2006 Honorary Degree
John W. Reese Jr.
Doctor Of Technology
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His record of achievements in business, industry, higher education and national security spans more than half a century, including careers as a naval officer and industry executive. Presently retired and living in Solvang, Calif., he remains involved with community activities.
A Baltimore, Md., native, Reese attended Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Naval Post-Graduate School before getting his master's degree in industrial engineering at Purdue in 1954.
Reese served 21 years in the U.S. Navy attaining the rank of Commander. He received numerous commendations for his engineering expertise and research in such divergent fields as underwater sound transmission and rocket propulsion.
His civilian career started in 1964, when he joined AVCO Missiles System Group in Massachusetts, where he was responsible for manufacture of the Apollo Reentry Heat Shield, a critical element of the Man-in-Space Program.
In 1969, he joined Raytheon Company and, in 1973, was promoted to vice president of manufacturing of Caloric Company, a Raytheon subsidiary. Reese was appointed plant manager of the Electro-Magnetic Systems Division in 1981, producing electronic countermeasure systems for shipboard and aircraft battlefield safety. He served in that position until retirement in 1991, a period punctuated by significant growth, product complexity and physical expansion.
Academia has been very important to Reese. He helped establish an industrial engineering certificate program at Aurora College in Illinois and was a founding member of the Raytheon Industrial Engineering Council, working with Northeastern University and the University of Rhode Island to establish a degree program for manufacturing engineers. He served as a visiting professor at Purdue from 1992-94 and has been a generous friend of the College of Technology the last 20 years. He is a life member of the President’s Council.
Reese’s community involvement includes work with the American Red Cross, Santa Barbara Arts Council, Santa Barbara Community College Theatre Group, The Santa Barbara City Council and currently is president of Rotary International’s Los Olivos Chapter.