Below is a message from Drexel University President John Fry and
Executive Vice President and Nina Henderson Provost Paul E. Jensen, PhD
I am pleased to announce Sharon Walker, PhD, has been reappointed dean
of the College of Engineering. Dean Walker was up for reappointment
after completing her five-year term.
Dean Walker was appointed dean during a challenging time for the College
and has made significant strides to put it on course for a stronger
future. Under her leadership, the College developed and launched its
2020 Strategic Plan and led a multi-year cluster hiring process to
recruit faculty expertise in strategic thematic areas. Dean Walker also
expanded the CoE leadership team — adding roles in enrollment, strategy
and innovation, research, first-year experience, and diversity, equity
and inclusion — to meet the Plan’s strategic imperatives. Through these
efforts and enhanced partnerships with EMSS, the College attracted and
enrolled the highest percentage of women and underrepresented minority
undergraduate students than ever before and, last year, achieved the
lowest melt rate for first-year students and highest transfer enrollment
and yield rates in recent years.
In 2019, the College of Engineering gained membership into the Kern
Family Foundation’s Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network, a
partnership of more than 50 colleges and universities that support
faculty development and foster students’ entrepreneurial mindset. The
College has continued to expand its internal and external partnerships,
launching the Drexel Engineering Alumni Industry Board and creating
workforce development programs with partners like Lockheed Martin and
Manufacturing x Digital (MxD).
While bolstering the success of the College, Dean Walker expanded her
role as a change agent and champion of diversity with two National
Science Foundation-funded ADVANCE grants — one of which examined faculty
salary equity and the second which examined promotion policies and
practices for women and BIPOC faculty. Dean Walker was also appointed
Executive Director of ELATES at Drexel, a national faculty leadership
development program that received the 2023 ACE State Network Award from
the American Council on Education.
I want to thank Dean Ana Deiz Roux for chairing the review, as well as
the review committee for their time and effort in this process. Please
join me in congratulating Dean Walker on her reappointment and thanking
her for her ongoing service to Drexel!
Paul E. Jensen
Executive Vice President
Nina Henderson Provost