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Biography

Beth is currently Assistant Vice Provost for Student Success Initiatives at the University of babyֱ��app Boulder where she oversees and leads campus-wide undergraduate education initiatives that enhance student success. Her previous roles include Director of Analytics, Assessment and Accreditation and Research Associate, performing program evaluation and assessment for multiple undergraduate and K-12 engineering programs. Beth earned a Masters in Engineering in engineering management, a Master Black Belt in Six Sigma and a PhD in civil engineering.

Beth has extensive experience in both quantitative and qualitative research, assessment and evaluation facilitating continuous improvement of engineering programs and centers. She has done evaluation for the Integrated Teaching and Learning Program including their NSF-funded GK-12 project, the Engineering BOLD Center and GoldShirt Programs. She was a strategic member of the team that created and implemented diversifying programs, policies and practices in the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of babyֱ��app Boulder that resulted in improved student performance and persistence, as well as dramatic increases in the representation of women and underrepresented minority students pursuing engineering education at institution. Beth volunteers as an external program evaluator for ABET and is a committee Member of National Academy of Engineering Committee on Sharing Exemplary Admission Practice that Promote Diversity in Engineering, 2019-2021. Beth was a member of the team that designed and created the innovative Engineering Plus degree—a design-focused undergraduate engineering degree that allows a more flexible path to improve engineering retention and create a pathway to K-12 teacher licensure. She created a 20+ cohort retention database for analyzing student outcomes for CU engineering college and spearheaded the addition of CU data to the large and growing Multiple-Institution Database for Investigating Engineering Longitudinal Development (MIDFIELD) dataset, and has been a reviewer for the National Science Foundation since 2017.

Beth's dissertation research entitled: Evaluating Admission Practices as Potential Barriers to Creating Equitable Access to Undergraduate Engineering Education stemmed from her understanding and interest in access and recruiting pathways. From this work, she has created research-based, data-supported policy suggestions to broaden participation in engineering education.

In 2017, Beth spearheaded the successful accreditation of twelve engineering programs. She has taught an undergraduate research seminar and a first-year seminar that helps students transition to college. Beth's goal is to facilitate the continuous improvement of the educational experiences of students, particularly those from diverse backgrounds, and guide policy and practice changes that ensure equity within higher education. Her interests are in quantitative and qualitative research and analytics related to equity policies in education.

Beth was the keynote speaker at “To Diversity and Beyond” collaboration workshop November 2016. Representatives from 18 institutions participated in the collaboration, hosted by the University of Queensland Women in Engineering (WE) Program that centered on knowledge sharing of gender equity educational programs and recruitment initiatives aimed at increasing the participation of women in engineering studies in Australia and New Zealand.

Beth was recognized as the Rising Star for Diversity by the Collaborative Network for Engineering and Computing Diversity (CoNECD) in 2019 and as the Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN) Leader in Engineering Education 2020.

Q&A

What made you decide to pursue a degree or certificate in Engineering Management?
I wanted to use applied statistics to improve engineering education and the Engineering Management degree positioned me well to do that successfully.

Why did you choose the Engineering Management Program at CU Boulder?
I have been working for the University of babyֱ��app for the last 21 years; it made sense for me to pursue my graduate degree(s) from CU-Boulder since I was already an alumna and worked here full-time.

How did the program help you in your career?
The curriculum helped me learn the necessary statistical and research methods to push the boundaries in education. Seeing what is possible in industry allowed me to suggest similar approaches to education.

What was your favorite graduate EMEN class/professor? Why?
Leadership with Barbara Lawton and the applied statistics and research methods courses with Jeff Luftig.

What advice would you give a new student in the program?
Stay open-minded about the class examples, keep looking for all the ways what you are learning in class applies to every part of your life. I see what I learned in EMP courses appearing all around me.

How would you summarize your experience with the program? 
I would describe my experience with the Engineering Management Program as enlightening and very supportive. Because I wanted to use applied statistics to improve engineering education there wasn't a direct fit in one degree program, however, I found the Engineering Management degree positioned me well to do that successfully and I was able to tailor my projects to be educationally focused. The curriculum helped me learn the necessary statistical and research methods to push the boundaries in education and seeing what was possible in industry allowed me to suggest similar approaches in higher education.