Women in Academia

This book provides an overview of the history and contributions of academic women in engineering and computer science, both within their own institutions, as well as at the national level, together with the current status of these women’s accomplishments and both the challenges and opportunities for the future. The book first covers the history of women in engineering and computer science, including key shifts that opened the door for women students to these fields. It then looks at the role of professional organizations and affinity groups in helping advance women academic leaders in engineering and computer science. The contributors also discuss the history and perspectives of women in engineering and computer science who have served in institutional and national leadership roles. As an important part of the Women in Engineering and Science book series, the work highlights the contribution of women leaders in academia, inspiring women and men, girls and boys to enter and apply themselves to secure our future in engineering and computer science.

Dr. Jenna P. Carpenter is Founding Dean and Professor of Engineering at Campbell University, President-Elect of the Mathematical Association of America, and Past President of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). An expert on issues impacting success of women in STEM and innovative STEM curricula, she has held national leadership roles, including WEPAN (Women in Engineering ProActive Network) President, ASEE Vice President, MAA (Mathematical Association of America) First Vice-President, Chair of the MAA Council on the Profession, Co-Chair of the Joint Committee on Women in the Mathematical Societies, Chair of the National Academies Ad Hoc Committee on the Gulf Scholars Program, and Steering Committee Chair for the National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenge Scholars Program. She is a former NSF ADVANCE PI at Louisiana Tech University and an ABET Program Evaluator. She has served on the Executive Committee of the Global Engineering Deans Council. She is a past member of the Executive Committee for the US Engineering Deans Council. Dr. Carpenter is one of four recipients awarded the 2022 Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education from the National Academy of Engineering, for her contributions as one of the pioneers of the Grand Challenges Scholars Program. In 2015 DreamBox Learning selected her as one of 10 Women in STEM Who Rock! for her advocacy and her TEDx talk, ＂Engineering: Where are the Girls and Why Aren’t They Here. She also received the 2019 ASEE Sharon Keillor Award for Women in Engineering Education, the 2023 ABET Claire Felbinger Award and is a 2023 ASEE Hall of Fame Inductee.