Farrell inducted into ASEE Hall of Fame

Stephanie Farrell, Ph.D., founding chair of the Experiential Engineering Education Department (ExEEd) in the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering, has been inducted into the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) 2023 Hall of Fame.

In celebration of its 130th anniversary this year, the nonprofit organization requested nominations for the honor in order to recognize “the engineering and engineering technology education standouts whose work has made a significant impact.” The selected inductees were announced at the society’s anniversary gala in Washington, D.C. 

The Rowan University professor was among 22 individuals and three teams who were honored for their expertise in pedagogy, broadening participation, research, leadership and service, entrepreneurship, and more. The society last inducted members into its Hall of Fame in 1993 and 1968. 

"Dr. Stephanie Farrell's ASEE Hall of Fame induction reflects her unwavering commitment to advancing engineering education," said Giuseppe Palmese, Ph.D., dean of the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering. "Congratulations to a visionary leader whose impactful work inspires and raises the standards of engineering education." 

She is the former president of ASEE and former chair of its diversity committee. Also an ASEE Fellow, Farrell leads the organization’s LGBTQ+ Advocacy in STEM project, which seeks to diversify the engineering workforce by increasing the participation of LGBTQ+ students and faculty. She is also an American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Fellow and winner of its inaugural IDEAL Star Award for her work on LGBTQ+ Safe Zone Training in Conference Programming.

Farrell earned her Bachelor of Science from the University of Pennsylvania, her Master of Science from the Stevens Institute of Technology, and her Ph.D from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, all in chemical engineering. She was a chemical engineering faculty member at Louisiana Tech University for two years before joining Rowan University, where she played a vital role in establishing the chemical engineering program. 

Her home base at Rowan was in the Department of Chemical Engineering Department until 2016, when she founded the Experiential Engineering Education Department (ExEEd). She served as the interim dean of the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering from 2019 to 2021.