WEPAN President Sheila Ross named first female chair of the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at Milwaukee

WASHINGTON, DC (June 7, 2021) – Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN) President Dr. Sheila Ross has been promoted to chair of the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) Department at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE). She is the first person to hold this position.

Ross is an associate professor and electrical engineering program director at MSOE. She serves on university committees creating policy and recommendations, advises MSOE's student chapter of the Society of Women Engineers, shares research on diversity with other engineering faculty, and participates in outreach to K-12 schools. She received the "Making a Difference for Women at MSOE" award in recognition of her institutional contributions.

Ross developed a workshop series on Universal Design for Leaning (UDL), which supports learners with a wide variety of challenges, including those due to neurological differences such as ASD and ADHD, as well as a wide variety of other challenges faced by students such as stereotype threat, differences in pre-college experiences, and diverse learning and communication styles.

She has been active in WEPAN for several years, previously serving as Proceedings Chair and Conference Chair for the WEPAN Change Leader Forum and Hi-5 Chair for CoNECD. Recognized as the leading champion in North America for leveraging research and best practices to propel the inclusion of women in the field of engineering, WEPAN advocates to fully embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion to meet the demands of today's innovation and performance-driven business culture.

Ross holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Applied and Computational Sciences from Marquette University; and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also holds a professional Certificate in Executive Function and Learning Differences from Landmark College and is a member of Eta Kappa Nu Honor Society and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

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About WEPAN

WEPAN is a non-profit educational organization founded in 1990. It is the nation's first network dedicated to advancing cultures of inclusion and diversity in engineering higher education and workplaces. WEPAN connects people, research, and practice. It offers power initiatives, projects, and professional development that equips advocates with the tools to create sustainable, systems-level changes that allow ALL in engineering to thrive. To learn more, visit wepan.org.