Jeffery D. Houghton has been named director of the Master of Science in Industrial Relations (MSIR) program at West Virginia Universitys College of Business and Economics.

Originally from Marion County, Houghton comes to WVU from Abilene Christian University, where he was associate professor of management and a researcher-in-residence.

A doctoral graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Houghton has published research on leadership, self-leadership and personality and individual differences.

Houghton received an undergraduate degree from Fairmont State University and a MBA from WVU . He was faculty-in-residence for Abilene Christian in Uruguay, England and Austria. Previously he had been chairperson of the management department at Lipscomb University in Nashville.

He has published articles in theJournal of Business and Psychology,theInternational Journal of Leadership Studiesand theJournal of Managerial Psychology,among others.

Houghton replaces Randy Elkin, who stepped down from the post but still teaches. Elkin joined WVU in 1973 and had led the program since the mid-1980s.