BOB WESSELS served the Harris County Courts system (Texas) for 37 years, 35 as court manager (1974-2011), where he implemented performance-based case management systems and introduced measures to identify and prioritize the disposition of cases in which the defendant was incarcerated and had mental health issues. Currently, Mr. Wessels serves as vice chair, Judicial Committee on Information Technology, State of Texas; on the Board of SEARCH, the National Consortium for Criminal Justice Information and Statistics; and as program coordinator, the Executive Forum for Criminal Justice Planners, Corrections Management Institute, Criminal Justice Center, Sam Houston State University. He has taught court management, judicial administration, and management information systems as an adjunct professor at the University of Houston, Clear Lake, and Sam Houston State University, and for the Institute for Court Management and the Texas Center for the Judiciary. He is a founding member of the Texas Association for Court Administration (TACA), NACM (past president), and the Urban Court Managers Network. Mr. Wessels was the first recipient of the Justice Charles W. Barrow Award and has received numerous other awards recognizing his contributions to court administration. In 1996 the Bob Wessels Scholarship was created by TACA. He received his B.B.A. from Sam Houston State University and an M.A. from the University of Houston, Clear Lake, and is a Fellow of the Institute for Court Management.
