Director

Dr. Lizabeth Thompson is the Director of General Engineering and a professor in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering. She has been at Cal Poly for nearly 30 years and has held various positions on campus including Co-Director of LAES, Director of Women’s Engineering Programs, and CENG Interim Associate Dean. Her research is in Engineering Education, particularly equitable classroom practices, integrated learning, and institutional change. She spent the 2019-2020 academic year at Cal State LA where she taught and collaborated on research related to equity and social justice. With her colleagues at Cal State LA she recently received an NSF grant called Eco-STEM which aims to transform STEM education using an asset-based ecosystem model. Specifically, the Eco-STEM project focuses on shifting the metaphor in STEM education from a factory model to an ecosystem model. This Ecosystem model aspires towards an organic and healthy environment that nurtures students, faculty, and staff to become individuals fulfilled professionally and personally. She is also a Co-PI on an NSF S-STEM grant called ENGAGE which is working to make a more robust transfer pathway for local Community college students. Dr. Thompson is a Co-PI on a newly awarded NSF ADVANCE grant with other universities within the CSU. She is a co-advisor to Engineers without Borders and Critical Global Engagement at Cal Poly.