Andre West steps down as director of ZTE, Melissa Sharp named interim director

Wilson College of Textiles at North Carolina State University (NC State) has announced that Andre West, Ph.D., has stepped down from his position as director of Zeis Textiles Extension (ZTE), and Melissa Sharp, the associate director of ZTE, has taken over as interim director.

West will enter phased retirement and continue teaching one semester of each academic year for the next three years before retiring from NC State.

West joined the Wilson College of Textiles in August 2013 as an assistant professor in the Department of Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management. In 2018, West was named the Leader of the Year in the Wilson College of Textiles. In 2019, he became the director of ZTE.

Sharp started in her current role as associate director of ZTE in July 2019, having joined the unit in 2010. She was awarded Wilson College’s Outstanding Extension and Engagement Award in 2013, 2019 and 2025 for her continuous commitment to the advancement of textiles in North Carolina. She was also awarded the inaugural Wilson for Life Service Award in 2024.

“Her service leadership on the team has paved the way for enabling even greater success of the Wilson College and, in fact, the U.S. textile industry as a whole,” says David Hinks, the Prakash Chand Kochhar Dean of the Wilson College of Textiles.

ZTE supports both academic and professional development in the North Carolina textiles industry, housing an array of equipment for students, researchers and companies to fabricate and test new technologies.