Research Development Staff

Matthew Reichert
Associate Vice President for Research

Matthew Reichert joined the Office of Research and Economic Development as Assistant Vice President for Research in February 2019. He has been with the University of South Alabama since 2010 and is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry. Prior to joining the University, Dr. Reichert was an Assistant Research Professor at the U.S. Naval Academy.

In addition to guiding the Research Development unit within ORED, Matthew also teaches Organic Chemistry and maintains an active research group, where he mentors research students and has active research funding from various agencies. His research group focuses on the synthesis of ionic liquids and their applications, and has most recently ventured into the field of additive manufacturing.

He received his B.S. in Chemistry from Berry College and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from The University of Alabama. He is an active member in the American Chemical Society and represents the local section at national meetings as a councilor. He is also a member of the Electrochemical Society. On campus, his service has included a term as Faculty Senate president. As the faculty advisor for the Student Affiliate of the American Chemical Society, he helps plan outreach events including Chem Scouts, Girls Exploring Math and Science workshops, and Boy Scout Jag Merit Badge Jubilee workshops.

Angela Jordan
Director of Research Development

(251) 460-6507
ajordan@uupt.net

Angela Jordan has been with the Office of Research and Economic Development since 2016. Her focus is on supporting proposal development, research collaborations, ORED internal competitions, funding opportunity identification, limited submissions, faculty development programming, and research communications.

She joined South in 2013 to do proposal development for USA's School of Computing. She has worked on many proposals, including the planning grant and full proposal for USA's successful application to become part of an NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Advanced Research in Forensic Science. She helped write the grant for, and assisted with the kickoff of, the NSF I-Corps Site at USA.

Currently, she is a doctoral candidate in instructional design at USA's College of Education, writing her dissertation on participatory team science faculty development training. She holds an ABD for a PhD in English literature from Indiana University and has a BA in English with a concentration in fiction writing from Northwestern University. At Indiana University she taught English for five years.

She is an active member of the National Organization of Research Development Professionals and current co-chair of the Mentoring Committee. On campus, she serves on the planning committee for the annual Go Explore Math and Science half day workshop.

Roe Van Derwood
Proposal Editor

Roe Van Derwood is a poet and Mobile native who joined the Office of Research and Economic Development as a graduate assistant in summer 2024. They received their B.A. in English, minoring in Gender Studies, from South in spring 2024 and are now pursuing an M.A. in Creative Writing.

During their bachelor's program, Roe was both a JagPAL for Composition courses and Writing Center consultant. They have performed a variety of roles for Oracle literary magazine- this year, they're Prose Editor. They also led the LGBTQ+ organization, Spectrum, as president; helped create JagWriters, a club for creative writers; and, in their final year, served as president of the Gender Studies honors organization Triota. As a result, much of their academic and professional career has been dedicated to the specific needs of writers and other community members at the University of South Alabama. Their relevant experience elsewhere includes tutoring with Chegg, freelance editing via Upworks, and an editing internship with Negative Capability Press.

Besides writing and editing, they are passionate about animal husbandry and currently accommodate the daily needs of a ball python, plains hognose, uromastyx lizard, a dog (Peruvian Inca Orchid), and a cat (regular). They spend most of their free time visiting various museums with their partner.