Rich Wells is appointed to Brazosport College Board of Regents

New Brazosport College Board of Regents member Rich Wells, left, is sworn in by Board of Regents Chair Carolyn Johnson at the Board of Regents’ August meeting Monday at Brazosport College.

Brazosport College is pleased to announce the appointment of Rich Wells to the school’s Board of Regents. 

Wells, a member of The Dow Chemical Company Operations Leadership Team, is Vice President of U.S. Gulf Coast Operations and Site Director of Texas Operations. He was sworn in at the August Board of Regents meeting. 

“I’m a firm believer in giving back to the community, especially a community that has given so much to Dow,” Wells said. “I can’t think of a better way to accomplish this than being a regent for this fine institution.” 

Over the course of his 36-year career with The Dow Chemical Company, Wells has held leadership roles in a wide range of areas, including Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering (M&E), Business Leadership, EH&S (Environment, Health and Safety), Energy and Climate Change and Public Policy.

Wells is responsible for 10 advanced manufacturing sites, the Texas Innovation Center (a state-of-the-art R&D campus) and the Houston Dow Center (a strategic engineering and business hub). 

As the Site Director for Dow Texas Operations, he leads one of the largest integrated petrochemical manufacturing sites in the world. The site employs more than 8,000 people, producing products that are used in industrial and consumer applications including food packaging, health care, automobiles, construction and electronics. He is also President and CEO of Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) and he sits on the UCC Board of Directors.

In addition to his professional endeavors, Wells is a board member of the Texas Chemical Council, the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, FIRST in Texas, the Greater Houston Partnership and the Economic Development Alliance forBrazoria County.

Wells graduated with highest honors from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering, and was named an outstanding recent graduate of his alma mater in 1992. 

Wells resides in Lake Jackson with his wife Trudy. They have two sons, Zachery, a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, and Andrew, a mechanical engineering student at Michigan Tech. He is an avid runner having completed multiple marathons, and also enjoys reading and keeping abreast of current political events.

Wells takes over for Sharon Rogers, who stepped down from the board in June after serving the College since 2001.