Dr. Jenna Carpenter, associate dean for undergraduate studies and the Wayne and Juanita Spinks Professor of Mathematics and Statistics in Louisiana Tech University’s College of Engineering and Science, has been named president of the Women in Engineering Proactive Network (WEPAN) for 2014-2015. WEPAN is a not-for-profit organization with more than 700 members from engineering schools across the U.S. as well as small businesses, Fortune 500 corporations, and non-profit organizations. The organization members work to transform culture in engineering education in an effort to attract, retain, and graduate women, and develop a highly prepared, diverse engineering workforce for tomorrow. “I am excited about working this next year on WEPAN’s newest initiative, “Advancing Culture in Engineering (ACE),” said Carpenter. “ACE is a multi-year partnership between universities, corporations and professional organizations to reshape the culture in engineering to embrace diversity as a key part of innovation and success. “With 25 years of experience advancing women in engineering, WEPAN is in an excellent position to lead on this issue, which is receiving increasing attention at the national level due to the lack of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.” WEPAN’s goal is to help create a 50 percent female engineering workforce by 2050 by engaging others in ongoing programs, funded projects, partnerships and relationships, and increasing the number of women in engineering higher education. Prior to being named president, Carpenter served three terms on the WEPAN Board of Directors, where she served as co-principal investigator on the NSF-funded WEPAN Knowledge Center project and worked to develop the initial WEPAN webinar series. Carpenter received the 2013 WEPAN National Distinguished Service Award for her efforts on behalf of the organization. Written by Brandy McKnight – mcknight@latech.edu