{"id":71782,"date":"2017-11-29T11:34:12","date_gmt":"2017-11-29T17:34:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/?p=71782"},"modified":"2017-11-30T08:43:01","modified_gmt":"2017-11-30T14:43:01","slug":"matt-okeefe-lead-center-manufacturing-excellence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/matt-okeefe-lead-center-manufacturing-excellence\/","title":{"rendered":"Matt O’Keefe to Lead Center for Manufacturing Excellence"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Matthew J. O’Keefe has been hired as the executive director of UM’s Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence. Submitted photo by Sam O’Keefe\/Missouri S&T.<\/p><\/div>\n

OXFORD, Miss. \u2014 With decades of professional and research experience, Matthew J. O\u2019Keefe was named the new executive director of the Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence at the University of Mississippi.<\/p>\n

A Rolla, Missouri, native, O\u2019Keefe will start at CME Jan. 1. In addition to administrative oversight of personnel, facilities and operations, he is responsible for leading the academic unit of the CME (including curriculum development), providing leadership and strategic guidance for the center, and developing strong relationships within the university and with industry to enhance opportunities for students and faculty.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very honored and grateful for the opportunity to be associated with such an outstanding program and university,\u201d said O’Keefe, who earned his bachelor\u2019s and doctoral degrees (both in metallurgical engineering) from Missouri University of Science and Technology and the University of Illinois, respectively.<\/p>\n

William Nicholas, UM assistant director of Insight Park, who chaired the search committee, shared how important it was to find someone of O\u2019Keefe\u2019s caliber to lead the CME, which is a recognized asset for the future growth of advanced manufacturing in Mississippi.<\/p>\n

\u201cMatt O\u2019Keefe brings exceptional experience and skills to ensure that the CME continues developing synergies with the business community resulting in long-term economic impact,\u201d Nicholas said.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Keefe began his career as a manufacturing engineer at AT&T Microelectronics. He transferred to AT&T Bell Laboratories, where he conducted applied research and development for manufacturing locations. O\u2019Keefe earned his Ph.D. while working for the Air Force Research Laboratory and continued in-house research and program management before taking a faculty position at his undergraduate alma mater.<\/p>\n

Before joining UM, O\u2019Keefe was an academic department chair, a research center director and assistant vice chancellor supervising the campus distance education program at Missouri S&T.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn many ways, each of these positions have prepared me to lead CME,\u201d O\u2019Keefe said. \u201cI applied for the position for many reasons, but the main one was that it is a unique program that provides an opportunity for students in accountancy, business and engineering to learn and work together in an area of national need: manufacturing. The curriculum that CME students experience provides a breadth to their major degree program that prepares them to have successful careers and enhance the manufacturing industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Keefe\u2019s goals include augmenting the existing program by increasing undergraduate student participation and developing a graduate program focused on helping to develop the local, state and national manufacturing professional workforce.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are the most important asset of any organization, and for educational institutions it is the success of students that is paramount,\u201d he said. \u201cTo achieve student success and grow the undergraduate program, as well as initiate a graduate program, will take additional staff and faculty along with keeping the facilities state of the art.\u201d<\/p>\n

UM administrators are pleased to welcome O\u2019Keefe to the university.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. O\u2019Keefe is an accomplished engineering faculty member and administrator who brings valuable perspectives to the Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence,\u201d said Noel Wilkin, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs. \u201cWe are fortunate to have him as the leader of this center, which has outstanding faculty and staff. We look forward to the CME reaching the next level of success under his leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Over the years, the unique CME program has attracted and graduated many outstanding engineering students who are equipped with not only the traditional technical skills, but also the practical manufacturing experiences and business and management knowledge,” said Alex Cheng, dean of the School of Engineering. “It has been one of the most important resources that raised the quality of engineering education at the university. I am pleased that Dr. O’Keefe, a highly experienced educator and administrator, will take the helm of this important organization to further raise its level of success.”<\/p>\n

CME was established in June 2008 to provide unique opportunities for students interested in manufacturing. The opportunities developed are considered distinctive to the CME and are not available to undergraduate students at other universities in the United States. The CME is developing interdisciplinary educational opportunities within an innovative academic learning model that provides students with the practical experiences, fundamental knowledge and creative skill sets needed to lead the world of modern manufacturing.<\/p>\n

Though he has received many professional honors and awards, O’Keefe said he is most pleased to have received those that were student nominated or selected.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is great to be recognized by your peers, professional societies and institution, but student recognition is the most enjoyable and rewarding,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

O’Keefe and his wife, Laura, have two married sons: Patrick (Megan) of Kansas City, Missouri, and Sam (Shelby) of Rolla, Missouri, and two grandchildren: Kennedy and Will. O’Keefe\u2019s hobbies include golf and following sports. He is a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals\u2019 fan.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OXFORD, Miss. \u2014 With decades of professional and research experience, Matthew J. O\u2019Keefe was named the new executive director of the Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence at the University of Mississippi. A Rolla, Missouri, native, O\u2019Keefe will start at CME Jan. 1. In addition to administrative oversight of personnel, facilities and operations, he isRead the story …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1330,1287,178,1297],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nMatt O'Keefe to Lead Center for Manufacturing Excellence - Ole Miss News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/matt-okeefe-lead-center-manufacturing-excellence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Matt O'Keefe to Lead Center for Manufacturing Excellence - Ole Miss News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"OXFORD, Miss. \u2014 With decades of professional and research experience, Matthew J. O\u2019Keefe was named the new executive director of the Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence at the University of Mississippi. A Rolla, Missouri, native, O\u2019Keefe will start at CME Jan. 1. In addition to administrative oversight of personnel, facilities and operations, he isRead the story …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/matt-okeefe-lead-center-manufacturing-excellence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ole Miss News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-11-29T17:34:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-11-30T14:43:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Matthew-J.-OKeefe-crop-168x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@OleMissRebels\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@OleMissRebels\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/\",\"name\":\"Ole Miss News\",\"description\":\"The official source for University of Mississippi news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/matt-okeefe-lead-center-manufacturing-excellence\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Matthew-J.-OKeefe-crop-168x300.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/matt-okeefe-lead-center-manufacturing-excellence\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/matt-okeefe-lead-center-manufacturing-excellence\/\",\"name\":\"Matt O'Keefe to Lead Center for Manufacturing Excellence - Ole Miss News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/matt-okeefe-lead-center-manufacturing-excellence\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-29T17:34:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-11-30T14:43:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/6f4ed6d2875ea26cc820d0eb0568d652\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/matt-okeefe-lead-center-manufacturing-excellence\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/6f4ed6d2875ea26cc820d0eb0568d652\",\"name\":\"esmith\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/1.gravatar.com\/avatar\/47640a561d7e19d1e29d52a4797cff04?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"esmith\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71782"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71782"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72670,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71782\/revisions\/72670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}