Luster-Teasley Named N.C. A&T College of Engineering Interim Dean

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (March 22, 2022) – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University announced Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Stephanie Luster-Teasley ‘96, Ph.D., has been named interim dean of the College of Engineering, effective May 16.

Luster-Teasley will succeed Robin N. Coger, Ph.D., who will become provost and senior vice chancellor at East Carolina University, where she also will hold an academic appointment in its College of Engineering and Technology.

A 2021 graduate of the UNC Executive Leadership Institute, Luster-Teasley was named A&T’s vice provost for undergraduate education in May 2021 after serving in the role on an interim basis since September 2020.

“Dr. Luster-Teasley has demonstrated her deep commitment to student success and student experience throughout her career at North Carolina A&T,” said Interim Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Tonya Smith-Jackson, Ph.D. “With her focus on cultivating leaders who excel at academics, innovation and research, she is prepared to advance the college’s mission to create innovative and collaborative solutions that address the evolving societal and economic challenges that our state, nation and world are facing.”

Luster-Teasley has served as a faculty member in the COE Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering since 2004. In 2010, she led the A&T team that developed the National 4-H Science Youth Day experiment which was used to teach millions of K-8 students worldwide about water quality, energy use and global warming.

During her tenure as department chair from 2016 to 2020, Luster-Teasley increased enrollment from 240 to 321 students, revived alumni support and engagement to include service and donations, and successfully renewed Architectural Engineering Program Accreditation and Civil Engineering Program ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering & Technology) Accreditation, among many other accomplishments.

Her research specializations include environmental remediation, water sustainability and engineering education. She has received patents from the United States, Great Britain and Canada for development of a controlled-release chemical oxidation polymer system for remediation of water and wastewater – the first African American woman and first faculty member at A&T to receive international patents. Her technology was licensed in 2017 by a company to market nationally as an emerging remediation method for groundwater and soil contamination.

Luster-Teasley’s research has been funded by the U.S. Department of Education for developing a mentoring program for students in STEM disciplines, the National Science Foundation for developing and implementing case studies modules in science labs, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund to implement science programs for middle school girls, and others. She serves as co-Principal Investigator for the NCA&T ADVANCE-IT grant, which seeks to increase equity and help implement programs for female faculty to successfully progress through academia from assistant to full professorship. Overall, her research and professional development grants have yielded more than $8 million in funding.

In recognition of Luster-Teasley’s excellence in teaching, research and service, she has received the 2005 National Women of Color in Technology Educational Leadership Award, the 2006 N.C. A&T State University Rookie Researcher of the Year Award and the 2008 N.C. A&T State University Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence Award.

Additionally, she received the UNC Board of Governors Teaching Excellence Award – one of the highest awards conferred for teaching in the UNC System – in 2013, the DuPont Minorities in Engineering Award at the National American Society for Engineering Education in 2014, the Black Engineer of the Year Innovation Award in 2018, and the ASEE Environmental Service Award and Michigan State University (MSU) Civil and Environmental Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award in 2020. She also was recently invited to serve on the MSU College of Engineering Alumni Advisory Board.

“Over the last 16 years, I have been driven by a deep commitment and care for my students,” said Luster-Teasley. “As interim College of Engineering dean, I will continue to champion the excitement of real-world, hands-on experience and meaningful research in support of A&T’s mission to transform society with exceptional teaching, learning, discovery and community engagement.”

After earning her B.S. in chemical engineering at A&T, she earned an M.S. in chemical engineering and Ph.D. in environmental engineering, both from Michigan State. She returned to A&T in 2004 after working in private industry as an environmental engineer. Her research interests include environmental remediation, water sustainability and engineering education.