FAMU hires multi-million dollar grant-raisers to lead School of the Environment and College of Science and Technology

Maurice D. Edington

FAMU Interim Provost Rodner Wright announced that he has filled two dean positions at the university.

Maurice D. Edington has been appointed the new dean of the College of Science and Technology, and Victor M. Ibeanusi, founding chair of Environmental Science and Studies Program at Spelman College, will serve as the new dean for the FAMU School of the Environment.

Both men are multi-million dollar grant-raisers.

Edington has secured more than $4 million in grant funding from agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Army.

Ibeanusi has secured more than $5.5 million to support his research and student training through funding that includes those from the Department of Energy, U.S. Army, and U.S Environmental Protection Agency.

Edington began his career at FAMU in 1998 as an assistant professor. From 2002 to 2008, he served as chair of the Department of Chemistry. During that period, Edington also served as director of the Office of Engineering and Science Support. From 2008-12, Edington served as the Director of the Quality Enhancement Program. In 2010, he became the SACS Accreditation Liaison and in July 2012 interim dean of the college.

“I will work diligently and tirelessly alongside the faculty, students, and staff of the college to ensure that FAMU continues to adequately address the science and technological needs of the state of Florida and the nation,” Edington said.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Fisk University in 1992, his doctorate in physical chemistry in 1997 from Vanderbilt University, and he completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at Duke University in 1998.

Victor M. Ibeanusi

Ibeanusi started his career in 1979 conducting epidemiological studies on the spread of meningitis through portable water supplies through a World Health Organization sponsored project. In January 1981, he served as the microbiologist for the United Nations with UNICEF assisting with rural drinking water supply and a sanitation project for developing countries. He began his career at Spelman as a lecturer in the Biology Department. He became an assistant professor in 1991 and became a full professor and chair of the Environmental Science and Studies Program in 1998. His research interests are focused on bioremediation of environmental contaminants, water quality, wastewater reclamation, and industrial ecology.

“The future is bright and I look forward to building relationships at FAMU,” Ibeanusi said.

Ibeanusi earned his degrees from Atlanta University, including a bachelor’s in environmental microbiology, master’s degree in biology and doctorate degree in molecular biology.