Gretchen Dietz

Biography

<b>Gretchen A. Dietz, Ph.D.</b> is the Director of the Office of Engineering Education in the College of Engineering at Western Carolina University and an Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering. In this role, she leads initiatives focused on student success, access, and engagement across the engineering college, including WCU’s first-year Engineering Discovery program, engineering advising services, recruitment, STEM K–12 outreach, the Engineering Ambassador Program, and project-based learning.<br>Dr. Dietz is passionate about creating accessible, hands-on engineering experiences that help students see themselves as engineers and connect their education to real-world challenges. Her work emphasizes student-centered learning, engineering identity, retention, and pathways into engineering, with a particular interest in supporting students who may not follow traditional pathways into the field.<br>At WCU, she works to build connections among students, faculty, industry, and the broader Western North Carolina community while expanding opportunities for students to explore engineering through projects, outreach, research, and experiential learning.

Education

• Ph D, University of Florida
• BS, Mount Union College

Teaching Interests

Dr. Dietz’s teaching interests center on <b>hands-on, project-based engineering education</b> that connects foundational engineering concepts to real-world applications. Her teaching spans first-year engineering design and introduction to engineering, engineering technologies and software, hydraulics and hydrology, engineering ethics and economics, plan reading, and global engineering experiences. She is particularly interested in helping students develop strong technical and professional skills while encouraging curiosity, creativity, ethical decision-making, and an understanding of how engineering impacts communities locally and globally.

Research Interests

Dr. Dietz’s research focuses on creating more inclusive and accessible pathways into and through engineering education. Her work examines the implementation of inclusive engineering education practices as a mechanism for structural change, with particular emphasis on students’ sense of belonging and well-being, recruitment and retention, and pathways into engineering. She is also interested in inclusion, diversity, equity, and access within engineering and the development of effective K–16 STEM outreach programs that broaden participation and help students see engineering as a field in which they can belong and succeed.