Dr. Glen Besterfield is the Dean of Admissions, Assistant Vice President of International Admission and Global Partnerships, and an Associate Professor of mechanical engineering at the University of South Florida. Dr. Glen Besterfield has been a member of the engineering faculty at the University of South Florida for 31 years. He received his Bachelors degree from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, Masters degree from Purdue University, and his Doctoral degree from Northwestern University, all in Mechanical Engineering.
In 2004, Dr. Besterfield transitioned from the College of Engineering to administration in Undergraduate Studies to serve as Associate Dean. His responsibilities included overseeing undergraduate advising, first generation access programs, academic services for student athletes, tutoring and learning services, first year academic programs, and student success. Then in 2010, he assumed the role of Director for University of South Florida International Program, overseeing academics, student services, finance, admissions, recruiting, marketing, enrollment services, administrative services, and immigration for international students. In 2015, he assumed a new role as Assistant Vice President for International Admissions and Global Partnerships. More recently, in 2017 he was appointed Dean of Admissions and Associate Vice President VP for Student Success, overseeing all undergraduate, graduate and International admissions to the University of South Florida.
Dr. Besterfield’s primary areas of research and scholarly work are in the fields of student success, total quality management, bridge design, thermal stresses, computational mechanics, and rehabilitation engineering. As a result of his efforts in these areas, he has received national recognition in several areas of great importance to society. His research has been funded by National Science Foundation, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Florida Department of Transportation, US Department of Veterans Affairs, Florida Department of Labor and Employment Security – Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Wolff Controls, and Montgomery Tank Lines. He has also co-written a book entitled Total Quality Management published by Prentice-Hall.