Wood is New Coordinator of UA’s Freshman Engineering Program

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama College of Engineering recently welcomed Sandra “Sandy” Wood of McCalla as its newest instructor and the coordinator of its Freshman Engineering Program.

Wood comes to the College from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she served as the director of the Outreach and Redshirt Engineering Program, designed to improve freshman engineering retention rates.

In her new position at UA, Wood will divide her time between instructing GES 131, an introductory freshman engineering course, and further developing the College’s Freshman Engineering Program. Her responsibilities will include student recruitment and retention efforts; student mentoring; and advising and participating in the Student Introduction to Engineering, a summer program for junior and senior high-school students.

“I am excited about getting students engaged in engineering by giving them a firm foundation with real-world experience,” Wood said.

Concerning Wood’s appointment, Dr. Timothy J. Greene, dean of the College of Engineering, said, “We are extremely pleased that Sandra is joining our College. Her success at UAB proves that she is dedicated to helping our freshmen and transfer students achieve success.”

Originally from Chester, Va., Wood received a bachelor’s degree in biology from UA and a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from UAB. She will begin work on her doctorate in engineering education at UA in the fall. Wood says she is thrilled to be coming back to her alma mater.

“It’s really exciting to bring 20 years of engineering experience back to the classroom,” she said.

Wood is active in the Birmingham chapter of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and also serves on the SWE National Conference Committee as chairwoman for education.