Sharon L. Walker, PhD, Reappointed as Dean of College of Engineering

Sharon Walker

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!

Sincerely,

Paul E. Jensen
Executive Vice President
Nina Henderson Provost


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