Tau Beta Pi Announces Dr. Donna S. Reese as 2010 McDonald Mentor
July 26, 2010
Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society, has named its fifth McDonald Mentor. The award was created to celebrate excellence in mentoring and advising among Tau Beta Pi educators and engineers who have consistently supported the personal and professional development of their students and colleagues. While the primary goal of Tau Beta Pi is to recognize students of superior scholarship and exemplary character and to honor eminent practicing engineers, the Association also lauds excellence in engineering education and in the ethical practice of engineering.
Dr. Donna S. Reese, Mississippi Alpha ’79, is associate dean for academics and administration at Mississippi State University (MSU), where she is an Advisor of the Mississippi Alpha Chapter. She is the 2010 Tau Beta Pi-McDonald Mentor. She will be honored on October 9, 2010, at the 105th annual Convention to be held in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Tau Beta Pi President Dr. Larry A. Simonson, P.E., will present $1,000 and an engraved medallion to Dr. Reese. Another $1,000 grant will be presented to the Mississippi Alpha Chapter of Tau Beta Pi for nominating her.
Established in 2005 by Marion and Capers W. McDonald and the Association, the McDonald Mentor Award recognizes engineering educators or professionals in industry, government, or service organizations that have shown true concern for the individual, supporting an environment for developing talents, and who have earned respect and recognition for their contributions to their field and to the greater community.
A dedicated leader, Dr. Reese was recognized for her devotion to teaching, mentoring, and making a difference in the future lives of many. Her work ethic in encouraging students to reach their full potential has elevated her standing to that of a role model for students, faculty, and advisory peers.
Dr. Reese received her B.S. in computer science from Louisiana Tech University in 1979. After a year as a software engineer for General Dynamics in Fort Worth, TX, she returned to graduate school at Texas A&M University. She received her M.S. in 1981 and Ph.D. in 1985, both in computer science, and served as an instructor at the University of Texas at Austin for one year in 1987.
Dr. Reese joined the faculty at MSU in 1989 as a visiting professor. She served as the system software thrust leader for MSU’s NSF Engineering Research Center for Computational Field Simulation during 1990-97, then as the computer science and engineering department’s undergraduate coordinator from 1997 until 2004. She was promoted to full professor in 2003 and awarded the outstanding faculty adviser award in 2004 from the National Academic Advising Association.
Along with her commitment to broadening participation in engineering, colleagues say her mentoring is not a job, it is a way of life. Undergraduates mentored by Dr. Reese have gained degrees at rates that exceed science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) students in general at MSU. Dr. Reese uses several strategies to help students reach their educational goals. She encourages them to join research experiences for undergraduates programs, work in campus laboratories, obtain co-op experience, become involved in student organizations, and take part in projects to enhance job search skills.
Another component of her mentoring is the development of role models and future mentors. She has worked with the growing number of women engineering faculty to understand the importance of mentoring for future generations of women students. This has included working on the MSU parental leave task force.
Dr. Reese has also informally mentored hundreds of middle and high-school students through science fairs, summer programs, and robotics competitions, many of them from minorities and low socio-economic backgrounds. She has provided them with research activities to help them aspire to STEM disciplines in their post-secondary education, and go on to engineering careers, all while serving as a role model for young women.
She has overseen her college of engineering’s diversity program, which includes student chapters of the National Society for Black Engineers, the Society for Women Engineers, and the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers. Dr. Reese serves as faculty adviser for SWE and the engineering college’s increasing minority access to graduate education program, which focuses on recruiting and retaining underrepresented minority students.
Recommending her, an MSU colleague stated: “In everything she does, Dr. Reese’s goal is to enhance the success of those around her and broaden participation in engineering. She is committed to providing a welcoming and nurturing environment and one that encourages each individual to reach his or her maximum potential.”
Dr. Reese’s work as an adviser and her efforts to support students and broaden the scope of STEM education opportunities make her the consummate mentor and engineering educator. For her contributions to the growth of K-12 minorities, students, and faculty, Dr. Donna S. Reese is the 2010 Tau Beta Pi-McDonald Mentor.