Wichita State University's College of Engineering announced the appointment of John Lovitt as the Sam Bloomfield Distinguished Engineer in Residence. Lovitt is a tech startup industry executive, investor and advisor, based out of San Francisco.

Lovitt, who graduated from WSU in 1968 with a degree in aeronautical engineering, will share with students, faculty and staff lessons gleaned from a career as a successful engineering entrepreneur. He will be a member of the Pathways to Innovations team co-led by James Steck and Steven Skinner. The Pathways team was established to help the faculty of the College of Engineering incorporate innovation and entrepreneurship into engineering education.

“Having John invest significant time with us throughout the year will be invaluable,” said Skinner, associate dean of undergraduate studies, finance and administration of the College of Engineering.

Steck, professor of aerospace engineering, echoed Skinner's statement. “His insight will help us build partnerships across campus and within the community to encourage an entrepreneurial mindset among our students,” said Steck.

In 1970, Lovitt received a master’s degree in computer science from Missouri University of Science and Technology, where he initiated the position of entrepreneur in residence. He has also taught leadership and entrepreneurship to high school students in Eastern Europe and China, and is an active mentor at Santa Clara University Global Social Benefit Institute of the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship.

Lovitt began his career while attending WSU as a computer operator and programmer at Beech Aircraft Co. and continued as a systems engineer at McDonnell Douglass Corp. He then worked at Hewlett-Packard for 13 years before joining Rational Software in 1986. Rational Software, now a part of IBM, helps organizations improve their software development capability. Lovitt played a key role in shaping Rational’s team-oriented approach to achieving customer results by accelerating adoption of tools and best practices. During his 17-year tenure at Rational, Lovitt’s titles included vice president of worldwide services and senior vice president of worldwide field operations.

In 2003, he became CEO of Pattern Insight and devoted himself to mentoring executive teams in early-stage technology companies and social benefit endeavors to develop and grow organizations.

“John’s unique experiences in both the corporate and academic realms make him an ideal candidate to be this year’s Sam Bloomfield Distinguished Engineer in Residence at Wichita State University,” said Royce Bowden, dean of the WSU College of Engineering.

The Sam Bloomfield Distinguished Engineer in Residence program is supported by the Sam and Rie Bloomfield Foundation. Sam Bloomfield, an aeronautical engineer, was president of Swallow Airplane Co., based in Wichita, from 1934 to 1956. He was an entrepreneur and inventor who acquired 23 U.S. patents for his innovations.