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The Daily OrangeEngineering Equality
First female dean strives to tackle college's unbalanced gender ratio
By Rachel Eldridge
Posted: 9/7/08, 11:20 PM EST Section: News
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
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
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