‘Culture of collaboration’ is focus of EL&E Symposium Oct. 1 and 2

Union’s 13th annual Engineering and Liberal Education (E&LE) Symposium will take place virtually on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 1 and 2, 2021.

This year’s symposium – “Creating a Culture of Collaboration: Preparing the Next Generation of E&LE Scholars and Practitioners” – will feature a keynote webinar panel with three academic and industry leaders discussing the importance of diversity, inclusion, and the intersection of engineering and the arts and sciences in addressing societal issues. It will be moderated by Union President David R. Harris.

The panel – “Engineering the Future: Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and the Liberal Arts” – begins Friday, Oct. 1, at 6 p.m. The panelists are:

Jenna Carpenter, founding dean and professor of engineering at Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C.

Youngmoo Kim, director of the Expressive and Creative Interaction Technologies Center (ExCITe) and professor of electrical and computer engineering at Drexel University in Philadelphia

Shani Sandy, design executive, IBM Z

Visit here for more on the keynote panel.

Other sessions begin Friday, Oct. 1, at 12:30 p.m. and run through Saturday.

Please see the conference website for details.

“We look forward to presentations and workshops exploring the role of liberal arts and engineering education in our society,” said Rebecca Cortez, professor of mechanical engineering and director of engineering. “We will explore best practices in making engineering more accessible, particularly to underrepresented students. Finally, the conference will trace the many intersections with engineering – so familiar at Union College – that are critical in addressing complex societal issues.”

Members of the E&LE Symposium Committee are:

• Atsushi Akera, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Christopher Chandler, Union College
• Rebecca Cortez, Union College
• David Hans, IBM
• Douglas Klein, Union College
• Nicole Marshall, Union College