Dr. George Wesley Hitt has been appointed as the new Inaugural Chair of the Department of Engineering at the College of Charleston. He will begin on July 20, 2026. Dr. Hitt comes to the College of Charleston with a wealth of experience initiating and growing engineering programs at Coastal Carolina University and Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi. He is dedicated to student success, and he has experience collaborating across many disciplines including the humanities, fine arts, business, and STEM. He brings a strong background in interdisciplinary engineering, having contributed to program development and accreditation efforts both in the United States and internationally. As the Inaugural Chair of Engineering at the College of Charleston, Hitt will focus on supporting faculty excellence, growing innovative academic programs, and strengthening the College’s distinctive model of undergraduate engineering education. Dr. Hitt received a B.Sc. in Physics from Virginia Commonwealth University and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. degree in experimental nuclear physics from Michigan State University. He was previously a Postdoctoral Scholar with the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, then an Associate Professor with the Department of Nuclear Engineering, Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Following his time at Khalifa University, he served as an Associate Professor with the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University. Most recently, he was Professor and Chair of the Department of Physics and Engineering Science at Coastal Carolina University, where he achieved ABET accreditation and led significant growth in engineering enrollment, degree productivity, and student success. Under his leadership, engineering enrollment more than doubled, degree production nearly tripled, and retention of Pell-eligible and underrepresented students improved substantially through targeted mentoring and supportive program development.