Dr. Yvette E. Pearson is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Strategic Initiatives in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and Associate Dean for Effectiveness and Accountability in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Texas at Dallas. A Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), Pearson is recognized globally for 30 years in higher education, particularly for her work to advance sustainability, access, and opportunity in STEM education and practice. Her university-based and consulting efforts have led to over $40M in funding for initiatives to support STEM research and implementation initiatives and changes to policies and practices of global engineering organizations.
Pearson has served as PI on S-STEM awards at multiple institutions since 2007, including a capacity-building workshop that has led to ~$30M in S-STEM awards at institutions throughout the US. She’s currently Co-PI on a Track 2 project focused on transfer student success and is leading the research on a Track 3 project that supports master’s degree students, studying how multi-team systems work across and within a range of organizational cultures to advance their common goals toward student success. A former program director in the Division of Undergraduate Education at the National Science Foundation (NSF), Pearson was a prior co-lead for the S-STEM program.
Pearson is a registered Professional Engineer, an ENVISION® Sustainability Professional and a Commissioner on ABET’s Engineering Accreditation Commission. Among her awards and honors are ABET’s Claire L. Felbinger Award for Diversity and Inclusion, ASCE’s Professional Practice Ethics and Leadership Award, the Society of Women Engineers’ Distinguished Engineering Educator Award, and ASCE’s President’s Medal. Her podcast, ENGINEERING CH∆NGE, has audiences in over 80 countries. Her book, Making a Difference: How Being Your Best Self Can Influence, Inspire, and Impel Change, chronicles her journey and her work’s focus on “making sure other ‘Yvettes’ don’t fall through the cracks.”
