Dr. Sarah Zappe, Ph.D.
Director, Leonhard Center, Assistant Dean for Teaching and Learning, Research Professor
My journey to the Leonhard Center:
I started working in the Leonhard Center as a graduate student in 2000. After a brief stint working elsewhere, I decided I missed the Leonhard Center so much that I decided to come back full-time in 2007 as the Director of Assessment and Instructional Support. I had earned my PhD in educational psychology specializing in applied testing and measurement. As a graduate student, I never knew that I would develop expertise in the discipline of engineering education. In fact, my dissertation actually focused on the cognitive processing of law school students. Yet, I found an affinity in the Leonhard Center working with engineering faculty and began to conduct research and publish in various areas of engineering education. In 2022, I was extremely fortunate to obtain the position of Director of the Leonhard Center and Assistant Dean for Teaching and Learning in the College of Engineering. I am so excited to be in this role as I feel I have the ability to make a stronger impact on student and faculty experiences in the College!
My primary interests have been associated with the professional skill set, specifically entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation. More recently, I have begun to work more with efforts relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion, particularly in relationship with inclusive teaching in the College. In addition, I am becoming more interested in holistic faculty development, particularly in relationship to wellness and work-life balance. I have been very involved with the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) and recently finished a term as Chair of the Educational Research and Methods Division. I also often partner with VentureWell on various tasks and was awarded a research retreat from them to study failure in student entrepreneurship teams in 2019.
Sarah is passionate about:
- Faculty development
- Entrepreneurship education
- Failure in student entrepreneurial teams
- Research methods and assessment
- Inclusive teaching strategies
- Creativity
- Curiosity
- Mindfulness
- Paddle boarding
- Watercolor painting
Proud moments:
- Deputy editor of the Journal of Engineering Education (2000 to present)
- ASEE ERM Division Chair (2019 to present)
- Recipient of the 2017 Helen Plants Award for Best Special session at the Frontiers in Education conference
- Recipient of the 2016 Helen Plants Award for Best Special session at the Frontiers in Education conference
Favorite Leonhard Center Halloween costume:
Tinker Bell from Peter Pan (2018)
What to contact Sarah for:
Email Sarah if you want to know more about Leonhard Center workshops, improving teaching evaluations, or conducting research in engineering education!
