A decision he made in high school to remain in Huntsville to be close to his family and get his secondary education at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) "turned out to be a wise one," says Dr. Everett K. Roper.
Dr. Roper (’09, Industrial and Systems Engineering, PhD; ’08, Industrial and Systems Engineering, MS; ’97, Computer Science, MS; ’93, Electrical Engineering, BS), is one of four Alumni of Achievement being honored by the UAH Alumni Association on Tuesday, Aug. 1, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Room 112 of the Student Services Building. Attendees may RSVP at surveymonkey.com/r/AoARSVP. Questions may be emailed to alumni@uah.edu.
Currently, Dr. Roper is assistant product manager/launcher and test set principal engineer at the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center - Joint Attack Munition Systems Project Office at Redstone Arsenal.
"I currently provide technical support to JAMS. My responsibilities include providing leadership, policy guidance and interpretation of program objectives to project office elements in order to meet long range plans and goals."
Dr. Roper is responsible for planning, coordinating and controlling all functional areas, as well as the allocation and utilization of all resources involved in managing and accomplishing mission objectives for the JAMS Family of Launchers and Test Sets. Additionally, he serves as Test Set liaison to the JAMS International Program Office (IPO) on all Foreign Military Sales (FMS), and serves as the customer interface to users and potential stakeholders for Test Sets.
Earlier in his career, he was an assistant professor at Oakwood University, where he taught computer information systems and engineering courses.
"I was fortunate to be able to pass on my knowledge of computer science and engineering to the students while sharpening my technical expertise," Dr. Roper says. "From this experience, I was able to mentor many young adults and made lasting friendships along the way."
But back in the late ’80s, he was deciding whether to pursue an engineering degree at the same out-of-state university his brothers attended, or stay closer to home.
"After submitting applications to three different schools, UAH being one, I decided to remain in Huntsville to be close to family," he says. "As a result, my situation is no doubt unique in that I received all four of my degrees from UAH."
Dr. Roper says he was advised early in his career that obtaining advanced degrees at different levels from one institution was not wise.
"However, as I matriculated through my bachelors and graduate degrees, I was impressed with UAH’s academic rigor, as well as the relationships that I made with faculty and classmates. Additionally, my co-op experience tied me directly with local industry and facilitated simultaneous on-the-job experience," he says. "Eventually, what started out as part-time evening coursework in pursuit of a master’s degree soon turned into a full-time graduate teaching assistantship and subsequently a PhD in engineering management."
The long hours he put in at UAH during his matriculation made a lasting impression.
"My fondest memories were the late nights studying in the engineering building in the computer lab," Dr. Roper says, "oftentimes leaving the campus in the early morning hours just before daybreak, only to return a few hours later for a morning class or scheduled study session with classmates."
Dr. Roper’s educational pursuits did not stop after completion of his doctorate. Recently he obtained an Executive MBA from the University of North Alabama.
Dr. Roper is married to Dr. Kem Roper, who is also an alum of UAH, as well as a former faculty member in the Department of English. Dr. Kem Roper graduated from UAH with a master’s degree in English and went on to pursue a doctorate in Rhetoric and Composition from the University of Louisville. She is currently an assistant professor at Oakwood University. They have two daughters, Eryn (15) and Edyn (11) and reside in Toney.
