Roald honored for welcoming women

On April 16, 2024, Dean Ian Robertson held an event to recognize engineering faculty and staff for outstanding contributions. Line Roald, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and a Grainger Institute fellow, received the Inclusion, Equity and Diversity Award.

Particularly in her department, Roald’s work has yielded very tangible impacts on ECE’s recruitment, retention and preparation of a more diversified engineering workforce for the future. When she arrived on campus in 2018, she immediately became a leader in ECE initiatives to improve the department climate and to create a more welcoming, inclusive community, particularly for women. Due in part to Line’s many efforts, the overall percentage of women enrolled in ECE has increased over the past few years. For example, she was lead faculty organizer for the Women in ECE group–which now is vibrant, active and student-driven.

As the department’s representative to the college Graduate Engineering Research Scholars program, Roald was instrumental in increasing the number of graduate students from underrepresented groups in ECE; she also ensured those students were admitted with faculty advisor commitments and support packages. She regularly hosts social events to strengthen the students’ connections and sense of community. In addition to the formal mentoring and professional development she provides students, Roald is an informal student mentor who is seen in ECE as a key support resource for students dealing with myriad challenges. She also is an inclusive educator whose teaching is grounded in best practices, and she readily shares tools with teaching assistants so that they, too, can contribute to a positive student experience, especially for first- and second-year ECE undergraduates.