Working as a woman in the male-dominated world of engineering schools might seem like a challenge, but after living through four hurricanes, Laura Steinberg is prepared to handle a little turbulence.

Steinberg became the first female dean of the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science Aug. 1, following a yearlong search.

The opportunity to work alongside Syracuse University’s faculty and staff, and interact directly with the students drew Steinberg to Syracuse, she said. Before accepting the position, she had served for two years as a professor and chair of the Department of Environmental and Civil Engineering at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Steinberg is the first external candidate given deanship at L.C. Smith in more than a century. She is the fourth woman to serve as dean of an engineering and computer science school in the Association of American Universities, a group of 62 research colleges.

‘It is indeed rare to be a woman in this position,’ she said.

Danielle Sutton, a sophomore civil engineer major, said the dynamics involved in the program’s high male-to-female ratio can be overwhelming.

‘When I first got to Syracuse, I was surprised to see how many girls were in my engineering class, but now it seems as if more girls have dropped out since freshman year,’ she said. ‘I have only had one female TA, and all my other professors have been males.’

Steinberg has goals to tackle that unbalanced ratio by recruiting female faculty members and graduate students, as well as encouraging women in high school to study engineering and computer science, in hopes that they continue on to receive doctoral degrees in the field.

‘Colleges had 27 percent women in engineering when I was in college,’ she said. ‘Women have certainly increased their numbers in the engineering field. One of the challenges is guiding women through their undergraduate experience into their graduate education so that they stay in the program and are excited about the prospect of being an engineer.’

Before working for SMU, Steinberg spent more than a decade serving as an assistant professor and an associate professor in Tulane University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, the home of Tulane. For 10 years, Steinberg had anticipated a hurricane of that magnitude hitting the city and had told her friends to evacuate when a major storm blew their way.

‘I thought I would be back in a couple of days,’ she said. ‘I was able to make a reservation to Philadelphia to stay with my family once I realized that the hurricane looked as if it was headed towards New Orleans and it was getting stronger.’

She had previously evacuated in 1998 for Hurricane Georges, for Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and for a fourth hurricane in 2001.

Steinberg’s personal experiences have influenced her professional career by helping her create goals for L.C. Smith that reflect her belief in engineering and its influence on society.

She highlighted the differences between the engineering programs at SMU, Tulane and SU, including the program’s collaboration with other colleges on campus and its relationship with the global community.

‘I think that Syracuse is more outward looking than those schools,’ she said. ‘It’s very engaged by working with local communities and solving regional and national problems. The second thing is that the engineering school is not a stand alone college here. It clearly works closely with other colleges.’

Some of her goals for L.C. Smith involve SU’s surrounding communities.

‘One of my goals for the college is that it becomes the engineering and computer science best college in New York state,’ she said. Every high school student in the state should consider SU their best choice if they’re thinking about studying engineering or computer science, Steinberg said.

Other goals embrace the college’s hopes of situating itself globally.

Faculty members at L.C. Smith are trying to give students in-depth technical education as well as broader horizons, so students understand where engineering fits into the greater society around them. Students need to be ready to use technology to improve the lives of others and at the same time protect the environment, she said. ‘I am pleased that Syracuse University has taken the step of electing me to run L.C. Smith College,’ Steinberg said. ‘And if I can serve to encourage students and even to serve as a role model for them, I am more than delighted to be able to do that.’

rseldrid@syr.edu

Published on September 7, 2008 at 12:00 pm