My Interest in ASCN: Olga Pierrakos

James Madison University
Engineering
Associate Professor and Founding Faculty

Prior Organizational Change Work

As founding faculty member of the JMU engineering program, I was in a unique position to influence the curriculum and the undergraduate experience (formal and informal). I led many efforts during this building phase of the program as described previously. Currently, I am serving as a program officer at the National Science Foundation in the Division of Undergraduate Education. In this role, I am serving as a change agent to support the engineering education community.

How ASCN Can Contribute to my Work

As a founding faculty of the JMU engineering program. I led efforts with NSF support to integrate a developmental and adaptive problem based learning model across the curriculum, led department assessment efforts on outcomes based learning, co-led the development of the six course design sequence of courses, and led the development of the two year capstone experience. I would love to learn how such innovative change can be sustained and improved, as well as transferred to other departments within my institution and across other engineering programs.

How I Can Contribute to ASCN

Please see response above. I have innovated as a founding faculty member of a brand new engineering program and during this journey there have been successes and failures. I hope to share both of these (successes and failures) and grow together.