ASEE honors Ashok K. Agrawal with 2012 James H. McGraw Award.
Press Release Summary:
Ashok Agrawal, M.S., P.E., VP for Academic Affairs at St. Louis Community College - Florissant Valley, Ferguson, MO, and member of SME Education Foundation Board of Directors, has been acknowledged as a leader exemplifying best in engineering and engineering technology education by ASEE. Agrawal established Emerson Center for Engineering and Manufacturing. As Program Officer of NSF, he played key roles in expanding Advanced Technological Education program and increasing visibility of STEM.
Original Press Release:
ASEE Honors Ashok K. Agrawal, M.S., P.E., with 2012 James H. McGraw Award - Exemplifying Best in Engineering Education
Ashok K. Agrawal, M.S., P.E, a member of the SME Education Foundation Board of Directors, has been acknowledged by ASEE as a leader exemplifying the best in engineering and engineering technology education with their 2012 James H. McGraw Award.
DEARBORN, Mich., FERGUSON, Mo., - Ashok Agrawal, M.S., P.E., vice president for Academic Affairs at St. Louis Community College - Florissant Valley, Ferguson, Mo., and a member of the SME Education Foundation Board of Directors, has been acknowledged as a leader exemplifying the best in engineering and engineering technology education by The American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), and awarded the prestigious James H. McGraw Award.
Ashok Agrawal has served engineering and engineering technology and has held every professorial and administrative position from instructor to chief academic officer. He established the Emerson Center for Engineering and Manufacturing. As a Program Officer of the National Science Foundation (NSF), he played key roles in expanding the Advanced Technological Education program and increasing the visibility of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). An ASEE Fellow and Frederick J. Berger Award recipient, he served ASEE in numerous offices of the Engineering Technology Council and Division, and on the Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET.
Agrawal will be honored at the ASEE Awards Banquet being held at the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center, Ballroom C - 7:30 p.m. - 10 p.m., on Wednesday, June 13, 2012. Recipients of 15 ASEE national awards will be honored at the Banquet, in addition to 11 Fellows. Agrawal will receive a $1,000 honorarium award and certificate. The awards ceremony will be held during the 119th ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition in San Antonio, Texas, June 10-13, 2012.
Agrawal holds an MS degree in Materials Science, an MS degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Kentucky, and a BS degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Nagpur University in India. Before joining St. Louis Community College, Agrawal was a tenured Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Engineering Technology at West Virginia Institute of Technology.
Prior to assuming his present position as vice President for Academic Affairs, Ashok Agrawal was the dean of the Math, Science, Engineering, and Technology Division and responsible for leading and administering its transfer and career programs. His efforts led to the establishment of the Emerson Center for Engineering and Manufacturing, the development of the joint 2+2 Bachelor's degree program with Southeast Missouri State, and creation of several customized training programs for key regional corporations including Ameren, AT&T, and Boeing.
As director of the Emerson Center, Agrawal actively engages with St. Louis Community College's Workforce and Community Development, St. Louis County Economic Council, and the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association (RCGA).
In 2006, he was selected to participate in Leadership St. Louis® (LSL), one of the most highly-respected leadership development programs in the nation. The program was built on the belief that the community, just as any business organization, requires strong leadership to grow and improve. In the same year, he was appointed by the Governor of Missouri to serve on the Missouri Math, Engineering, Technology, and Science (Mo-METS) task force, and serve with the Mo-METS coalition. He also serves on the planning team of the St. Louis Region's FIRST Robotics Competition and on the advisory committee of the St. Louis Science Center.
Agrawal has been honored with numerous awards and recognitions. He is the recipient of the 2003 Florissant Valley David L. Underwood Lecture Award, and also the Governor's Award for Excellence in Teaching. Agrawal and his colleagues led the effort to establish a St. Louis Regional Engineering Academy for St. Louis area schools, which included the implementation of Project Lead The Way engineering curriculum. He has received several grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF), and other public and private agencies, including a grant for the College Career Transition Initiative from the League of Innovation.
He has served as a Program Officer at the Division of Undergraduate Education at the National Science Foundation, and continues to assist NSF on special projects. Agrawal has also served on the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Committee to Advance Engineering Studies at Tribal Colleges, the NAE Committee on Community Colleges Role in Engineering and Education, and the National Research Council (NRC) Board on Engineering Education.
Ashok Agrawal is also involved in international activities collaborating with Georgetown University to coordinate The Cooperative Association of States for Scholarships (CASS) program which provides technical training and professional training for low-income and rural students from the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua; and The Scholarships for Education and Economic Development (USAID SEED) Program, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and administered by Georgetown University's Center for Intercultural Education and Development (CIED).
About ASEE:
Founded in 1893, the American Society for Engineering Education is a nonprofit organization of individuals and institutions committed to furthering education in engineering and engineering technology. In pursuit of academic excellence, ASEE develops policies and programs that enhance professional opportunities for engineering faculty members, and promotes activities that support increased student enrollments in engineering and engineering technology colleges and universities. Visit www.asee.org
About the SME Education Foundation:
The SME Education Foundation is committed to inspiring, preparing and supporting the next generation of manufacturing engineers and technologists for the advancement of manufacturing education. Created by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers in 1979, the SME Education Foundation has provided more than $31 million since 1980 in grants, scholarships and awards through its partnerships with corporations, organizations, foundations, and individual donors. Visit the SME Education Foundation at www.smeef.org. Also visit www.CareerMe.org for information on advanced manufacturing careers and www.ManufacturingisCool.com, our award-winning website for young people.
Media Contact:
Bart A. Aslin, chief operating officer, SME Education Foundation, 313.425.3302, baslin@sme.org; Nathan Kahl, director, Communications, American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), 202.350.5756, communications@asee.org.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact SME Public Relations at 313.425.3000, email communications@sme.org or fax: 313.425.3403.
