CATHY PIERONEK
ASSISTANT DEAN, ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
DIRECTOR, WOMEN'S ENGINEERING PROGRAM

Cathy Pieronek is Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs and Director of the Women’s Engineering Program at the University of Notre Dame College of Engineering.  She earned her B.S. in Aerospace Engineering cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in 1984, her M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from UCLA in 1987, and her J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in 1995.As the first director of the Women’s Engineering Program at Notre Dame, Cathy has responsibility for a number of programs housed within the College of Engineering Dean’s Office.  She serves as an academic advisor to undergraduate students, focusing particularly on the College’s female undergraduates.  She has worked within the College and across the University to address issues that affect the retention of women.  Over the last four years, she has worked to implement a variety of changes that have improved the retention of women from first year to sophomore year, bringing women’s retention on par with men’s (from ~42% in 2002 to ~70% today).  In her role as Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs, Cathy has responsibility for all issues that affect the academic progress of the College’s undergraduates.  She serves on several University committees that address the educational needs of undergraduates and the unique experiences of women on campus. Cathy’s research interests focus on engineering education, particularly, on issues that affect the persistence of women in engineering.  She has published and presented peer-reviewed papers on various aspects of her research at conferences sponsored by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Women in Engineering ProActive Network, Frontiers in Education and American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).  She incorporates her law background in her research by addressing issues of gender equity and Title IX in engineering education and recently authored a white paper and position paper for SWE on that subject.  Her work in this area has also led to several published papers in refereed law journals, and to her appearance on a number of television shows, including a Massachusetts School of Law program that won a Telly Award for outstanding cable television programming and a Davey Award for creative excellence by smaller television production companies.  She also serves as an assistant editor for the Journal of College and University Law, a publication of the National Association of College and University Attorneys and the Notre Dame Law School.