UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Amy Freeman, assistant dean of engineering outreach and inclusion at Penn State, has been elected president of the Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN). Headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, WEPAN is a non-profit educational organization founded in 1990 to be a catalyst for change to enhance the success of women in the engineering professions.
“I am excited to contribute to an organization that is focused on positively enhancing the academic and professional culture of engineering,” said Freeman. “One of WEPAN’s long-term goals is to achieve 50 percent women in the profession by 2050. I look forward to working with our strong network of men and women across the nation to bring us closer to this benchmark.”
Freeman, who begins her one-year term as president on July 1, will be responsible for providing strategic direction for the WEPAN organization and board. WEPAN is the nation’s foremost network dedicated to advancing cultures of inclusion and diversity in engineering, both in higher education and the workplace.
Prior to joining Penn State in 2000 as director of the Multicultural Engineering Program, Freeman served as director of human and cultural diversity at Lock Haven University. Her professional experience also includes seven years in construction management, first as a construction engineer at Rockwell International in Hanford, Washington, and then as owner of two construction management firms in Lock Haven.
From 2008-2010, Freeman was president of the National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates.
She is the recipient of two National Society of Black Engineers 2010 Golden Torch awards for Lifetime Achievement in Academia and for Minority Engineering Program Director of the Year. She is also the recipient of the 2015 Council of College Multicultural Leadership Way Paver Award.
Freeman holds a bachelor’s degree in construction management from Washington State University, and a master’s degree in architectural engineering and doctorate in workforce education and development from Penn State.
“As an engineering alumna, I see my term as president as an opportunity to showcase and share Penn State’s strategy for being one of the top producers of women in engineering,” said Freeman. “I have spent the greater part of my career empowering engineering scholars and professionals. WEPAN has provided significant support throughout that time. This leadership opportunity is quite an honor and I am looking forward to a productive year.”