Julia Ross Named Dean of Engineering at Virginia Tech

A new report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center finds that in engineering, women earned 25 percent or less of all degrees at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels (see WIAReport post). Thus, the appointment of a woman to lead one of the nation’s most prestigious engineering schools must be viewed as a milestone event.

Julia Ross was named dean of the College of Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. When she takes office in July, she will hold the title of the Paul and Dorothea Torgersen Dean of Engineering and will hold tenured faculty appointments in the department of chemical engineering and the department of engineering education.

Dr. Ross has been serving as dean of engineering and information technology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She joined the faculty there in 1995. Dr. Ross’ research focuses on the role of fluid dynamics in infection formation in the human cardiovascular system.

Dr. Ross is a graduate of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, where she majored in chemical engineering. She holds a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Rice University in Houston.