End area into one of the nation’s leading research districts. In addition, he will serve as the key liaison between the provost’s office and the university’s Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and Center for Research Innovation.
“Washington University has already gained much from Dedric’s invaluable contributions during his time here,” Webber said. “We are thrilled that he has accepted our offer to help us strengthen the bridge between the university and the entrepreneurial community. We welcome his enthusiasm and insight, and look forward to his leadership of our activities and programs.”
An experienced practitioner in the application of emerging technologies to business strategy, the development of innovation, and fostering entrepreneurship, Carter previously served as senior adviser for strategic initiatives in the Office of the Director at the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), where he was a co-founder of the NSF Innovation Corps program and the architect of the program’s initial public-private partnership model. Prior to his work at NSF, he had served as assistant dean of engineering for development and strategic initiatives and lecturer in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In this capacity, he served as the first executive director of MIT’s Office of Engineering Outreach Programs.
At WUSTL, Carter also has provided oversight to the global engagement portfolio in the engineering school and served as ambassador-at-large for the McDonnell International Scholars Academy. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT and his doctorate in information systems from Nova Southeastern University.
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