2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

WIP: Developing Accessible University-Industry Pathways for Civil Engineering Students with Disabilities

This work-in-progress paper introduces a funded planning grant exploring accessible pathways from university to industry for civil engineering students with disabilities. People with disabilities can have creative and unique approaches to problem solving, particularly when navigating systems not built for them. There is a need to increase representation of this key demographic in the engineering workforce, particularly in civil engineering fields, and to address supports and barriers to doing so. Rather than placing the burden entirely on students transitioning to the workplace, we want to know how universities can catalyze mutually beneficial partnerships with industry. To this end, our yearlong project is broken into three phases: (1) synthesizing relevant literature and identifying industry partners, (2) interviewing industry professionals around collaborative synergies and barriers, and (3) developing the next stage of our research agenda. In this paper, we will present preliminary results from the phase 1 literature review and discuss the next phases of our research. By discussing this work at ASEE, we hope to further refine our approach.

Authors

Dr. Andrew L Gillen http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8021-6108 Northeastern University [biography]

Andrew L. Gillen is an Assistant Teaching Professor at Northeastern University in the First Year Engineering Program and an affiliate faculty member to Civil and Environmental Engineering. He earned his Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Virginia Tech and B.S. in Civil Engineering from Northeastern University.
Dr. Cassandra McCall http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-0240-432X Utah State University [biography]

Dr. Cassandra McCall is an Assistant Professor in the Engineering Education Department at Utah State University (USU). Her research focuses on the intersections of disability, identity formation, and culture and uses anti-ableist approaches to enhance universal access for students with disabilities in STEM, particularly in engineering. At USU, she serves as the Co-Director of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Transition Services. In 2024, Dr. McCall received a National Science Foundation CAREER grant to identify systemic opportunities for increasing the participation of people with disabilities in engineering. Her award-winning publications have been recognized by leading engineering education research journals at both national and international levels. Dr. McCall has led several workshops promoting the inclusion of people with disabilities and other minoritized groups in STEM. She holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in civil engineering with a structural engineering emphasis.
Gisele Bury Northeastern University
Dr. Logan Andrew Perry http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1558-2579 University of Nebraska - Lincoln [biography]

Dr. Perry is an Assistant Professor of Engineering Education in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His work contains a unique blend of engineering education and civil engineering projects. Dr. Perry's current work centers on understandin

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025