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

quark A quark () is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nucleus, atomic nuclei ...

s and related

subatomic particle In physics, a subatomic particle is a particle smaller than an atom. According to the Standard Model of particle physics, a subatomic particle can be either a composite particle, which is composed of other particles (for example, a baryon, lik ...

s at

CERN The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in Meyrin, western suburb of Gene ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. Sessoms worked in the

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

for 12 years, rising to the position of deputy ambassador at the Embassy of the United States, Mexico City. He later served as president of

Queens College, City University of New York Queens College (QC) is a public college in the New York City borough of Queens. Part of the City University of New York system, Queens College occupies an campus primarily located in Flushing. Queens College was established in 1937 and offe ...

Delaware State University Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a Statutory college#Outside New York State, privately governed, state-assisted Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Land-grant university, land-grant research universi ...

, 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., United States. The only public university in the city, it traces its origins to 1851 and opened in its current form in 1 ...

Education

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

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

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

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

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

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

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). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

at the

Brookhaven National Laboratory Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratories, United States Department of Energy national laboratory located in Upton, New York, a hamlet of the Brookhaven, New York, Town of Brookhaven. It w ...

working on computer programs, and the production of

s at the

Fermilab Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), located in Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago, is a United States Department of Energy United States Department of Energy National Labs, national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle phys ...

Career

In 1973, Sessoms became a scientific associate at the

researching quarks and related

s. 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 from 1987 to 1989. Sessoms was minister-counselor of political affairs at the Embassy of the United States, Mexico City 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 Public university, public university system of the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes six campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, University of Massachusetts Lowell ...

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 at the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. From 2 ...

. 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 Soka Gakkai-affiliated 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 the 20 u ...

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 The American Physical Society honors members with the designation ''Fellow'' for having made significant accomplishments to the field of physics. The following lists are divided chronologically by the year of designation. * List of fellows of the ...

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