School of Engineering Professors Collaborate to Advance Women Faculty

RU NEWFACE (Rutgers Network of Women Faculty in Engineering) is a new initiative at Rutgers School of Engineering designed to support women engineering faculty members’ professional growth and visibility through a collaborative mentoring, colleagueship, and leadership.  

RU NEWFACE team leader Annalisa Scacchioli, an associate teaching professor in the School of Engineering’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, outlines initial plans to include supporting interdisciplinary collaborations and creating new opportunities for women engineering faculty in research and academic endeavors, supporting the development and retention of women faculty together with school departments and senior leadership, and inspiring a diverse student body to attain leadership roles in engineering. 

“We have a very ambitious goal, or dream if you will,” states Scacchioli. “We hope that over time our RU-NEWFACE network will grow, allowing women faculty and students in engineering and science from other universities in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania to connect and support each other."  

In addition to Scacchioli, the RU-NEWFACE team consists of SoE tenure track, tenured, and teaching-track women faculty from diverse departments: 

• Kimberly Cook-Chennault, Associate Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and SoE Associate Dean of Diversity Equity and Inclusive Excellence 

• Nicole Fahrenfeld, Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering 

• Lisa Klein, Distinguished Professor and Chair, Materials Science and Engineering 

• Nina Shapley, Associate Professor, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering  

• Maria Striki, Assistant Teaching Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering  

• Maribel Vazquez, Professor, Biomedical Engineering 

• Elin Wicks, Associate Teaching Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering 

“Ensuring that our entire faculty community is supported in their teaching and research is of utmost importance to me,” says School of Engineering Dean Alberto Cuitiño. “Established and led by women engineering faculty, RU-NEWFACE is growing a network of engagement and mentorship not only at Rutgers, but among other universities in the region. I look forward to seeing the program grow and flourish,"  

RU-NEWFACE Activities and Events 

To date, RU-NEWFACE has hosted a series of events to benefit women SoE faculty, including an initial meeting for SoE women faculty to get to know each other. Two inaugural “Women Faculty in Engineering Luncheons” featured roundtables with invited internal and external speakers, which focused on inclusiveness, mentoring, leadership, and challenges for women faculty in engineering. Funding has been provided by the University Equity and Inclusion Office at Rutgers through the Mutual Mentoring Grant Program." 

The fall semester’s guest speakers included: 

• Sangeeta Rao, Rutgers University Equity and Inclusion Senior Director of Mentoring and Faculty Outreach  

• Victoria Banyard, Rutgers University Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Director of the Center for Faculty Success  

• Wendie S. Cohick, Rutgers University Vice Provost for Research, former Dean of Research and Graduate Education of the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, and Director of Research of the NJ Agricultural Experiment Station  

• Sharon Walker, Drexel University Dean of the College of Engineering and Director of the national program ELATES (Executive Leadership in Academic Technology, Engineering and Science)  

Three more luncheons and roundtables are scheduled for the spring semester that will be open to the entire SOE community. “We are excited for all of the guest speakers who have accepted our invitations for the spring semester,” reports Scacchioli. They include: 

• Catherine N. Duckett, Monmouth University School of Science Associate Dean, on February 6, 2025 

• Andrea Goldsmith, Princeton University Dean of Engineering and Applied Science and Arthur LeGrand Doty Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Stanford University Harris Professor Emerita on March 27, 2025 

• City University of New York Associate Vice Chancellor and University Vice Provost for Research Rosemarie Wesson on April 4, 2025 

Also, this spring, a listening session and climate survey is planned to help Rutgers Engineering women faculty better understand and identify current obstacles to professional development.