In March we celebrated International Women’s Day, a day in which we applauded the achievements and exceptional contributions of our female faculty, staff, and students who enrich, uplift, and improve UConn Engineering every day through their legacy of contributions.

While encumbered with challenges, these are exciting days for the University of Connecticut and for the School of Engineering, with momentous initiatives in education, research, and engagement underway and on the near-horizon.  Over the next decade, UConn Engineering will achieve new heights.  Growth is not without its complexities,  but there are a few easy canons. One such rule is that we cannot expect to have a fully-realized School until we have reversed the underrepresentation of women in our faculty and student population.  In that respect, I want to acknowledge the dedicated, keen efforts of the department search committees in recruiting top female engineers and scientists to UConn.  I am thrilled at the number and quality of the female engineering faculty that will be joining us next year. I am also proud of Associate Dean Dan Burkey’s leadership in significantly improving the pool of female student applicants to the School for Fall 2018 (and therefore expected female enrollment). 

Progress on this front is a triumph for all of us in the School of Engineering and will translate into a more diverse and vibrant UConn Engineering community.  As we continue to strive toward that goal, I wish to continue honoring our UConn Engineering women on that day, as well as every day, with pride and appreciation. Please join me in thanking our female engineering faculty, staff and students for their commitment and important contributions.

-Kazem Kazerounian, Dean, UConn School of Engineering