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Bev has directed the Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity at Virginia Tech since its inception in 1992. In 1997 she became the associate dean for academic affairs. From 2005 to 2007 she was on leave from Virginia Tech serving as a program manager is the Division of Undergraduate Education for the National Science Foundation. She was president of WEPAN from 2004 to 2005 and has served on the board of directors of the National Association of Minority Engineering Program Administrators. She is currently a member of the National Academy of Engineering's EngineerGirl Website committee. Watford also served as the 2006-2008 program chair for the American Society for Engineering Education's Women in Engineering Division and is now serving as division chair for 2008-10.
She has two children, Devon (a son at Blacksburg High School) and Leah (a daughter at Blacksburg Middle School), who intend to be Hokies as well. Her professional interests are focused on ensuring that ALL students who desire an engineering degree are successful. She is particularly interested in helping under-represented students achieve their educational and professional goals, whether these goals are in engineering or any other field.
In 1994, Watford received a STEM Talent Expansion award from the National Science Foundation that provided $1.9 million to implement three activities: a bridge program for freshman, a mentoring programs for freshman and transfer students, and a residential learning community for freshman students. Additionally a transfer-student recruiting program provides a structured effort to work with Virginia community colleges to facilitate the successful transition of community college graduates to Virginia Tech. More recently, she received a $600K grant, also from NSF to establish the IDEAS program: Increasing Diversity through Engineering Academic Scholarships. In keeping with the University's Strategic Plan, and the 3 year plan developed by the Dean of the College of Engineering, the IDEAS program targets first year students; specifically African American, Hispanic, and Native American (URM students) freshman and transfer students of all ethnicities, providing scholarships and academic support.
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